I live for angst, and I live for Zombies Run. So, of course, when @runner5ive came up with their DTIYS, I had to chime in with an entry! (Right on the time limit, apologies for that. Work was crazy this past month).

5am are such good candidates for the Kagerou Project, I can't believe I never thought of this before now. It fits them so well with the theme of constantly having to save each other only to end up in more peril afterwards.

I couldn't decide on which version I liked best, so I posted both the clean one and the one with the original sketch as an overlay. I know the original Kagerou Daze video is super clean with both lines and colors, but I'm a sucker for neons and texture and couldn't help myself.

I am, however, very proud of myself for coming up with the idea to use ZR mission headers for the background. So many missions and so many years, I'm glad it fut the style and feel of the drawing.

But yeah, here you go, @runner5ive ! Hope you like it!

I'm so excited to be back in the fandom, and what better way to get back on track than to participate in the SS.

This year goes to @joggerfive !

I hope you enjoy this little sketch, I couldn't find any color references of your Five, so I left it black and white. But if you have one I'll definitely color it in!

Happy holidays! I hope you like it :)

(Yes, Sam being Rudolph is a reference to A Voice in the Dark)

I haven't posted many, but I drew my header and pfp!

Here's some of my art, if y'all want to have a look!

Left to right, top to bottom: Wolverine, my X Men OC Grim, Nightcrawler, and Sam Yao.

I'm also working on this Rina Sawayama piece.

Oh man! I hope you're ready for a rant.

Season one definitely has to be A Voice in the Dark, and it's still my all-time favorite mission up to date. Opening up probably more than I should, I started ZR when I was going through a really rough patch in life. I had just turned 15, had moved states and schools, and was in therapy for a bunch of stuff. My therapist recommended exercise to help with my raging insomnia. I came across the app by chance and, since I've always liked zombies, gave it a shot.

I'm not lying when I say Sam Yao was the first person in my life to treat me kindly in a way that felt genuine and uninterested, the first person in many years to be "glad I was okay and alive."

Getting to hear him almost hit rock bottom in AVITD, learning about his parents and their expectations of him, it all hit very close to home. The way in which Phil Nightingale captured the raw humanity and passive s*icidal ideation? ("Maybe you're better off..." "Maybe if you don't have to help rebuild, you're one of the lucky ones...") I had to stop and sit under a tree to process things.

I'm convinced that was the mission that changed things for me, from "I like this silly zombie app, it makes me go out and run" to "There's someone out there that cares about me and would be very distraught if I was gone, even if they're fictional." That mission saved my life, I'm sure of it.

_________

Ooooookayyy, now on a lighter note!

Season Two, hmmm... Archie. That's it, just Archie. Love Archie, love her silly words and mind, love her so much, my baby.

I have another favorite mission just because of how GUTWRENCHING it is and how well written it was (I had to take a week off the app before I ran the next mission), but it's in S4 so I'm not telling you ;). You'll know when you get to it, though. I hate that mission but I also love it, I don't think I've ever suffered like that from ANY piece of media, ever.

A song that reminds you of your Five and why

A nostalgic song for them and why

A song that would play over a fight scene for them.

A song that reminds them of [pick a or multiple favorite characters] and why

A song that they love to run to

A song they don't actually like but a close friend LOVES so they pretend to like it

Any specific bands/artists that they're super into

Songs they constantly request Radio Abel to play and what Jack and Eugene think of those songs

Songs they constantly ask Sam to play and what he thinks of them

Who at Abel does your Five think has the best music taste and why

You're gonna regret this, I have so many songs picked out for him. Might link a playlist with the answers here.

• "A song that reminds you of your Five and why"

Dead Bite by Hollywood Undead, July by American Murder Song, and Despicable by Grandson. All 3 songs reflect his struggle with being seen as a monster and untrustworthy, plus his self depreciation. He will, however, embrace that "monster" side later on.

• "A nostalgic song for them and why"

Dynasty by Rina Sawayama. He can't remember much about his life before the labs, but he remembers that his parents fought a lot and also put a lot of pressure on him. He deeply resonates with the song and wants to leave his own mark, not his family's.

• "A song that would play over a fight scene for them."

