#he thinks he and Greaseball are friends

[moonkit60633]

CANUCK Canuck my beloved you deserve to be real

He’s technically already a national, but I basically just stole the name. He’s got the Vancouver canucks logo on his back (sponsored) as well as a bunch of the provincial flags! (Including Labradors cause fuck you)

He’s narrow gauge, so he’s got inline skates! Just thought it would be a silly nod. He’s also nice and polite but the SECOND he touches the race track it’s no holds bared, racing is a contact sport to him

[no1-tvgirlfan]

thinking about the theory that all the characters/trains in stex are based off of people control actually knows in real life and they sort of insert themself as rusty in their dream.

pearl is obviously a girl they have a crush on. maybe shes a new neighbour , a new kid at school. maybe if we’re getting sentimental she wears a pearl necklace which gave control the idea of naming her pearl.

greaseball could be controls older sister , maybe shes a little mean to him sometimes , as siblings often are , maybe thats how she manifests as a big bully in their dream.

dinah is controls older sisters girlfriend , she probably thinks hes cute and tells controls older sister to lay off of them and stop being so mean. control probably thinks that dinah is too good for greaseball since shes so nice to them.

the other coaches could be their sister’s girlfriends friends maybe? they come round sometimes to hang out and are often pretty nice to control as well. i like to think their personalities manifest as their own type of train , like yes the irl dinah gives them snacks sometimes so shes a dining car , irl tassita is always telling irl greaseball to shush so hes a quiet coach , the irl belle is always having sleepovers so shes a sleeping car. etc. etc.

electra could be a new kid at school , a bully perhaps , the comps are their little posse. irl killerwatt could be a kid who gets in a lot of fights , irl wrench is someone who is always hanging around the medical bay , irl joule is a misbehaving child who maybe set something on fire once (dynamite truck) , god knows why irl volta is a freezer truck.

the irl freight are just the class clowns. a bit annoying to control but they’re still his friends.

momma obviously represents his mum.

the engines are maybe a couple more bullies , maybe theyre in the year above , control doesnt like them very much. they hang around with their older sister and are always teasing him.

thats just my thoughts on it. i think its a cool theory is all.

[miyagi-hokarate]

Hi❤️ do you think Daniel Larusso's skin color (brown) was one of the reasons why he was bullied in the kk1 movie? He was obviously not as rich as the other kids and was a working class kid, but do you think the bullying had something to do with the color of his skin? Especially in the 80s, I'm just assuming you're from America. So do you happen to know how he was perceived by people then and now? When I first watched the movie and I saw Daniel I instantly felt a connection because he was/is brown. I genuinely thought he was latino, Mexican, Indian or part of another minority group. Him winning was so satisfying to see. Also, do you think his less masculin and more feminine features are also what made people bully him? I would love to hear your interpretation!💙

Hohohohooo boy, we're gettin' to the good stuff: why Daniel is so bullyable 🙏 (← not praying; rubbing hands in evil glee)

In all seriousness, let's talk about it!

(under a Read More because it got LONG 🤡)

Watching The Karate Kid, the most apparent reason Daniel gets bullied and excluded by others is because of Johnny being threatened by his flirting with Ali and the violent beginning to their relationship. The Cobras terrorize him alongside Johnny because they're not only his friends, but because they're just as ruthless when it comes to people they've made enemies of. That being said, I could certainly say there is an argument to be made that the bullying Daniel experiences has an underlying racial and sexist subtext to it.

I've seen some anecdotal claims that people have confused/assumed Daniel to be a POC — not only because of his tan skintone, but also partially because of how much that combined with his dark hair + eyes would stand out next to pale or "sunkissed" blondes. While it's arguable how much Daniel was excluded and bullied CONSCIOUSLY because of such, I think it's fair to say that those physical qualities Daniel possessed helped to isolate him from his peers and further establish the loneliness Daniel struggled with due to Johnny's aggression.

I'd also like to bring up how, while it's treated as a joke these days, Italophobia was a more present issue during the 80s, especially for darker Italians (which would include Daniel). I'm not going to dig deep into the history of Italophobia in the US here, but "Italians aren't White" sentiments still existed during this era. And with such an obviously Italian surname as 'LaRusso', I can't imagine this slice of WASPy California HADN'T noticed. While not exactly the same as 'greaseball', you could catch Bobby calling Daniel a "sleazeball" during soccer tryouts. Stepping stones before you whipped out 'wop', Brown?

