#sam yao x five

[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.

[kelzebub]

Chapters: 6/? Fandom: Zombies Run! Rating: Not Rated Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Sam and Five, Sam and Peter, Sam and Maxine Characters: Sam Yao, Peter Lynne, Maxine Myers, Runner Five, Sara Myers-Cohen-Yao, Paula Cohen, Tom DeLuca, Jody Marsh Additional Tags: Aftermath of Violence, comment about hypothetical sexual violence (but nothing actually happened), Hurt/Comfort, Family, Found Family, Angst with a Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Torture, Canon Compliant, Trauma Recovery, Healthy Coping, Supportive Relationships, Angst and Fluff, tags may be added regarding sexual identities, Asexuality, Aromanticism, ace/aro Five, maybe demisexual and demiromantic Five, she's not sure yet, speaking Five, Female Runner Five, There Was Only One Bed Summary:

After raising the flag at Abel, Sam's going to need a while to recover from everything that's happened to him over the past few days. This is an exploration of how that happens.

Takes place immediately after s5m40, spoilers up to that mission.

[delucadarling]

I posted 5,216 times in 2022

28 posts created (1%)

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Blogs I reblogged the most:

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I tagged 3,970 of my posts in 2022

Only 24% of my posts had no tags

#reblob - 3,693 posts

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Longest Tag: 139 characters

#poor emma has to hear me endlessly say 'it would've been better if [x character] delivered this line because it would tie back to [plot poi

I sent 6 gifts in 2022

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

are you liz and if so why does technology defy you at every turn

If this is about that one post with the fucked up computer that requires black magic and opening the CD drive to function, please know that I was shocked and offended that someone out there is using my username. Also my computer is beautiful and functional and doesn't have a CD drive

12 notes - Posted May 17, 2022

#4

A lil Sammy/Five kiss <3

18 notes - Posted January 9, 2022

#3

Unitaur Sammy getting ready for a little pastoral nap <3

20 notes - Posted January 15, 2022

#2

So markiplier plays zombies run? in the most unhinged manner possible?

Listening to this man talk about the most niche piece of media I love is extremely wild.

48 notes - Posted October 10, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

BACK AT IT AGAIN WITH THE INTERACTIVE FANFICTION

Ever since I first listened to the first mission of Zombies, Run! [redacted] years ago, I’ve wanted to write my own spin and what I think would happen if I was steering the new Runner Five around. So, I finally did!

49 notes - Posted November 27, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[fives-five]

After being ambushed by New Canton, five’s been lost in the empty streets, with a terrible transmission and only an educated guess where she is. Runner Five has to hope that she can make it back to Abel with Sam’s voice in her ear.

One shot of my take on Season One mission, A Voice in the Dark.

[runner5ive]

Secret Santa present for @curly5runs ! Merry Christmas lovely! I drew Kina's Five and Sam Yao as Catra and Adora! Hope you like!

[curly5runs]

I love that a Catra and Adora Sam/Five suggests an enemy to lovers arc; so I made a thing :D

Thank you @iamrunner5 for sparking this new 5am flame ❤

Based from this scene in She Ra

[lucidii]

and I don’t want the world to see me

because I don’t think that they’d understand

when everything’s made to be broken

I just want you to know who I am

“Iris” by The Goo Goo Dolls

Long time no see! Currently in the middle of the Moonchild arc (it’s a Time) and this song just inspired some 5am, vaguely s3-tinted feels

[incorrectzombiesrun]

Sam: ask them out, they said

Sam: Marry them, they said.

Sam, looking over at Five’s side of the room filled with sports bras: It’ll be cute, they said.

[halfbloodglader]

Not Another Five - Sam Yao x Reader

Sam Yao x Reader - 2,358 words

Notes: gender neutral, can be read as platonic or non-platonic, I guess takes place earlier on in the seasons. Hoping to fill the void of little to no ZR written content! ^-^

"Alright, Five. I'm starting to worry now." He spoke sluggishly into the dead air of the comms shack, still holding onto the thin thread of hope that they could hear him. "No runner gone this long is okay.”

