#stex appreciation month 2024

[wonderful-magician]

StEx appreciation day!! Day 20!! Krupp!!

Favorite performers ( not ordered )

- Joey Mckneely

- Toby Poole

- Gareth Bretherton

- Richard Leavey

Favorite songs/moments

I LOVE HIS SPIN IN AC/DC also this is weird but he looks so funny in the rap the dance doesn't fit him at ALLL!!

Notes

HES MT FAVORITE COMPONENT I LOVE KRUPP I LOVE KRUPP RAAAAHHH I need him back I'm okay with Killerwatt but KRUPP HAS RHHEGE Krupp is like peak StEx design to me

Oh also support moneygun

[honey-dont]

stex month day 6: ashley!

favorite actor: chrissy wickham and emma prosser!

favorite songs/scenes: def girls rolling stock! the choreo is so fun, so is a lotta locomotion

favorite costumes: bochum, specifically with the longer skirt!! it's so pretty <3 i also like her showgirl costume, i think it's the cutest of the bunch. big fan of late london when the metal hairpiece was triangular too

favorite ships/friendships: i'm not super invested in ashley/buffy but it's cute enough! i also hc her and duvay as sisters and they're very close :)

headcanons: offering ppl a cigarette is one of her go-to ways to try and comfort them! she's willing to give up the last one she has. she also likes those big fancy cigarette holders and has a collection of them

unpopular opinion: tbh i don't think i have one?? she's not a very contentious character. i guess i'm not super upset about her being cut even if i do like her

[tabooiart]

STEX APPRECIATION MONTH DAY 14: DUSTIN

Favorite Actor(s): Gavin Ashbarry is the ONLY Dustin and I am not exaggerating.

Favorite Song/Scenes: Rusty And Dustin is such a cute scene eeeee. Also love how shy he is during his intro in Freight

Favorite Costume(s): Broadway and Japan/Aus since his makeup there is Not Scary as opposed to Bochum which for decades insisted on giving him the scariest makeup ever. At least the 2018 update fixed him <3

Favorite Ships/Friendships: I don't ship him with anyone since I see him as aro/ace! His closest friends are Rusty, Flat Top, and CB!!!

Headcanons: Dustin collects cool rocks he finds by the tracks on the freight routes. He keeps them lined up in his section of the shed :)

Unpopular Opinion: I don't think this is unpopular but oh my god they NEED to stop hiring the tiniest little twig men and sticking them in fat suits. I feel like especially the latest Bochum casts have been getting the guys with the thinnest faces ever it's so creepy. Just get some fat guys to play him Please.

[green-planets]

StEx Appreciation Month Day 2: Pearl!

💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖

Face Claim: Lovette George (I AM A HUGE REVA PEARL ENJOYER BUT SHE'S ALREADY MY FC FOR MOMMA!)

Favourite Song/Scenes: OLC He Whistled At Me, Pfeife für mich (the German lyrics are less muddled than the English ones imo), Her twirls during Make Up My Heart, “Pearl-lease let me go with you!”, Only He, Only You/ Du Allein (my heart also melts when she calls Rusty the starlight on the OLC 🥺), PRUSTY ARM THING!!! RAAHHH!!

Favourite Costumes: Early London fluffy skirt and the Japan/Aus tour cotton candy-looking wig (I love the little braids!)

Favourite Ships/Friendships: Pearl x Rusty, Pearl x Coco, Pearl x Electra (but mostly Workshop Electra because it's silly to me). Her friends are the coaches (especially Dinah and Belle Jr.), Rusty, Dustin, Poppa, Momma, and Electra (post-canon)

Headcanons: She's an adrenaline junkie and has always wanted to be a racer. Of course she would jump at the chance to race with the reigning champion! Post-canon she goes on to become a champion racing coach

Unpopular Opinion: Aside from her and Rusty's meet-cute (Pfeife für mich is so adorable!), I don't really like the rewrites where she's completely new to the yard. It's more interesting to me when she and Rusty have a bit of history

💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖

[op3ra]

hands that fix / eyes that shield

fav actresses: there are so many wrench actresses i like!! i haven't seen footage of her but recently maja johansson is my fav visual inspo for her <33 the perf faceclaim honestly

fav ships: oh u know i'm unironically mentally ill about wrench x rusty. i think she deserves softness in the form of the kindest most stubborn idiot she's ever met. that "older workaholic couple learning to love for the first time in many years" dynamic just gets me. i also love dinah x wrench OF COURSE and my besties are massive brained for coming up with that one <333 volta x wrench and joule x wrench also favs

