#sirius runs zrs9

[goodplace-janet]

thoughts on zrs9m16:

- you INFILTRATE Guillemette? you infiltrate Guillemette like the spy? oh! oh! torture for runners! torture for runners for One Thousand Years!!!!!

- i enjoyed the parallel to 555's escape attempt, this time with Bakari getting a taste of his own medicine. looking forward to creeping through these spooky tunnels, maybe learning more about the red fungus, trying not to get eaten by one of those sand worms, idk

- I like that the vital info that Five carries puts them back at the center of the plot rather than on the periphery of the story like in recent seasons. It also creates a situation where other characters might put themselves in danger to protect them, if Five isn't strong or fast enough to get themself to safety? The angst potential, y'all

PETER LYNNE: And fighting Van Ark. Again. Look, I know I'm not one to talk, but why can't the dead stay dead?

MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY but also lmao

(I initially was disappointed when Peter turned out to be recycled Simon, and now I like the character and his growth etc. But it is SO funny that he is the one to point this out, I can't)

tbh, I had a hard time getting immersed in the Abel vs Van Ark 2.0 conflict, probably because I simply don't care for it? But it seems really obvious to me that a physical clone is not necessarily a copy of someone's memories and motivations, and it feels like there should be more uncertainty about how BOTH nature and nurture have influenced his personality.

ON THE OTHER HAND, they started this journey with the assumption that he is the original version, still alive somehow, still out there causing problems on purpose, and that he would be their primary adversary. And then they actually came face to face with the individual who looks identical to the man who caused them so much trauma. Under those circumstances, they can't be expected to completely reconfigure their perceptions within the course of what, an hour? (Speaking of which, remind me to update the cliffhanger index 😬)

So idk.

ANYWAY

- the advice of using bad memories as code is such a great detail. this crew has so many bad memories between them, it could totally be brought back in future episodes for some quality heartbreak

SAM YAO: Wait, we can't just leave Five!

and The Writers(TM) were like “i will sprinkle in some angst for the 5AM fans”

- time for Sam + Veronica and Maryam to go collect Maxine, Frances, and Mo and stage a rescue and/or rendezvous

JANINE DE LUCA: You can drop the act, Professor.

ok but where would this clone have gotten his degrees and teaching credentials? this is what i'm talking about

SAM YAO: General... they'd obviously been keeping you in the dark about [Van Ark]

GENERAL BAKARI: I always thought creating [Van Ark] was a mistake...

*oprah voice* so what is the truth

I wish i could remember what bakari knows/says he knows about literally anything, but i didn't do the rerun/relisten i intended, so *shrug emoji*

- i want the final boss to be Valmont, so we can finally find out what is UP with him and maybe get a big showdown between Brent and Amelia with our little team just kinda stuck in the middle lol

[goodplace-janet]

Hey, remember when I used to post about zr?

Thoughts on ZRS9M12:

why did we give Sam an Uzi

with maxine and now mo and frances on the sidelines, i AM anticipating them coming back into the picture when we least expect them to, and maybe getting the current team out of a rough spot or something. but maybe that’s wishful thinking lol. watch us start s10 with ‘somehow, miss dempsey and dr myers are back.’

my main question about this episode is how did our team get the key card to Skull-Kicker and get Janine and Maryam released without ever meeting her? because obviously Janine met her personally, where she made the fake-her-death plan, but it seems like Maryam didn’t? and then did we negotiate their release with henchmen or something? it just feels like SOMETHING is missing between the last episode and this one that would make this scenario make sense :|

“Oh, it is super weird watching my fingers doing things without me telling them to.” okay. OKAY. how do you let a line like that into the dialogue (or honestly, a scenario like this into the story) without saying ANYTHING about how the parallel to five and moonchild? how??? everyone’s just forgotten that that happened??

like, i personally am glad moonchild is no longer around because i haven’t enjoyed hearing her voice since early s4 lol. BUT ending her presence without an actual explanation? she never said she was leaving or fading away or whatever, she’s just not there. and there’s literally no reference to that fact at all. and that situation was one of the BIGGEST things in this story. like. H O W. how are they writing like this and expecting fans not to notice or have feelings about it

“Miss Kicker”

“here’s to hiding, it’s how i get so much done” #mood

re: another common Rofflenet complaint, i’m not concerned about the fact that Skull-Kicker is a teen; she explains that people who remember pre-apocalypse life were focused on trying to get ~back to normal~ (uncomfortably relevant to certain real life events :/) and she was able to take advantage of that.

the quote: “Not that most people who grew up before the apocalypse can get their head around how I operate. Too hung up trying to put things back the way they were to see the opportunity to build something new.” i am satisfied with this explanation ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

anyway... this season started out so strong. idk how to feel about how it’s going now.

one thing i do like is the focus on like, world-building this new-to-us location? this season feel like a tourist adventure with a little bit of weird plot on the side lmao.

