#lake from infinity train would be on there for sure

[yardsards]

thinking abt lake getting "tattoos" that are engravings in the metal of their skin

[lakesbian]

[slapping diagrams up on the wall and taping them into place] I Have A Theory. i am unironically fucking sure that the first four seasons of infinity train were foreshadowing some shit about the structure of the train and the wasteland that would have been fully revealed in the last four seasons if it hadn’t been cancelled. 

there’s this one little line in the tape car that was never really paid much attention by the fandom (at least not to my knowledge) beyond mild interest, and that’s always been weird to me, because...

come on. the fact that lake even says “that robot’s out of his mind” in response to it? it’s absolutely screaming “obvious foreshadowing for a major aspect of the train’s functioning obscured only slightly by the fact that it’s being delivered in a quirky-random one-one line.” 

this is how one-one works as a foreshadowing tool, it’s established time and time again in book one. he says something with intense implications like “my memory has been terrible ever since the change,” atticus and us viewers go “what change?” and one-one follows up with “my new haircut, didn’t you notice?”

...and then later you find out that the “change” he’s referring to is That Time Amelia Took Over The Train And Tore Him Asunder.

so one-one casually saying that one of the cars on the train has “the universe projected on the outside”? pause the goddamn video, we’re gonna take a second to think about The Fucking Implications of that one! 

obviously, outside of the train is the wasteland. [hits my remote button to cue the wasteland structure slideshow]

(spot lake and alan dracula in that last one for a bit of megalophobia about the scale of the train!)

the wasteland appears to stretch on infinitely in all directions, to accommodate the infinite train, with curvature implying some sort of spherical structure. despite this, attempts to venture too far horizontally from the train result in meeting an incredibly strong repulsive force akin to an invisible barrier in a video game environment. when a passenger receives an exit, the wasteland’s apparent sky opens up in a circular vortex to produce a flexible glowing tube which the passenger can travel through to return to earth.

two things here:

1. the horizontal invisible barriers imply that the wasteland has built-in structural limits or “walls” of sorts rather than being a natural and unlimited environment.

2. the vortex and tube that appear when a passenger receives an exit are analogous to structures we see on the train. to a more limited extent, so are the invisible walls. 

when simon tries to find an exit to the debutante car by going through the ceiling panels, he reaches the equivalent of an out-of-bounds area in a video game. he reports with legitimate terror in his voice that “grace, there’s literally nothing out there. it’s just a black void.” a reminder that all car environments are artificially designed with built-in structural limits as opposed to being natural and extensive locations. very much similar to the invisible walls in the wasteland.

when lake enters the tape car, what appears to be the legitimate ceiling/roof of the car opens up into a circle to allow the pod in. 

when the unfinished car starts coming apart and opening up, what appears to be the legitimate sky of the car forms a circular vortex. when the sky breaks into fragments and disappears, it’s revealed that the sky was just part of the car’s ceiling rather than a true sky. it was illusory, 2-D. the real frame of the car is behind it.

when we see the inner workings of the tape car, it’s shown that passengers travel from the memory farm to the number machine by...being sucked into an opening that looks a lot like a miniature circular vortex and then down through a flexible tube.

yeah. flexible, glowing tubes.

the tape car “projects the universe on the outside.” the outside is the wasteland. the wasteland can open a circular hole in the top, in what appears to be its sky, to let passengers in or out. just like how the top of the tape car opens a circular hole to let pods in. just like how the unfinished car forms a circular hole when its faux-sky is opening. just like how a circular hole with a vortex-like appearance is opened in the passenger farm to take passengers in. passengers are taken in through the wasteland via a flexible, glowing tube, and similar tubes are used to ferry passengers through other parts of the train.

i don’t think the wasteland is a discrete environment or dimension the train happens to be traveling through, i think the wasteland is part of the train. the wasteland is being projected by the tape car. it’s the car’s universe projected on the outside. i’m gonna go as far as to say that the wasteland itself is a car with its environment being generated outside of the car’s frame structure instead of inside of it. the vortex and glowing tube look like other parts of the train because they are part of the train, and everything about them is operating on the same technology. the vortex is the same mechanism as the tape car’s pod opening on a larger scale. the wasteland exit tube is a type of mechanism related to the other tubes we see. the invisible barriers are there because cars have artificial limits like the black void outside the debutante car building.

nothing about it is more incomprehensible or supernatural than the rest of the train. the vortex, the invisible walls, the tube--they’re technological aspects of a simulated environment just like parts of any other car! the sky is a very real ceiling that can open to take passengers in/out the same way the tape car’s ceiling can open to take pods in! the wasteland is a really fucking long box with horizontal barriers and a ceiling that looks like it’s a sky but is still a ceiling. the wasteland is the self-generated pocket dimension the train runs in. the wasteland is the car that has every other car in it. 

hell, it even fucking has denizens!

amelia turns atticus into a ghom by shooting him with an orb gun. there are orbs for ghoms, just like there are orbs for every other train asset and denizen. ghoms aren’t some random fucked up monsters from nowhere, they’re denizens that had to be intentionally placed in the wasteland via construction using their orbs, and they exist for the same purpose as the invisible walls--to keep passengers out of the wasteland and on the train. the wasteland is quite literally the car that holds every other car in it, complete with its own denizens. it’s big and extremely inhospitable, but it still checks every single box for being something designed as part of the train.

in conclusion: 

...wait, don’t go anywhere yet. bonus observation about train doors, because it’s related enough to this post that putting it into a separate one would be weird and contextless:

when lake and jesse receive their exit, we get a really good shot of the tube. look at the perspective here! the door is opening into the wasteland, and the tube is extending through it and connecting to the door. we should be seeing the inside of the tube, but instead we’re directly faced with arizona. arizona is inside the tube. it’s like rather than the tube being ready to take us up through itself and back to earth, the tube is displacing earth, pulling it down through the tube and putting it right in front of us.

it actually looks like it’s just working exactly like tesseracts do in a wrinkle in time. which i absolutely cannot paraphrase coherently, so here’s a screenshot:

i think that when passengers go through the doors, the wasteland’s ceiling opens up much like how the tape car’s ceiling opens up--except because the wasteland is opening into earth, a location which exists outside of the train’s pocket dimension, it’s more complicated than just pulling open a circular hole. time and space are bent. the vortex/tube is the train opening up to pull earth into the wasteland car, bringing it directly to the door within the train so that exiting for the passenger is as simple as stepping through.

passengers taking their exits are being pulled through the entire tube and simply just taking one step through a doorway at the same time. note how long the tube is in lake’s view of it from inside jesse’s tape, and note how a mere second after jesse and lake run into the tube they step out the other side. time and space are being fundamentally crunched, stretched, and altered to make the exit through the wasteland’s ceiling feel seamless despite the interdimensional fuckery involved. it is Straight Up A Tesseract. 

thank you for coming to my tedtalk i will now be heading out to bang on hbomax exec doors so i can demand the last 4 seasons in which it Surely will be revealed that basically everything in this post is real and true

[office-worker-91]

Infinity Train Fear and Hunger AU Snippet 5 (Finale)

(TW: Gore, mentions of limb loss)

Despite the danger of the dungeon, they almost made it out without issue. Now that Jesse was dead set on getting home, he actually had a decent idea of where the exit was. Now that Lake had worked out their anger on the subject, they were actually feeling fairly good about the situation. What had seemed like a distant dream all their life was now within their grasp.

After they returned to the regular dungeon area from the city, Jesse led Lake and Alan Dracula back towards where he was sure the exit was. Part of him had become antsy. Now that he had officially given up on finding some magic to help Nate, he wanted to get out as soon as possible. Lake made sure to temper his ambitions every time they could see him getting sloppy with his stealth. It wouldn't matter how fast they got to the exit if they were both dead. Though they did have to get there without resting. They'd been fairly lucky with finding safe sleeping areas, but they didn't trust their own luck.

Lake and Jesse held hands as they walked, so that Jesse could know Lake was behind him without turning around and taking his attention off of his surroundings. Alan Dracula followed behind them, though he didn't seem to understand that they were supposed to be stealthy right now. He kept impatiently pushing Lake forward or trying to walk forward past the two of them, like he wasn't worried at all. Between making sure Jesse was paying attention and making sure Alan Dracula didn't get them caught, Lake didn't have much time to think about what would happen once they escaped. They couldn't afford to daydream.

