#He does legitimately hate the idea of Lady tho... But the why is a rather complicated affair...

[mwolf0epsilon]

You know, writing Diesel 10 really is a bit of a pickle sometimes...

As a whole when world-building your own version of this universe of talking engines, trying to make his personality nuanced comes with a 50-50 chance of making or breaking his character completely. Mainly because, as a TTTE character, he's an engine with a very distinct presence that is, at its core, supposed to be just as intimidating as it is goofy.

And I mean, there's no denying here that Diesel 10 certainly knows how to command a room.

He's got an infamy to him that (while unknown to us the viewers) seems to legitimately frighten most engines (including other diesels). He takes charge whenever the designated "good diesels" are not in the picture, and immediately gets everyone else to do his bidding no matter how petty it may be. He's a schemer that seems completely undeterred by any sort of defeat that he is met with. And that claw of his is one mean machine! (even to him)

But he's also comically thespian enough in nature that it's a little hard to take him seriously at all... I mean...

He gets emotional when Pinchy (who appears to be a separate entity altogether) carves him a bust on a mountain side. He gets foiled rather easily by literally everyone he schemes against, because he is a bit too overzealous in his approach to his own plans. He's consistently bullied by Pinchy since he doesn't seem to actually be able to control it. He's frightened by sugar of all things (although I'll give him this one since tainted fuel could mess up any engine). And there's also the fact he does, in fact, obey Sir Topham Hatt...

I'm not saying Diesel 10 isn't a villain character. He was conceived as such and I love it when people crank up the villainy to an insidious level (because I am very honestly curious to see how far people can take it, and how they then rectify the damage he causes). But I feel like sacrificing his general goofiness also kind of misses the point of his character...

Diesel 10 should always be a scheming and manipulative trickster with some kind of an agenda that spells major trouble... But to me he should also feel like he's putting up this one big act that he might not be 100% fit for.

He should have ulterior motives beyond what others actually understand. Keep people guessing!