#maxine and janine from the back: ‘’what the fuck is happening in there’’

[drowsystarlight]

Runner five! And some background

Finally doodled my runner five! Not a lot of substance yet since im pretty early in ZR still but im so excited to learn the world with them ahehe (more rambling in tags)

[gallifreystands]

****Zombies, Run! Season 5 spoilers**** (so sorry this is so long 🙈)

Okay okay okay okay. So. I ran Sail Away yesterday yeah? And uh A. Holy shit Sigrid what the *fuck* why are you *like* this and B. The De Luca siblings bring me such joy (and heartache 😭) but really C. Peter Necropolis 🧐 okay. So I red string board theoried hard the other night and came up pretty blank as far as minor characters that would know what he knows about Abel. In my searching I realized/remembered that the circus he was working at *was* all about Abel? And that seemed odd at the time but quickly was lost in the chaos that was that episode. But looking back 🤨 strange as hell.

And then!! Paula says at the beginning that she is doing fine because zombie physiology/accelerated healing. And I was thinking “oh, fuck. I forgot about that” because like. If Paula has accelerated healing, she was probs tested on by Van Ark right? The only other people we know of for sure tested on by Van Ark was me/Five, Sara, and Simon. I suppose its possible that baby Sara has been tested on too by Veronica in a similar fashion, who knows what on *earth* she did to her. So. It’s possible he tested on other people, there was def evidence of that at his base when he kidnaps and tortures Five in Season 2. So does this link back to him somehow?

And so my mind is spinning at this point trying to think of people connected to Van Ark who would know about us. And so I keep running. Peter/Tom made me laugh out loud while I was running, and then we get on a ship yeah? And then Peter recognizes the label and Maxine starts talking about Comansys and the ships and what Five did… and so I’m just caught in this whiplash of emotions but Peter *recognized* the Comansys logo. The ones Maxine recognized. Because she was on the ship. So I stuck that fact in the back of my brain while running so I could go back later and review who else was on those ships before they blew up.

And I keep running and shenanigans occur and there are legit bounty hunters after us and Tom is really growing on me as a character 🥺 But then Maxine makes a comment about the yacht and how she thought she was going to die on the flotilla, that she was already dead. And Paula and Sam agree saying they know what that feels like (because they’ve both almost died/faced death because of zombies) And then Peter says he does too! …. Because of the circus. Of course. The circus. And THEN HE SAYS “Oh, it’s all so zombie, isn’t it? Just at the point that it seems life is done with you, no! You’re back for another round”

And I freeze. Because no. It can’t possibly be, right? There’s no goddamn way. This doesn’t make sense. And I keep running with my mind spinning connecting a bunch of dots and I get back to my house and go back and listen to clips of Peter and it clicks who he sounded like last episode. His voice is different, obviously, completely different accent. But his jokes and inflections and manner of speaking is… Simon? Right? I feel like I’m missing a dot because again, this doesn’t make sense. But, Simon WAS ON the fucking Comansys ship. Thats how he got the serum to come get Five in Shoot the Runner. He would know about Sam and Jody. He *would* be surprised and shocked and emotional to see Janine alive if he thought she was dead. He was eaten alive by zoms so he would be wary of them now, and know what it feels like to almost die… and then come back. He would know about New Canton, and it explains why its changed so much since he was last there. He would know about the Comansys tower blowing up because he was there when it *did*.

But like? We don’t recognize him and Janine didn’t even know who he was and I’m so confused as to how that happened. Why is his voice different? What the fuck? Am I going insane? Is this an off the wall fucking theory? Am I probably wrong and just really hoping he’s back 🥺 Yes. Probably to all lmao. But like then I was thinking about it and Simon *Peter*. Like from the Bible. Betrayed/denied Jesus three times and then lived his life trying to do good after that. He *would* pick a biblical ass name like that for himself. There are SO MANY CONNECTIONS if I’m wrong I’m going to be so upset 😂😂😂 I really. *Really* hope he is in the next episode again too. Give me more clues!!

[curly5runs]

A few weeks ago all I could keep thinking about my lil early season headcanons because 1: I was lonely and ZR keeps my mind full, 2: I'm nostalgic for seasons 1-3 (spoilers up to s3). So I'll share some of the funnier ones here :). These are not in any particular order as I was just scribbling them down as I remembered them.

