#forsythia the rambunctious engine

[transsexualunderground]

SYCORAX IN: DAY OF THE DIESELS

i really want to hear about sycorax!!!

Oooh aight aight!

This one is my DOTD AU, because, as much as I like bringin' back ol' unhinged D10, this movie's got some major flaws, yet major potential, too. And look, Percy's got friends other than Thomas.

Enter Sycorax, a slightly-pretentious, dramatic, artistic, silly little Shakespeare fan of a BR Class 12 that lost their wheels in an accident and got tiny little narrow gauge Co-Co bogies slapped on 'em. They work on the UHR, which, is a whole can of worms to explain on its own.

The UHR, or the Ulfstead Heritage Railway, is an absurd little heritage railway going in and around Ulfstead, and is linked up to the Skarloey via a long, straight, boring line with one water column in the middle (until a Little Caesar's is installed, long story). Not to be confused with the Estate Railway, as this was built using Mid Sodor track, and is basically me taking that portion of rail shown in Toby's Discovery and adding to it.

(And It Was At This Point He Realized This Post Would Be Very Long, Because Now He's Recapping the WIP Because He Is Convinced He Won't Finish a Script Version After He Finishes This Outline-Thing)

Anyways. This one's about Sycorax, who I've decided has a few different levels of envy (the closest thing to engine gender envy and envy of his claw, mostly) when it comes to Diesel 10, yet, also an intrigue and a desire to meet him. With a claw like his, you could do a multitude of things Sycorax yearns to do, and most of that boils down to creative endeavors.

So, this is a tale with D10 written a bit closer to his personality in TATMR (campy ridiculousness yet being genuinely menacing), with some splashes of his DOTD tendencies in there (the scheming! the manipulativeness! I think TATMR Diesel 10 is very capable of this, but I'll tap into DOTD D10 a little more for this, too.) Also, Splatter and Dodge are 'Arry and Bert Headcanon Antics. Because once, a friend of mine came up with the HC that 'Arry and Bert are Splatter and Dodge because model reuse. (Diesel 10 gets to call them "Barry" now instead of "Splodge." Seems like they had a competence upgrade in general but they can get silly with it, too.) (While I'm at it, I gave Pinchy its semi-sentience back.)

Now onto the actual plot, it follows quite a few of the beats from DOTD except with less of the friendship envy and fire antics (at least in my planning, I need to set up how we get to the fire in the climax).

Diesel introduces Sycorax to Diesel 10 at the Dieselworks, which now have narrow gauge tracks for Plot Reasons, Sycorax finds themself in sheer admiration of Diesel 10's claw and Vibes and his appreciation for the arts (see: that sculpture Pinchy made in TATMR. I like thinking he has a comical amount of knowledge about art, specifically sculpture, and also, @sudriantraveler's "Diesel 10 is a theater nerd" concept is an absolute blast) and of course that makes them a good pawn for all this, in a slightly different flavor to Splodge Barry, because part of this is keeping Sycorax in the dark about how shitty this is gonna be.

So D10 gets Sycorax aboard, and it's time to go steal a crane from the Steamworks. Who better to get into theft, though, than She Who Pranks, aka Forsythia, Sycorax's fellow narrow gauge engine! (She's a steam engine, which, IMO, makes this even funnier.) Sycorax doesn't fancy themself a thief anyways, they think they'd suck at it. So they promise that their affiliate would be more than happy to do this. She is. But then she proceeds to ask her coach Nicolas and some trucks to give her a bump of a lifetime to send her to the Steamworks. This isn't what Sycorax planned, and they have to drag her to the Steamworks anyways. (She isn't too happy about this because she's getting separated from Nicolas for this, but she can handle it.)

Sycorax brings Kevin around, and they suggest the diesels perhaps postpone the raid of the Steamworks until nobody's going to be there, but Diesel 10 is willing to take hostages. He's already taking the building hostage, after all. Sycorax is opposed, but is coaxed into going with it. See indented excerpt.