[goodplace-janet]

Digging this out of my bottomless pit of drafts just 4 u, @scorrigan​:

Thoughts on ZRS9M13

I think this checkpoint was the first “raise the gates” of the season! (We had a “Raiseth the gates!!” in m2, but otherwise)

“According to Mr. Boujettif's sources, the principal threat en route to Red Scorpion Base is zombies.” Well, his sources are either out of date or just bad, so that’s good to know

Peter: ‘We're not looking for this whole sweaty, needy thing.’ Me, a sweaty, needy person: And I took that personally,

The clip with the camel reminded me of that tiktok of the guy running the baby camel off the road 🤣 picture your Runner Five

I just read the Wikipedia summary of the short story I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, and I have regrets! (and I must scream)

[goodplace-janet]

(I found a couple of these posts while spelunking the depths of my drafts folder, and since I see @scorrigan​ going through my #sirius runs zrs9 tag 👋 I thought I’d finish and post what I have)

Thoughts on ZRS9M6:

- mostly worldbuilding/tourism, very little plot so far

- I still feel weird about breaking quarantine :/

VERONICA MCSHELL: Keep going, all of you, straight past the building marked Blood Testing.

Is that a facility that’s just necessary in the zombie apocalypse and a society very focused on public health, or is this a Clue?

PETER LYNNE: Sam and Janine beat you here already... we should all follow once you've caught up with us.

They split up to avoid capture, so Five could have taken a longer route... but this line plus all the instances this season of “Speed up, Five! Hurry up!” ... is Five okay??

PETER LYNNE: Frances has been asking Veronica about local trivia all day, Five.

Two nerds delighting over shared infodumping, I’m so happy for them.

(and that’s it, which is why this stayed a draft for so long lol ¯\_(ツ)_/¯)

[goodplace-janet]

some kinda general zombies run! thoughts. no actual spoilers, only the most vague meta comments on seasons/story arcs over the years.

i'm thinking about stories where the writer has a plan for the end and is able to wrap everything up in a satisfying way (the good place, leverage from what i've heard?) versus stories that get canceled before they can do that (pushing daisies) versus stories that drag on so long that they go WELL past the shark-jump stage (fucking supernatural)

and as much as i love zombies run! and wish it could go on forever... if i'm being completely honest, i feel like it's already fallen into the gone-on-too-long category, for me?

seasons 1-3 were a solid, coherent arc. i LOVED s5 and had problems with s4 and s6, but if i look at them as another arc i can appreciate it as a whole. s7 and beyond... i'm not really enjoying it as much anymore, and i can't pinpoint at this moment exactly what is missing that i feel the story used to have, but yeah. i can see where they could have ended on a good note after s6, instead of carrying on past that.

I'm not a confident writer lmao but i wish i could write a little like, post-s6 series finale that addresses all the characters and settings and how they're doing and how they're moving on after the events of the story, how they're looking towards rebuilding the uk and finally reaching out to other communities around the world. and then i would just hang onto that as my own personal headcanon while we lowkey slog through the rest of whatever the fuck is going on with actualcanon.

[sorry this is so very negative, and truthfully, I still love zr and it would take something extraordinarily egregiously offensive to make me ever quit it.]

another option would be for them to end abel township's story, but tell stories from other communities? like the hebrides season and the tunisia season with the red fungus arc could have been a separate thing that didn't involve abel, because shoehorning these characters into these situations has led to breaks in continuity? (mostly in s9, to be clear.) maybe that doesn't make sense, especially factoring in the listener perspective character, but idk. I'm just thinking out loud at this point in the post.

i do feel like the app is switching focus to the new adventures, which is a shame (for me personally lol) because i don't actually care for those.

I don't know how to end this post... i will end with a disclaimer that i don't hate zr lol. I'm just noticing my feelings about it and how they've changed over time.

[goodplace-janet]

Thoughts on ZRS9M4:

two-day-old first impressions, but not filtered through Rofflenet this time!!

FRANCES DEMPSEY: I overheard Sam talking about the mission.