headcannons: she used to be a steam crane before converting herself to a diesel hydraulic crane. she's self propelled so she's pretty fast and can't race behind an engine in partner races since she's classed as one herself. she's been a dedicated race medic and trainer her entire life, and is highly sought after by professional racers. inbetween racer contracts she works as a standby medic for races. hasn't dated in decades because she prioritizes her career and is thrilled to have found herself a partner who is cool never being her first priority and values independence. repaired and brought joule to life and is incredibly fond of her <3 owns two robocats who live with rusty. constantly feels cold due to a fluke in her conversion. is the only train to have done her own conversion with her own hands. instead of dreaming when asleep she runs maintenance on her code. has misophonia and major depressive disorder. convinced she doesn't know how to be vulnerable or loveable. krupp is her oldest friend and has worked with her many times before they both got hired by electra. big enjoyer of different teas. is a crazy workaholic. has triangular pupils which nobody knows the explanation behind. has seen her fair share of death and suffering as a trackside emergency responder. has an innate need to look put together to other people at all times even when she's struggling. knows how to fight and will fight to protect her loved ones (the components). rough and blunt on the outside. gift giving and acts of service are her love languages. doesn't really have a home because she's traveling with electra so often. there's more but this is a huge wall of text already

opinion: i don't like it when men cover her tbh let androgynous women be women. luuk hartog is the only exception bc he's so damn good at her makeup

[starburst2000]

Starlight Express Appreciation Month 2024!!

Day 15: Caboose!!!

🎶The Red Caboose is not Snow White!🎶

[u-n-c-o-u-p-l-e-d-dwoht]

Theres no girls girl group better then the coaches

[unknown-art-room1]

I was going to post something else, I had another drawing at the ready to go! But no! @princeelectra you had to post this, you had to give the brain worms the fuel for me to draw this. I blame you for this Leccy, I blame you very much/j

[mysticalcats]

I FORGOT THIS STARTED YESTERDAY... here's a quick 2024 rusty for the stex appreciation month :)

[unknowns-musical]

Disclaimer: do not let the other trains or those who do not like Greaseball know about this. We do not want them hitting Greaseball too hard or Greaseball fighting back and hurting the train in question.

If you know anyone who would do this please stop them, don't let them know about this... And if you happen to be the one who sees it who shouldn't, just stop. Put down the bat and walk away, you know who you are.

[wonderful-magician]

Stex appreciation month!! Day 3!! Greasy boy!! ( And lesbian )

Favorite performers ( not ordered )

- Jeff shankley

- Michael Quinn

- Robert Torti

- Al Knott

Favorite song/Moment

PUMPIMG IRON AND ONE ROCK ROLL TOO MANY!!! Idk sometimes Rolling stock is a vibe but specifically Jeff shankley !!

Notes

I definitely prefer male greaseball when it comes to singing but female greaseball is such a vibe. Tbh. She's not at the absolute top but she deserves any and all attention and love she gets!! Lover her!!

My art of them

[honey-dont]

stex month day 13: flat top!

favorite actors: SO many. ross dawes is my forever fave but i also love delano williamsen, dennis courtney, luuk hartog, todd lester, mark davis, richard mylan, marcel brauneis, and paul treacy! plus whoever played him in tuacahn, i've never been able to find a cast list </3

i think a lot of actors tend to play him pretty one-note so i love when people balance his jerk asshole side with his softer caring side! plus he's always fun comedic relief, shoutout to ross for smacking himself in the face with his own brick. and how can we forget dennistop's goofy helium laugh. love him

favorite songs/scenes: watching him mess around in freight and the blues is SO fun he's so funny <33 the lil spin and suspender snap paul does is adorable, also love him bothering this poor random woman in the audience with his brick. i mentioned ross above but him climbing around on the set like a jungle gym is so so cute!! also tuachan flats getting super excited to see rusty and waving at him!!

love literally all of his and dustin's interactions too, esp when he waves off the rockies for teasing him ough. their little goofy solo in freight!! <3

AND ofc all of his and rusty's interactions! him being a little shit to poppa and rusty jerking him back by his couplers....peak sibling behavior. love him giving rusty his helmet back after he gets beat up, esp how ross does it bc he doesn't tell him to give up!! he still believes in him!! brb exploding

him and poppa/momma are rly fun too, flat top is definitely their least favorite child but they still care about each other <3

honorable mentions to dinah giving him a cheek kiss too it's so cute

OH wait one last thing. when he hears about cb's plan and he looks SO disappointed in greaseball bc that's him finding out that his hero isn't who he thought he was and UGH. it's so good

wait i lied one more. him and rocky messing around during the megamix and throwing the brick to each other <3

favorite costumes: london!! oh my god all the little details are so good like he's quintessentially 80s london punk and it shows. his little socks! the steel toes on the skates!! the bigass frankenstein bolt collar <3 i'm especially fond of his earlier fluffy black & silver wig, it's adorable

i also loooveee the 3d glasses makeup but the bit where he just had graffiti scribbled all over his face is so funny like "hey what should we put on him to show that he's rebellious?" "just write SEX + DRUGS" "ok got it"

also brick on a chain my beloved <3 AND in late london where his belt was made of wood planks to show that he's a flatcar!! so good

i also have a fondness for on ice flats. his stupid nail boots. and tuacahn bc i respect the decision to put him in a crop top and chaps

