#Here is more jesslake

[mishidefresa]

Ñom

[elibethqueen]

Okay WHAT THE HECK??? The storyboards from the wasteland episode are SO GOOD AND INTERESTING!! Like what- HOW IS THERE SO MUCH CONTENT HIDDEN??? WHY IS NO ONE TALKING ABOUT IT???

There’s like a whole change to the chasing scene that I’m wondering if they had to take out because of run time? Like high key it was really cool looking! It really makes me wish even more that season 2 was longer bc the team was so good at making the chase scenes with the flecks both scary but entertaining and they had so many creative ideas!!

Also I just think it’s really cool that from the way Lake reacts so quickly you can really feel how second nature running, hiding and in general escaping is to Lake at this point. After being chased for so long so many times. Also in what was taken out I feel like it takes the flecks a bit more effort to catch up to Lake which I really enjoy and I think makes me stay at the edge of my seat!

There’s also really funny dialogue that was taken out like pleaseeeevjsbsLAKE WAS GONNA CALL THE APEX PSYCHOPATHS AHDNSN

Simply *chef’s kiss*

ALSO 😭

I’m not the only one that thought those were tears? Like in the final episode those looked like tears to me! But it’s actually hair 🥺 imagine Lake got a scar now from that!

Jesse has a scar from Sieve after been thrown into the tv while Lake has one from Mace (although let’s be real Lake probably has more than one)

*sobs*

[jesse-cosay]

You know when someone shoves so many headcanons on a character and they become almost unrecognizable?

[office-worker-91]

Infinity Train Fear and Hunger AU Snippet 3

(This WAS the end of these weird AU snippets, but I have more ideas to throw around so there's gonna be one more after this. Still, if I ever do anything else with this concept it will be in a Fear and Hunger INSPIRED Au called Infinity Dungeon AU, that way I could avoid the more uncomfortable parts of Fear and Hunger while still having the basic gist of the franchise available.)

(CW: Serious Injuries, Mentions of Gore)

It was shaky at first. Very shaky.

Jesse and Lake had ran into a strange cave, covered in flesh. Lake was not surprised to see it, nor were they particularly affected by it. Jesse was an entirely different story. He squirmed and tip toed across the hall as Lake rolled their eyes at the human, slipping into an unfamiliar steel contraption to hopefully hide from any monsters around. With that, Lake turned to Jesse, realizing they were stuck with him, and decided to lay out some ground rules.

They get to distribute the duo's food.

If he does anything stupid that gets them in trouble, they're ditching him.

"If you steal from me I'll bash your brains in." (All talk of course, though at the time Jesse didn't know that)

The boy just nodded along vigorously, not speaking at all. The two were silent at first, still sheltering in the metal contraption, but when Jesse decided to poke around in it he found a lever that sent the contraption downwards with them in it.

Lake considered enacting rule 2 right then and there, but there was no time for that. Their stomach growled and drove them out of the cage to explore the huge cave they had been brought to, Jesse scampering behind them.

He then began to talk. A lot.

"Woah, this place is huge! Y'know, I heard from one of my friends that caves like this are formed because of underground rivers! UNDERGROUND. RIVERS!"

"Are you... made of metal?! How? Why? Does that mean you're invincible? Is that how you've survived down here?"

"Soooooo... what do you think was up with that flesh hallway?...... Y'know what, let's not talk about it."

"By All-Mer, is that a deer???"

Lake had Jesse tuned out, which meant that they didn't notice the deer until they ran face first into it. They immediately backed up, terrified that it was some monstrosity that would destroy the bridge they were both on and take them and Jesse down with it. Instead the deer looked at them with simultaneously dead and curious eyes. Some sort of impossible mixture of no thought and unknowable thought that boggled their mind.

Jesse liked the deer. He tip-toed up close to it and stared in awe. Lake regained their voice and yelled out to stand back, not wanting Jesse to get turned into mince meat five minutes after deciding they would protect him, but the deer didn't attack, or ever approach Jesse. It just kept staring.

The sunshine boy went on a rant that, somehow, ended in giving the deer a green herb to eat (didn't he know those were a valuable medical resource???) and naming him Alan Dracula. Stars shone in his eyes as he gazed at the inexplicable cave deer lovingly. Lake wanted to reprimand him, but two things happened.

They saw Jesse's face. It was... utterly happy. Despite everything the boy must've gone through, despite his discomfort and his nervous ramblings, right now he was utterly happy. Lake had vague memories of the sun from being Tulip's reflection. They think this must be what being out in the sun is like.

They look at "Alan Dracula" and realize their reaction to him had been similar to Jesse's reaction to them, something Lake didn't appreciate. Just because something wasn't human, and it was down in the dungeons.... well, Lake was living proof that not all monsters are monstrous, right?

So Lake stepped forwards and tentatively reached out to pat Alan Dracula. In response, the deer simply closed its eyes. Jesse, for the third time since they've met less than half an hour ago, begged Lake for something, this time asking if they could "keep him." Lake refused, but it sounded weak when they were feeling his soft head in their hands. They pivoted their stance to "the deer has free will and can come if it wants!" which led to the two turning around and walking back across the bridge. The deer stared after them, but didn't follow.

Jesse was disappointed, and Lake was too, but they wouldn't show it. They were starving, and Jesse was starting to get hungry too. So they kept scouring the cave, and that's when they saw it: Eggs. Giant eggs. Dozens of them.