My Five had her tounge cut out, which is how she got to Abel, ect ect. So she mainly used pens and notepads to communicate, and sometimes a bit of ASL. The first time she signed "Thank you" to Sam, he thought she was blowing him a kiss and he stood there awkwardly until Maxine clarified what it meant.

Her first words (almost non understandable and muffled from missing that lil piece of muscle in her mouth) after the tounge incident happened during that one mission where Five had to jump on a moving train. The train pulls around to the crew, they ask why she looks so distraught, and she deadpan says "Life is a party and I'm the ✨fucking✨ piñata" (inspired by an incorrect quote I saw on here a couple years ago but I can't remember who posted it u_u) and continued to not say anything else until s3.

When she found and snatched a kitten mid s2, she assumed it was a female because she had only ever had lady kitties and didnt know males dont have super visible bits right away. One day a few months later, shes playing with kitten!Archie and she notices some 🏀🏀 growing. Horrified at her gross miscalculation, she ran to Sam (just ✨roomate✨ at the time) screeching. Concerned, obviously, he asked why she was so freaked out, so which she replied by scrawling on paper "Archie is an ArcHE".

She had godawful posture her whole life until the apocalypse. The end of such an era occured because Simon took personal offence to her slouching; and would physically thwack her (not too hard, but enough for shock value) with a ruler or stick if he caught her walking around town lookin like a dang question mark. She has excellent posture now.

Again, because of her lack of tounge, once she started to talk, it was mostly saying people's names at first to get their attention. But she couldn't pronouce S, D, N, or Js very well, (among many other letters) and some folks got accidental nicknames by Five. For example, Sam got turned to "Ham", Jody turned into "Yoie" and Janine turned to "Ahneen". Everyone was very nice and supportive and didnt make fun of the names they had been bestowed. Except Simon; who's named turned to "Hymen"

People think that Eugene and her would have alot in common both being Canadians, but they (affectionately) 😒 at eachother because they're from vastly different parts of the country (mostly that I HC hes a city boy and shes very much an isolated bumpkin). Despite their differences, they are good pals and like to scream sing Arrogant Worm songs at the top of their lungs as a past time.

Five has fallen in the comms/radio shack twice while trying to be helpful. The first time was after she got strep throat while in New Canton right at the start of S2, but it didnt settle in until getting back to Abel. It was a nasty cough and she felt half in the grave. She knew she definitely hadnt gotten bit, but was terrified of noone trusting her to not be a zombie. So she just continued on her buisness doing her best to not look like she was about to drop dead; until she was helping the radio boyfriends in the comms shack and just,,, collapsed in front of Eugene, Jack, and Sam, bringing down an array of equipment and some books with her. The second time it was sort of a runner group project to organize the mess in there, and she was tasked with untangling the wires. She was starting to hang them up higher and somehow got a foot stuck in the web, and very slow motion fell to the floor with a leg in the air, and everyone had to help her get sorted. Very embarrassing.

She cries. Alot. Normally its out on the field if something real bad is about to happen. The first time she audibly wailed within the gates, a few folks panicked and ran to her. Where she pointed and whimpered at a spider on the wall. Shes scared of very little but spiders are a deal breaker.

The way people knew for sure that it was Five infiltrating Abel under Moonchild's control was because her kitten was running after her in the bush, loudly yowling, and everyone put two and two together. Cover blown via cat screeches 😔.

She gets overheated really quickly, especially while exercising. She sticks to a sports bra and pants, and no amount of cheeky commentary or lack of degrees in the air will get her to wear anything else. When Janine tried to get the runners to wear uniforms, Five became a pain in her side because she simply would not. Janine would catch her before a mission and make her at least wear the tshirt. But she would immediately fling it off once she got out the gates. Janine gave up, and the uniforms pretty much just became a formality for special events.

She puts up her hair with a sharpened stick. Both because she cant get the right hairties for her texture, and because it makes for a good concealed weapon in close proximity. But because they keep getting lodged in Zombie eyesockets or covered in blood/bits, she keeps collecting good replacment sticks whenever shes outside, so at all times she has a pile of loose sticks in her belongings.

