#infinity train headcanons

[infinitytrainheadcanons]

jesse thought he and lake were dating for the longest time, but turns out it was just a him thing

[fermented-writers-block]

Simulation Assessment Model​

Randomized Orb Value: G2Z4E11​

Projection Test Type: C​

History Proposal:​

On the train, denizens take many forms. Dogs, rock people, paper cranes, giant pig babies, and more. Although all of them are artificial beings projected through orbs on a perpetual train, it is an unfortunate fact that denizens only live a "normal lifespan" for whatever they are created as. Corgis have an average lifespan of 14 years, and that is about as long as Atticus will live for example.

The Cat, however, is an outlier.

Well over a hundred and fifty years old - in human years, not cat years - her unusual longevity shows no signs of stopping anytime soon. While no official statements nor more episodes have been made to help shed light on the mystery, I would like to preface my theory with a bit of context:

One of the oldest traditions in software is what is known as a "Hello, World!" program. In total, this program instructs a computer to display a message similar to the titular "Hello, World!" Simple and succinct, it is one of if not the first program students of new programming languages learn how to code. And with its simplicity, "Hello, World!" can be used to ensure the code compilation software has been installed properly and that the operator is using it correctly.

Similarly famous and historic is the "Utah teapot." Coming from the world of 3D modeling and computer graphics, it possess features familiar to many simple teapots: a spout, a handle, and a curvy shape. Lacking a need for surface textures, capable of casting shadows on itself, and possessing a decently complex yet easy to make model, it has been regarded a "perfect self contained object to test the creation of three-dimensional images." Even with today's advanced technology, it is still regarded as an effective standard reference model for beginners and experimenters alike.

Moving into the burgeoning field of 3D printing, one can find "Benchy," as well as its upcoming replacement "Boaty." Respectively a boat and a bench, these two unofficial models have been growing in popularity over the years, often finding themselves among many people's first prints. Either on a newly set up 3D printer, or with a new 3D printing material one hasn't used before. Whether through measuring a Benchy/Boaty's dimensional accuracy, checking its surface quality, and observing other attributes like overhangs (or the lack thereof), they are shaping up to become the next "Hello, World!" and Utah teapot.

In other words, the latest in a line of near ubiquitous benchmark tests for assessing the performance of a system upon first use.

With that established, picture a staircase where each step is a level of technology. From mere software to virtual models to physical printed objects, a few more steps is all it takes to climb aboard the Train. Memory tapes that hold an immersive snapshot of a person's mindscape. Wormholes that can disintegrate and reassemble people across time and space. An unknown level of influence over an entire parallel reality of reflections with all its existentially terrifying implications.

Orb-generated pocket dimension environments and so many intelligent and thinking people as denizens.

Maybe the reason the Cat doesn't have a normal lifespan like other denizens is because she isn't a 'proper' denizen in the first place. After all, the aforementioned benchmark tests lack the extra bells and features the systems they evaluate are capable of making when pushed. The original Utah teapot model didn't even have a base. So it's not hard to imagine the train's denizen creation system might have forgone extraneous programming like an artificial 'normal lifespan' limitation while performing startup checks, way back when the train first came online.

Thus, my proposal is that the Cat had started out as a benchmark projection for non-lifespan-related test requirements. Maybe her template just lacks the "normal lifespan" programming, and/or the "normal lifespan" programming was tested with a different, unfortunate benchmark projection. Either way, she served her vital system evaluation purpose and then got set aside as a no-longer critical part of the train. From that rock bottom, she could only go up from there. With a life as long as hers and having seen as much of the train as she has, there's so many potential answers for how she eventually transformed into the French con artist kitty we know today.

Like, for example, her collecting of many 'things.' It may seem like that's simply the norm she’s settled into by the present, but Simon's comment about how "she's collecting again" suggests it is actually her slipping into a bad old habit. As though rampant collecting is a coping mechanism for something. While the guilt from leaving Simon behind would easily explain such regression in behavior, therein lies the question of where said behavior came from in the first place. 

If you ask me, I cannot help but look at the train of thought that started this all: Samantha lacking the programmed lifespan denizens have due to being a test object. Aka an immortal amongst denizens who will one day die, passengers who either die on the train or eventually disembark, and even car environments that are affected by time in ways she isn't.