When they return with their stolen crane companion, Sycorax explains, “Apologies that took so long, Diesel 10, but my… affiliate, she stupidly decided to get to the Steamworks via being sent there to have damage taken care of, and I was sent to bring her there. The good news is, though, that I have brought this crane. Very important. Didn’t… you say something about storming the Steamworks earlier? Can the operation even wait until she’s done?” “We’ll just have to storm the place with her in it.” “We’re going to… what, now? Truth being told, I never did ask why we’re trying to take the Steamworks… What’d they do to us?” “Have a crane,” Diesel 10 says. “Your brevity truly is the soul of wit,” Sycorax responds in a way that’s hard to read as genuine or sarcastic. “Not really. We’re using it as a bargaining chip. We give the hat guy his Steamworks and whoever's in there back, and we get our better Dieselworks.” “...hostages, Diesel 10?” “If you don’t like it, you should’ve backed out with the cranenapping!” “That was willing on all parties’ accounts, Diesel 10! We can’t just take unwilling hostages! Albeit, knowing Forsythia, she’d love to be there amidst a takeover, but what about everyone else that’s there?!” Diesel 10 is annoyed that they’re questioning him now. “We’ll deal with them later. We’ll make sure they’re taken care of.”

They lead the charge, and all hell breaks loose. Sycorax sits back and watches in realization that this is... not a good thing at all. Diesel 10, instead of joining in the mess, hangs back for a bit to try and manipulate Sycorax a bit more. It doesn't really pull through, and Sycorax just says they'll... catch up with the others in a moment. Diesel 10 begrudgingly leaves them to their devices, and we get the moment that really shakes things up for Sycorax.

Sycorax does stay put for a moment, watching Diesel 10 as he goes off on his own... only to watch him start ripping things up with his claw. Sycorax realizes his claw is a claw of destruction and not creation, and after a lovely little monologue, they declare that they won't let this become a tragedy, and they go to think about how to right their wrongs.

But we get a cut to the absolute CHAOS happening down at the Steamworks. Forsythia got put into a crane and is just swinging around and spinning. This is the best hostage situation she's ever experienced. Someone explained what was going on to her and she just embraced it, as one does.

Enter Wesley, who is literally just a steam engine here to bring some stuff over really quickly. He observes the chaos, isn't sure what's going on, and needs to figure out where to put this stuff, so he manages to muster up a loud, almost commanding "HELLO THERE!"

Everyone looks at him like this:

At least, they do until Syth swings down asking what Wes is doing here, explains the situation very casually (much to Wesley's bewilderment), and assures the others that he'll comply with the hostage situation nonsense. Everyone goes back to their business, and Wesley decides if he's going to be stuck here he may as well find someone to have a good conversation with. See indented excerpt.

“Cousin Wesley! Fancy meeting you here! Have you come to join the party?” “What party?” Wesley asks. “Oh, you know, the diesel takeover of the Steamworks!” “The… the WHAT?!” “Yeah, uh, now that you’re here, you can’t really leave, but, I’m sure it’s fine, because this has been the most fun hostage situation of my life.” "You know this guy, Forsythia?" a diesel asks. "Yeah, yeah, he'll comply with staying around for a while, I'm sure. The party's back on, everyone! Wooo!" She swings off and the chaos starts again. "Well, darn. Guess it's time to try and have a good conversation with… someone who makes alright conversation." Then it cuts.

Meanwhile Sycorax is still pondering how to fix this, so far from their own railway.

...and when we cut back to the Steamworks, Wesley and Paxton are having a nice casual chat about that time Wesley ran into some geese, before it's revealed his crew went to get the Fat Controller. Aw shit. Cue the model era theme!

He puts a stop to this nonsense, explains there were already renovation plans for the Dieselworks, 'Arry and Bert make some comments about how that kinda throws things for a loop (in classic Splatter and Dodge dialogue fashion) before D10 tells them to shut up, and he explains that there's just been a misunderstanding, and then Syth busts in with a "oh, so that's why you sent Sycorax to steal who then sent me to steal?" from above, much to TFC's utter confusion.