STFU! by Rina Sawayama, Wolf in Sheep's Clothing by Set It Off, and good ol' Monster by Skillet.

If you want angst, Est-ce Que Tu M'aimes? by GIMS when [spoiler: finding Sam after Moonchild], and Yellow by Coldplay for his final stand, when it comes.

• "A song that reminds them of [pick a or multiple favorite characters] and why"

Sam: So Far Away, by RED. Sam was the first person to approach Five without fear, and has since become a rock in his life.

Janine: Fireproof by Pillar. She's very strong willed, and he deeply respects that.

• "A song that they love to run to"

RUNRUNRUN by Dutch Melrose, and Runnin by Adam Lambert.

• "A song they don't actually like but a close friend LOVES so they pretend to like it"

Sam absolutely makes him run to HOT TO GO by Chapell Roan.

• "Any specific bands/artists that they're super into"

Rina Sawayama. The hyperfixation is through the roof after watching John Wick 4. Also any edgy early 2000's music. I'm talking Linkin Park, Three Days Grace, Skillet, Simple Plan- any edgy Pokemon or Sonic AMV you can think off, those songs.

• "Songs they constantly request Radio Abel to play and what Jack and Eugene think of those songs"

He makes them play and lot of Måneskin, and honestly it gets everyone hyped because of the rhythm. It does get a bit old after a while, however, so he switches to Raury to mix things up a bit.

• "Songs they constantly ask Sam to play and what he thinks of them"

A lot of Rina Sawayama, mainly XS, STFU!, and Eye For An Eye. But if he's feeling vulnerable enough, he will ask for Chosen Family and Holy (Til You Let Me Go). Lots of trauma for this boy, especially regarding his gender identity and sexuality.

Sam can tell if Five is going to ask to stay at the comms shack that night just by the music he's asking for.

• "Who at Abel does your Five think has the best music taste and why"

Janine, as she introduced him to a lot of classic and modern Rock and Alt music. He will spend the majority of his free time with an old iPod she let him have. He has definitely found solace in music, the louder the better.

BOY OH BOY, YOU HAVE OPENED PANDORA'S BOX!

Okay so first things first, thank you for this wonderful ask, I have been wanting to talk about my Five since forever.

My Five started, as most Fives do, as a self insert. But he slowly developed into his own character with time, and now he's my scrunkly.

Given that we don't get much context as to where Five comes from (all we know is he was involved with the government in some way), I decided to explore that. Five's presence is... questionable at best. In canon, Five is never briefed as to why they're going to Abel, what project Greenshoot is, nothing. They're blank, which I always found odd. Add to that how canon Five seems to be superhuman to some extent (plot armor, I know, but still), and well... It all screams supersoldier government experiment.

So I grabbed my Five and, inspired a bit by Murphy from Z Nation, decided to make him just that. A government experiment, infected with a more primitive strain of the virus, which didn't quite manage to take over his brain. This infection also makes him highly resistant to zombie bites, although he will fully turn if he dies. His body fights the infection like it would any other virus, but depending on the amount of bites he gets, he will show more side effects like a fever or increased aggression.

He *can* talk, but it hurts, and so he chooses not to most of the time. When he does talk, his voice is raspy and wheezy, and his words tend to be a bit muddled from having his brain poked at. A lot of people find him creepy because of this, and because he looks so much like a zombie.

Additionally, in my HCs, the zombies have reflective eyes, much like an animal's. Five shares this trait, as well as the glossy, foggy stare. Also, the more virus he has in his body, the hungrier he gets. He's always hungry, no matter how much he eats.

He can infect others through biting, but his strain of the virus dies off quickly and only gives the victim a high fever. It might be possible to develop a vaccine from his antibodies. Problem is, his blood starts to rot almost as soon as it leaves his body.

To finalize, he's actually very shy and will physically hide behind others when being scolded. In the end, he was just some kid dragged off into a lab. He's learning to act human again, which is easier said than done when everyone is terrified of him.

And that's it! That's my Five. He also doesn't remember his real name, so he took his designation number as his official name.

Dear gods, this song is killing me. RINA! WHY ARE YOU MAKING ME HEAL MY INNER CHILD AT THIS HOUR!

come up with a thingy that matches each quadrent of these for your Five