Is it that Sam can be careless with secrets (accurate) or is Frances impatient and inquisitive, bc that is a hella cute trait for her. I adore our clever new science daughter and am excited for her role in this season

Also another mention of Janine’s bucket list <3

FRANCES DEMPSEY: Another government, that's incredible!

Just thinking about how many governments the UK has been through at this point in the story

FRANCES DEMPSEY: So Amelia, who exactly are these Death’s Hands people? Will they be tough to impersonate?

Stow away, Frances! Do it!

So far this Death’s Hand group is suffering from the same problem I had with the Last Riders, and to an extent the militias from earlier seasons: we hear a lot about how scary they are, but we don’t really know anything about their motivations, so they just end up being... underwhelming, I guess? Obviously they haven’t even appeared in the story yet, so it remains to be seen, but idk.

I said I would stop complaining, but *Nadia voice* I like complaining. It’s part of who I am.

PETER LYNNE: Oh, burglary with Amelia, just like old times!

There it is!! Also shoutout to the ‘do the honors, Five’ which makes me think of Sara Smith for reasons. They’re pulling out the stops on the nostalgia tour and I appreciate it

PETER LYNNE: All right, just, could you give me a minute, Five? I've just got to pick some chandelier out of my face and eyes.

I choose to believe the ‘just a minute’ is bc Five was like, let ME get that glass out of your face, let someone take care of you, for goodness sake

Talk about his cell regeneration raises a question: how much do the people who weren’t involved know about Peter’s connection to Van Ark? If they’re spinning it as non-consensual medical experimentation instead of revealing what Simon was trading to get it (which I think is fair, I think it’s clear the dude has like, Atoned, and that this found family has fully forgiven him for *gestures* all that) is the truth going to come out when they reunite with Van Ark? Will he try to use Peter’s past against him?

Related sidenote, I’m glad Paula’s not going on this mission.

AMELIA SPENS: Well, I'd call that a success. Five even kept the Carthaginian pot.

God I love the mental image of Five running from a horde of zombies through a rapidly collapsing house carrying a probably not small piece of priceless ancient pottery

PETER LYNNE: Janine's finalized the team. It's her, me, Five, Sam, Maxine, and uh... computer expert.

WHO IS THE COMPUTER EXPERT. Also judging by the Next Time On, it’s safe to guess that Frances tags along after all. goodforher.jpeg

WAIT oh my God, is the “uh... computer expert” Veronica?? PLEASE be Veronica

FRANCES DEMPSEY: Whatever that place is, it's definitely connected to the fungus, and they've known about it since way before we have.

It seems like the red fungus would have been a problem (and one that Villains(TM) were eager to exploit?) whether or not the zombie virus was created and went pandemic. Sigrid’s plan kicked off earlier than she was prepared for thanks to Comansys interference, but were she and Van Ark going to connect the red fungus to it? Seems like he was working on it the whole time, through that base in the Hebrides? Also is Valmont involved in any of these projects??

I have so many questions, and probably most of them can be answered by going back and rereading transcripts to find what I’ve forgotten, but I don’t have time, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ don’t mind me, I’ll just be bumbling my way through this season having no idea what’s going on

So Peter’s anti-P-type measure... okay. Like I said, I barely remember s7. Is that like, the one thing that will kill him? And the idea is for him to take himself out rather than let indestructible zombies take over the world? Do I have that right? God, that’s grim. Also has he been staying inside Abel Township this whole time, afraid to go out and accidentally start a more apocalyptic apocalypse? Also hella rough for him, but now topical lmao

PREDICTION: they somehow use the burn cube to take down Van Ark, since if it’s the only thing that will kill Peter and unkillable zombies, it will have the same effect on Van Ark (and we can finally be done with the ‘but maybe he’s still alive!’ stuff) but hopefully without actually sacrificing Peter in order to do it :’(

Also somewhat predictiony vibes: I am back to being genuinely scared for the lives of all the characters in this story, thanks s8.