Certainly makes one think about her having once gotten close enough with Simon for her to tell him to call her "Samantha," but now emphasizes to everyone she meets to merely know her as "THE Cat"...

[trojanteapot]

Everyone else has normal or even cute headcanons for Infinity Train like Jesse is bisexual, or Tulip is a lesbian, or Tulip is acearo, or Lake would become a metalhead, or Ryan and Min-Gi would listen to The Smiths (all of which I think makes a lot of sense) but my headcanons are all more cursed. Such as:

Hazel isn't a clone of Alrich, but Amelia's biological daughter, which she had after she boinked a failed clone of Alrich that turned into a turtle person.

Or

Most Train cars follow Westworld rules. So after a certain amount of time, the vast majority of denizens reset after following passengers around, and that Tuba's entire role is to be a grieving mother, so every time the Jungle Car resets Tuba's child is alive again, but then dies, and then Tuba's grief is used to help passengers deal with their own grief. (Also this means that when the Jungle Car gets out of quarantine Tuba will be alive again but won't remember Hazel, which is also extremely sad in a different way.)

Or

When the Train in the past took away passengers' belongings, it would also take away stuff like prescription medication, which would be very bad for certain passengers who need antidepressants or antipsychotics, or other medication that they need in order to survive, like asthma inhalers. More fun ways for the Train to indirectly kill passengers yay!

Also another headcanon I have is that The Cat doesn't actually speak French and just pretends she does to sound uppity/fancy. But that one isn't cursed it's just a normal one.

[elsa-targaryen]

I’m obsessed with the idea that passengers who die on the Infinity Train somehow have their consciousness saved and are reborn as denizens who then have a chance to help (or hinder) others. I particularly like the idea of Simon having a (yet another) chance to address both his trauma and his bullshit. He would have to acknowledge the value of denizens as sentient beings as he himself would be one.

Also, he did say things like “why would anyone ever want to leave the train?” And now he wouldn’t be able to and I would like to see him have to deal with that.

Furthermore, this would open up the possibility of getting human Samantha backstory and finding out why she is the way she is.

[oicuperp]

hc that ryan LOVES california gurls and forced min to learn the lyrics

[autisticheadcanonsdaily]

Tulip Olsen from Infinity Train is autistic, submitted by anon!

[emmettspeakz]

Post infinity train book 4 Ryan & min-gi headcanons

-they’re from the 80s so they’re in their 40s now. I like to think they’re reasonably successful these days

-they sometimes add a triangle to their songs to keep the memory of Kez alive, because she helped them work out their issues and they’re grateful

-Eventually Ryan just wears the shirt as a headband as he gets older since it definitely won’t fit over his head anymore

-Also they’re married and have a corgi shhhh

[4rainynite]

Infinity Train Headcanons part 3

Hey, I'm back with more Infinity Train headcanons. Here are the links to the others: one and two. This one will be about the passengers' friends and family.

Megan and Andy Olsen

The two either met at college or at a Chicken Choice Judy concert (I believe the second part because of irony).

After the divorce Andy stayed with a friend who's still in a bachelor stage. The friend is still close to Megan and Tulip and invites them for dinners a lot.

Megan once begged Tulip to get a normal flavored cake for one of her birthdays instead of onion. Tulip agreed to get vanilla cake, but only if she got an onion one. Turns out everyone liked the onion one better, and Megan never told them the cake had onion in it.

The reason the Olsen house is so far away from any other house because Megan and Andy built it themselves. They were told it was going to be a neighborhood, but the company went into bankruptcy before other houses could be made. They didn't mind though.

Their happiest memories together was when they were on road trips with Tulip. They tried to get her into Chicken Choice Judy, but Tulip would only listen to 'Word Up' and songs from animated movies.

Mikayla

Mikayla is a music nerd: jazz, hip-hop, low-fi, classical, she loves them all. When Tulip gets back from the train she introduces her to Chicken Choice Judy. Tulip realizes after hearing 'Train to Nowhere' that they were passengers too.

Mikayla is the oldest of four siblings. Whenever Tulip visits her, it makes her both wish she had siblings and thankful that she’s an only child.