She absolutely *refuses* to get her socks/shoes wet. She will stop mid mission, being chased by an angry, on fire zombie, sit down, peel her socks and shoes off, then go into whatever body of water she has to cross. Wet feet is a huge nono, she would rather get bit than have to run with w e t feet.

During the s2 mission clip where Sara and Five were running on top of the train, I got a "collected a pair of trousers", so the only logical explanation was that she got hit in the face with an airborne pair of pants and kept hold of them.

She gets very obvious mum privileges from Sara, and whenever Sam or one of the other runners need something from her, they get Five to ask her for them. Sara has no shame in showing favouritism towards her baby child, and Five definitely doesnt mind.

She keeps forgetting to put on sunscreen, and being as sickly pale as she is, she burns like paper under a magnifying glass. One day Sam had enough of her coming back from missions the same shade as the barn wall. Just before opening the gates for a supply run, he hustled outside -tube of sunscreen in hand- smeared a huge glob on Five's face and arms, and wouldnt give the raise the gates signal until she rubbed it in on all her exposed skin.

She's terrible at most games, whether it be not being to serve the ball if it was on a platter in a friendly game of volleyball, or getting the worst rolls in D&D and her character losing all dignity; she is trash. But she kicks abosolute ass at Gin and Dutch blitz. In Gin she gloats and cackles everytime she throws her cards down, in dutch blitz everyone is horrified at her violent behaviour and unleasing of a lifetime's worth of internal rage through her tiny hands. There's been a couple finger casualties.

Being so young (a month from 17) when she showed up to Abel, and being really shy (tasty tasty trauma), everyone assumed she was really gentle mannered and sheltered. That is, until, the most disgusting and ruthless game of cards against humanity one evening. Noone saw her the same ever again >:].

I doubt anyone will read this list but if you made it here hi! :D These definitely arent all of them as I ran the majority of these seasons when covid started and I literally had nothing better to do than dedicate my life to this podcast.

[runner5ive]

The Warmth of the Fire

I enjoyed drawing the last camping picture with the fun lighting so much I wanted to draw another one. But trying to explain what was happening in this picture wasn’t working as bullet points so I wrote a mini fic ? Literally took me like an hour and it probably sucks but here we go. Read it below the cut before I decide I hate it and delete this post: 

Almost everyone had fallen into a hushed silence.  Framed by the gentle glow of the fire and oblivious to the watchful eyes of their friends, Sam and Five were the only ones who still conversed gently between themselves with hushed tones and lazy gestures. Uninterested by the gossip around them, they sat facing each other on the log they’d claimed as a seat, so close their knees pressed together. Leaning into each other’s space. Sam said something so soft that no one but Five could hear. It must have been funny, or perhaps charming, because Five let out a breathy laugh, their nose scrunching with amusement which prized a grin from Sam in return. When Five signed their reply, they kept their hands close to their chest, private and reserved only for Sam. Slow and deliberate gestures drew a long, lingering smirk on that boy’s lips.

The entirety of Abel must have known of Five and Sam’s affections for each other at this point. Most of New Canton, too. It wasn’t exactly a secret that Sam favoured that runner more than the rest, even through his denials. The pair were plenty affectionate; yet, no matter how much their friends asked and watched, there had never once been an announcement of a relationship. Until, perhaps, now? Their friends could only gaze on in hope.

From where she watched, Jody found herself wishing she was that little bit better at sign language. Whatever declaration of love she was certain was passing between the two, she was frustrated she couldn’t read it. But their body language filled in the gaps for her. When Five’s too long fringe fell in their face, it was Sam who reached up, fingers lingering deliberately on warm skin as he moved their hair from their eyes. When he let his hand fall away, it rested on the log between them, barely a breath away from where Five’s hand dropped to moments later. 