What we’re NOT gonna do is think about how killing Van Ark was Five’s way of avenging Sara, and HE’S NOT EVEN DEAD THAT MOTHERFUCKER *SCREAMS*

[goodplace-janet]

Thoughts on ZR Season 9, Mission 2:

first of all, *Bernard voice* a further meme:

second of all: 😍💖💞✨💗🥰💕💖😻💗✨

Things I love about this mission:

e v e r y t h i n g

A fluffy, feelings-centric mission to balance the darkness of the previous one. A light-hearted interlude before presumably more darkness

Someone else mentioned it on Rofflenet, but the fact that there’s a cure makes the zombie encounter in the woods just a mild inconvenience, and that’s an interesting and nice new dynamic in this story

TODDLER SARA I’m so glad. I am not ready for a toddler character to have a speaking role, but I was annoyed when it felt like we went several seasons without a single mention of her, and this is the perfect and most adorable remedy

JANINE AND PETER. I was never on the Janine/Simon train, sorry, but the Janine/Peter train is perfect and wonderful, I never want off this ride

Favorite lines (I mean, besides literally all of them, oh my god):

PAULA COHEN: Tell me that’s someone in a zombie costume

SAM YAO: No, there’s no necromancy in the role-play.

this, plus Janine calling herself an undead slayer? *chef’s kiss* this meta is delicious

JANINE DE LUCA: Miss McShell predicts a successful caper will raise Abel morale and efficiency by 33%. This becomes 37% if I take part.

listen, I just love the idea of Veronica being like, “how can i make my friends happy?” and then fuckin calculating a morale increase, and ALSO how this is one of few methods of persuading Janine to come out of her depression nest that really works. i  L O V E  it and i love them

also: a caper. i love her entire vocabulary

JANINE DE LUCA: I familiarized myself with all the relevant manuals in case the knowledge was of tactical use.

just another line that makes me cry bc she’s too cute

JANINE DE LUCA: I’m saying, Dr. Cohen, that the people who saved my life will not find me absent from theirs.

💗💕💗💕💗💕💗💕💗💕💗💕💗💕💗💕💗

also i recently relistened to s8 radio (transcripts coming soon!!) and hearing Peter putting Janine’s wants and needs first and being there for her is just! so! sweet and wonderful and good and I’m so glad

JANINE DE LUCA: I often declined invitations to yours and Dr. Myers’ game nights. In retrospect, I feel my decisions were correct.

this is definitely a lie, but we’ll forgive it

SAM YAO: Amelia’s gonna make so much fun of us if we get caught.

the stakes could not be lower or sillier, and i appreciate it. i needed this

i said this before, but yeah: new favorite episode of all time? new favorite episode of all time

[goodplace-janet]

Thoughts on ZRS9M5:

We were right about things! *high five*

If my translation is correct, Kalaat El-Amal = قلعة إلأمل = fortess of hope 🥰 (قلعة = castle, fortress, fort, citadel, etc; إلأمل  = (the/of) hope)

JANINE DE LUCA: International subterfuge... it has been some time.

She’s enjoying this. And/or like, putting her game face on or whatever. I love to see it.

FRANCES DEMPSEY: I uh, stowed away.

goodforher.jpeg

FRANCES DEMPSEY: Um, quick question. Why is the suitcase talking?

PETER LYNNE: That's our... computer expert, Veronica. She's our expert... who is also a computer.

Peter’s deliver of this line is literally perfect. The humor writing in this story is *chef’s kiss*

Also I love the image of Five running carrying a giant suitcase full of computer daughter

ALSO also I love how Frances just... accepts it? She just rolls with anything that is not a zombie, I’m so glad. I hope they become friends

JANINE DE LUCA: I let you join this mission because I trust you, but I'm as worried for you as you are for me. Do not disobey my orders!

*happily wallows in the angst of it all*

Did anyone else straight up forget that Sam is immune to the zombie virus, or was that just me? It was one of the hugest moments in the entire series, but I feel like the fact hasn’t come up very often since then, idk. So much has happened since s4 lol

Remember how they lost their stock of cure immediately upon arriving in the Hebrides in s8?

SAM YAO: We just got here, we're not losing people already. Not like the Hebrides.

CRIES ABOUT IT. There’s my passing mention of Ellie, I am satisfied and also still sad

VERONICA MCSHELL: After analyzing the Hebrides files, I know how much difficulty you all have without me.

I love her. And I recognize this as a response to her earlier self-doubt, but also what is it about confidence bordering on arrogance in female characters that is just so delicious to me? This is also an Amelia Spens mood, just with a different tone

Listening to this mission from our real-life pandemic is like *sam gamgee meme voice* Oh look, more quarantine. On a serious note, quarantining complete strangers is a perfectly reasonable measure, and it a little sucks that our next step on this mission is to break it :/

Prediction: Maxine is going to leave the ship and come to the rescue at some point, after we’ve all forgotten she was supposed to be on this trip

Did the Next Time On imply that North Africa has Wi-Fi? because hell yeah

Edit: *still has Wi-Fi, in this post-apocalyptic setting

[goodplace-janet]

Thoughts on ZR! Season 9, Mission 3:

BIG

BIG

BIG

HUGE

HUGE

SPOILERS

SPOILERS

SPOILERS

Okay.