All their efforts were for naught when a hulking creature burst through the wall in front of them. A humanoid bird-headed creature with a deadly mace for an arm and a blood-stained beak.

Lake was hit with a weird sense of familiarity when she realized this same creature had been tailing Tulip during her time in the dungeon. But Tulip, lucky punk that she was, had somehow managed to avoid the more aggressive part of its attention. They hadn't been so fortunate apparently.

Jesse yelped as Lake pulled him back just in time to avoid getting his head bitten off. A part of Lake wanted to scream in agony, that they had been so close to escaping the dungeon only to get cut off by some bird-brained brutalizer. But at the same time, Jesse had almost died and they had about zero seconds to react until the crow-headed man's next attack, so if they had to retreat back into the dungeon, that's what they would do. Lake pulled the two back, avoiding a swipe from its arm-mace, and started to run back the way they'd came.

There was only one problem: Alan Dracula wasn't moving. At all. He just stared as the crow mauler approached in the other direction. Without hesitation, Lake let go of Jesse, hoping he would stay behind them, and drew their morning star. They swung to counter an attack aimed at AD.

*SNAP*

Lake's trusty morning star, the weapon they'd relied upon their entire free life, snapped helplessly against the crow mauler's weapon. Lake was knocked onto the ground in front of Alan Dracula. Lake looked up, hoping the deer would be surprisingly reliable, like he usually was, but the deer simply looked down at Lake, with something like a detached lovingness. Appreciated. Not helping.

Lake held up their broken weapon in a desperate attempt to block the black death descending upon them, but Jesse had predictably not taken the hint and thrust his spear into the chest of the beast. It was a powerful strike, evident by how he had practically thrown himself forward and fallen on his face in front of them. Still, despite the attempt, the attack hadn't even embedded the entire tip of the spear into the monster's chest, and it fell pitifully and uselessly in front of the two of them.

The crow mauler, completely undaunted by the attempts at stopping it, opened its beak, opening what looked like a void in its mouth. Jesse desperately clawed at Lake's shoulders, no doubt trying to pull himself up to get in front of them, the idiot. Lake wouldn't let that happen and curled their metal body over Jesse. If they could protect him and Alan Dracula long enough for them to escape, out of the dungeons and into whatever better world Jesse had lived in before, everything that they lived would've been worth it. It would've been a good life.

The crow mauler gave a terrible shriek, no doubt preparing to attack. And then it kept shrieking. And Lake's distressed thoughts managed to collect themselves enough to think that... it sounded like it was in pain.

Jesse and Lake simultaneously looked up and found a horrific mass of brown fur swirling around the crow mauler like a hurricane. Multiple sets of horns had pierced entirely through the creature's body. Above the storm of gore, black feathers, and fur, the elongated head of Alan Dracula emerged, looking down on the mauler. His eyes glowed with some unearthly power. Lake got a weird feeling of déjà vu, thinking back to the city and how it had immediately made them feel as if they were witnessing something not meant for mortal eyes. This gave them about ten times that reaction.

Lake pushed Jesse's head to the ground and covered their own eyes. They heard the shrieks of the once mighty beast growing higher and higher pitched, and then-

nothing

Lake cautiously peered up. Alan Dracula stood in a pile of red with feathers floating in it. He stared at them, his eyes no longer glowing oh-so-terribly, now back to its weirdly comforting all-black color.

Jesse asked, muffled against the stone floor, if they were dead yet, to which Lake let him up. Surprisingly, despite witnessing what had just happened, the two silently elected not to talk about it. Alan Dracula began walking towards the exit, and the two mortals followed him. That was the last monster the dungeon ever threw at them.

When they reached the doors, Alan Dracula hastily shoved the shell-shocked teens outside. By the time they looked back, AD was already disappearing back into the darkness of the dungeon, having evidently done what he wanted to do.

Lake's thoughts swirled around in their head. Their entire life was still flashing before their eyes as if they were still in that hallway with the monster.

The sun is nice. Not as nice as Jesse, in fact it's a little harsh, but it's a welcome change. And it's warm. The "sun" in the underground city hadn't been warm.

There was green all around the dungeon entrance. Lake supposed this was what a forest looked like when you weren't viewing it through a shaky pond reflection.

Jesse, despite everything they had just gone through, wordlessly extended his hand to Lake. Lake looked at it like it was everything they'd ever wanted, and in a sense it was. It was time for them to enter the real world. It's all uphill from here.

Lake took Jesse's hand, and the two began walking.

.....

Travelling across the land had not only been comparably a breeze, it had also been fascinating. Tulip almost never left her town, and when she did they had only seen what had been reflected. Here, among the grass and the trees, the only thing they had to worry about was their legs hurting. And maybe some bandits, but they were confident they could handle that.

Jesse was quickly back to his normal, positive self. And Lake hadn't known what they were missing out on, because apparently, instead of whistling, Jesse usually SINGS. He just hadn't wanted to attract attention. It was the most unbelievably corny and in character thing, and Lake cherished every new thing they were learning about him just like he seemed to cherish every new thing they experienced.

As they neared the town where the Cosay's lived, Jesse got increasingly nervous. After all, he had run away from home immediately after Nate had lost his arm due to HIS mistakes. But Lake kept pushing him through. They pushed each other through, really. Lake still had nightmares. They were sure Jesse did too. But they would never have to face them alone.

As they neared the town, Jesse talking nervously about how much they're going to love him parents and how excited he was to get out of his blood-soaked clothes and take a bath, Lake looked out over the... well, the lake that Jesse had told them he loved so much to swim in. They smiled at the image of the afternoon sun reflecting off the water's surface.

The Cosays, evidently, did not prioritize any anger they might've held for their eldest son's actions over their concern for his safety. Jesse cried his eyes out as he embraced his family and swore up and down that yes, he was okay, the blood on his shirt was mostly his but it was also old and he's much better now. Lake stood awkwardly behind him, waiting for the reunion to finish.

The Cosays barely questioned Jesse when he told them that Lake had saved their life while they were away from home. The two were taken in and given a nice change of clothes and a bath. Lake had never had a bath before. They hadn't thought it necessary as a metal person, but they felt surprisingly relaxed by it.

Jesse's apology to his little brother wasn't easy. Nate was happy his brother was alive, but he couldn't really bring himself to forgive Jesse. Jesse assured him that was okay, even though he was sniffling as he talked. Healing takes time, after all.

Nothing was perfect. If one were a pessimist, they may assume everything had gotten worse. But Jesse was alive and here with the Cosays, to help them with whatever they needed, provided he didn't have to risk his life for unattainable eldritch power. And Lake hadn't escaped to some fairy-tale land where everything was safe and happy, but they HAD escaped. They were free, free to pursue whatever dreams or goals they wanted. And they planned on taking full advantage of that... so long as they didn't have to leave Jesse's side for too long, at least.

[julianobungus]

I suddenly noticed that Simon in a hoodie is paler than Kid Simon. At first I thought that the thing was that he had been on the Train for many years and had not received vitamin D from the sun. After all, technically everything inside the cars is not real, but is created with the help of those large spheres.

But then I compared Hoodie Simon to Ruler Simon. Ruler Simon has a healthy skin color, it's the same as Kid Simon. After that, I decided to compare Simon's skin tone with the skin tones of other white people from the show. And now I can't get rid of the thought that Hoodie Simon's skin looks yellowish.

Is it possible that he has health problems? He lived for many years without the care of an adult, Grace was the same child as him, they could eat whatever they wanted and not think about proper nutrition. It's possible that other members of Apex have something similar, it's just not so noticeable since they got on the Train relatively recently compared to Simon and Grace

I think that in AU, where Simon would have got off the train, he would have had to drink vitamins and various medications, and perhaps the doctors would have noticed some problems that he did not pay attention to, considering them the norm for his age.

Oh, and as we discussed earlier, he would be friends with Jesse. Jesse would make sure that he took all the medications in time. Simon would love to talk to him on various topics, because only to him he could tell everything about his problems and not be considered crazy at the same time

But I do not know which option is better. There are two options, in one Simon is in a hospital, in the other Simon lives with his parents. In both versions, Jesse visits him and they often call each other. Simon can call him late at night because he had a terrible dream about the Train.