Silence. That was all he'd gotten for the past two nightmarish days. Five went off of the radar a couple days ago completely out of the blue. All Sam knew was that they had been sent to the canyon past the western woods of Abel to see if there was a safe pass through. Because, if there was, it would be Abel’s best route for escape incase of a zom attack that took down camp. After all, a rocky canyon mixed with a river winding below was something the zoms would have a nearly impossible time navigating.

The fact that Janine had sent someone to scout it out confirmed to Sam that it wasn't safe, even with the little information they had. There were so many things that could have gone wrong. Snipers guarding the pass? Probably. A pack of zoms hiding in the woods on the way there? Most likely. The canyon itself being a death trap? Yeah... In all likelihood.

"Five, if you're out there you need to keep running. We just opened up the gates this morning again...and we're waiting for ya! I really hope you weren't out there last night after we closed them. I don't think you were because I never saw you...but who knows at this point. I think I'm starting to hallucinate—“

"Sam," A worried voice filled the room which felt overburdeningly heavy for anyone who entered. "You need to get some sleep. It's been two days.”

Sam slowly looked up to find Janine. Her heart sunk when she scanned over his sunken features and slumped body, seemingly glued to the chair. The boy looked broken beyond measure. It seemed as if Sam here could never catch a break, especially when it came to the people he cared the most about. Especially when it came to his runner Five.

"I can't sleep until I know—" He forced the words out of a dry throat and foggy mind. "Know where they are and if they’re coming home.”

Sadly, Janine walked closer and sat on the edge of the desk. "Sam, we might never know. Two days is a long time.”

"What? You're going to give up on them?" He snapped. Tears suddenly sprung out of his eyes and slid down his cheeks. Surprised, he swiped at his face, unsure of why he was crying. "Why am I crying—“

"It's sleep deprivation. You're past the forty-eight hour mark, Sam. Your emotions are out of whack. Another reason for you to sleep." She reached out and snagged the headset off of his head.

Before she could get it out of his reach, he lunged out of his chair and tore the headset back out of her hands. "What if they come onto the comms! Are you crazy?"

Immediately, he had the headset back on his head, the band on the top sliding perfectly into the groove in his hair that had been there since he starting working the comms. The headset was on him so often, it left him with a nasty form of hat hair. Except here, they called it radio hair.

"I'm just trying to help you." Janine sounded as firmly as possible. Truth was, she really was concerned for Sam. She wasn't sure if he'd ever let up on waiting for Five. For all she knew, Sam would let himself die in here before he could admit they were gone.

Sam leaned forwards to look intensely at the scanners again. He was waiting for anything. "I'm fine, thanks. I can manage.”

There was no breaking him and Janine knew it. "Alright. If you need anything, holler for me."

Slowly, she left the shack with a heavy heart. Sam was so invested in this, not only had he not slept, but he hadn't ate or hardly drank anything. His soul and entire being was imbue in this.

A few of his friends wait outside of the shack when Janine reemerged. She sent them a sad smile and shrugged, obviously defeated. "There's not much we can do right now.”

"He's going to get himself sick." Simon followed Janine across the compound, Sara following close.

"He already has." Janine sighed. "We all need to be hoping Five is still out there right now. Otherwise, we might lose our operator. He can't take anymore heartbreak.”

The day went by as agonizingly slow as the past couple had. Actually, it might have been going by even slower if you asked Sam. Every breath he took stung and his mouth became drier and drier as the hours went by.

As usual, the light in the comms shack was starting to fade. That meant it was nearing evening and another restless night to be spent here in his chair waiting for any kind of signal.

His eyes were strained from staring at the radar for so long, constantly refreshing it. In agony, he rubbed his eyes and squeezed the bridge of his nose between his fingers. After a couple of minutes, deeming it too long to have been looking away, he once again stared at the radar. This time, a flicker. It was as if Five had appeared on the radar for just a second and then disappeared again. In a stupor, Sam smacked his monitor and let his heart try to climb out of his throat.

"Five?!" He shouted into the comms and waited for them to reappear on the screen. He'd seen it, he could swear. They'd been there. No doubt. "Five, if you're there I saw you! If that was you, you're not far from home!"