Watching them by that fire, everyone was certain of one thing: Five and Sam were going to kiss. Finally. You could almost see the effort it took to hold themselves back. They were so fixated on each other, so drawn in on what the other was saying, they were practically leaning into the space where their words settled. All it would take was one of them to take the plunge, to lean forward just a few inches more and close the space between them. Where this burst of bravery had emerged from was a mystery. Perhaps it was the booze, clouding their mind and giving them that much-needed boost of courage. Maybe it was just time. They’d both lived in denial for so long that it had to give way eventually. It was just a matter of how many more moments they could fight off their urges. Surely they had fought against them enough. This was the end of the world, after all. The apocalypse. Happiness was a rarity so when it presented itself - well, those two deserved happiness more than most. Watching them there, unaware of the world beyond their little bubble, it seemed certain that their strength would finally fail and they’d lean into their attraction. Not a quip or a joke was made by any of the onlookers; Five and Sam had resisted for so long, it was only fair that they were allowed this moment of perceived privacy, unaware that all their friends were eagerly staring like hungry dogs.

The pops and crackles from the fire easily disguised the silence of their audience. Suspense bubbled in the stomach of every watcher, afraid that any noise may interrupt this soft moment between the pair. Maxine shared a glance with Jody, mischief gleaming in her eyes, before slowly and quietly rising from her seat. She leant to grab another beer from the bucket in the centre of their circle and when she sat down she was just that bit closer to Sam and Five. Close enough to hear Sam’s hushed, warm voice over spitting of the flames:

“--hope you brought some tissues to this lip-sync battle, you fucking loser. I'm the best lip-syncer Abel's ever known. The only running you’ll be doing is running to Janine in tears after I annihilate you. You fucking wimp." 

---

Alternate title: ‘When everyone thinks Five and Sam are about to finally make their relationship public but they’re just trash talking each other before they have the sickest lip-sync battle in Abel’s history’. 

Jody and Maxine would riot. 

I’m sorry guys I find myself funnier than I actually am. Once again it was better in my head :’)

[dorkylittleweirdo]

Back at it again with another one of my Five's pigs ✌

He's a tamworth pig

Five got him after s8. And by got I mean someone brought a piglet in while she was gone and Peter was like "k Janine isn't here and I'm calling the shots and I'm keeping this pig for Five and nobody can stop me"

Maxine helped him take care of said piglet for a few weeks. Along with Five's other pigs

Five came back from that whole nightmare to be greeted by Peter holding a lil piglet. Instant serotonin

Janine is Mad™. "Dammit Peter I'm gone for one month and there's another pig I didn't approve of this this is literally the last thing I needed". But she also can't just tell them to get rid of it, so she begrudgingly allows Five to keep it

Five's pig army just keeps growing

She names him Alexander. Like. Like Alexander Hamilton. Because. Because A Ham

"Five stop naming your fucking pigs after the founding fathers" "but the PUNS"

He's incredibly smart which absolutely causes problem for literally everyone. He figured out how to open the gate of his pen once he was big enough to reach the latch, and how to knock over the bin of pig food. Needless to say that only happened once before Five moved the bin way out of reach

He was easy to train like her pot belly was. She taught him to "play" the piano, so basically he just presses keys with his snout until he gets a treat. Janine Hates it, but the children love it and so do Peter and Maxine. "He's a m u s i c i a n Janine" "I don't care what he is just make him Stop"

Absolute disaster pig. The only time he's allowed to vibe around is when he's on a leash, but he escapes so often and nothing Five tries can stop him for long. Sometimes he escapes in the middle of the night and the pig sounds coming from outside wake up anyone nearby and then they have to hunt for Five to get him back in his pen

"Five you can't bring him into your bunk with you" "yes I can". She used to sneak him in when he was a piglet, but once he got too big to carry, she occasionally spends the night in the barn. Sometimes people have to go in and get her up, and there she is in the middle of a pile of pigs

Emotional support piggy. Tamworth pigs are especially good at sensing emotions, so he can tell when someone is upset or grieving. V good boy tries to do a Comfort

He just vibes tbh

[teacup-crow]

Tom/Jody, whump? Or fluff! (still obsessed with that Zombies, Make! prompt fill you did, btw.)

*slaps the side of my Google doc* this thing can fit so much whump in it!

Tom protecting Jody emotionally for once (well, more he gets a bit of a break for once), here we go!