"Shut it, you two," Diesel 10 mutters before clearing his lack of throat and focusing on TFC again. "Then, clearly, there's been some misunderstanding here, I assure you. We don't even have a working crane back at the Dieselworks, we thought action was necessary." "Oh, so that's why you sent Sycorax who then proceeded to ask me for help stealing a crane?" Forsythia says, dangling from the 'bove. "Forsythia? Whatever are you doing up there?" the Fat Controller asks. "Having a good time, Sir, but that aside, Diesel 10 said he'd keep anyone who entered here by chance or was already here hostage as a bargaining point, so the diesels ensured I was safely within this. Luckily for me, this thing is VERY fun to swing around in. I'm… not going to get into too much trouble for this, am I?" "How come we never put the other one in a crane, then?" a diesel just offhandedly asked. "You guys were way too distracted by your shenanigans. Rookie mistake," Forsythia tutted.

TFC gets everyone back on topic, saying that he needs any accurate accounts he can get out of Forsythia and Wesley, he needs Diesel 10 to go bring back Kevin, and he needs everyone else to start cleaning up this disaster. But D10 ain't fond of that.

Diesel 10 approaches the Fat Controller with his claw. Snapping and snapping and spanning at Sir Topham, but he stands his ground. Pinchy keeps snapping, closer and closer until… it draws back. "Pinchy. Pinchy, buddy, you can't be doing this now. Why are you acting like you don't wanna do this?" Pinchy makes a gesture akin to shaking one's head and cowering back. "Pinchy." Then Pinchy hits Diesel 10. "I HATE IT WHEN YOU DO THAT!" Sir Topham gets himself out of harm's way in case Diesel 10 manages to get Pinchy to listen, but it’s more “out of range” rather than “backing away,” y’know? "Diesel 10. I need you to bring back the crane,” he says. "You want your dinky little crane back? Fine. I’ll give it back." He goes outside.

Cue Diesel 10 getting even more menacing.

We cut back to Diesel 10 heading to the Dieselworks. "Pinchy, I get it. Maybe you just need to warm up a bit before getting messy. And I know just the way to prove our point." As it's starting to turn out, it was never about the Dieselworks. It was about Diesel 10 wanting to abuse his power over others. "We'll let them have their crane back alive, or in pieces. Then they'll listen."

Leave a violent diesel and a clumsy crane in a place with flammable materials, and what do you get?

A fire, of course. Never quite sorted out how exactly it happens, but it does.

Sycorax sees the fire, startled. "Rails below and sky above… that's not normal engine smoke, is it? It's a lot bigger! There's a fire!" They and their crew kick it into high gear. Their aim is to see if they can do anything about it and then get help. Sycorax sees Kevin just staring at the fire in horror and snaps him out of it with a, "Kevin, what are you doing? You need to get out of here!" "Diesel 10's trapped! He was trying to get me with his claw, but then he started a fire!" Kevin exclaims. “There’s not much we can do except call for some firefighters. Come on, Sycorax, we must hurry," their Driver says. "There’s something else we can do!” Sycorax exclaims. "Kevin, go get help! Driver, there's a fire extinguisher in the building! If it's safe to get it, we can get Diesel 10 out even quicker!” And luckily for everyone involved, they can get to it because the fire hadn't spread to the front yet. The two rush into action, putting out enough fire to get to Diesel 10. Having realized there’s two tracks here, Sycorax’s driver has gotten a cable to tie these two together for a bit so Sycorax can pull him out of there in case he can’t move himself. He could’ve probably but… proactivity. "Sycorax?! Are you stupid? There’s a FIRE. What are you doing?" "Helping you. Kevin's getting the firefighters." "And you didn't just leave me for them to save?" "Every second counts in an emergency like this, that's why it's important to get out of it as soon as possible! You're lucky I even remembered the fire extinguisher that’s inside! Now hurry!” The two get out, and the fire crew of Belle and Flynn arrive. The two stay out of the way.

And then we get the final bit from this WIP, one I'm especially fond of.

“Thanks for getting me out of there, I guess,” Diesel 10 ends up saying. How are you supposed to react to someone saving your life? Nobody does that. Especially not when you're Diesel 10. “Let this be a lesson to you, Diesel 10. Your ambition could have been your downfall. I know this fire was your doing, and, goodness, you even tried to bring harm to Kevin! ‘Tis ironic that I found myself saving you after I had renounced this entire thing and wished to make things right, but that doesn’t change the fact that my opinion of you has changed drastically." We get a shot of Diesel 10's expression. This situation is clearly some sort of uncomfortable for him. "...and I shall let this be a lesson to myself, too," Sycorax adds. "'Tis not wrong to admire another's traits, but to idolize someone else without knowing their character? That would be my true folly, had I not realized it any sooner. They say never to meet your heroes, Diesel 10. I think I know why." "You speak like you came outta the sixteenth century," Diesel 10 complains, because cracking one-liners whenever shit goes wrong is kind of his thing. Sycorax half-laughs.