When Mikayla got the news of Tulip missing, she believed that by talking about Tulip's parents being divorce she caused her to run away. Mikayla blamed herself, but Tulip reassured her it wasn't her fault.

Mikayla is an outdoorsy kind of person and prefers going to parks, festivals, beaches- basically anything not indoors. Maybe that's why she hates video games because their almost always inside.

I see Mikayla as a hipster. But she won't like or dislike something because it's popular. She'll give things a chance before she decides she's not into it.

Nathan Cosay

After, witnessing Jesse going back on the train then returning Lake, Nate wonders if one day if he'll ever get on the train. Jesse and Lake do their best reassure him that the train is there to help passengers learn, secretly they hope it never happens.

Nate loves animals (mostly dogs from his t-shirt from the last episode). After, Jesse and Lake talk about Alan Dracula, Nate so wants to meet the magical deer.

Nate was inspired by Jesse to swim. Every chance they get the two use the lake to practice and goof off.

Lake has a stupidly large soft spot for Nate. She'll/They'll help him with homework and win bets against Jesse. Jesse doesn't blame Lake for it since Nate is a good kid.

I don't know why by I see him as a s'mores lover (maybe because I'm craving some right now). Like every campout with the family he eats the most s'mores and never gets sick!

Jesse's ex-friends

The group is most likely juniors as Jesse is a freshman.

Are the bullies at their school and nobody knows why a nice guy like Jesse would hang out with them?

When Jesse disappeared, they were blamed for it along with Nate's broken arm.

They're most likely to dropout or get kicked out of school.

I refuse to give them names because they are bullies.

Jesse and Nate's Parents

Their names are Alex and Madeline (based on the writers' names).

Have a love of the great outdoors and are glad Jesse and Nate (and Lake, Tulip, and Hazel) share in their love of nature.

The mom is a huge Chicken Choice Judy fan and got Jesse into them.

The Dad works at a sports store that sells a lot of camping equipment.

After, hearing how Jesse got on (and off) the train, they worry that the train will come back. So, they put Jesse, Nate, and Lake in therapy as a safety percussion.

Grace's Parents

Grace's mom grew up poor and as soon as she got married to Grace's father she never looked back. They did visit them during trips to England, but they were brief visits. Grace barely remembers them, but she misses her maternal grandparents.

Their names are Kirby (After Grace's voice actress) and Justin.

After, Grace went on the train, her parents realized they knew nothing about their daughter not even her favorite color. Grace's caretakers ended up giving more information to police than them.

Grace's father holds some sort of government position as seen in the 'Origami Car' episode they were having dinner with an ambassador.

I believe they came from loving families and as an ironic twist were neglectful towards Grace.

Simon's Parents

I think his family ran a funeral home and there were many deaths in his family.

Simon's mom has zero fashion sense due to the socks and sandals thing (ugh).

Not gonna lie this is all I have on Simon's family, since there wasn't much to go on from the beginning.

Apex Kids

Let's be honest the families of the Apex kids are going to hate Simon and Grace! Not only were the kids missing for years, but they were raised to be murderous cultist and abused! And no amount of tragic backstory is gonna make what happened okay.

Even after Grace leaves the train she will have zero contact with the former Apex members because she wants them to grow up and be better than her and like I said above the children's families hate her.

After, Lucy gets off the train her parents try to get her a glass eye or donor. Lucy refuses saying it's punishment and a reminder of the things she did on the train.

Because of the Apex some denizens are terrified of children passengers.

The first act of dismantling the Apex was them cleaning up the Mall Car.

Ryan and Min-Gi's Families

Min-Gi's mom is a nurse and his dad banker (which is why they wanted Min-Gi to go into finances). Ryan's mom is a daycare worker, and his dad is maybe a ferry worker (from the ferry joke he made in the Twin Tapes episode).

Ryan's siblings are named Allison (Oldest sister), Naia (older sister), Izaac (younger brother), and Nick (youngest brother). The names are based on their voice actors and writers. We know Ryan's mom's name is Yui, Min-Gi's mom's name is Niki (after her voice actress), I had no idea what to name the dad's since they share the same voice actor.

Ryan's siblings know about his magazines (check the deleted scene to understand) and find it hilarious that their parents thought the magazines were Min-Gi's.

Ryan's younger brother wears glasses when he's older making him and Ryan the only glasses wearers in their family.