CWs (warning, spoilers!): torture including eye gouging (not described in detail) minor death and major blood

Mid Season 6. Jody’s on a mission in Ministry territory and gets distracted.

“Please don’t.”

It’s the little catch in the girl’s voice that stops Jody cold.

She’s on a reconnaissance mission, not a rescue one. Her orders are to grab the documents detailing the invasion of Abel and get out, leaving Sigrid’s generals none the wiser. And doubtless, there will be moments like this in Ministry territory - her supporters are a bunch of overpromoted authoritarian nutjobs on a power trip, after all.

But she didn’t think it would shake her like this.

On the other end of her headset, Tom is silent, and she knows he heard it too. The break in the screaming. The girl’s voice sounds so pitiful and so small. Jody needs to ignore it: she needs to grab the papers while they’re distracted with whatever sick shit they’re doing and-

They’re laughing. Those men think this is funny.

“Tom,” her voice is low. She’s still in a crouch in the Admiral’s study, her heart hammering, but in her head she’s back in the punishment cells in Abel. She’s listening to Cameo in the cell next door, half an hour after picking a fight with some sneering jackbooted Ministry thugs, whimpering now that they can’t hear her. In her head, she’s lying curled up on her side with three broken ribs, knowing that she’s failed in Janine’s absence to protect any of them, knowing everybody she loves is dead, and-

“Jodes.”

He’s going to tell her to stick to the plan. That she’s too valuable to play hero. In, out, that’s the job. Laughing, screaming, put it all to the back of your mind, it’s not important. Everyone’s lives could be at stake for this data.

“Tom, I can’t - I have to help her.”

“Jody,” his voice is strained. “We don’t leave anybody behind.” He clears his throat. “There are three of them in there; you’ve got two bullets left after that horde on the way in. Your best bet is to distract them somehow. Got a grenade?”

“Wouldn’t leave home without one, babe.”

“You’ve been listening to Steve’s radio broadcasts too?” she can hear him smirk. “Okay. Grab the documents. I’d use it in the street outside - inside there’s no way to do it without risking hurting her or yourself.”

Jody slips a few of the papers into her pack, too distracted to even check if they’re the right ones, and sidles out of the window. The girl is crying, now, almost silently, and she doesn’t want to see herself in that sound but she can’t help it. Her stomach is a ball of white hot rage as she slides down and runs into the road. A few residents see her, but scatter.

“Sit rep?”

It’s been a while since she felt this powerless, burnt so much with righteous indignation. She rummages through her bag, and swears through gritted teeth.

“The pin. It’s jammed! The grenade’s fucked. I’m going in there.”

“Jody, don’t!”

“You have a plan B? You said we don’t leave anybody behind.”

“This is war, Miss Marsh,” says Janine’s voice unexpectedly. She’d almost forgotten they weren’t alone together on comms. “You know that sometimes we have no choice.”

“I’m going in there,” she replies. “Sigrid doesn’t get to win this.”

She throws the door open and charges upstairs. Her face is recognisable to everyone in the region, paraded on wanted posters on Ministry trucks for months, so lying probably won’t help her. At least it’s a photo from before the apocalypse, when she used conditioner and showered every morning and she wasn’t marred with scars, or thin and rangy and desperate. There’s a chance, however small, that they won’t shoot her on sight.

At least if they do she’ll get that whimpering out of her head.

She reaches the top of the stairs, and slams into the door with her shoulder, blurting the first lie she can think of in Janine’s accent of all impressions. “It’s the Minister! Someone’s stabbed the Minister!”

The bolt on the door is drawn back, and the piggish eyes of Admiral Denton look her up and down. “And who sent you, sweetheart?”

“I dunno, nobody, I don’t know anything, I’m just a messenger, but somebody’s shot her, I mean, stabbed her, she might die, they need you, sir!”

He nods, and shoves her to one side. “Quick, Hugh, you’re with me. Andersen, keep an eye on these two. If this is bollocks, I’ll want to know exactly where to find you. I don’t entertain people who waste my time, do I, Alyssa?”

Alyssa’s pale little face is covered in blood, her left eye hanging out of its socket halfway down her cheek, and Jody’s stomach flips inside out. Tom’s breathing gets heavier. She wishes his hand were in hers. 