There's some Sycorax dialogue here and there in this WIP I'd like to improve, because they're a wonderful character that's in constant flux between using whatever's up-to-date in terms of words and random older terminology. I could definitely see them slipping into a "tis" and "thou" sort of mood during all of this, though, makes sense when you're getting morally contemplative.

So, yeah, that's Si:DoTD.

[transsexualunderground]

WHAT THE FUCK I HAVE POLLS NOW ON THE EXACT DAY I GET REALLY BAD TRAINROT WHAT.

[transsexualunderground]

ttte oc musings

(or just an excuse to spit random thoughts at ttte tumblr)

below the cut is an infodump about:

forsythia and nicolas's nature as mischief makers and how they differ from bill and ben

the contrasts of edward and wesley

sycorax and what creative outlets look like for rolling stock

clara, scrap accuracy and ghost story night

my ocs and their ghost stories

wesley and idioms

elias, an eels story, how quickly word spreads on sodor, especially the NWR (cw for discussion of pet death basically, specifically that of eels)

Forsythia and Nicolas's brand of mischiefmaking vs. Bill and Ben's. Forsythia and Nicolas feel like they're less apt to have falling-outs and squabbles tbh. I find it interesting how between the two of them there's a clear clownery leader. overall a fun duo to think about. not to mention their contrast and comparisons; Nicolas is much more quiet and Forsythia is much more talkative yet they bond over the sheer desire to Have A Good Time. And they use whatever people think about them at first to their advantages. That and I think they're more likely to back off. Guess despite everything, the UHR ain't as brutal as the NWR LMAO

the interesting contrast between Wesley and Edward. Edward really doesn't seem to think about himself as old as often, when you compare him to someone like Skarloey. (In an... expressing it way, for lack of better articulation?) Wesley, on the other hand, I feel like he's very much so a "Yes I think I am a bit old. Maybe more than a bit actually. And that's just that." But the thing about them is. They're both somewhat close to the same age, and yet, here we are, Edward, the one who doesn't see himself as old as much, being the much more experienced one, and Wesley, the one who perceives himself as Some Kinda Old having little experience when he first arrives on the railway. I just think they're neato

Sycorax is turning out to be a very fun exploration of what a creative outlet looks like for a locomotive in the RWS/TTTE universe. I didn't touch on it much in my infodump because I hadn't developed it as much yet, but Sycorax is turning out to be a very artsy and creative soul. And they yearn to create. How does a locomotive express (hah) this? Firstly, they definitely hum a lot. And they admire things. And imagine. But they're still looking for more, as am I. They wish they had a claw like Diesel 10 so they could sculpt.

Any time a ghost story involving scrap has something inaccurate, Clara wants to correct it, but often doesn't. She wants to laugh at it, almost, but mostly she fears that, if this was taken inaccurately, what did the others think of her before she worked on the NWR? She always feels rather uncomfortable when ghost stories are told due to her close experiences with the dead, but something almost compells her to tell a hauntingly accurate tale... but something's also stopping her. the thought doesn't make her feel happy. at least Wesley's telling stories about weird real things and not ghosts on nights like these.

quick note on ocs and ghost stories: Forsythia is bullshitting it, Nicolas is telling ones from the rather unique coach or truck POV, Sycorax has wormed their way into accidentally telling Gothic horror, and Wesley is detailing random weird shit humans have or do because he knows Human Things because of how long he was isolated from enginekind.

Wesley struggled with engine idioms that came from human ones for much of his time on the railway because of how they tend to be so much more literal than their human equivalents, which Wesley knows the meanings of due to his time as a show engine. When he first heard the phrase "see a coach about a train" he put two and two together with "see a man about a horse" INSTANTLY and started to become very concerned that engines did Whatever The Humans Do In Bathrooms and that he was doing something wrong because he hadn't and he was very relieved whenever it got confirmed that, no, he isn't doing anything wrong, it's just literal in loco-lingo.