Mrs. Park and Mr. Akagi are the cooks of their families.

Min-Gi's mom was the first one to know and accept Min-Gi's and Ryan's relationship. When the boys went missing it hit both families hard; so, Mrs. Park worked longer hours at the hospital to distract herself. Since season four takes place during the 80's and it was the time of the HIV/AIDS crisis the hospital would've been packed with patients, who Mrs. Park treated. One of them I'm gonna call Whizzer (Falsettos reference) ended up in Mrs.Park care and later befriending her. Whizzer reminded her of Min-Gi and Ryan and was around their age and became like another child to her. Over time Mrs. Park learns of Whizzer history about how his parents didn't support his dreams, was disowned and abandoned by so-called loved ones, and ended up with HIV; this makes Mrs. Park wonder if she was supporting Min-Gi on what he wanted to do with his life. Whizzer's condition worsens; Mrs. Park stayed with him until the end. The last things Whizzer told her was he wished to have met Min-Gi and Ryan and that he hoped they would find them soon. Later, -like a week or something- Min-Gi and Ryan return from the train, Mrs. Park accidently finds out about their relationship. When, the two leave to go to New York, she tells them she accepts them. At first, they thought she meant she accepted their dream of music (which she does), but she was accepting them as who they were. Every year on Whizzer's birthday Mrs.Park goes to his grave, and Min-Gi and Ryan go with her. WOW! I did not mean for this to be that long, now I need to write a fanfic of this.

Ryan's Ex-Girlfriends

Their names are Lindsay (Disco), Megan (Punk), and Sofia (Earthy). Again, their names are based off people who worked on the show.

Ryan also dated two guys while he was on the road who were a goth and a prep.

The Disco girl works at a roller-skating ring, Punk girl works at a tattoo parlor, and Earthy girl is either a florist or owns a fruit stall at a farmer's market.

Earthy girl tried to return the van after Ryan and Min-Gi returned from the train, but Ryan let her keep it. During the months the boys went missing Earthy girl befriended Ryan's sisters.

Ryan is still friends with his exes, the reason why is because Ryan was nice to them, and they had dated worse. They love telling Min-Gi embarrassing dating stories.

Jeremy Bradford

Jeremy was very close to mother and sister growing up, so their deaths deeply affected him. In fact, Morgan reminds him of his mother and Kez reminds him of his sister.

Probably opened up a hat store after getting off the train.

Jeremy befriends Min-Gi and Ryan, the three bond over how they miss Kez and Morgan.

After getting off the train the first person he contacted was his roommate Keith who missed him the most while he was on the train.

I don't know why, but I think he's British or maybe he's from Florida.

Cassette Girl

Can't decide to name her Kari or Annisa (named after voice actor and artist).

Works at a music studio as an intern and helped Chicken Choice Judy get their music out, and later became their manager.

She probably is a huge sushi and coffee fan. Every year on her birthday Min-Gi and Ryan take her to a new cafe or sushi place.

Is street and musical smart.

Ryan and Min-Gi tell her about Kez and the crazy adventures she got them into (not that she's a bell or the train part though). She finds Kez funny and wishes to meet her one day... She does.

Alrick

Alrick is allergic to nuts so he only eats jam.

As much as Alrick loves kids, he didn't want to be a dad. He was fine being a babysitter or uncle. Luckily, Amelia didn't care for kids.

From Amelia's memories Alrick and her loved trying new activates like: dancing, cooking, they might've even tried bungee jumping, as long as they were together.

Alrick was the cook of the two, except pancakes for some weird reason they'd come out burnt to a crisp or soupy on the inside. Amelia will always make the best pancakes.

The day Alrick died it was a rainy day when he was dirt-biking with his friends. When, it rained on his funeral it drove Amelia even more because both used to love rainy days.

Extras

Ryan befriended the lesbian couple at the party in 'The Twin Tapes'.

Jesse befriends everyone on his swim team and theatre club. It takes Lake awhile, but she/they do make their own friends.

Tulip befriends other ex-passengers at game design camp.

The girls in Grace's ballet class would later find out that Grace lied to them. But, by the time they do Grace dropped out of their class making them look like fools.

After, Amelia disappeared friends and relatives spent years trying to find her.