The sunshine boy ran forward eagerly before his metal companion had to pull him back. They reminded him that something has to LAY those eggs in order for them to be there. Instead of this getting what Lake thought was the appropriate reaction, Jesse suddenly got very sad and said he didn't want to eat some poor cave creature's eggs. Lake wasn't sure whether that was a sign of goodness of heart or insanity, but either way they knew they still needed to eat. So after some light convincing and a growing pain in his stomach, Jesse agreed they would take a few, but not enough for the mother to know any were missing.

As Lake shoved some eggs into their pack and instructed Jesse to do the same, they heard something. From the dark abyss they were standing next to, something was coming toward them. Their fight or flight instinct kicked in, and they grabbed Jesse's hand and tried to run, but by that point the thing was already upon them. It was winged. It's talons were sharp, each a few inches long. It's face was HORRIBLE, it was so humanoid and it didn't belong on its monstrous body. Lake wonders if maybe that's how people see them.

Okay, flight didn't work. On to fight, then. They quickly tossed Jesse an iron spear they'd found on a table somewhere, which he caught clumsily in his hands, his face one of pure terror. They then pulled out their trusty morning star, their prized weapon they had lucked out with in a random chest.

The mother was brutal. It pecked and slashed with overwhelming speed and power. Lake's swings didn't all connect, as the thing was in the air and they had to get close in order to hit it, but the swings they did land were solid. They targeted the wings, knowing without them it was much less mobile, and hoping Jesse would do the same.

Surprisingly, he did. He wasn't all that bad. Despite the weapon he held being steel he had control over it, suggesting physical strength Lake didn't know was there before. Holes and bruises covered the beasts wings, but Lake wasn't without injury. The talons scratched up their skin, which normally wouldn't concern Lake, but it looked like it was beginning to do actual damage, which wasn't something they've experienced before. The mother was by far the toughest thing they had to fight, and if that's true they didn't even want to THINK about what this was like for Jesse. For most of the battle he was relatively unharmed, but at one point the cave mother dashed past Lake and bit down on Jesse neck, causing him to scream and fall over.

Lake didn't know why, but they panicked.

They swung their morning star at the thing's already damaged left wing and broke it. The mother in retaliation rushed towards Jesse again, and Lake protected him once again without thinking. Their arm seared with pain at the blow, and they swore that nothing had ever cut them that deep before. They dropped their weapon and hissed, but before the mother could finish the job Jesse had stood and wildly thrusted the spear into the mother's wing with one hand while the other clutched his injured neck. The cave mother cried terribly, now on its talons, before backing away from the pair, eying them with pure hatred as it walked off the edge and it slowly slinked into the dark abyss.

Lake looked at their arm, determined it would stay attached to them for now, and immediately ran over to Jesse and bandaged his wound to stop the bleeding. He thanked them for the save, and Lake did the same while simultaneously calling him soft. It was meant to be a joke, but they said it grimly. He gave a weak laugh regardless.

As they began to leave the area towards the iron cage (who knows if there were more of those things), both of them saw something charging towards them in the darkness. It was the cave mother, now running, wingless, towards them in a blind fury. There was no way they could fight that thing, nor run from it, in their current state. Lake shielded Jesse, wondering, crazed from hunger and pain, if Jesse was an angel sent to earth to release them from the hellish dungeons and into the afterlife, guiding them towards death.

Then Alan Dracula was next to them.

Jesse didn't question it and grabbed Lake's hand, vaulting onto the deer's back. Lake wanted to protest, saying they were too heavy for a deer to carry, but when Jesse pulled them up, Alan Dracula began dashing as if they weighed nothing at all.

Lake didn't know much of anything about deer, but apparently they're faster than winged cave ladies, since he easily outran the creature and headed into what vaguely looked like mines, dashing straight into them and not stopping until the cave mother had obviously lost them.

As soon as he stopped, Alan Dracula threw Jesse and Lake onto the ground in a painful, moaning heap of flesh and metal. They were injured, more so than either had ever been in their entire lives, but they were alive. Alan Dracula looked down at them, that same mix of thoughtlessness and thoughtfulness present in his eyes.

The two hugged Alan Dracula, which he let them do. Both were crying from the experience they'd just had. Still, they had food. They had each other. And they had a "rad deer friend," as Jesse lovingly put it while scratching him behind the ear.

After taking a while to get their bearings, the three ventured off deeper into the mines, careful to be stealthy and evade anything they saw that moved.

[lake-cosay]

Jesslake Demigod/PJO AU

hi so. finally making a real post about this.

i apparently made this au like 2 years ago but the pjo brainrot came back and i've been hyperfixating on this au again. while it does also feature my OCs this post is about the jesslake au

for clarity, this au takes place in the world of the Percy Jackson books, and assumes the canon story of the books is finished. it takes place in about 2020 (pjo canon is currently around 2011 ish). You don't need to have read the books to understand the au (I haven't) but. some knowledge of the universe will definitely help

most of my notes about the au are in the images, but here's a rough timeline of the major events: (it's long)

Jesse is born in 2005. he is raised by his mom and his mortal/adoptive father, whom he knows isn't his bio dad but treats him like it anyways. he doesn't know he's a demigod or who his bio dad is

Lake and Tulip are born in 2006. they both struggle as babies, but Lake much more so; they nearly die. Hephaestus, their father, dips Lake in the River Styx, giving them the Curse of Achilles, though theirs works a little different (more details on that later/in another post)

Hephaestus sends Lake to Camp Half-Blood to be raised there. (Chiron serves as a father figure to Lake, and they actually get along pretty well.) Tulip never finds out she has a twin until she arrives at camp.