Elias. I haven't spoken much about him yet. But he's essentially my take on a pre-James red engine like the ones we saw in the RWS in the first book. He came to Sodor in the early days of the NWR, left, and came back in modern day. His stories start with a tale about how he has EELS in his TENDER and he is a LIVING ECOSYSTEM and he BRAGS ABOUT THIS and he LOVES HIS EELS. The story immediately after is when things turn sour and him and his eels are harmed with some feed water heating (one even dies) and he realizes he has to let them go for good. Normally, him and his crew released them seasonally to ensure the population was doing alright, but now this was his final time keeping them in his tender, by what was partially his own decision. He was crushed but realized it really wasn't a good home for the eels. Back in the early days, essentially the entire NWR would've known about this already, but upon his return, it sure wasn't a well known tale. Those who knew him in the early NWR days assumed he hadn't made it past nationalization. Anyways, Elias ends up sharing this story with like two others and it spreads like wildfire, and somehow indirectly becomes a cautionary tale. Elias... doesn't mind, actually. Better others learn from his mistakes than make the same ones. Funnily, it can't even directly be applied to some who learn the story, because they're diesels or helicopters. But it still counts, sorta. (The Secondman asks him about any stories he wants to have told on paper. Elias tells him these and asks the Secondman to dedicate them to the eels he's kept over the years.)

[transsexualunderground]

how could I forget Forsythia is uhr 2 when it was actually 2/2

oh well she has the energy or not February somehow don't ask me how or why

[transsexualunderground]

So I got tagged in a WIP game by @lswro2-222!

"RULES: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have WIPS." Not doin' that last bit. I don't know that many people. Anyone reading may do this if they'd care to.

Note that I'll be naming my sub-WIPS here as well, since I tend to accumulate some in a big ol' doc. Some are individual though. I'll also put current lore documents and trivia lists in here too, for sake of... uh, why not. Without further ado...

THE TTTE OC TIMELINE GETS REMADE AGAIN (CURRENT VER)

Lancaster Family Lore

Forsythia Without Nicolas / Nicolas Without Forsythia

A Verbal Description of the UHR Route

SYCORAX IN: DAY OF THE DIESELS

The Noble Art of Having a Good Grumble (mostly not WIP anymore but I love excuses to talk about it)

Next are all things under "TTTE/RWS Fanbooks / Fanbooks + Engine Canon Fanstories, Chronological "Publishing" Order." All include Forewords but I'm not counting those.

wesley book/Wesley The Show Engine [rewrite to be placed here when finished]:

Wesley’s First Impression

What It Means to be Wesley

Story Title C (Re-write of Wesley’s Rough Run)

The Plate

Forsythia the Rambunctious Engine:

Tales From Before

Arrival Troubles

A Run Along the Skarloey Railway

Tricks & Trucks

More Wesley & Forsythia:

The Little Waterfowl

[In which passengers do not refrain… from singing the damn humoresque. AKA forsythia and nicolas clown on wesley with his least favorite song ever at the time. so does thomas. idk what the moral is here]

Ice on the Rails

[Another Forsythia and Nicolas one]

The Scrapyard Engine:

Wesley And The Scrapyards [Extract Douglas]

Whatever Happens Next

A Horrible Place

A Scrapyard Finale

The Scrapyard Engine No Longer:

A Railway Beginning

A Name Fit for the Fat Controller's Railway [Extract Donald and Douglas? Switch for Bill and Ben because that’d be funny right?]

The One Where We Flesh Out The Wesley and Clara Mentor and Mentee Dynamic (establishes “…what if i don’t see you” conflict) (maybe some “I’m a bit surprised you care this much about it, too, Wesley” from Clara)

Clara Pulls the Post

[something] Engines:

Wesley and the 17 Classes (WIP)

Clara The Really Fucking Strong Engine, Jesus Christ, Man (Working Title)

James and Clara

Bertram the “Old Warrior” Engine:

Scrap Deal

Bertram and the Mines

Toby's Discovery

Shit Goes Nuts With Trucks

Heritage Railway Engines:

[Prudence One]

[Sycorax One, possible transition to both being at works and maybe also just the full story of Sycorax getting their name]

[Prudence Antics]

[More collective antics?]