I’m going to be completely honest: my first thought upon completing this mission was “r u fucking kidding me” because I’m kinda very on the Let Some Characters Stay Dead train, because

possibly I’m bitter that loves like Sara and Archie are gone for good, but villains are forever apparently?

I remember when Paula said she knew Van Ark was dead because she saw his dead body with her own eyes, and then however many seasons later Sam was like, well how do we know he’s dead?? and i’m just like... where did that uncertainty come from. besides continuity error, i mean.

but now that i’ve had some time to think about it, i’m like okay, fine, this might as well happen. it’ll definitely be interesting to see Peter’s reaction, omg. And maybe a fun “look how far we’ve come” retrospective on the whole series, tbh? van ark as big bad was so long ago lmao.

plus he’s been alive this whole time... WHAT has he been up to, what is his outside perspective on everything that has happened to the Abel folks, how did he even get out of the UK, etc etc

due to all the speculation on rofflenet (which i feel like started before the hints dropped in s8?) this isn’t exactly a surprise. but they also speculate that sigrid is still alive, and NO, absolutely NOT, three whole seasons of her was ENOUGH lmao (but whatever happens will happen and i’ll try to accept it with only mild complaining, i promise lol)

ANYWAY

Things I love about this mission:

it’s setting up some SPY SHIT and i’m so excited for that

the way British people pronounce Tunisia

also the word boffin is too cute omg i want to import it

Amelia being an actually really good prime minister? don’t get me wrong, I will always be waiting for the other shoe to drop with her, but this situation is fascinating

Lines and thoughts:

AMELIA SPENS: Incidentally, local runners started using [the trains] to reduce journey times, so I started selling tickets. 

“people took advantage of a convenience, so *i* found a way to make a profit!” Amelia, never change. Also Amtrak, omg

AMELIA SPENS: Closest thing you’ve got to family, with Tom dead?

I actually said out loud “oh you bitch” while running this

Like I love Amelia (especially for lines like “I always forget how hung up you lot get about a little spot of betrayal”) but damn.

By the way, this mission has me teetering on the edge of a rabbit hole about Bletchley Park and Alan Turing, which I’m not complaining about

So Bakari included the image of Van Ark because he knew it would lure Janine/Abel folks in general to his location. But is he working with Van Ark and trying to get us into his clutches? Or is he working against him, and he is being honest about saving lives? Except for 555′s life, but you know. I remain intrigued by this season.

And I remain sad about Ellie Maxted, and would be satisfied by at least one passing mention in remembrance of her.

[goodplace-janet]

I told myself I wasn’t going to do full recaps, and then I went a little overboard on this one lol. Future posts might be just favorite lines and a few thoughts or emojis about them, we’ll see.

Here we go:

Spoilers for ZR! Season 9 Mission 1 (but with some speculation based on m1-3 and also all of s9 radio?? sorry about that)

What I love about this mission:

an action-packed high stakes adventure to start the season. These writers do such excellent season premieres

thinking “you motherfucker” as our character inevitably gets betrayed. I definitely saw it coming, but it was still a satisfying moment

Some lines and thoughts:

GENERAL BAKARI: I’d go myself, but I’m an old man with a bad leg

That’s what you get for fucking with Abel Township, asshole. Also just the whole way he talks about young Janine and Tom makes me want to punch things. I can’t wait until we meet again so Runner Five can fuck up his other leg

(For some reason I assumed Bakari had died, but from a quick scan of the s4 transcripts, there’s no evidence of that, and idk if he’s ever mentioned in s5 and beyond bc i don’t have time for a full deep dive rn lol)

The exosuits from the firefighting virtual race are making me miss Jamie. I doubt they’d send His Majesty the King of England himself on an expedition, but maybe we can stop by the Royal Palace or whatever to see him before we go. Where are the roller guards, for I much desire to roll with them

One thing I learned from children: always be ready to improvise.

The thing I love about this line is that Janine learned to improvise from Sam and the rest of the Abel family <3 so it’s an interesting parallel, but only bc it reminds me of Home

Put the gun down, soldier. You don’t want to fight your own.

After they grenaded a staircase full of soldiers? Okay

I do wish I had done a reaction post sooner after I first ran the mission, but oh well.