Additionally, I'd also like to make a point that, behind the scenes, it was also considered particular seeing Ralph Macchio and Elisabeth Shue together. According to Macchio, John Avildsen had one time stopped him once to say this:

While I don't imagine the director had meant it in a malicious way, his comment does point out the underlying "issue" present, seeing a girl who looks so much like the 'American Girl' archetype romantically paired with a visually striking dark Italian boy. I hate it when "ethnic" is used to describe something/someone, but it is often used as a way to distinguish when something/someone is clearly of a cultural/ethnic background that doesn't align perfectly with the cultural image of 'American' (which is a whole issue in and of itself, but that's a separate topic). In this case, I think Avildsen saw the striking peculiarity of, as he put it, the cannoli (Italian) with the strawberry shortcake (American), opposite ends of the bakery case. Avildsen may have been able to appreciate the balance (heh) made by their physical differences working in unison — and he's right, they do look terrific together — but I point this out because it reveals the perception of race and multiethnic relationships of the era that I'm sure is apparent in the universe of The Karate Kid as well. I'm sure some people in West Valley High were unlike Avildsen and thought there was something wrong with "a girl like her" to be with "a guy like him" that ran a different meaning besides the Hills vs. Reseda.

Furthermore, the racial subtext is not anything new about The Karate Kid. As early as 1984, it's been pointed out how Johnny and the Cobras were chosen to be (majorly) blonde and WASPy to contrast Daniel's "dark visage". Chad McQueen, the actor who portrayed Dutch, claimed Avildsen's desire for visual/racial contrast went as far as making it so that the naturally brunet McQueen bleached his hair — to reinforce the Cobras' "Aryan look".

The subtext is strong on this one.

It's undeniable that Daniel is a couple shades darker than most of the contemporaries his age. While The Karate Kid does not explicitly point towards Daniel's racial ambiguous looks or his evident Italian heritage upon further inspection, I could believe that those two qualities — which are associated and correlate with Daniel's East Coast, working class family background — further isolated Daniel from making friends after Johnny had placed a metaphorical 'kick me!' sign on his back.

Before I move onto the second question, I'd like to point out that Daniel bonds the closest with is Undeniable Person Of Color Mr. Miyagi, whose storyline centered much on isolation and alienation from others in California as well. Additionally, Daniel's first potential friend is Latino Freddy Fernandez, who shares Daniel's dark eyes and hair (and noticeably lacks the defining trait of blonde hair that Lucille points out so much about the state), as well as his history of being bullied.

Moving on, I'd say it's less obvious that Daniel's androgynous physical attributes play a role in the bullying he experiences, or at least it's discussed differently when talking about the film. At least for me, outside of Tumblr, the only time you'd hear somebody talk about Daniel's gender presentation or performance is less analytical and more... mocksome; blah blah blah Daniel is a wimp blah blah Daniel's a girly boy blah blah blah insert gay slur

This isn't anything new when it comes to insulting men/male characters people dislike, because it's been socially taught that a man's worst offense to his gender is not being man enough (whether because of a perceived lack of physical strength, leadership, masculine traits and qualities, heterosexual behavior, cisgender behavior, cisheteronormative interests and hobbies, sociability with other men, etc.). However, I think there is a noticeable and meaningful difference in the fact Daniel's often subject to ridicule, not only by audience reactions, but also in-universe as well (the subject at hand).

I know you only mentioned Daniel's physical characteristics, so I'll try not to talk so much on his actions and behavior as well, but they do accompany one another. A topic for another day.

I wouldn't necessarily say Daniel has more feminine features, but he does have certain ones that are generally associated with femininity (thicker lips, large eyes).