More Heritage Railway Engines:

Sycorax's Masterwork

Elias the _ Engine:

Elias's Tender [Combine with Gordon and the Eel)

[To be titled. It’s a sad one.]

Elias's Return

Elias and the Eels [the one where Elias gets his eels back]

Engines After Dark

The Bitch Incident

May They Smelt

The One About Funnels and Couplings

Engines Nowadays:

Placeholder 1

Placeholder 2

Placeholder 3

Placeholder 4

And finally, my one non-TTTE WIP...

Red Moonshine: The Uses of Blood in Alchemical Processes (and its Impacts on Vampyres)

That's all.

[transsexualunderground]

lemme talk about some TTTE OCS!

So this was a long time coming. I tried to post an OC once before but I chickened out and deleted his post. So, here's some lore rundowns for a bunch of my OCs! And by that I mean all of 'em! And my sona, as a bonus! (and details on my personal canon!!!)

(This took me like 3 attempts to write because Tumblr kept eating the part about Wesley when I accidentally hit ctrl+z because I made a typo on Forsythia's basis :sob:)

Putting a break so I don't clog any tags haha

So, for the third time I am trying to write this (dear god), behold, Wesley the Show Engine (and his tender that I admittedly drew in a rush when I drew it)! Wesley is based on Furness No. 20's original batch of 0-4-0 locomotives, generally based on Furness No. 20 in design but less so in backstory. Canonically, he was made after that batch of locos but his build date is undecided still.

He was made for a Collector, Mr. Titus Lancaster. The two attended engine shows for years, and while Wesley enjoyed it, he was rather isolated from other engines and rolling stock for many years. He admired the railway working life from afar and longed to have it.

Eventually his wish would be granted in both his and his Collector's old age when he donated him to the NWR.

Wesley's a rather interesting character to me in his origins. He's an old engine but very inexperienced with the rails.

Personality-wise, he's kindhearted, hardworking, sincere, passionate, and would rather get along with others, but he can be very gullible (early on) due to his lack of experience, and is imbued with the spirit of Sodor's karmic justice itself. (Read: he's really vengeful at times. If you cross him, he wants to ensure you get your just desserts.)

He's humble and quick to admit to his mistakes and apologize when he messes up (an uncommon trait on the railways LOL), and while he's open-minded, he's also willing to admit he's a bit foolish and unworldly. He mainly works on Edward's Branch Line.

He likes snow and snowploughs (he finds them comfortable in the way a weighted blanket or lead x-ray wear is comfortable), karma, being out and about, any work at all, and bugs.

He dislikes being patronized/infantilized/treated as if he's stupid and incapable, geese (there was an incident), most animals, the sound of babies crying, and almost all trucks. He's open to the idea of there being trucks that aren't troublesome but he doesn't know any yet.

I'd like to highlight a central relationship he has in his stories, that of his relationship with Edward. The two were quick friends and once made eye contact at an engine show YEARS before they properly met (though neither recognized the other). Eventually that friendship became a tendency to want to work together more and more often, and the duo became very close indeed... and then they started being gay as all hell. Gay ol' engines. Good for them! (They get married in a plotline of mine. I'm dead serious. Gay train wedding!!!)

EDIT: Something I forgot to note! While he's also vengeful, he's insists on doing nice things for others who have done nice things for him. Everything is a two-way street. One turn deserves another, good or bad.

For reading all that, here's a Checkpoint Human!Wesley I drew.

Moving right along, we have a narrow gauge duo!

I present to you Forsythia the Rambunctious Engine and Nicolas, her coach. Forsythia was based on the 2-4-0T Rheidol/Talybont/Treze de Maio and a fucked up kiddie ride I saw once.

Yeah, it's a really fucked up kiddie ride.

These two are owned by Ms. Tiffany Lancaster, the niece of Wesley's former Collector (who has passed by the time she obtains these two). They are often loaned to the Skarloey to help out there (until a later event we'll touch on with the next OC).