Lake lives at CHB their whole life growing up. Sometime around the age of 8-10ish, they encounter the flecs for the first time. In this au, they were people but were cursed to become monsters, and still hunt Lake relentlessly. Lake has a pretty gnarly scar from their first encounter.

When she's 13, Tulip finds out she's a halfblood and is brought to camp (have not figured out how/by who yet, open to ideas). One-one is an automaton her dad built for her, not sure about Atticus.

When they're 13, Lake decides they want to see the world. They leave camp mostly on a whim, but take enough time to pack a bag and leave a note for Chiron asking him not to try and find them. Chiron somehow (through the Oracle, and Apollo kid, idk) divines that Lake will bring another half-blood to camp safely, and he trusts Lake, so he doesn't try to find them.

Lake wanders on foot for about a month, heading southwest. Eventually, they end up in Arizona, where they meet and slowly become friends with Jesse. Jesse's parents are glad he's spending time with someone who's not his other friends, and they let Lake hang out at their house a lot. They (of course) know Jesse's a demigod, and start to suspect Lake might be too. (Lake also starts suspecting about Jesse)

The "man test" (or something very similar) happens after Jesse meets Lake, and Lake is there to witness it. However, Jesse's friends turn out to be monsters (were they monsters the whole time or did other monsters impersonate his friends? i don't know. lol) and Jesse and Lake have to go rescue Nate (from the underworld? from a monster's lair? somewhere else? again, i don't know)

After that quest, Jesse properly arrives at camp, and him and Lake become very close.

There's a small arc with Lake that I'm not sure where it fits, but here's works: the harrasment and attacks from the flecs are getting worse, and somehow during an attack Lake manages to kill them (Lake never wanted to kill them before because they used to be people, and somehow they know they won't come back like other monsters, so killing them is genuinely killing them). Lake still has to grapple with the fact that they were people and they killed them, but also that it was in self defense.

There's another more significant arc for Lake involving Hephaestus. Probably happens 2 ish years after they meet Jesse. Hephaestus... doesn't like Lake. It seems like he always wants Lake to prove themself to him, but Lake refuses. So instead, he forces them, by setting a trap. Lake nearly dies in his trap (a web of hot metal wires that tie them up like they're in a spider web, covering them in deep burns; it makes sense given Hephaestus' other myths I promise), thankfully, Lake is rescued by Tulip and Jesse. However, the whole thing is definitely traumatizing, and really solidifies in Lake that their dad is a fucking asshole. (me and @jesse-cosay wrote a fic of this, we're most likely going to post it soon!) (also, that scars from this are in the drawing, but they don't look as Bad as I want them too, I was struggling with making them look Bad enough)

Lake and Jesse have become friends with my OCs (Rain, child of Hypnos, and Kona, daughter of. Apollo. sort of. not quite. it's complicated. also Kona is Jesse's cousin!) over the past 2 years or so, and when one of them (Rain) ends up in the Underworld, they both go with the other (Kona) to help rescue them (I can definitely elaborate on that if people are interested, but it's very self indulgent lol)

okay, here's some random little things about this au:

Annabeth no longer has the most beads, Lake does. They have 13. Chiron made sure he collected the beads for them since they were brought to camp.

The other main characters are at camp too (mostly). Grace is the daughter of Aphrodite, Simon is the son of Ares, both have them have lived at camp since they were kids. Simon takes after Luke, thinking the gods should be taken down entirely.

Min is an Athena kid and Ryan is an Apollo kid

Alan Dracula is still basically the same. Chiron doesn't know how he can get into camp. Or if he's a monster. He just knows the deer helps protect campers, and that Lake loves him, so he leaves Alan be.

Lake used to have their own room (a repurposed guest room) in the Big House but now stays with Jesse in Cabin 3 (during the summer, the rest of the year they live with him in Arizona)

When Tulip arrived at camp people assumed she was a Demeter kid because of her name, quickly realized she definitely is not a Demeter kid

Lake has kicked Simon's ass in combat numerous times. It's very rare that Simon ever wins against them period. Simon hates Lake with a burning passion. He HATES that the tiny hephaestus kid can beat him up.

Jesse really doesn't like when people call Poseidon his dad, even if he knows it's true, because to him, his dad is Stephen Cosay, a mortal, who helped raise him and whom he loves.

with all that out there, please feel free to ask questions!!! i love this au so much and i would love to talk about it more. my ask box is open!!! or you can reply to this post. i'm going to reblog Yellow's art from this au and make sure it's tagged so you can find it. the tag is #it pjo au

[your-unfriendlyghost]

4, 5, 7, 14

(Okay I really liked these ones fyi)

4. Rank the main 7.

  Ooh tough one. I guess right now, in order of favorite to least favorite, I’d have to go Sodapop, Two-Bit, Steve, Johnny, Ponyboy, Dally, and then finally Darry. But it’s pretty close, and the order changes day by day honestly- I like all of them a lot, y’know? I guess the only one I don’t think about too often is Darry. I still like him and think he’s a really well-written character- I just don’t have a lotta original thoughts about him, is all, whereas I do about all the others. 