With a new hope, Sam began scanning around with the cameras. He couldn't see anyone or anything, but he wasn't giving up. For the next fifteen minutes, he switched back and forth between the cameras and scanner, praying for some sign of life. Anything.

The scanner flickered again. This time, the mark had been much, much closer to Abel.

"Five you're almost here! Come on!" He slammed his hand on the desk repeatedly, in both excitement, relief and fear. They might be coming back, but there was no guarantee they'd still be the same runner Five. What if a zom...never mind. He couldn't think about that right now.

"Sam!" Janine once again entered the shack, this time more worried because of the commotion Sam had been causing. "Everything alright?"

"Five!" His voice came loud and clear, face lit up once again. “They're almost here, I swear!"

"Let me see." Janine came in close and leaned over Sam. She hoped he wasn't just seeing things. At this point though, she didn't have her expectations set too high.

"Did you see it?" Sam pointed to the exact spot the radar had flickered. “Right there!"

"Get the cameras up again," Janine demanded.

As they appeared, she scanned the screens hopefully. But, there was no movement. "Is this all the cameras?"

"No, just the gate and west border." He explained.

"Look at the radar, Sam. If that's our Five, they’re coming from the south. No way you'd see them on those! Get up the other two cameras!” She smacked the back of his head, now growing impatient and the adrenaline rushing in her body. Maybe Five was out there still.

"Okay, okay! Geez!" Sam whined as he worked away at trying to switch the cameras. Once he did, he leaned in closer to the screen and his heart slowed to a near stop as he waited for his mind to process what he was seeing.

In disbelief, Janine gripped Sams shoulder so tight he had to smack her hand away. “It’s Five.”

"What?!" Sam whipped around and grabbed the screen.

There was Five. They knew the cameras were on them because they jumped up in the air and waved.

"FIVE! I see you! There's no way you—" Sam tore off his comms with absolutely zero care or thought in the world. He threw down the headset onto the desk and tried to fight his way past Janine and out of his chair. It took a few distressing, messy seconds, but he got out. Then, he struggled with the shack door before throwing it open and quite literally leaping off of the top step of the stairs. He landed roughly and went face first into the dirt, anyone near watching the mess that was Sam unfold.

None of that stopped him, though. He sprinted across the compound and right for the gates which he could now see Five approaching. He ran even faster.

"FIVE!" He screamed, trying to keep himself upright as he ran a little too fast for his legs.

The runner made it into Abel, finally safe. Not thinking or caring, Sam plowed straight into their body and closed them into the most desperate hug he'd ever given in his life. Their arms wrapped around over his shoulders and he held them so tight taking in air was nearly impossible. "Hi, Sam."

After a minute of a nearly rib crushing hug, Sam stepped back to look them over, his hands still on their shoulders. They seemed just fine, other than being a little beat up and soiled in dirt.

"Okay, uhm—" Sam awkwardly let go of Five and turned his gaze to the ground. Not knowing what else to do, he laughed a little to himself and then rubbed his tired eyes. ”I guess I should let you go clean up if you want. Before it gets too cold.”

"Thanks," They laughed lightly. "I'm definitely going to do that. I'll see you later.”

Sam watched as they walked off tiredly to the showers. He had so many emotions running though him right now, he wasn't sure what to do with himself. However, he did know he needed to clean up the mess he'd left in the shack and so he head off to do that.

He opened the door and Janine was still sat on the desk. She looked up to him with a smirk.

"Don't say anything," He pointed a finger at her and sent a warning glare. Of course she had been watching what just happened through the cameras. "But, you should know, they’re fine."

“That was a truly horrific jump you made from the stairs." Janine teased. Then, she got up and head for the door. Before leaving, she put a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you for not giving up when the rest of us had.”

"Yeah," He nodded shyly.

Sam smiled to himself and then shook his head, forcing himself to focus on cleaning up the shack.

That plan didn't last long. He sat down for two seconds in his chair and immediately passed out. All of his worry had subsided and left his mind to settle. His sleep, however, didn't last long.