favorite ships/friendships: flatdust is my train otp i love them i love them i love them <333 they have it all....friends to lovers....sunshine/grumpy....introvert/extrovert....good stuff. their friendship is so sweet to me bc they're total opposites and yet! special shoutout to that one boot where it genuinely looks like they're about to start making out onstage

i love him and rusty too, they're absolutely siblings to me and wind each other up all the time but they still care for each other! also him and cb in a frenemy situation bc cb thinks it's funny to push his buttons

his hero worship on greaseball is also really interesting bc it ties into his whole self-discovery arc imo

headcanons: he's physically the weakest of the freight and he absolutely has a chip on his shoulder about it </3 i hc him as a bulkhead so engines tend to dislike him too due to him being prone to derailing at speed, so he's desperate to prove that is he is cool and strong actually!! he's also like 5'4" without the boots lmao little guy

he's scared of thunderstorms but won't admit to it so dustin will hold his hand and pretend that he's the one who's scared ;-; he also helps dustin out in his garden sometimes but he sucks at it so he just gets to stand there and be moral support. guy who doesn't get the concept of seeds and will just rip up whole flowers for dustin to plant

also very rarely smiles bc he doesn't like his tooth gap :( dustin thinks it's cute tho

unpopular opinion: flat top is such an interesting character bc like. he does NOTHING and yet he has one of the strongest character arcs in the whole show! it's all about him figuring out who he is and where he belongs and it's so fascinating to watch unfold in the background. him racing with rusty in the final would've been such a good culmination of that

also i don't think this is unpopular but on my knees begging him to be punk again like that's his whole point

anyway sorry for writing an entire essay i'm normal about him.

(last two pics are commissions from arachnidal and sparemayonnaise!)

[tabooiart]

STEX APPRECIATION MONTH DAY 7: BUFFY

Favorite Actor(s): Louise Jones, Carla Pullen

Favorite Song/Scenes: Her intros are in A Lotta Locomotion are always so fun. Also love her lezzing out with Ashley in Girls Rolling Stock naturally.

Favorite Costume(s): Unpopular opinion but late 2000s/2010's Bochum is my favorite era of Buffy costumes. I think the colors there are just so pleasant and I love when her hair is in a blonde updo.

Favorite Ships/Friendships: Smoked Hotdogs best ship ever. For friendships I think her and Dinah are besties (they discuss cooking) but I also think she would get along really well with Wrench!

Headcanons: Buffy is such a busy body, she's always doing something and gets antsy when she's idle. I headcanon her to serve like sandwiches and snacks and to be open 24/7 or very late so she has a lot of work to do.

Unpopular Opinion: I understand why she was written out but I don't CAARE I miss her so much. Plus I think losing the only coach that doesn't wear a skirt was so sad :(

[green-planets]

StEx Appreciation Month Day 13: Flat Top!

🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱

Face Claim: Mark Davis, Richard Mylan, or Delano Willemsen

Favourite Song/Scenes: I will never recover from Flat Top's intro in the spoof show. Between him almost rolling off the stage after throwing his brick (Rusty catches him and pulls him back), the “C'MON BIG BOY!”, the way he points at the Rockies when Dustin says “They're not rocks, they're aggregates!”, and the hyper aggressive dancing during the ‘Aggregates are Really Great’ segment, it may just be the greatest Flat Top performance ever (thank you Richard Mylan, you're my new favorite Flat Top!)

Okay now that that ramble is out of the way, he's extremely entertaining during Poppa/Momma's blues, I love how he teases and antagonizes Poppa/Momma and Rusty, he's so goofy when he worships Greaseball during Pumping Iron, I love the moment when he realizes that Greaseball isn't a good guy, He looks so torn when the gang is beating Rusty up and when he give Rusty his helmet back!!! Gutwrenching

Favourite Costumes: I've grown extremely fond of Flat Top's London costumes and the detail put into them (brick on a chain should be brought back!!!) I do like the versions with the brighter, more prominent graffiti designs and it's funny when he has random graffiti written on his face. I still like the Broadway/Bochum shoulder boxes better (load that guy up with bricks!!)

Favourite Ships/Friendships: Flat Top x Dustin, Flat Top x Rusty, Flat Top x Zero. Friends with the freight crew (except Lumber and Porter-- he has one-sided beef with them), Rusty, and the coaches. Best friends with Dustin and Ashley. Tried befriending Greaseball's gang but that didn't work out so well

Headcanons: He had so much fun being a little shit with Slick up until she betrayed Rusty (afterwards he's super wary of her). He was also expecting to be booted out of the freight crew's found family after his behavior during the races but they welcomed him back with open arms

Unpopular Opinion: A lot of people say he's unnecessary to the plot (which is true tbh) but the show feels so empty without him :(

🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱

[stelscribbles]

oh but it would be totally different if dinah was the one who left her 😼

[starburst2000]

Starlight Express Appreciation Month 2024!!

Day 14: Dustin!!!

🎶They aren't rocks, they're aggregates! And aggregates are pretty great!🎶