5. What are your fave ships?

  In a truly shocking turn of events, I, a frequent draw-er and writer of Stevepop, am going to say Stevepop. I dunno, something about them just makes me happy. Reminds me of like…daydreams I had when I was twelve and crushing on my best friend, and trying to get her attention by doing stupid things and whatever…god I don’t really know how to explain why I like it. Before this fandom I didn’t usually ship things, to be honest. But I guess when I did it’d be stuff like Jesslake in Infinity Train, where it’s the sorta thing that can be seen as platonic or romantic. I reckon Stevepop scratches a similar itch in my brain lol

  But I also really like Marcia x Two-Bit, which I haven’t really talked about here much- They had good chemistry, y’know? I oughta draw something about them sometime

  And then finally there’s my DIY crack-ish ship Soda x Steve x Evie. I like them! It’s all the things I like about Stevepop, plus there’s a cool girl in the mix! I love cool girls! More folks should think about them i think

  I do like other ships okay too- like the Tarry crowd has dragged me in, and sometimes the Jally crowd does too, along with Purly and occasionally Johnnyboy. I’m not an active participant, but when I come across it, I sorta mentally nod and say “nice”, you dig? They’re like…my ship-in-laws. Or like…milk duds and hershey bars- candy I still enjoy, but reach for only after I’m out of milky ways and twizzlers.

7. What are your fave non-romantic relationships? (This can be close friends, familial, enemies or even just acquaintances)

  Two-Bit and Pony! I like them a lot. Their interactions in the book were some of my favorite parts. That line when Two-Bit was worried about Ponyboy using that broken bottle on the Socs…ugh that part was great. I remember reading it for the first time and just sitting there thinking about how much I liked that detail.

  Then on the opposite side of the coin, Steve and Pony lol. I LOVE how Pony doesn’t initially like Dally or Steve, and yet Dally’s chill with Pony…but with Steve the disdain is mutual. Jk I don’t think Steve really hates Pony- but he definitely thinks Pony’s kinda annoying. I like the idea of him watching out for Pony anyways though, like at school especially now that Soda’s not going.

14. Tell us five of your headcanons you basically see as canon

Sodapop has ADHD and maybe (?) dyslexia, but it’s the 60s so he won’t find out till he’s well into adulthood

Marcia gave Two-Bit her real number, and was disappointed when he didn’t call it. I like to imagine they end up remeeting at some point and going out together- even if that’s kinda unrealistic lol

Steve hated Dally when he first rolled into town, because Dally was everything he really wanted to be- tough, cool, and street-smart. And he was also scared of losing Soda, who thought Dally rocked- because Dally’s from New York and rides in rodeos! Eventually they became buddies though when Dally gave Steve a compliment or something. Not even a particularly good one- something like “Hey you ain’t bad at fighting”- just barely enough for Steve to feel like Dally’s earned a little bit of his loyalty. Might write fic/make a comic for this- it’s kinda niche but I think the idea is funny

Steve and Soda secretly listen to the Beach Boys at the DX. They can’t tell anyone because it’s not tuff to like a dumb California band. And Ponyboy would like the Beatles if he listened to them, but he doesn’t, so he won’t realize that until years after Beatlemania has died down

Steve is not just a Ponyboy hater but also a horses-in-general hater. He thinks horses are scary and unpredictable and that cars were invented for a reason. He was secretly relieved when Mr. Curtis stopped Soda from riding rodeos, because seeing Soda on a crazy horse gave him mad anxiety. Pretended he was sad though for Soda’s sake

Thanks so much for asking!! I loved answering these so much lol, definitely let me know your thoughts too on ‘em!

[lakesbian]

Okay umm listen, I have a silly… a very silly question...

Lake crushing on transfem Jesse-

i do love a good opportunity to soapbox my jesslake analysis

i presume the underlying assumption here is that when i say i think jesslake sucks it's because of [points at my url] the lake sexuality take, and hence if you simply Trans Jesse's Gender the circumstances are suddenly amenable to me. they're not--i don't base my analysis of character dynamic on random sexuality headcanons, i base it on the reality of how that dynamic is portrayed in the source media. like, this is a train Analysis blog, if you want my opinion on a ship you're getting my opinion on how compelling that relationship would be within the source media, not on how compelling it would be in some five-layers-of-caricature-and-abstraction fanon version of the media. making jesse a girl--and it is, imo, weird to use the idea of a transfem character as a prop for mediocre shipping instead of as a genuine interpretation--would not change any of the reasons why jesslake is a profoundly uncompelling and backwards interpretation of the season. i don't give a shit what genders or sexualities you make jesse and lake, they're still a bad pairing.

as for the why, i'm gonna let one of the writers of the show summarize:

jesse is...lake's first friend. Ever. she's new to friendship. she's a traumatized 13yo with a subsequently deeply unhealthy and fumbling approach to social interaction. jesse is her first friend, her only friend, and furthermore the only support system she has. jesse has a house, a family, experience with social relationships, and a support system outside of lake. jesse has a social security number and a last name. lake is a homeless kid from another dimension with approximately three months of train-world life experience and, as of the end of canon, some three minutes of real-world life experience.

which is to say that if lake were to date jesse, she would be taking her first-ever friendship--something so emotionally overwhelming to her that she's flustered by even the most basic demonstrations of care from him--and turning it into a teenage romance. you know what teenage romances are famous for? being based on short-lived infatuation with inevitable and awkward break-ups. it's how teenagers Work, having those shitty-dinky teen relationships is an important part of growing up.