The footsteps thunder down the path, and she takes the pistol from her leg holster and points it at their guard.

“Who the fuck are you!” he shrieks, hands above his head in an instant.

“Did you help with this? Were you complicit?”

“I was just… you’ve seen what they can do, I was just following -” 

She shoots him through the chest.

***

Alyssa is sixteen years old and her entire settlement is dead. Zombies overran their walls, and because they refused to ally with the Ministry, nobody came to help. She’s been working in the kitchens here for six months before she accidentally burnt the admiral’s joint of lamb. She doesn’t say much, but grips Jody’s hand like a vice as they run over the border to the sound of sniper fire. She knows a bit about Abel, she says - she used to listen to Jack and Eugene as a kid. Jody gives her the headset, and Sam soothes her down the line, throwing the occasional direction and zombie warning in a way that makes running half blinded through the wasteland funny rather than terrifying. He’s good with kids. He holds Sara up to the mic, and her babbling nearly coaxes the girl into a smile.

Maxine whisks her away at the gates, and it’s Tom who’s there to grab Jody and stop her from falling, to lead her back to the farmhouse.

“I’m fine,” she hears herself say from far away, smiling at citizens commending her bravery or patting her on the back. “I’m fine,” at the kitchen table, a nurse gingerly removing a bullet she caught in the shoulder. “I’m fine,” she tells Tom, who is patting down her bloodstained arm with a flannel.

“No, you aren’t.”

She’s looked away from everyone but can’t avoid him. His voice is deliberately steady as he dabs gently around the stitches. “You saved someone today. You killed someone today. You are not okay.”

“I shot him in the heart.” She feels her jaw. It’s still speckled in the man’s blood. Her whole body screams in pain, but she refused the morphine Maxine offered. Alyssa’s going to need their whole supply.

Besides, she’s frightened of falling asleep.

“You did what you had to. You’d do it again, and you’d be right to.”

“I know he was just, just playing his part, but all I could see is one of those soldiers hitting Cam, and knowing they were going to hurt me next, and I felt this, this pain in my head, and she wouldn’t stop crying, and I can still hear it even now.” Her voice feels flat, like it isn’t her own. “And I know you’ve had it so much worse - the poor kid’s had it worse - but I-“

“Hey,” his voice is gentle but stern. “This isn’t trauma Top Trumps, Jody. You’re allowed to hurt. And you don’t have to protect me from it.”

“Trauma Top Trumps sounds really terrible,” she manages a small laugh, trying to make her tone light. “Shooting a guard dead at point blank range - trauma, seven; nightmares, four; fear factor, three. Seeing a little girl get her eye torn out-”

She stops, feeling the colour sap from her face.

He looks at her reproachfully, and daubs the blood from her chin.

“You held it together out there. It’s more than I could have done. But you’re home now. You can let it all go.”

“No, I can’t. Don’t you get it?” She’s angry now, pushing the chair back from the table with an unpleasant screech across Janine’s kitchen floor. “I can’t let it go because if I’m not ready to do something at any moment, someone like Denton could make me powerless. I could lose someone again. I could lose you.”

“I’m not going anywhere-“

“But someone could take you. Something could go wrong in the field.” You could lose your grip on your sanity.

He doesn’t promise that it won’t happen, but he takes her face in both hands, and presses his forehead to hers. She breathes sweat and smoke and cocoa butter. “Let go, Jodes.”

“No!”

She pulls away, and there in the doorway is someone with two laden dinner plates. The smell of roast lamb hits the back of her throat before Tom can get them to leave, and she gags, and retches, and then at last the tears are flowing down her cheeks. He cradles her in his arms, and keeps the world blocked out for a while.