But there is a third option, where Simon lives with Jesse and Lake's family. Simon's parents asked Jesse's parents to take care of their son, and they pay them money so they don't spend their money on Simon. So Jesse's parents are not against having Simon, and they also feel sorry for this boy, because thanks to Jesse and Lake, they know what kind of train affected Simon so much

Lake is nervous by Simon's presence in the same house with her, and Jesse understands her and does not ask for help. But Simon constantly apologizes for everything and to everyone, he feels uncomfortable in front of those who have to put up with him. And Simon constantly offers his help.

Lake eventually gets bored of it and she tells Simon that since he was able to free himself, Grace will be able to do it too, and he'd better look appropriate by the time she does.

And, oddly enough, it helps. And Simon begins to prepare for the day when he sees Grace again. He will have to show that he has changed and become better! As a result, Lake begins to help him with the idea "The sooner he recovers, the sooner he will move out of here," but Simon will not recover so easily from a decade on the Train. As a result, Lake will realize that she can't be mad at Simon, even if she really wants to. Damn, she even encourages him that Grace will definitely like how he's changed.

Jesse's parents are thinking what they will do if Grace and the other members of Apex really get off the Train. Their house will turn into a Hospital for Victims of the Infinity Train. They both hope that only Grace, who has been on the Train for almost as long as Simon, will get to them, and the rest of the children will return to their parents.

But they also joke that they agree to everything if the parents of all the children pay for them to rebuild the house to fit all the children.

(Initially, when I saw how big the question was, I was thinking of dividing it into two parts. The first part was about Simon's unhealthy condition and the second part was about the AU where Simon got off the Train. Then I changed my mind, because the part about AU without the part about the unhealthy state does not look very good)

Oooh, I really like these ideas! I love this AU, fr

First of all, I like thinking about characters I like getting some form of comfort - being at their lowest point before being nursed back to help. It's so therapeutic in a way that's hard to pinpoint. It's so comfy and soothing to me. But also, Simon having health problems would make sense, honestly same with Grace. Both are physically fit due to all the exercise they get, but I imagine they still have inconsistent diets and spending all their time under the artificial sunlight of the train cars would have to do nothing for you.

Secondly, I like how both Lake and Simon go through a bit of character development in this AU; Lake learning to not see Simon as a burden and to relinquish her resentment towards him, and Simon becoming more confident and self-assured despite what he's going through.

Also, all three scenarios are viable, I can't decide which one is best myself. But I will concede that Simon being roommates with the Cosays is a fun one!

Did I mention I love this?

[its-just-fern]

i still have rotting asks in my inbox about the infinity train au that i never answered. theyre like 2-3 years old at this point? sorry about that... but ill answer with what i thought of at the time. (im sure there were more, maybe, but i think i cleared my inbox at some point?) ive gotten worse with answering asks over the years but sometimes the original post gets sudden notes from time to time.. it blows me away!!

notes about finn's part (parts 1-2 combined):

finn gets on the train because of his parental issues/internal struggles that he has in the late seasons

jake (as a passenger - he also works well as a denizen) comes along solely because of his concern for finn. in reality he doesnt actually need to be on the train at all (think of him as kinda jumping in the portal on instinct, betty-style). i think his number would be like. 1. hes too unbothered

finn losing his arm so fern can be in the real world mirrors tulip losing her pocketknife for lake. fern would come from a sort of "topiary car" where the leaves can "mirror" you (idk how else to explain this one.. think of it like these mechanical mirrors, maybe)

betty would be amelia. chicle would be the other metal cop.

notes about pb/marcy's part (part 3):

in general i didnt see bonnie dying at the time because... i love bubbline LMAOOOOO im weak im sorryyyy. her dying would be on brand tho and i love tragedy

i never thought of bonnie and marcy as killing denizens intentionally, but they would definitely still "claim" the train as theirs... the apex would instead be like their "kingdom", with them as the "princess/queen"

marcy might have little regard for denizens, while bonnie might see them more as things to "examine". i think instead of intentionally trashing each car, bonnie would try to specifically "improve" them how she sees fit (which messes them up anyways)

fp might start out like... hiding out in another car, having run away from the car she came from (flame kingdom) with the help of cinnamon bun. she was trapped in the kingdom but didnt know that bonnie trapped her there in the first place (part of her "improvements").. bonnie, of course, lets her "join" them, but actually wants to re-trap her.

betty, as amelia, instead of making turtles (trying to revive/save simon), kept making flame people -> leads to fp's existence.

unfortunately nothing for part 4! i made this au way before that and i dont really feel like figuring it out right now.. but ill leave it to you all!

if im being honest i think lake would lowkey dislike him/find him disturbing? to them i think he would seem like a gigantic asshole with how he treats finn, even if his problems are very relatable to them. LOL

but in a goofier world where digestion is possible for all species they would probably be like drinking buddies

maybe peppermint butler.

[artificialkids-2k23-official]

First round of character drops for the bracket! These are the characters that got more than one submission, with their number of submissions marked for those curious. I'm posting these now so that you guys can check behind me to make sure I'm using art of the correct character + make sure I haven't inadvertently grabbed fanart by mistake. I tried to grab official art and undoctored screenshots as much as possible, but it never hurts to have someone check my work to make sure nothing slipped through.

Hunter/The Owl House, Dani Fenton/Danny Phantom, SHELLDON/RiseTMNT, Scaramouche/Genshin Impact, K1-B0/Danganronpa, Mega Man/Megaman*, Grumbot/MCYT, Lal/ST: The Next Generation, Frankie Stein/Monster High, Rei Ayaname/Neon Genesis Evangelion, Ortho Shroud/Twisted Wonderland, Frill/Wonder Egg Priority

Last Order/A Certain Magical Index, Q/Zero Time Dilemma, Alice/Detroit: Become Human, Lake/Infinity Train, Aigis/Persona 3, Luke fon Fabre/Tales from the Abyss, Hatsune Miku/Vocaloid, Luke Smith/Sarah Jane Adventures, Vee Noceda/The Owl House, Rio Ranger/Your Turn To Die, Roman "Romy" Number 1/Pinky and the Brain, Dib Membrane/Invader Zim**

Mary/Ib, Roll/Megaman*, Protoman/Megaman*, Hazel/Infinity Train, Dal R'El/ST: Prodigy

*With the three Megaman characters, I was submitted a different canon for every single instance (as near as I could tell), so I just pulled the image I liked best from the characters' galleries

**I know it's not canon-canon that Dib is a clone of Professor Membrane, however, Vasquez has said on the record that had the show continued, they likely would have established this. While word of god is ambiguous canon, I think this one is funny so I let it through.

Note: These characters are OFFICIALLY vetted and on the list. Unless you have something concrete that will disqualify them, please do not dispute any of these rulings. I'm happy to talk about my reasoning, and I'm happy to be corrected if I missed something, but I'm not going to accept "dude trust me" as a source.

[the-magnificent-otaku-draws]

A lot of people were really interested in the Infinity Train x Gravity Falls x Steven Universe AU so I guess I'll give some background info that may or may not make it into the actual fic. This is still a work in progress so some things may change a little. This is context for the Infinity Train characters,the Steven Universe and Gravity Falls one will be in another post

In this AU the Apex was never a thing,Simon never met the Cat and instead first met Grace. They grew up together on the train and met Hazel in the Kaiju Car when they were 18. They are super close in comparison to canon with them all seeing each other as family. They all found out Hazel was a denizen when Simon almost died trying to protect both her and Grace from something that tried to take her number. One One decided to let Hazel come with them off the train because that was the only way Grace and Simon's number would get to 0 (And he also got a bit more flexible with situations like this after the incident with Jesse's number). They met Ryan and Min while hitchhiking and they let the three stay with them as long as they need to.

Lake and Jesse's story is pretty much the same except instead of meeting the Apex they meet Amelia who is looking for a train anomaly. She thinks Lake is the anomaly and promises to protect them from the flecs only to try and convince Jesse to give up Lake or she'll rat them out. He stands up to her and gets his exit but Lake isn't able to leave. Everything goes on as it does in canon and they end up going to school together and living normally for a while. That is until someone starts leaving messages telling Lake to come back onto the train and help them escape. Thinking they are being chased by the flecs they decide to run away to help save them,Jesse deciding to follow to make sure it's not a trick. They end up meeting Min and Ryan after getting lost on a highway and say they're trying to find a friend who's in danger. So far they haven't told anyone about the messages.