do you know how unbalanced and unhealthy it would be if lake, a homeless, traumatized child with no legal existence, started dating the one (1) member of her support system? how uncomfortable and horrible it would be for the continuation of her connection to the one (1) person who can offer her a place to stay be contingent on a romantic connection to him? imagine how ruinous the inevitable teen break-up would be for her. to quote owen:

the key word here is friend. a friendship with jesse is sustainable, low-pressure. they're the special kind of best friends who meet when they're young, share the experience of figuring out how to grow into themselves together, and stay friends for life. that's something so much more compelling and emotionally significant than the idea that their connection on the train was solely the result of short-lived superficial teenage infatuation.

season two is not about crushes. season two is about two lonely kids finding each other and realizing that they're lovable despite what they might think or what the world might be telling them. season two is about the best-friendships that save and change lives. in the season two DVD bonus commentary tape for the wasteland scene, show writer katai points out, and i quote exactly: "it's so cruel and dismissive that he keeps calling jesse just 'lake's boyfriend.'" (dennis and queripel chime in with "yeahs" after this comment is made.) and it's cruel and dismissive for a reason: because season two is about a platonic love far, far deeper and more significant than any romantic interpretation of the season could ever be.

making it some dumb teen romance isn't just implausible/unhealthy if you engage with it in the full context of the show's narrative, it cheapens The Absolute Shit out of the relationship dynamic they do actually have. and sure, you can say "but not everything has to be realistic/accurate to the show all the time!!!" but infinity train is a show about very realistically written people experiencing very realistic problems in their very realistic lives, where the one added element of absurdity is the train. i like to engage with the show on its own terms, i like to interpret character dynamics with the understanding that the world they inhabit is just ours but with the addition of the train. i don't want to make uninteresting, generified shipbait versions of jesse and lake kiss. i want to engage with the way they're actually written in the show.

and the way they're actually written in the show makes it exceptionally clear that jesslake is a boring-ass ship and Travel Besties is where the narratively meaningful shit is at.

if you want jesslake to be a thing, then you better start making alternate universes, because they're never gonna be dating in this one.

[deizuwu]

Season 2 is definitely my favorite season. I absolutely adore Lake and Jesse's relationship with each other (with Jesslake being my OTP from the show) along with their friendship with Alan Dracula and how their characters progress. One of the best moments in the show was Jesse standing up to Grace and Simon to save Jessee. Him standing by while someone he cared about was mistreated was what landed him on the train so its only fitting that not making the same mistake is what gets him off the train (love me some parallels in stories). Though season 3 was also great and I legit screamed over Simon's death because it was incredibly brutal and just shocked me!

I haven't given the AU too much thought/dedicated time but I do have a Huntlow x Infinity Train AU idea. Willow would be a passenger with her running into Hunter who'd be a combination of Hazel + his Grimwalker origin in which Phillip has been on the train constantly trying to/creating clones of his brother with him also taking over the train. Those are just the basic concepts I've thought of though.

Yessss 100% about Jesse and Lake. I like how they went from complete strangers, one of whom wanted to get rid of the other, to each other's best friends (+Alan Dracula) And it's not like it came out of nowhere for them! They actually went out of their way to help the other at times, and it's very clear that they both started to care deeply about each other

And I never really thought about it before, but you're totally right about Jesse's character development. You really feel like he's earned his way out of the train, rather than just doing some random good deeds here and there. He's really grown by the time the end of the season comes around. 10/10 writing, good job infinity train writers

Also yes Simon's death was,, incredibly brutal. He even died in front of Grace and the other kids. Imagine the trauma. I'm genuinely surprised Cartoon Network allowed the creators to show his death, ON SCREEN no less

Your Huntlow Infinity Train AU sounds super interesting, I don't think I've heard of anyone else with a similar idea. Would Phillip be somewhat like Amelia? He knows that the more numbers he gets, the "worse" of a person he is, but he just doesn't care. I feel he would definitely be covered head to toe with the numbers, like Simon after he pushed Grace off the train.

I'm interested in hearing more about your AU if you get around to tying down any more details!!

[tamblrtrain]

i feel like going announcer mode on this dumb ass poll so fuck it, why not

IN DEAD LAST WE HAVE JESSE COSAY, A SHOCKER TO MANY! TAKING NINTH PLACE, ONLY AHEAD BY TWO POINTS, HAZEL STRUGGLES TO KEEP HER NEXT-TO-NOTHING TROPHY! SAD ONE TAKES EIGHTH AS GLAD ONE IS OFF... somewhere... AND TYING FOR SIXTH PLACE, RYAN AKAGI AND MIN-GI PARK HAVE SCORED THE SAME! DOES THIS ENTAIL SOMETHING BENEATH? NO ONE KNOWS! i still think they're hiding their relationship--ANYWAY, ATTICUS THE GOOD MAN TAKES A MODEST FIFTH, KEZ NOT FAR AHEAD IN FOURTH PLACE! AND SHARING ANOTHER TIE, IT'S THE CAT AND TULIP OLSEN, FIGHTING FOR A RIGHT TO SECOND PLACE! BUT ALAS, LAKE TAKES THE CAKE AT FIRST PLACE!

woo! go get it, you demonspawn! /a -an onlooker

why is jesslake so separated? -someone else

YES RYMIN IS TIED -aggressive rymin shipper

what the fuck -you, probably

sad one is my spirit animal -a robot

hey why isn't amelia here? -confused amelia fan

oh, yeah, i said that -lake, tulip, the cat, etc.

we will continue to give regular updates, please stay tuned for more!