These two got BWBA'd before I even knew what the hell was going on in BWBA. Except it's much more realistic and boring in execution. Just a lot of boring time on cargo ships with shipping mix-ups! They got to Sodor though, don't worry.

They've got the energy of childhood best friends imo. Also, Forsythia and Wesley consider one another cousins, but like, adoptive cousins specifically.

Forsythia is down to clown and is cheeky and mischievous and a prankster but she is an experienced variety. And she knows when to back off. And she will, if you ask her (and you're not on her list of Those She Is Close Enough To Clown Upon Always And Forever or Those I Hate)! I'd say she's... like... young adult or teenager -coded. She's very energetic and a Large Ham if you know about that trope.

Now, look at Nicolas, her coach. Tell me, when you look at him, do you think he's the serious sort? You'd be wrong there. He's also down to clown! And he's here for the shenanigans as well. He's simply the quiet, observant deadpan to Forsythia's rambunctious large ham.

[EDIT: I never noted that sometimes these two's antics involve collaborating with the Troublesome Trucks. Forsythia's always offended when the inevitable betrayal happens.]

Now for that lore thing I mentioned. I have an adaptation of Toby's Discovery in my AU in which TFC does not manage that part of the railway. Instead he does participate in its restoration but it is ran by none other than Tiffany Lancaster! Forsythia is the Ulfstead Heritage Railway's Engine No. 2! (Engine No. 1 is Bertram; Forsythia would've been No. 1 if some contract things with the Skarloey Railway didn't have to be sorted out first.)

[EDIT: Now that Forsythia and Nicolas are consistently on a railway, they do have a cluster of trucks that won't betray them because of how fun things just tend to be with those two.]

And on that railway, eventually there arrived a BR Class 12 Diesel, but refitted to narrow gauge.

I present my final OC, Sycorax. Sycorax's arc is very dear to me because it has origins in both a random thought I had, a quote Awdry said in a video I watched, and my own opinions on locomotives and Sodor.

The video I've linked here made me have a realization about older diesels.

https://youtu.Be/h-xesjpiqgo?T=189

I can see where Awdry was coming from on this - he witnessed dieselization firsthand! But boy, I think diesels (and electrics!) have their charm and I'm really fond of them actually. I know it's very different as a modern reader who barely has any exposure to locomotives in person anyways due to the infrastructure of the United States just… Sucking sometimes, but nevertheless, my point stands.

Sycorax's arc starts with them in a most dire place: about to be scrapped. But fate saves them and they're refitted and brought to Sodor, where they find that, despite being the new thing, they're envious of steam engines, seeing their charm and the fact that they'll always be in fashion somewhere… And they feel generic and replaceable.

But eventually they start to realize that diesels become obsolete too. Now this is particularly regarding a dash of TVS canon but I like to think that the diesels of Sodor are there because Sodor, is too, a safe haven for them as well as steam engines. That's why absolute assholes stay around sometimes, it's because they've nowhere else to go. Sycorax realizes their envy is unwarranted, and that Sodor is a safehaven for all types of engines who need it, it's just that, at the time, steam engines needed it most. And they're not replaceable. And this is home now.

[EDIT: Forgot to add that they're the UHR (ulfstead heritage railway) No. 3!]

Thank you for reading all that. As a finale, let me briefly touch on my sona, The Secondman himself.

The Secondman is literally a self-insert/sona guy who's a human studying on modern day Sodor. He volunteers on the railways of the island often. He intends to immigrate there properly once he's done with his schooling. He's essentially is to me what the Thin Clergyman was to Awdry. In-universe, he writes my fanbooks, my silly little shitposts about various Engine Incidents, and a whole bunch of other things. And he's having a good time.

I haven't drawn him. But nevertheless!

Thank you SO MUCH for reading this loredump. I hope you enjoyed.

[transsexualunderground]

so some days ago @theflyingkipper and I were discussing the fact that Forsythia would absolutely be able to pull the updog trick on Duri.

then I mentioned the concept of a bofa joke for engines and we ended up with

BOFA DEEZ TRUCKS *truck giggling noise ensues*

considering Forsythia (and Nicolas by extension) have a small cluster of trucks they have allied themselves with on the Ulfstead... it's possible she would pull that too