Tulip's story is the same and this takes place in the second summer after getting off the train. It's the first time her parents let her head to the camp alone and she ends up getting on the wrong bus. It drops her off where Min and Ryan are performing and she sees Jesse and Lake with them. Too afraid to call her parents and look irresponsible she decides to tag along until the summer ends and they can drive her back home.

Ryan and Min's story is also the same,the only difference is that now they have to take odd jobs every once in a while and be dads to six kids.

Everyone knows Lake and Hazel are denizens and try to accommodate them as best as they can. Simon,honing his art skills,helps paint them to look more human and come up with new disguises while Ryan,Min and Grace teach Hazel how to calm down and deal with intense emotions. They both have to be checked in constantly and Lake is more secretive to protect everyone

Amelia is off the train with Alrick thanks to the help of someone who let her off a bit early. They're both very aware they aren't supposed to be there and try to lay low in Gravity Falls so they can live a somewhat normal life.

Uncolored version under the cut

In this AU the Apex was never a thing,Simon never met the Cat and instead first met Grace. They grew up together on the train and met Hazel in the Kaiju Car when they were 18. They are super close in comparison to canon with them all seeing each other as family. They all found out Hazel was a denizen when Simon almost died trying to protect both her and Grace from something that tried to take her number. One One decided to let Hazel come with them off the train because that was the only way Grace and Simon's number would get to 0 (And he also got a bit more flexible with situations like this after the incident with Jesse's number). They met Ryan and Min while hitchhiking and they let the three stay with them as long as they need to.

Lake and Jesse's story is pretty much the same except instead of meeting the Apex they meet Amelia who is looking for a train anomaly. She thinks Lake is the anomaly and promises to protect them from the flecs only to try and convince Jesse to give up Lake or she'll rat them out. He stands up to her and gets his exit but Lake isn't able to leave. Everything goes on as it does in canon and they end up going to school together and living normally for a while. That is until someone starts leaving messages telling Lake to come back onto the train and help them escape. Thinking it's the flecs they decide to run away to help save them,Jesse deciding to follow to make sure it's not a trick. They end up meeting Min and Ryan after getting lost on a highway and say they're trying to find a friend who's in danger. So far they haven't told anyone about the messages.

Tulip's story is the same and this takes place in the second summer after getting off the train. It's the first time her parents let her head to the camp alone and she ends up getting on the wrong bus. It drops her off where Min and Ryan are performing and she sees Jesse and Lake with them. Too afraid to call her parents and look irresponsible she decides to tag along until the summer ends and they can drive her back home.

Ryan and Min's story is also the same,the only difference is that now they have to take odd jobs every once in a while and be dads to six kids.

Everyone knows Lake and Hazel are denizens and try to accommodate them as best as they can. Simon,honing his art skills,helps paint them to look more human and come up with new disguises while Ryan,Min and Grace teach Hazel how to calm down and deal with intense emotions. They both have to be checked in constantly and Lake is more secretive to protect everyone

Amelia is off the train with Alrick thanks to the help of someone who let her off a bit early. They're both very aware they aren't supposed to be there and try to lay low in Gravity Falls so they can live a somewhat normal life.

[newwwwusername]

Infinity Train (Book 2) - Lake/Jesse - Mental Health Awareness Month Prompt 4 : Anorexia

Prompt : Write a fic in which a character has Anorexia (canon or not canon) Headcanons : Anorexic!Jesse, Nonbinary!Lake

Upon getting back to the human world, Lake quickly began to notice that Jesse wouldn't really eat.

It was easy enough to miss when they were on the train because they generally had bigger things to worry about than making sure the man ate, but now that they were in the normal world, it was impossible to miss. Jesse would go days on end eating little more than a crumb. Even when school started back up and the pair would go to lunch and get food together, Jesse would never touch a thing on his tray.

Lake didn't need to eat, but they still did for the ritual of it and they knew damn well that Jesse needed to do it for his health, but he just didn't. Eventually, it got bad enough to where they felt the need to bring it up to him.

"Knock, knock" they said, standing in the doorway to his bedroom. He looked up at them from his computer and smiled.

"Come in" he said, so Lake did as such, walking in and sitting on his bed. The human turned around in his spinny chair and looked at them with that same goofy smile he always had. "How may I be of service, your majesty?"

"Why don't you eat?" Lake asked and boom, it was out in the open. Jesse's eyes dropped to the ground and a heavy silence came over the room, immediately making Lake deeply uncomfortable. "Jesse?"

"It's bad"

"How is it bad?" the reflection asked, exasperated and confused. "You need to eat to live"

"No" Jesse shook his head and he seemed more upset than Lake had ever seen him before. "No, that's bad"

"Why?"

"Because I'm an athlete, Lake" he snapped, tears swimming around in his eyes. Their mouth slammed shut. "And an athlete- A swimmer- Needs to be lean and agile and I can't do any of that if I waste all my free time shoving empty calories and garbage down my throat"

"Jesse..."

"Lake"

...

"Can I hug you?" they asked, and suddenly Jesse felt small again. He nodded slowly, so his partner got up, walked behind the chair, and wrapped their arms around him. "I'm sorry you've been feeling this way, Jes" they said gently, giving a kiss on the forehead. "I know this may not mean much, but, for the record, none of that is accurate, okay?" A nod. "Can you try eating something tomorrow with me at lunch? Even something small?"

"...I'll try"

Do not repost on other sites! If you want to participate in this month's challenge, there are 15 mental illness prompts that you can find here

[villa-plots]

Summer Activities You Can Do On Your 46 Banyan Tree Villa Plot

Summers are a fun time in India. The kids have long holidays and they are often busy with various indoor games in sweltering heat. To make the heat bearable, there are ice creams and mangoes. Having sumptuous lunches topped with favorite delicious ice creams is a part of many people’s childhood memories. If you have a villa plot in Pune, you can make your summers memorable in multiple ways. 46 Banyan Tree offers you a number of activities that you can enjoy while living in your villa. 

Indoor Games 

46 Banyan Tree offers you a separate space dedicated to indoor games. You can enjoy a number of games such as chess, carrom, table tennis, monopoly and so on. For small families, this would surely be an enjoyable time. You can also bring in cards like Uno to have fun without getting bored. Indoor games are a great way to spend time with children when the heat outside is unbearable. It provides you with opportunities to bond with your family in different ways.

Outdoor Sports

For sports lovers out there, there is no better amenity than having space for outdoor games. 46 Banyan Tree leaves no stone unturned to make summer evenings enjoyable for you. There is a multi-purpose sports court that can be used for playing tennis, cricket, badminton or football. There is also a mini golf course for you to get trained in and enjoy golfing. If you are a sports lover, this would be the best plot investment in Pune. 

Fitness and Wellness Activities

46 Banyan Tree promotes a healthy lifestyle and provides you with multiple options to maintain it. For children, there is a separate kids’ play area. The project also has an infinity edge swimming pool. Apart from that, there is a dedicated walking track for residents, who are interested in jogging. Having a separate walking track removes all possible distractions and helps you achieve your daily step target. Adding to that, there is a yoga and meditation zone. You can consider trying Ashtanga yoga and mindfulness techniques to achieve the harmony of body, mind and spirit. In a well-equipped gym here, you can do your training the way you want it. All in all, there are multiple options to promote good health.

Entertainment and Socialization

NA plots in Pune provide you ample space to socialize. 46 Banyan Tree comes with 10 courtyard spaces for you to celebrate your special occasions. These spaces are in different sizes and you can choose a suitable one depending on the occasion. You can celebrate significant events like wedding receptions or intimate functions like birthdays and business parties over here. The green grass beneath and the blue sky above add a touch of natural glory to your events. Welcome and host your friends and family at the well-designed guest rooms in the clubhouse. Additionally, there is also an amphitheater that can be used for community entertainment activities such as open sky films and theaters.

Short Weekend Trips to Nearby Spots

Buying an NA plot in Pune at Hinjewadi annexe gives you an easy access to a lot of weekend trip destinations. Apart from classic destinations of Lonavala and Khandala to enjoy the greenery and mountain views, you can also explore spots like Bhimashankar, Maval, Mulshi, Bhandardara and so on. Bhimashankar has a religious temple and a national park. Nature and trek lovers will enjoy this place. If you want to relax and rejuvenate, Lonavala and Khandala will be the best for you. Mulshi has started offering activities like Pavna lake camping for those of you, who want a relaxing getaway near the waterfront. Bhandardara is famous for hosting a lot of star gazing sessions. Apart from these, there are multiple resorts that offer several one-day and weekend packages that you can explore. 