[the-aggro-crag-car]

Awhile bank you mentioned an idea with Lake getting taped but losing their memories and Jesse having to guide them. Can I get a little more about that?

Jesse couldn't believe it actually worked.

For a while there he thought the whole train was going to come crashing down around them, with how everything started falling apart when his number glitched. But it was okay.

Because after the giant screen had frozen on a blinding light behind them, they had managed to find a loophole that One-One would listen to. Denizens couldn't get numbers, but MT was from the mirror world, not the train. There was nothing saying they couldn't at least try and see if it would work.

And it had. Jesse had waited anxiously with Alan Dracula in the tape car as MT was processed, watching a brief flash of some of his friend's memories before finally it tried to give her a number.

And it did. Just one. His own hand settled on one as well, mirroring MT in a way that was probably ironic or poetic or something. She was still asleep, and One-One was insistent that they go retake their seats. It was a little awkward squishing in, Alan Dracula tiny resting on his chest, but he didn't want to wake MT too soon. One-One said there was a whole process after all, it was best to just be safe.

The pod had dropped them off now though, in a large, quiet car, the desert scenery honestly a little unnervingly like the wasteland outside of the train. He couldn't care about that now though, because they were almost there.

The pod stopped, that introduction video starting to play as MT stirred, but Jesse ignored it. They certainly didn't need it at this point.

The slight stirring turned to MT shooting up awake suddenly on a dime, a slightly wild, confused look in her eyes.

Jesse didn't waste a second, immediately wrapping her up in a hug.

"It worked!" he exclaimed excitedly. "One-One sent us back on the train but it's okay because your number is only one! I'm gonna be honest I thought it'd be way more than that. But it's not and you're here and soon we can go home and-"

Jesse was cut off when hard metal hands were suddenly shoving at him roughly, knocking him away as MT jumped back. Before he could grab her she fell out of the other side of the pod in her panic, scrambling to her feet and looking ready to punch the next thing that moved.

Which... wasn't the reaction he was expecting.

"Uh, MT?" Jesse asked cautiously, and it seemed to take her a moment to realize he was even addressing her.

"What's going on?" she asked, and the smile that had been plastered to his face since he saw the number appear on her hand started to fade.

"I was just telling you, it worked. You have a number now. We just need to get it to zero and then we can go home together," he explained, searching MT's face for any sign of relief or excitement or just... recognition.

"I... I don't know what you're talking abou- oh!" MT started, cut off when Alan Dracula licked her hand. "Who are you little buddy?" she asked, petting the deer.

With those five words things were starting to come together, which meant to Jesse it felt like the whole world was shattering.

"That's Alan Dracula," he said cautiously. "He's your friend. I'm your friend. Come on MT, it's- it's been a really long day, I'm not in the mood for this kind of joke," he tried, but it didn't seem to get through. MT was still staring at him like she had no idea what he was talking about.

"Look, I already told you I have no idea what you're talking about. Where even are we?" she asked, and Jesse's eyes would have probably started watering (not crying he wasn't going to cry because even if she didn't know it MT needed him right now) if he wasn't just struck with a realization.

"The tape! It must've took too much, it's never done someone who's not human before," he said, getting more befuddlement from MT.

"What are you talking about?" she asked, and Jesse took a deep breath.

Okay. He could do this. MT had helped him when he was lost and confused, he could do the same for her.

"Sorry, let me start over. My name's Jesse and this is Alan Dracula. You're on a train, it's kind of a long story but all you need to do is get your number to zero and then we can go home," Jesse explained, and this time MT looked down at her hand, taking in the simple number 1 staring back.

"Well that shouldn't be too hard," she said, which was a fair assumption. It was just one digit. It should be easy.

MT gave him a polite, uncomfortable smile, looking so unlike the confident, funny, passionate friend he'd been traveling with all this time.

Jesse had a feeling that this was going to be anything but easy.

[yardsards]

i feel like i need a sign permanently etched onto my blog that says “if you see me shipping characters much younger than me, please know that i mean it in a ‘this is cute, like when two cats take a nap together’ way and not in a ‘this is a sexy romance’ way or a ‘i have a crush on one or both of these characters’ way and if ur an adult that ships them in the second or third way then please dni and also donate your computer to charity and go live in the woods where i never have to see u again”

[jesse-cosay]

ik u said it doesnt have to be jesslake but. can you do jesslake w 20 👀

"Hey! I'm just catching up on homework." Jesse was sitting at the living room table. True to his words, papers were strewn all across the coffee table.

It was kind of a lot if Lake was being honest.

"Wanna sit with me?" He patted the floor next to him. Because of course he wasn't sitting on the couch. Hell, there were a couple of books on the couch behind him, too. He was using it more as a table than for its intended purpose.

"Sure."

Lake was careful as they stepped in between the stray pages. Squeezing into the small space just to his left.

They were pressed against his side, but even still. A few papers crinkled, underneath them.

"Sorry." They offered lamely. Jesse only shrugged, focusing back on the work before him.

