greasedinah: boooo. Crammed two names together and not even well. At least it's possible to pronounce. 2/10
greased lightning: clever use of their names + vibes to make a fun reference to another musical!! And a song about cars which are also vehicles like trains!! Super cute!! 10/10
dinahboose: again. Boringggg!! And if you wanted to take the cram-names-together route, there's a much easier way to line these two up. 2/10
reddinah: kinda cute, easy to say, etc. barely better. 4/10
smoked burgers: really cute but puts a bad taste in my mouth. Why would you smoke a burger 5/10
smoked hotdogs: adorable. Plus I think they would giggle about the innuendo. Fits them perfectly! 9/10
prusty: crusty, yucky, sounds like a word you would use to describe a pimple or mold. Gross. 1/10
pearlescent rust: so good?? Describes them so well?? Even though they rust they still shine?? Lovely, 9/10
If you have more, lmk. Also this is not a judgement of the ships, just the names. If it was a ship rating dinahboose would have scored better lol
Rusty glanced across the table to Greaseball, a little uncomfortable. It had been Pearl and Dinah's idea for the couples to go on a double-date, and the coaches were clearly enjoying it more than the engines.
It had only been three weeks since the World Championships, and Rusty still wasn't entirely comfortable around Greaseball, given their past. The diesel was tired and cranky most of the time, in a lot of pain thanks to his still-healing injuries. Despite his temper being shorter than ever, he'd been surprisingly polite to everyone, especially Dinah. Things still weren't perfect between the two, but it was clear to Rusty that the diesel was trying to change.
"-Rusty? Sweetie, did you hear me?"
Rusty blinked, turning to face Pearl. She was looking a little concerned. "Are you alright?" You seem a bit... off."
Rusty quickly shook his head, giving her a reassuring smile. "I'm alright Pearl, just..." He glanced across the table, grimacing at the scene of Greaseball trying to cram his entire steak into his mouth, probably in some strange attempt to impress Dinah. Rusty quickly lowered his voice. "...I'm just still getting used to being friendly with Greaseball, is all."
Pearl's eyes widened; that thought hadn't occurred to her. "Oh Starlight- I'm sorry Rusty, I should've realised-"
"No, no it's alright, Pearl." Rusty gently cut in. "I agreed to come, we're having a pretty good time so far."
He glanced over to Dinah and Greaseball, the former of which was teasingly scolding Greaseball for his bizarre way of trying to impress her. In hindsight, Rusty was surprised at how intimidating the diesel could be sometimes; he'd done weird stuff like this all the time.
"So, Rusty"," He turned his attention solely to Dinah, who was looking at him expectantly, "You gonna apply to start pullin' trains? You're champion now, y'shouldn't just be stuck in the yard all day!"
Rusty shrugged, taking a sip of his drink. "It'd definitely be fun... but d'you really wanna be stuck with Gear as the only shunter?"
He glanced warily over to Greaseball, a little uneasy about making such a comment about the big diesel's friend, but he was more preoccupied with his food than the conversation.
"Control's said he can pull the Christmas train this year though!" Pearl announced proudly, pulling Rusty a little closer. Rusty blushed, flattered by how happy his girlfriend was for him.
Dinah beamed. "That's great, sugar! You deserve a bit of time out to enjoy yourself." She gently nudged Greaseball. "Greasy, y'hear that? Rusty's pullin' this year's Christmas train!"
Greaseball looked up at him, and for a moment Rusty feel himself shrink under the diesel's imposing gaze.
After an agonising few seconds, Greaseball smiled. "Congrats, it's a fun job. Take it easy and you'll enjoy it."
Rusty let out a sigh of relief he didn't realise he'd been holding, smiling and shuffling a little closer to Pearl, before continuing with his meal.
-They BOTH think that the other is too good for them.
-Pearl is usually the one initiating kisses and stuff like that, Rusty's shy.
-While Rusty does compliment Pearl quite a bit, Pearl loves dumping a boatload of affection on Rusty, she likes how flustered he gets.
-Rusty loves showing Pearl the sights around the yard!! Pearl loves it when Rusty really gets into explaining something!
-They go on cheesy dates! Movies, nice dinner, stargazing, a stroll by the lake, it's all very cliche but they love it !
-Cuddle time is best time. As I've said before, Rusty is an actual oven, and he keeps Pearl warm even on the coldest days! Pearls hair is very soft and she loves it when Rusty runs his hands through it.
-Pearl tests out nail polish on Rusty. Sometimes he just shows up to work with his nails a rainbow of pastels.
-Rusty is not the best at comforting people when they're sad, but he always tries really hard to make Pearls day better when she's not feeling good. Pearl appreciates the effort, if nothing else.
Picture from post 2018 because I truly think this is the sweetest incarnation of them 💞
I like this cute idea of them being very awkward with each other at first, probably cause Rusty thinks Pearl is really pretty and Pearl thinks Rusty is adorable and sweet. They become friends pretty easily and Rusty makes sure that she knows he's got her back. :)
Pearl is pretty naive and is easily taken in by Elektra and Greaseball and their competitive antics - but it takes until Rusty is hurt for her to truly see that they're just using her for their own personal gain. It's apparent that they don't care about her or Rusty for that matter, and she's very torn up by the time the final race is finished.
I mean, Rusty saved her life?! And she probably thinks she isn't deserving of him without Coco having to tell her. It hurts her inside until Rusty finds her and makes sure she knows that everything is okay - and I fully believe she's still in love with him regardless of whether he won or not.
Rusty probably got a nice sum of prize money too so he treats her to a very nice date 😊