A villa plot in Pune, at one of the promising locations like Hinjewadi Annexe, can become a beginning point of an exciting life not just in summers, but all year round. Cherry on the cake, gated community villa plots like 46 Banyan Tree also come with several lifestyle advantages you can’t overlook.

[the-meme-monarch]

You kin Roger rabbit 😔

while I’ve never legitimately kinned a character bc i still can’t wrap my head around the concept of it, if i did, i probably would.

[yardsards]

i know it's common to headcanon future lake as going into some kind of artsy career, but personally? i feel like they'd become a field ecologist. lots of driving around, hiking, and sometimes observing wildlife. just seems like something they'd enjoy

[office-worker-91]

Infinity Train Fear and Hunger AU Snippet 4

(Tw: Mentions of lost limbs and injuries)

The three of them together fell into a rhythm before they could even realize what was happening. Of course, the dungeons constantly kept them on their toes. There wasn't a moment when they weren't hiding or running from some new monstrosity they hadn't seen before, or finding themselves in a deeper or more disturbing part of the place.

Even so, Lake was happy. At least, comparable to how their life had been going so far. They took up the name MT (short for Mirror Tulip, but Jesse didn't have to know that), and while they certainly weren't comfortable with it, it was a name, an identity, and one they had control over. And they never realized just how much they were lacking companionship until Jesse and Alan Dracula came around.

Lake's initial assertion on Jesse was partially correct. He was a bit of an airhead who was definitely way out of his depth. As the trio staggered into the mines, injured but on their feet, Lake had to comfort Jesse (poorly, in their opinion), who wasn't able to dress his own wounds and wasn't used to combat. Still, he was a great companion in the sense that he had an excellent attitude, better than Lake's, despite not being born in the dungeons. If Lake hadn't seen him doing his best to shake off the attack of a weird winged cave lady, they'd think it was out of naivety. But Jesse was just a really strong person.

He also checked up on them a lot, which wasn't something they were used to. If they had just narrowly outrun something, he'd check to make sure they were "okay." They hadn't even thought about being "okay" and "not okay" until he asked for the first time. When they stopped for a rest, Jesse would quietly hum a small, directionless tune that exuded a positivity they hadn't thought possible in the dungeon. He cracked jokes, and even though nobody had ever told them a joke before him, they were sure that the jokes were cheesy and painfully unfunny. When he laughed it came out steady and warm. When Lake narrowly avoided a hole in the floor, he hugged them. Lake hadn't been hugged before, either. He told them about his life outside, about his parents and his little brother and his weird obsession with swimming, which, due to Tulip's inactive lifestyle, was something Lake didn't even know people could do. By the end of the first week, they were convinced that he had to be taken back home. Jesse said once "we" escape he can introduce them to his favorite lake. They thought about the outside, and Tulip's few memories of the sun. The word "we" echoed throughout their head for a long time.

And of course, there was Alan Dracula. Lake still thought the name was dumb, but both they and he said it with so much affection that it automatically grew on them. The deer was certainly odd, but then again, what wasn't weird in the dungeons? They came to interpret his empty, unknowable gazes as being kind yet spaced-out. And though Alan Dracula seemed like a regular deer, he still followed them around, and had a knack for getting the two out of intense situations. He rammed Lake full-force with his horns, which hurt quite a bit but ended up saving them from falling into the lower floors of the dungeon. He ran from danger and seemingly abandoned Jesse to being captured by a masked cult, but this led to its members chasing after him, leaving the place much more empty and giving Lake the chance to strike. When the two escaped, Alan Dracula mysteriously found and rejoined them, as if nothing had happened.

The dungeons were terrible, but they had ALWAYS been terrible, ever since Lake's "birth." And the last two weeks had been the best time of their short life.

Things changed when they found a large door.

This wouldn't have been too strange. So far, the dungeon had prisons, flesh tunnels, caves, mines, a giant hollowed out tree, and probably a million other weird places that they had been lucky enough to avoid.

But this place was different. The three were forced inside when one of those inhuman guards noticed their presence.

It was pristine. The room they were in almost resembled a temple, perfectly preserved. Odd, but considering they were immediately accosted by strange multi-armed monsters wielding blow darts, no one had time to think about it. The trio ran deeper and deeper into the temple, Lake assuming things would get darker and darker.

They were then overwhelmed by light.

A whole city. Buildings towering to the... "sky?" That held a... was that what the sun looked like? There were no people below, in the streets. An overwhelming feeling clanged violently against Lake's skull.

They shouldn't be here. This place wasn't for them.

Jesse stared down in awe, his mouth hanging open slightly. Lake got the impression he was getting the same feeling. And yet...

Jesse wordlessly turned and started walking toward the city.

Lake scrambled after him, trying to tell him that he was crazy and they needed to go back. Any weird monster they'd ran from before was a whole lot better than whatever could lie down there. Jesse argued weakly that because this place LOOKED like it was outside, it might hold the answer to escaping the dungeons. Lake groaned, trying and failing to express the overwhelming feeling of NOPE coming from this place, but Jesse was weirdly insistent that they continue. This wasn't like him.

Still, Jesse knew more about the surface than Lake. Maybe that feeling was just something they felt as a mons- as someone who was born in the dungeons. So, reluctantly, they followed him, Alan Dracula close behind.

The next day is a blur. In the beginning, floating images of the new gods themselves appeared before the two. Jesse pressed on. Lake followed. They encountered even stranger creatures than they had in the other parts of the dungeons. Usually running from the monsters. One time they fought a big hulking one and almost died multiple times, both only saved by Alan Dracula. Jesse pressed on. Lake followed.

Jesse was no longer whistling when they were alone. He was checking if Lake was okay, but half-heartedly. He scratched behind Alan Dracula's ears absent-mindedly as he rummaged through bookshelf after chest after bookshelf, with an almost frantic energy.

Before Lake could confront him, he loudly celebrated as he pulls a scroll out of a chest. His eyes looked manic as he read aloud the scroll, dedicated to the goddess Sylvian. When he finished, his eyes sparkled and he ran up to Lake, holding up one of their arms, still injured from the previous fight, that hadn't been healed to ration medical supplies. He leaned close and whispered into their ear, encouraging, almost loving. Lake felt something warm flow through them, which was normal with Jesse, but this was different. They felt their injuries mend and disappear, almost at will.

However, the scratches and slashes on their metal skin still prevailed. They felt no pain and were no longer injured, but there were still dents and indents in their arm.

All at once, Jesse collapsed to the ground, looking exhausted.

Lake had enough of this. As gently as they possibly could, seeing Jesse look so devastated, they asked what was wrong. Jesse broke fast.

He hadn't gotten lost and stumbled into the dungeon. He'd come here willingly. He needed healing magic for his little brother, the one he'd told Lake so much about while resting in little peaceful moments they could afford. It was his fault, and while Lake assumed it couldn't have been, that Jesse was just being hard on himself, Jesse assured them with conviction and lucidity that, no. It was *definitely* his fault. He was fooling around with his friends, and Nate... The spell Jesse had just acquired could heal injuries but couldn't return lost flesh. So Jesse had to keep going and find something else.

At first, Lake was understandably angry, and they weren't afraid to show it. Jesse had essentially driven them way deeper than they would've ever dared to delve into the dungeons. He had lied to them about moving towards a possible way out. But one tearful apology later, and Lake suddenly wasn't as angry.

Jesse told Lake that they and Alan Dracula should leave him here. He needs to stay, but they don't. They can head back up where it's safe... or safer, at least. But Lake turns Jesse's words back on him. "WE'RE leaving together." Lake tells him that there's no way losing his brother in the infamous dungeons of fear and hunger is going to make him feel better about his arm, and that any possible magic that could recreate flesh may very well be even deeper than they are now. And they couldn't keep their current pace up. Not down here.

Jesse tries to fight it, but he knows they're right. He once more asks if they're sure they don't wanna leave him, and Lake just says that Alan Dracula wouldn't let them. It only gets a small chuckle, but the tension is broken.

Leaning on each other after a long day, they head out of the building they were in, only to find that Alan Dracula had, independently of them, already started walking away from the strange underground city, and Jesse and Lake had to run to catch up with him.