Lake hadn't brought anything to do with them. Hadn't been planning to sit beside Jesse while he busied himself.

"Why is there so much?" They asked, looking over one of the abandoned worksheets they'd crumpled as they'd sat down.

"Well, I was on the train for quite a while."

Lake winced. Tulip had been gone for nearly half a year. Was there a pile of schoolwork waiting for her too?

How much homework did they have to catch up on? They hadn't gone to school their whole life. Lake tried not to grimace at the thought.

They quickly got bored of the worksheets. Unable to really understand any of the questions. Or read many of the words.

Instead, they focused on Jesse. Watching his brows furrow and brighten as he slowly puzzled his way through the homework. Bit by bit, getting it done.

It was cute. His hair was pulled back. Bangs tied up with a scrunchie. Lake could properly see his face now, not hidden behind his hair.

Actually, it looked a little silly. Yeah. Not adorable. It was like one of those little troll things that had funky hair that stood up all pointy. It was obnoxious. Not cute at all.

Sometimes it was all too easy to forget Jesse was a high schooler. That when Lake started school they wouldn't see him until the ride home. Especially when he did things like tying his hair up like a baby who couldn't eat without getting sauce everywhere.

It was nice though, getting to admire him in full. Not that Lake was staring. Or oogling or being weird or whatever. Jesse had invited them to sit with him. They were just passing the time. You could learn a lot about people just by looking- if you really took the time to look. Yeah. That's what it was.

There was a bit of skin, near the edge of his hairline, that looked different. The hair there parted near the- it was a scar, wasn't it? The skin was raised, a bit different than the rest. Discolored. It had to be a scar. Lake was pretty sure Jesse would have mentioned a skin condition by now.

They reached out. Running their thumb over the area. Feeling the rise and fall of skin curiously.

Brown eyes stared at them. Inquisitive and unblinking.

"I thought- there's a scar. Here." Lake didn't pull their hand away. Stuck to the spot with his gaze on them.

"Oh!" He smiled. His eyes squinty with the sheer force of it. Lake almost had to look away.

"It was when I was really young." He laughed, looking a little shy. "It was, ah, it was totally my fault."

"The neighbors had this dog- it was so cute-"

"You got bit by a dog?"

"Oh- no, no! Bandit was a sweetheart!" He assured them, leaning forward as he insisted. "But they had a wooden fence and I would climb the tree near it to see him and- well."

"You fell?"

"I fell." He admitted. "I'm just lucky it wasn't worse. I knicked my head on the fence on the way down. It was low enough that I didn't break anything."

Jesse shrugged awkwardly. "I stopped trying to get into their yard after that."

Lake laughed. "I knew you were always a rule breaker at heart."

Their hand still hovered near his face. Hesitant to pull away. Jesse hadn't shaken them off. Pushing into the touch more than anything.

"The flecs did almost have me there, for a second." He teased. "But you made a compelling argument."

Something in their chest squeezed. And Lake leaned forward, pressing a kiss to the small patch of skin on his hairline. "You were always going to make the right choice."

[novorehere]

I don’t usually reblog ask games but I was tagged in this by three separate people and it looked fun, so here ya go!

Three ships:

I’ve never been like, super into ships? At least not as much as other people on here seem to be. Lately though I’ve been thinking a lot about Brassius and Hassel from Pokémon scarlet and violet… You cannot tell me those two old men aren’t in love after that art class cutscene, c’mon now.

After that I’d probably say Soul/Maka from Soul Eater (a classic) and both rymin and jesslake bc #bringbackinfinitytrain

Lastly, I feel obligated to include Will + Louis from my long time favorite series Getting in Deep by @peachnewt who have been slowburning it for YEARS now and deserve a crumb of shared affection more than any other characters I can think of. Louis has already been in his mouth, just kiss already geez

First Ship:

Ok this question is really going to reveal some deep Kate cringe lore but the very first proper fandom I was ever introduced to was the hetalia fandom back in middle school. I even ran the @hetaliafunnyrandomness blog back in the day, which is a secret I have told absolutely no one up until right now. Anyway gerita forever ✌️ Not only that, but I was also super into homestuck back around that same time period… I was huge meowrails stan. I even made my own nepeta cosplay and painted myself grey and everything. That was uh. Definitely a time.

Last song I listened to:

Luxury Spoon by Van de Shop. It’s the opening to the new anime “Campfire Cooking in Another World With my Absurd Skill” which looks so goofy silly and I’ve been meaning to start watching it. Also the song is a bop.

Last Movie I Watched:

The new Puss in Boots movie. It was actually crazy good, I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would. The animation went crazy, and the characters had so much charisma! The theatre was packed, and everyone was in their late teens/early twenties which made for a pretty fun atmosphere I’ve never really had at the movies before.

Currently Reading:

My fanfic wips that I’ve been procrastinating Ok but to be honest, I don’t really read proper books that much anymore. Which is a huge shame, because I used to devour books as a kid. But the ADHD burnout hit hard in highschool and I’ve been book dead ever since. Most of the reading I do nowadays is within the realm of tumblr and ao3 (I am a sad online person) but I absolutely adore reading all of you guy’s fanfics and original stories!! All of you are so creative, you guys inspire me a lot :)

Currently Watching:

The new season of My Hero Academia with my boyfriend. Yes, I watch my hero academia. Cue the laugh tracks I don’t care it’s a good show. I’m a sucker for goofy silly animated friend groups, ok?