Five made their way into the comms shack, knowing that was where they could always find Sam. Sure enough, there he was, snoring lightly in the dimly lit shack.

"Sam," Five whispered as they shook his shoulder gently. It took a few more shakes, but he jolted awake and nearly knocked Five over. He reached out and grabbed them just incase and then let out a sigh of relief. "I came to wake you up."

"Ah, yeah. Okay." He looked up to one of the small windows and noticed it was dark outside now.

"We need to get you to bed." Five laughed as they slung one of his arms over their shoulder and helped him up. "Janine said you've been awake for two days.”

"Well, I wasn't going to sleep when I knew you were still out there." He admitted.

"Thanks for sticking with me." Five gripped his hand over their shoulder a little tighter. "It's a lot easier to keep yourself running when there's someone there with you.”

"You could hear me? The entire time?" His body stiffened a little.

Five snickered. "Oh yeah. You had quite a few things to say that first night, didn't you?"

Sam bit the inside of his cheek. "Ah man...I'm sorry. I said some dumb stuff. My worry got the better of me."

Five looked up to him. "Don't apologize. It was nice. You going over basically every moment we've spent together since the day I showed up was enough to keep me going."

"What happened anyways?" He asked, curious.

"I got to the canyon and started exploring around. A while in, there was a rockslide. One of the rocks hit me and wrecked part of my headset." They made a booming, crashing sound to imitate the rockslide that made Sam laugh. "The slide was so big, I had to go the long way around and try to find my way back. I got a little lost and then ran into a swarm of zoms. But, then you turned on the beacon last night and I was just close enough to see it. Then, I just ran until I made it back."

The pair made it to Sams tent and Five helped him inside. "I was genuinely starting to freak out a little, y’know? I was really worried.” He admitted.

"So was I. I'm back now, though. No more need to worry.” They laughed lightly. "What would I do without you, huh?”

"Honestly, I'm not sure." He beamed. "You'd get yourself into a whole lot more trouble."

"Well, you're not wrong." They pushed his arm and laughed along with him. "See you in the morning.”

“Yeah,” Sam yawned, fighting to keep himself awake. “See you—morning.”

If Five had to guess, Sam was still having a hard time processing if all of this was real or not. He’d probably wake up in the middle of the night in a panic and come looking for them, just to make sure they really had made it back. That’s just who Sam was. He cared for everyone in his life so much it was almost terrifying. 

[dorkylittleweirdo]

Runners can have a little kiss. As a treat

Bonus:

Sam and Jaime's reaction

[radio-cabel]

Maxine: QUICK, YOU’RE LOSING A LOT OF BLOOD. WHAT’S YOUR TYPE?

Five: kind, dorky, adorable, Samuel Yao-

Maxine: YOUR BLOOD TYPE, FIVE!

Five:oh

Five: *looks down at blood*

Five: red.

[dash-willow-west]

Five: my partner must be organized, graceful, top of the line-

Sam: hi, I’m Sam Y- *trips over nothing, spills Marmite all over himself, knocks over papers, faceplants into the ground, cries as papers rain down around him*

Five:

Five: THAT ONE

[kelzebub]

Five is angry with Sam. Sam is hurt and gets angry back. They fight. They make up.

Major spoilers for s8m1 and incidental spoilers up to that mission.

[apocalyptic-byte]

Maxine: Runner Five can only do so much... Sam: Shhhhhh...Maxine. You shouldnt lie like that.  ----- Sam: Seriously. Just look at them! Do you SEE this magnificent beast?  The Runner Five 5am request from @yariem-alkahen ! They decided on the comic runner five! (I hope you like it. i know its not super shippy but i loved this idea. might do a small doodle laer of actual ship art.)

[fives-five]

https://archiveofourown.org/works/38922195

It’s currently my bed time, but enjoy this oneshot i wrote in one sitting, NOW GOOD NIGHT.

[curly5runs]

I WEEP

Secret Santa present for @curly5runs ! Merry Christmas lovely! I drew Kina's Five and Sam Yao as Catra and Adora! Hope you like!