[ameliora-j]

before i fell // dm x reader

words: 2.8k

warnings: angst, talk of a breakup, mention of loss of virginity, mention of not eating, mention of not sleeping, pansy is kinda ooc and so is draco, the slytherins are assholes

a/n: i used a lot of olivia rodrigo lyrics bc i listened to SOUR while writing lol. lmk if i should add other warnings and happy reading babies!

you would be cliche and say that you fell in love the way that you fall asleep. slowly and then all at once. but you couldn’t because you didn’t. it wasn’t a john green novel and you weren’t hazel grace lancaster. falling in love wasn’t simple, and that description of it truly… didn’t describe anything. falling in love was more complicated than that. there were more layers to it than that. falling in love was rather… quick and unexpected. unexpected like snow in the middle of march. or rain when there’s not a cloud in sight. quick like waiting months for an event and finally when the time comes, it feels like you blinked and then it was over.

falling in love with draco malfoy was all of these things and more. falling in love with draco malfoy brought upon more layers than that. falling in love with draco malfoy brought pain. not just any kind of pain, no… horrible, heart wrenching, gut twisting pain. pain that began by bubbling itself in your chest right at the center of your heart, then slowly but surely worked it’s way outwards. encapsulating your entire body and making every inch of your body ache. pain like when you get attached to a character and the author kills them off. pain like when you finish your favorite book and you realize that you’re not truly in that universe and none of that actually happened. pain like when you’re two hours, fifteen minutes, and twelve seconds into avengers: infinity war and peter parker says “mr. stark, i don’t feel so good.” pain that you’ve never felt. pain that can’t be described. pain that you felt for days. pain.

you thought it was strange when the platinum blonde slytherin sought you out. he came to you one day while you sat silently at the black lake. you were alone, but only because you liked to be. you had friends of course, many actually, but you chose to be alone. the black lake was your place of solace. then along came draco. he sat beside you, a good distance away, but his presence was known. you looked to him for an explanation but he offered none. just smiled at you and turned to his notes, so you did the same. the second time he came, he sat closer, but still in silence. the third time is when he struck up conversation.

“yln, yeah?” he questioned.

“yn, actually. but yes, yn yln. and you’re draco malfoy?” you asked.

“i am,” he smirked at your knowledge of his name and then you returned to your studying. after that, the two of you talked every time he came and sat with you. short discussions about the weather or the potions assignment. you don’t know when, but soon they became longer. discussions of your day and your family. your interests and how you got your name. how you loved the rain and the stars and how you loved hogwarts, but you often missed home. draco knew you inside and out and you knew him—and before long, you called the tall, skinny blonde your boyfriend.

you walked the halls of hogwarts together, hand in hand. draco walked haughtily with a hard scowl and you with a bright smile. while you walked cheerfully and waved to your friends and to first years while draco glared at anyone who dared look at the two of you. he took you to parties in the slytherin common room and you wore his jersey proudly at quidditch games, even when he played against your house. he bought you lavish gifts at all of your trips to hogsmeade and he showered you in kisses, praise, and affection. you were whole heartedly smitten with the sole heir to the malfoy fortune.

it was one fateful day in the common room when your heart absolutely exploded. that was the day you knew that you fell in love with draco malfoy. you had been a thing for about two, going on three, months. you were sitting in the slytherin common room, reading in silence when he asked. you were pressed against his chest and he pressed a soft kiss to your head. “‘ve been meaning to ask you something,” he murmured gently. this caused you to close the book and turn your full attention to him. “want you to wear this,” he said, holding out a ring. “it’s the malfoy family crest.”

your stomach and your heart exploded into billions of butterflies and you launched yourself forward, straight into his chest. millions of emotions overcame you as you squeezed his neck as tight as possible. you nodded into his neck as a few stray tears fell. he kissed your head repeatedly as he slid the ring onto your finger before pressing his lips to your’s gently. you giggled excitedly as you stared down at the ring on your finger. “do you like it?” he asked you.

“i love it, dray. i love you. thank you s’much,” you confessed for the first time as you cuddled back into his chest. you don’t know what it was that made the blonde boy seek you out, but you’re glad he did. if only you knew the true nature of his intentions. but alas, you were oblivious.

it was the beginning of the school year, on the train to hogwarts. in the compartment of what was labeled as “the slytherin squad.” there sat theo nott, pansy parkinson, blaise zabini, and—your now boyfriend—draco malfoy.

they were all sitting around, taking the piss out of draco for all of his past failed relationships when it was brought up. “i’ll bet malfoy couldn’t get a girl to fall in love with him if he paid her,” theo spoke.

“i’ll take that bet,” draco countered.

“alright. but we get to pick the girl,” blaise decided.

“what?” pansy asked as theo began to look around the compartment. it was a few minutes before he found the victim. it was then that your fate was sealed. there, sitting in the back corner, head tucked deep into a copy of the fault in our stars, was you. you. awkward and quiet. you with seemingly no friends. poor little unsuspecting you.

“that one,” nott smirked evilly.

“what the weirdo?!” draco exclaimed incredulously. “no way!”

“so then you forfeit?” blaise asked, causing draco to release a frustrated exhale.

“alright i’ll do it,” he rolled his eyes.

“then we give you five months. make yn yln fall in love with you in five months and we’ll do your homework for the rest of the year,” theo posed.

“and if i don’t?” draco asked.

“and when you don’t… thennn,” blaise taunted as he searched for a deal that was fair.

“then we get two hundred galleons each and you have to apologize to potter for making his life hell,” theo smirked. draco scoffed at this and rolled his eyes, but nodded nonetheless.

“and what are my conditions?” he raised an eyebrow.

“she has to say it first. you can do anything you want or need to get her to say it, but you cannot say ‘i love you’ first,” blaise spoke.

“this doesn’t seem fair to yn,” pansy piped in.

“shut your mouth parkinson. no one asked your opinion,” theo growled with a roll of his eyes. but it was too late. there was absolutely nothing the girl could do to get the three to change their minds. she just had to sit idly by and watch draco malfoy break your heart as she said nothing. she wished that she could stop it, but their minds were made up. and the three of them were very stubborn.

it was a few days after draco gave you his ring when your bubble came crashing down. you were walking to meet draco at your spot at the black lake when blaise and theo intercepted you. you knew who they were, of course you did. they were your boyfriend’s best friends, however why they were currently speaking to you, you had no idea.

they told you it would be quick. that they just wanted to show you something in the slytherin common room and left little room for argument, so you had no choice but to follow them there. they sat you on the couch and began to discuss your relationship with draco. you were very confused and had no idea why you were here. “so… draco hasn’t told you?” blaise mocked a gasp of shock.

“no?” you raised a soft eyebrow as you stared on. this made theo smirk evilly as he pulled up a projector and pointed his wand at it. a picture appeared, it looked like a memory. “what’s this?” you asked before the boys urged you to ‘shh.’ you sunk further into the couch as you idly watched on.

you truly weren’t paying attention untill you heard the voice of your boyfriend. the words he spoke stung. you were soft. emotional. the way he spoke about you absolutely crushed you. it would crush anyone, but it shattered you especially. “she’s so fucking weird!” “i’ll take that bet.”

‘s all you were. all you ever were. just a stupid belt. another notch in his belt. it was that moment that draco had barged into the common room. but by then, it was already too late. the tears had already sprung to your eyes and you were preparing for a torrential downpour as you heard his voice. “i’m out!” he announced breathlessly. he froze in his run as his eyes fell on you and what was playing on the projector currently. “bunny…” he whispered softly as his hand touched your shoulder, but you quickly jerked away as if his hand had burned you on contact.

“don’t call me that. don’t touch me,” you demanded as the tears began to fall. “that’s all i was? a bet?” an involuntary whimper sounded from the depths of your throat. “i feel so stupid.” you shook your head.

“no, bunny please listen to me,” you didn’t allow the boy to finish as you wrapped your arms tightly around yourself.

“don’t call me that!” you demanded. “in fact don’t call me at all. don’t… don’t talk to me draco. ever again. i can’t believe i fell for your stupid joke. i feel so… i feel like an idiot,” you spoke. you shook your head, hastily wiping at your eyes untill you saw stars. it was then that you decided to walk away.

“YN STOP!” draco yelled. “LISTEN to me,” he demanded.

“NO!” you shouted as you turned to face him finally. “godric draco, i wish you would’ve thought this through before i went and fell in love with you,” you sniffled as you wiped your snot on your sweater sleeve.