Currently Consuming:

You My leftover free pizza from work :)

Currently Craving:

Validation??? Or maybe some cane’s chicken strips. Either or is fine.

I have tagging anxiety so I’m not gonna tag anyone but if you’re reading this you have my blessing to go ahead and reblog this bc I want to know more about you guys!

[Tag game] Nine people you want to get to know better

Tagged by the lovely @artbyeloquent and the amazing @vivrune, thank you both so much!

Rules: Answer all the questions, then tag 9 people you want to get to know better!

Three Ships: I’m not a massive fandom shipper, I mostly just ship my original characters but hmmm, what ships have I been more than passively interested in… Kala and Wolfgang from Sense8, Kaz and Inej from Six of Crows, and currently, Shionne and Alphen from Tales of Arise.

First Ship: Oh god I don’t even know. Probably Link and Zelda from the Legend of Zelda, or Jessica and Angelo from Dragon Quest VIII?? That’s the earliest I can remember rooting for as a small child, at least.

Last Song I Listened To: Paper Mache Planes by Nova & The Experience

Last Movie I Watched: Probably Avatar: The Way of Water.

Currently Reading: Truthfully, a very big book for work. In terms of on my reading list for enjoyable books: A Lady’s Formula for Love by Elizabeth Everett.

Currently Watching: Rewatching Lockwood and Co., weekly episodes of My Hero Academia, and Masterchef Season 12 just while I’m cooking. Recently finished the new season of Way of the Househusband.

Currently Consuming: Leftover vegetarian chili and vegan cornbread. Personally not vegetarian, but my partner is! (it was our first attempt at making it together and we didn’t follow a recipe for the chili. And it was just so good).

Currently Craving: Like I was telling @ls-daydreams in this post Korean fried chicken.

Tagging with very little pressure or expectation: @mecharose @thewriterghost @thewriteflame @sarahlizziewrites @brick-a-doodle-do @writernopal @scorpiolight-madd @royal1asset-if @wordsforarmor

If you see this and want to do it too, please do! Feel free to say that I tagged you, I’d love to see.

If you want to be tagged by me for tag games, click here!

[therantingsage]

Alabaster (Like the Moon)

Prologue

It's a misty night in the kingdom of Perenium, and the moon is full. All the clouds in the sky have descended to cloak the earth, not that anyone was awake to see it.

It's quiet. Calm. Perfectly ordinary, and perfectly peaceful.

There's a deer in the castle's statue garden. Deer didn't live in the forest nearest to the castle, so it would be quite a puzzling sight were anyone awake to see.

The deer, hooves near-silent against soft stone and damp grass, approaches one statue in particular. A young girl, reaching for the heavens with one hand and clasping the other in front of her chest. She is dressed in a flowing gown, wearing a circlet on her brow and a pendant on her neck.

The deer flicks an ear. It glances down, to the pond beside the statue. It takes a drink, and when it's finished, raises its head back to the statue. It bumps its nose against the clasped hand, closes its eyes, and lets out a chuff.

And then something strange happens. The deer's eyes open anew, faintly glowing. The glow sends beams across the mist in the garden, and across the statue. It turns to the pond, the moon reflected in its surface, and steps onto it; it does not sink.

The deer walks fully into the middle of the pond, right over the reflected moon. The deer's eyes glow brighter, as if emboldened by the pale reflection.

And then pale wings sprout from the deer's back. A glowing orb manifests between its horns. The glow of its eyes pulse with distinct, undeniable power.

It glances once more at the statue, and disappears in a faint flash of light, the only remnant of its presence a ripple on the water.

Deep within the statue, something changes. But no one will notice, not til the kingdom wakes anew.

[office-worker-91]

Haven't been posting recently because I've been busy, but here, have the first Jesslake thought that pops into my head, since that's what most people follow me for:

I feel like a lot of people (accidentally, I'm not accusing anyone of anything here) when planning out the idea of Lake and Jesse's futures, kinda ignore the idea of Lake and Jesse making new friends.

Which is understandable for some reasons:

Jesse and Lake's relationship is pretty much the main focus of Book 2, so it just makes sense people only really think about them.

Other than Nate or Tulip, we don't ever really see the two interact with other non-train locals. And people DO flesh out the relationships present here.

Jesse's "popular phase" where he was too susceptible to peer pressure is the only background we see with other people outside of Lake and his family. And Lake doesn't have any background with other people.

You're pretty much forced to create OCs if you make this a fanfic plotline.

Despite all of this, I really think there's a lot of potential in showing both Jesse and Lake building friendships outside of/with each other. We can see Jesse learn to do things in his new casual relationships, like establish boundaries and be more openly himself. Lake will struggle with making friends as someone who stands out so much, but they can also get to experience the simple joys of hanging out with a group of people who just kinda enjoy their company and want to be around them.

It doesn't need to detract from Lake and Jesse's relationship, and in fact would probably just highlight how close they are in comparison.

[lake-cosay]

pspspsps i'm making a jesslake totk au, mainly for shits and giggles but any ideas are very much welcome

i'm most likely gonna make lake link and jesse zelda but the inverse would be kinda fun... i'm gonna do some doodles

the main thing i can't decide on is if lake should be a regular hylian or still be tulip's reflection. i always lean towards regular reflection lake for fantasy aus bc you can still make it work pretty easily but idk, hylian lake might make more sense here