For a prompt, maybe Jinty and Pug discuss the NWR engines and their opinions on them
OOOOOOOOOOH Two lesser-known RWS characters who barely get any screentime? Free real estate!! Sign me up!!
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(CW: canon-typical angst related to scrapping)
The sun had long set by the time the cleaners had finished their work, leaving Jinty and Pug to their lonesome in the sheds up at Ffarquhar. Although the two had been given the option to join their three fellows over in the main sheds at Tidmouth, Jinty was stationed on this branchline anyway, and Pug, who served as Tidmouth's station pilot, was frankly quite tired of noise and bustle and was far more inclined to find a comfortable berth next to his best friend.
The two loaned engines couldn't help but stare up at the starry skies; neither of them had worked so far away from a city before, and the heavens here were overflowing with stars, as far as the eye could see. The wind teased at their faces, and a short distance away from the berths, wildflowers swayed to and fro in the breeze, the entire island like a picture postcard or perhaps even a book illustration.
However, despite the tranquility of the picturesque surroundings, Jinty found himself in something of a snit as he recalled what had happened earlier that day on this very branch line.
"You know," the Fowler grumbled, breaking the easy silence, "this island's real nice n' all, and Perce wasn't kidding when he said this place was so lovely it could be out of a storybook, but the people here are weird."
"You're telling me," Pug chuckled, but it came from a place of exhaustion rather than humor. "For the past week, I've been made to do shunting work at Tidmouth, and I've worked until my axles ache. Then, what does the yard manager say to me? 'Oh, you did pretty well.' When I ask him what I should do better, he says 'Oh, it's not that. Just that Duck usually organizes all this by midday.' Well, what am I supposed to say to that? I'm not some ex-Paddington shunter like Duck is!"
With a groan, Pug let out a long sigh, lips pinching together in consternation. "I like the work here, and I like the people here, but man, they act like any engine who's not their engine is just... wrong somehow! I like Duck well enough; he's a bit stuffy for me, but all of those GWR folks are. I didn't realize he was God's gift to shunting yards, though!"
"You're telling me!" Jinty agreed, plenty willing to commiserate. "I run this branch line just as Thomas showed me. Guy's a riot. He's telling me about his race with some bus, tries showing me, ends up crashing into the buffers."
"Yeah, yeah, I remember. You told me about it when it happened, too."
"...Right. Well, I'm running this branch line just like he told me, trying to say hello and be polite and all that, and what do I get? Complaints for being too polite. People thinking I'm being uppity. What am I supposed to do with that?"
"Does Thomas say hello to everyone he meets?" Jinty continued to ramble. "I have no idea. And they keep watching me, like they're waiting for me to make some kind of mistake or pull some crazy stunt. I don't know about you, but I'm not Thomas; I can actually read and respect the danger board, yet apparently, some passengers had the gall to be disappointed! 'What a boring ride,' they said! Has Thomas somehow learned to juggle? Is that his secret?"
Pug let out a loud, nasally laugh in response, seemingly happy that he wasn't alone in feeling slightly out of place on this island, when suddenly, a thought struck him.
"I heard Jumbo, who's doing the goods work and standing in for Henry, has to keep pulling those giant fish trains."
"Oh, yeah! He keeps complaining that he smells."
"Well, he smells better when he's fishy than when he was pulling his previous hauls."
"Can't argue with you there."
Their banter went on for a while longer, turning to Gordon—"All of the passengers say Semi's less of a wildcard than Gordon is, but they're so used to his antics that Semi's just too quiet by comparison!"—then James—"Jumbo does his work too, and apparently he doesn't smile enough... or cause enough trouble to make it worth waking up early for?!"—and finally Edward: "Ol' Yorkie's doing his best, and apparently, everyone loves him. Supposedly, he reminds them of Edward. Maybe they're all enthusiasts of old engines."
Once they'd had their share of laughter about the engines and their strange passengers, the two visiting engines fell silent, contemplating all that they'd said.
"You know," Jinty hummed, "the passengers may be strange, and the engines may be oddballs, but I wouldn't mind sticking around. You know that Toby? I could learn a thing or two from him; I watched him weesh a whole flock of chickens back to their pen while he was here. Besides, you can actually see the stars and smell the air here."
"Mmhmm," Pug agreed, eyes drifting toward the starscape once again. "It'd be nice to work with Perce again. He seems so happy here."
"Wouldn't you be? Everything's so slow and quiet here."
"...It is."
"..."
"..."
"Do you miss this too?"
"Can't miss what you didn't have, but... I think I will once this is all over."
The air between the two, once happily companionable, shifted into something more melancholic, more pensive, as Pug began to speak.
"Jinty... this is our last job, isn't it?"
Jinty's eyes slipped over to look over at Pug, who was still staring out into the night sky, as though committing every last inch of it to memory, before his own eyes settled on the waving wildflowers nearby. "Yeah, I think so too. Who knows how long we'll be kept around once we're sent back to the mainland."
"Do you think Sir Topham will take us, maybe? I mean, we are doing what we can..."
"I don't know. Maybe he will, but I doubt it; he's only got eight engines on his railway as-is. I don't think he can afford us too."
"Mmm... maybe you're right."
"Still, to be honest, I wouldn't mind if this was my last job. I'm tired, Pug. They won't pay for my overhaul. If I break down, that's it. If this is the last real job I do, then... I'm glad it could be here."
The stars continued to dance above the sheds, the wildflowers waving. The wind breezed by, and the moon had come up, languidly crossing the sky along her invisible track. All of these tiny miracles, no longer found in the depths and depots of the bustling cities. They were lucky, really, to have gotten to see them, as well as work a job where they could be really Useful and stretch their wheels one last time. What more could they possibly ask for?
"Yeah," Pug murmured at long last, a grateful resignation in his tone. "Those lucky engines... their island is weird and they're all so strange, but... I can only wish 'em the best."
If your child "becomes" autistic after hanging out with an autistic person, then they were always autistic. They were drawn to someone who sees the world in a similar way, and being around other similar people made them feel safe being themself instead of being who you want them to be.
what people don’t understand about how adhd is disabling is that it’s not just getting temporarily distracted from, like, school work or hobbies. it’s getting distracted/being unable to motivate yourself to go to the doctor, eat regularly, do hygiene tasks, etc. it’s not knowing when or how long it will take you to do something, ANYTHING, and in many cases that thing is taking a shower or keeping your house from turning into a biohazard. it’s about being fundamentally incapable of controlling your attention and focus on anything, even and especially things you need to do to survive.
Finally catching up on this week’s prompts! For Day One, I’m doing a piece depicting my favorite background character and I’ve chosen none other than the berry special Bradley Biggle!
From his endearingly dorky look and personality to the creative possibilities he presents, there’s I reason I’ve made him part of the main cast in the Dandyverse! SHABLAGOOOOOO!
vaporwave
pixelskylines
dededos
titsay
discoholicmusic
turnnoffyourmind