“yn please just let me explain. please listen to me, please,” he begged.

“i feel like you betrayed me,” you shook your head. “i told you everything. you were my everything. draco i loved you. i actually loved you. i thought you loved me too but i guess you’re just a really good actor,” you sniffled once more. “i hate you draco. i really fucking hate you. i don’t want to hear your bullshit explanation because i know that you’ll never feel sorry for the way i’m hurting right now.”

“it was a bet!” draco shouted as you walked away, hand on the door knob. you scoffed as you muttered a sarcastic, ‘no shit.’ “that’s how it started yes, but then i got to know you. i figured out who you were. i learned that your favorite color is yfc and that you prefer night over day because you love the stars and that your favorite star is scorpius and you would name your son after that star one day. i learned that you love to read and you love when it storms but you're afraid of the thunder. you only dance when you’re drunk and you giggle when you’re nervous and i love that giggle. with everything in me i do. your favorite book is yfb and you choose to be alone but you let everyone be your friend. you’re gorgeous. inside and out and while it may have started as a bet, somewhere along the lines i fell in love with you so yn please. please don’t leave,” he whispered the last part as his voice came out broken.

you took a deep breath in before you began to speak. “you couldn’t have cared less about someone who loved you more. i’d say you broke my heart but you broke much more than that,” you shook your head as you furiously wiped at your eyes again. “i gave you my all draco. you were my first everything. i gave you my virginity for merlin’s sake. all to find out that i was just some stupid bet,” you scoffed.

“yn please believe me when i say that you’re so much more than that,” he begged again. “i came to tell them that they won. that i wanted out because i fell in love with you too!”

“it doesn’t matter if you don’t see me as a bet any longer. the fact is that you did. i’m worth so so much more than that.” your breaths were ragged as you spoke. “i really wish that you had thought this through before i went and fell in love with you.” you repeated with a small sniffle. “don’t you think i loved you too much to be used and discarded? don’t you think i loved you too much to think i deserve nothing?” you were openly sobbing at this point.

“yn please believe me when i tell you how sorry i am…” he spoke softly.

“don’t tell me you’re sorry. feel sorry for yourself. because someday i’ll be everything to somebody else,” with this you turned away from him. you hastily opened the door and practically ran out of the common room and away from him.

at that moment you decided to forget about it. draco, and the bet, and love, and everything. like in the vampire diaries, you decided to turn your emotions off. you laid in your dorm crying for hours before you made that decision, however. your dorm mates checked on you often, but you never offered more than merely a half hearted shrug, letting them know that you were still alive, but barely breathing. you skipped classes and meals. you were a mere shell of yourself. it was about two weeks before you could face draco again. and even then you couldn’t truly. you went into the great hall and found “the slytherin squad” sans draco.

pansy looked at you sympathetically while theo and blaise basked in the glow of their new victory. you pulled the ring off carelessly as you stopped in front of them, hair disheveled and uniform askew. you had dark bags under your eyes from the lack of sleep you’d gotten in the past fourteen days and your eyes were rimmed red with the weight of your emotions. “c’you just give this back to malfoy,” you murmured half-heartedly as you dropped the ring on the table in front of the three. just speaking his name brought you pain.

your shoulders were sunken in defeat and you were but a shell of your usual cheerful self. you don’t even know when the last time you saw daylight or had fresh air was. “wait yln,” pansy called hesitantly. you turned to face her, still staring down at your mary janes as you pulled and twisted your fingers untill you heard your knuckles pop. “you… you really love him, don’t you?”

you just shrugged your right shoulder as you used the heel of your palm to wipe the snot from your rapidly reddening nose. “i was just some stupid bet,” you replied as tears begin to spill rapidly over your waterline.

“if it’s any consolation… it was those two bozos’ idea,” pansy told you as she pointed to blaise and theo.

“doesn’t matter,” you murmured. “he’s still a traitor,” you answered as you walked away, forgetting all about the slytherin prince and his stupid friends. forgetting all about how he hit you with a train of his “love.” forgetting all about how for three months he was your everything. forgetting all about how he wrote to his mum about you and you wrote to your parents about him. forgetting all about draco malfoy. the platinum blonde boy with stormy grey eyes who had a long story buried beneath his haughty exterior. the boy who you called your first. your first kiss. your first time. your first love. forgetting all about the boy that made you fall in love just to tell you it was all a bet.

attempting to revert back to how you were before you fell.

add yourself to my taglist :)

nani’s 100 followers celebration

taglist: @hellounicorn @mollysolo @i-love-scott-mccall @veela-essence

[lake-cosay]

infinity train percy jackson au stuff because i'm hyperfixating

(quick disclaimer i havent read the books cause adhd but ive been digging into the story as much as i can through literally every other medium lol)

so the basics: jesse is the son of posiedon. the story would follow roughly the same plot as the first book etc, with jesse not knowing he's a demigod, shit goes down, he ends up at camp, gets a quest, etc

even though tulip fits annabeth way better than lake does, lake will take annabeth's place since yknow percy and annabeth end up together and stuff. plus i like the chemistry (i'm specfically thinking of the "you drool when you sleep" moment that's so them)

tulip sorta technically takes grover's place but she's not a satyr or protector or anything she just needs a spot in the trio and that's what's left lol. she's a daughter of hephaestus (you could argue athena for sure buuuut ive seen other ppl say hephaestus and i like that better for her, especially cause then her and lake can be twins).

some details about jesse:

nate is technically his half brother. whitney is both their moms, stephan is nate's bio dad and legal dad to both of them. i feel like their parents would at least let jesse and nate know that jesse has a different dad, but they would keep the god part to themselves to keep them safe.

so here's the backstory with whitney and poseidon (yes i thought it through this much leave me alone): whitney met poseidon when she was young and they had a thing. she knew stephan at the time, he was her closest friend but they weren't romantic. stephan supported whitney's relationship with poseidon as long as she didn't forget him, which she never did. jesse was conceived and poseidon left, as he does, but stephan was there for whitney. stephan helps raise jesse and eventually whitney falls in love (stephan had done that a while ago), and then a few years later they have nate.

jesse knows stephan isn't his bio dad but he doesn't care, they love each other just the same. it's not something a lot of people know either, it's one of the few things jesse keeps private about himself. the only people who know are immeadiate family.

so yeah, stephan and whitney don't tell the kids about the god thing to keep them safe. they're aware of CHB, and they're sure that jesse's swimming skills come from posiedon. thankfully he doesn't show any crazy powers or anything so they're not too overprotective.

upon arriving to camp, everyone's sure he's an apollo kid. the only person who isn't is lake, but that's also only because they saw him control the water. i could see jesse being put in the apollo cabin to save space in the hermes cabin despite not being claimed because they're just so sure he's apollo's son.

jesse hates fighting. he could probably be pretty decent at it if he wanted to, but he doesn't. he avoids having to learn combat as much as possible. he talks to lake about how much he hates it, and lake says he should really learn at the least the basics just for his own safety, so he agrees to let lake teach him some in private.

jesse refuses to choose a weapon, and just uses a shield and his hydrokinesis to fight but only when necessary. the shield is celestial bronze and turns into a bracelet with a charm that's a mini version of the shield.

about lake:

lake is a child of hephaestus, twin to tulip. tulip doesn't know she has a twin. lake was raised at camp and had never left, until one day, they just couldn't take it anymore and left camp. a magical deer (the yet-to-be-named alan dracula) insisted on following them, which they quickly welcomed.

lake doesn't have the usual abilities of a hephaestus kid. instead, they're more like one of his automatons, being inhumanly strong and endurant. though it doesn't look like metal, few things can truly puncture lake's skin. they've also got some pretty bad eczema and a good deal of scars, so yeah. their skin still makes them stand out.

lake especially appreciated the companionship, since once they left, they began being tailed by a monster (who's like an amalgamation of mace and sieve, haven't quite figured that part out yet).

lake wandered the country for about a month and a half, headed west. they didn't know why, they just felt compelled to head west. eventually they ended up in arizona and met jesse, and the two became friends naturally over the course of a few months.

