(2/7) Oddball scenario where Edward and Toby get stuck in the land of Lilliput and Blefuscu
A short while back I made a brief Twitter thread entailing how Edward and Toby can technically be an interesting pair, as they are fundamentally very different each other in a lot of aspects when diving a bit deeper from their “wise old engine” descriptions on the surface. The tale of Gulliver’s Travels, while not at all new to parodying and re-adapting, was something I thought would be a really fun premise to use the dynamic between the two characters. Someone also mentioned that "Edward is the Godzilla to Toby's King Kong", in which I just ran with it because it makes way too much sense thinking about it 😂. Decided to call this story "Ironwood Travels", derived from both Toby and Edward's nicknames, "wooden shed on wheels" and "old iron" respectively.
The idea is that (somehow) Edward ends up on Lilliput while Toby in its neighboring island Blefuscu. They learn the hard way that reasoning with Lilliputians/Blefuscudians is almost fruitless because they’re not just small physically but also morally — they firmly hold the belief of possessing the highest standard of etiquette, yet start violent conflict over the pettiest things. Edward gets miffed and actively destroys Lilliput and Blefuscu's weapons as well as redirecting their armadas away from each other. Toby meanwhile sits there letting their little shenanigans happen anyway, taking amusement at both nations making themselves look idiotic. A stern talking between the two engines eventually escalates into a full-blown fight — with both islands undergoing the consequences of it.