[isasoumas]

1.) Does your Five speak? If not, why not? nope! they cannot. they got in a car crash a year or two pre-apocalypse and (makes vague hand motions and mumbles something about smoke damage to vocal chords) no voice. im not a doctor. they know asl (bc theyre from america), they started learning it to entertain themselves while bedridden. sam picks it up after ‘a voice in the dark’ bc “were friends now, we should be able to talk!” idk how different asl and bsl are or if they’d be able to find resources on asl in england i haven’t thought that deeply about it but it’s probably fine. adrien gets by through a combination of signing to their close friends who have learned it, whispering, writing notes, and complicated games of charades, depending on the situation. its a whole system. 2.) Who are your Five’s best friends? (rolls out a mile long sheet of paper) ok so. sam, because duh, they support each other through everything. simon’s their partner in crime; the devil on their shoulder to sam’s angel. adrien’s really close to maxine, too, and paula increasingly after s3. they have a huge amount of respect for janine, but dont consider her a “friend” until s4 or so. sara’s a hugely important mentor and source of inspiration. they weren’t rly friends with jaimie bc he wasn’t around abel long, but they wanted to be. jody’s a good pal, too. and they really like tom and want to make up for, like, everything that happened to him in s4 and before. i could do this all fuckin day honestly but i don’t think i’m missing anyone major so i’ll stop. the actual Best Friends Tier is probably sam, simon, sara, maxine. 3.) Does your Five have any love interests? 5amon ride or fucking die. obvi their current relationship w simon is. complicated but i think it could be repaired. they def still care about him. and i don’t need to qualify 5am like Come On. 4.) Who does your Five not hang out with outside of work? there’s not many people they outright dislike. they’re a forgiving person to a fault lmao. like. sam does something to mess with them in d&d and adrien won’t speak to him for a week, but someone tries to kill them? i mean they had their reasons, i’m sure. actually the only big one i can think of is the major? not that they don’t respect her, but her mentality of treating people as soldiers and resources instead of people doesn’t sit right with them. they know its /necessary/ but that doesn’t mean they /like/ it. 5.) What kind of hairstyle does your Five sport? just kinda. short n’ layered. black, they’re a good portion native american. probably chippewa, mid-michigan. they let it grow out until it falls in their eyes too much or until they start putting it in tiny ugly ponytails and someone steps in. naga and i outlined a whole fiasco of them asking simon to cut it once and him giving them a bowl cut. it earns him the silent treatment for weeks and no one without a medical license is allowed to cut adrien’s hair ever again. 6.) What is your Five’s relationship to Abel D&D night? they’re super into it. they play an elven rouge who hates everything except money and his friends. this is also one of the situations where they unashamedly like. bang on the table or sth when they have an Idea that Must Be Heard. 7.) What’s one wacky headcanon about Abel? THIS IS REALLY HARD im kind of stealing nagas answer but i just have a bunch of little things about what they get up to as people trying to keep joy alive in the apocalypse. goofy holiday parties and meme wars on rofflenet. this is less wacky but i really like the idea that runners just Get each other in a way other people at abel don’t. like they have symbols and things they leave in the field, they have certain sensitive topics they never bring up, without discussion, they sit on each others bunks whispering their hopes and fears until they ‘accidentally’ fall asleep on each other. no one questions it or teases. sometimes you just don’t want to spend the night alone in the dark. that wasn’t wacky that was emo and gay. 8.) What’s one wacky headcanon about your Five? dang this is hard, too. um. they use signing to gossip a lot. for a while sam’s the only one who knows it and they can talk shit literally behind janine’s back. she she starts catching onto words like “hardass” and “strict” and they start making up codes until they’re signing shit like “the beaver jumped over the fence again, can you believe it?” simon only starts learning because he’s pretty sure they’re openly mocking him. (they are.) 9.) How did your Five end up at Mullins base? good question my dude. um. they’re american, they were taking their last semester of college abroad when the apocalypse hit. maybe their university advised them to do there? maybe they just ran for the nearest place that sounded defensible? don’t worry about it. 10.) What doesn’t your Five miss about the pre-apocalypse world? cars. their accident left them with a huge fear of them. they can’t drive, they can only really ride in a car if they’re reading or on their phone or somehow distracting themselves from ever looking out the window. walking everywhere being a necessity and not a weird quirk is a blessing. and just the volume of people? they have a Thing about being talked over or drowned out because they were a really passive kid, and just when they started finding their metaphorical voice as a person, they lost their literal voice. in the apocalypse there’s just less people to talk to at a time. its a lot easier to snap their fingers or sth and be like “hey, you interrupted me.”