lake had managed to throw the flec-monster off their trail for a good while, but one day, it finds them. jesse's parents hear the commotion, and upon seeing a monster, tell him to fight back. jesse doesn't know how, and lake tries to explain it to him as they realize he must be a demigod too, but lake gets knocked out. alan dracula picks up lake and urges jesse to run, and his parents tell him to follow the deer. at this point, they've realized that alan dracula had led lake to him to protect him. so jesse follows AD, and he takes them to camp half-blood.

lake isn't exactly happy to be back at CHB but that's overshadowed by them worrying about jesse. they watch over him in the infirmary.

lake grew up at camp. not quite sure how they got there, but tulip doesn't know she has a twin until she has her own little adventure where she arrives at camp aroung age 12-13. megan thinks lake (whose deadname is magnolia, maggie for short, MT for really short) is dead.

lake was probably raised by a mix of chiron, hestia, and some of the older campers when they were really young. since they're the youngest demigod the camp ever had, and since they got into so much trouble in the hermes cabin, they were moved to the big house. eventually after tulip arrived and the two of them were claimed (at the same time), they moved to the hephaestus cabin. lake honestly hates it there and wants their bed in the big house back.

lake had a habit of sneaking out of camp to explore, and because they just wanted to be able to do what they choose damnit, but never got far before being chased back in by the flec-monster. that's how they got most of the scars.

their chosen weapon is a pair of celestial bronze daggers that can turn into rings.

i really wanna do something with lake's mirror but i don't really have any ideas lol. sometimes in aus where lake's human (or in this case, part human) i just give them a birthmark on their leg or smthn, ideas are very much welcome!

now for tulip:

like i said, tulip is a daughter of hephaestus. tulip doesn't know she's a demigod until her parents take her to camp when she's about 12. they do it for her safety, and also to give her somewhere to go while they work out the divorce stuff. tulip meets lake pretty quickly and they get claimed together. tulip spends summers at camp but goes home the rest of the year.

tulip is definitely very smart and pragmatic like an athena kid, and she gets along well with just about everyone in athena's cabin. however, she doesn't like battle the way they do. she'd rather be making something than fighting. she still likes coding and brings her laptop with her to camp.

she probably made a little robot who very closely resembles one-one. he's not technically in this au but i'll give him some little cameos.

tulip attempts to bond with lake by making them cool weapons. it kinda works, but not as well as she'd hoped.

one night tulip hears lake leaving the cabin in the middle of the night. she catches up with them, and finds them all dressed and packed and equiped. she questions them, and lake just bluntly states they're leaving. tulip realizes they're serious about leaving camp. she asks them to wait and gives them some extra supplies and weapons before they leave, makes them promise not to die out there, then helps them get away from the flec-monster long enough to get headed away from camp.

tulip definitely worries about lake, mainly cause she's seen just how dangerous the flec-monster can be, but she tries to just trust lake. it's only about 6 months before lake shows back up with jesse, which is very confusing, but ultimately tulip is happy lake's back and this new kid is nice enough. a bit painfully nice, tulip takes one look at him and says he must be an apollo kid. she doesn't understand why lake is insisting he can control water. he can't be a kid of the big three, he's a dork. obviously he's not that kid from the prophecy, and lake just hit their head a little too hard when they were knocked out.

tulip has pyrokinesis, as well as the usual abilities of a hephaestus kid

her weapon is a good old sword, a special one she made that can turn into a variety of tools

a few more little things:

grace is a daughter of aphrodite who can charmspeak

simon is a son of either ares or athena, and would probably have a role very similar to luke's. i'm not gonna think about that too hard though because i have 0 interest in anything simon related lol (i also don't plan on yknow, planning out a whole plot for this so it doesnt really matter anyway)

i was thinking a lot of denizens, namely AD, the cat, atticus, tuba, etc could just be animals who were affected by the gods but i think that's kinda messy and im not gonna do that after all. but if you like the idea feel free to run w it

despite being younger and smaller lake has kicked simon's ass (in capture the flag and sparring) numerous times but simon refuses to admit it

i had a very vague idea involving medusa and reflections. that's it that's the whole idea that's all ive got

i just realized i did not think about amelia or any of the book 4 characters at all oops. sorry

i was very much inspired by these posts so check them out! also heavily inspired by the musical. i would love to know your thoughts and ideas for this because i am hyperfixating so bad lol

[meruz]

answering a couple anon asks in one, topics addressed include how i got my job, infinity train opinions, commission prices:

Thank you!! And it was the former, one of the backgrounds leads who was handling hiring for the studio found my work via portfolio day on twitter and e-mailed me cold LOL this tweet specifically.

They offered me a bg paint test, testing process took abt a week and then there was an interview and then I was hired..! Though out of the crop of new hires I was brought on with many of them were more proactive, getting in touch w staff via linkedin or alumni connections, asking around for apps and openings etc. Honestly I feel pretty lucky that they found my work because the studio wasn’t rly on my radar. For me, it was like a year out of recovery from a pretty bad health thing and i was feeling down about my art and tired of dead end job apps, preparing to move back to my parents house LOL... it rly came at the right time.

Thank you!! This is a hard question... I love every season and all the characters for different reasons. I guess.... Lake? Is my favorite character overall?? I just think she’s such a break-out star like if you had to have a infinity train character represent the series in super smash brothers it’d be her LOL. I think a lot of the characters of infinity train are products by their story but in the case of book 2 the story is a product of lake. but ALSO if you could mash Min-Gi and Ryan to count as a single character they might win out for my fave spot whos to say. their character push and pull is so subtle but endlessly fascinating and also i have asian diaspora feeling about them that cannot be discounted LOL. And I think overall my favorite season is actually book 3.... though 2 comes super close (And is maybe more better constructed from a technical perspective... imo)!! And I love 1 and 4 for their unique aspects as well like they’re all excellent stories in their own rights imo. It’s hard to compare.

Hi, I’m sorry you probably sent this ask a while ago. I don’t currently have commissions open because I am very busy and I anticipate to continue to be busy for... several more months at least. Sorry! :( I love doing commissions but I only have so much time in the day.... when I open them up again I’ll definitely post about it on tumblr and twit for sure! (idk abt insta LOL... i’m always of 2 minds whether to post on insta bc i feel least connected to my audience there) as for a price sheet.... well I can’t promise anything but I think loosely it’d look something like 1 character full body $70 (additional character +$30).  Anything with a background would be $125+.... I like to do comics commissions for like $110 per page. Um... and I’m happy to work with a commissioner if they’re looking for something specific like a specific style or format. Also I am willing to work with limited budgets/time constraints if I have the time hehe!! Like I love doing commissions for ppls birthdays/anniversaries/gifts etc. It’s rly just a matter of e-mailing me and hashing it out *** WHEN I AM OPEN LOL.... I am not open right now. But if u want to plan for it ...I hope that helps...!

EDIT: all this in USD btw. yes i am a bonehead american

thank you for ur interest!!

[sallyb-sin]

Spoilers:

So, watched Infinity Train Book 4, and I LOVED IT! It was a nice story that didn't end with someone I became emotionally invested in dying. I enjoyed each episode and watching Ryan and Min resolving their relationship.

I know some people were disappointed they weren't "canon" within the show, but I feel that would be incorrect. The show isn't meant to focus on romance, it's supposed to be about mending relationships and changing for the better. That doesn't mean that they couldn't become a couple in the future or that the show hasn't hinted at that as well.

It was the same with Lake and Jesse. I interpreted from their actions (becoming friends, Jesse coming back on the train to make sure she gets out, their shared custody of Alandracula) that they could become a couple in the future, but they had just been through a horrifying journey together. They aren't going to just jump into a relationship like that.

Min and Ryan have shown similar actions while on the train (Ryan threatening Kez to say away from them when they first met, Min's deep hurt over the idea that Ryan would leave him, the fact that despite having different lives and spending years without each other, they never forgot each other or stopped seeing each other as best friends) and I believe that had they focused the story on their future off the train, they would become famous and end up together.

I just want to call out my favorite moment in book 4, episode 10, when Ryan was making this face

He had revealed to Min-gi that he had his exit and really considered leaving him, which he felt was the worst thing he ever did and made him garbage. Then Min-gi revealed he still planned to follow Ryan to New York.

This just solidified them as a couple for me, because despite Ryan revealing this and despite the fact that he thought about leaving Min-gi to die, Min-gi showed he understood what his thought process was and was willing to stay together from then on

I really thought this was a good story and even if we never get more Infinity Train seasons, I can say it ended in a way I can appreciate.

GO RYMIN!