(I say only "associated", because the perception of masculinity and femininity changes so often throughout time and culture. While larger lips and eyes are considered universal qualities of femininity, certain other traits are far more complicated (for example, Daniel has long eyelashes. In fact, fanartists often emphasize his lashes. Long lashes are often considered feminine, even though men typically have longer, natural eyelashes than women. But because women have historically used products to emphasize their lashes, they're considered feminine))

Daniel of course was first bullied because Johnny felt threatened by his presence with Ali. However, I do believe he continued to be targeted by Johnny and the Cobras because of a variety of reasons, one of which is not helped that Daniel does not fit the mold of masculine male youth.

Because hey, if he isn't fitting in, or isn't fitting in right, he deserves to be punished for it! That's the attitude that permeats a lot of bullying behavior; noticing or seeking out qualities that transcend/transgress against societal expectations and punishing the person for it, whether they're doing it on purpose or not. I'm not even going to get into Reagan era of presidency, but he damn sure had a part on this mindset.

In the case with Daniel, he's perceived as transgressing a lot, according to Johnny; not only is he trying to make a move on Johnny's girl (except they had broken up by that point), got involved in places he didn't belong in (picked up Ali's stereo to give it back to her), sucked ass at fighting back against Johnny with only one stray sucker punch, and decided to keep showing his face around school and even the dojo like he belongs, but Daniel does all that looking like a girl! Let's beat his sissy ass up!!

Hell, you could see this in the infantilizing/feminizing nicknames he gets throughout The Karate Kid ('sweetheart', 'prima donna', 'Danielle', 'wimp', etc.). The Cobras are written to make it a point often to attack Daniel based on his perceived lack of masculinity (such as his supposed weakness) and equal it to femininity, and thus as something bad.

I could elaborate more on this and how it's further exacerbated by Daniel's perceived lack of masculinity due to his actions and behavior, buuuut I'll leave it at that lol.

Admittedly, I don't have as much to say on this topic compared to the racial subtext, simply because 1. Daniel's physical characteristics are rather surface-level and easy to understand upon sight in my opinion (just look at 'im), and 2. again, just trying to keep it about Daniel's physical characteristics. THAT BEING SAID: there's a lot to say about gender presentation, gender roles, and gender paradigms in The Karate Kid, even outside Daniel (though of course, as the main character, he gets a lot of the analysis surrounding him) — and while I love talking about this subject, I'd said quiiiiite enough for now ajdlkajfjskf

Overall, I hope you enjoyed my thoughts on the racial/sexist subtext of Daniel getting bullied! I know it was a lot, but it's something I think a lot of hafkkshfjks

[clocainiac]

pov: me when someone hates pearl FOR THE WORST REASONS!

I have some points down below of why i don’t think pearl is the rude bitchy stereotype that most pearl haters make her out to be:

1. Pearl isn’t some malicious heartbreaker, she’s presented as a young coach still figuring out what to do in the yard. Her attraction to other engines beside Rusty reflects (at least to me) self discovery not a way of shitting on Rusty.

2. The yard itself directly influences Pearl, flashy appearances and speed are rewarded so it’s not surprising for her to gravitate to engines that have these qualities.

3. I’m going to say it louder for people in the back, PEARL ISNT JUST A LOVE INTREST! Pearl has her own complex arc of change and self discovery, she shouldn’t have to be loyal or perfect for Rusty (who in some productions she’s only just met).

4. Every production of Pearl is different, in some versions she’s portrayed as flirty and naive whereas in others she’s portrayed as more intelligent but confused. I feel like hating Pearl just on the way one production presented her is bonkers.

5. She shouldn’t HAVE to race with Rusty, I saw this in the Wembley Revival where her and Rusty have just met mind you and he’s already asking ‘more than friends?’ Which is crazy?? Then he goes on to whine about how he won’t race without Pearl. I think this is more of a flaw for Rusty because he’s basing his whole self worth on Pearls approval, she’s allowed her own autonomy especially as she basically gets treated as a prize by all the engines.

6. I get if you dislike Pearl for her actions, but hating her for human flaws is just ehh. I feel like we should be celebrating complex characters instead of perfect one dimensional boring characters, and Pearl is so interesting especially when you deep dive.

7. Also if you love Greaseball but hate Pearl just because she raced with them… Yeah I don’t think I even need to go into detail because that’s self explanatory.

[condense-fanpage]

saw a guy at the roller rink today who looked a little too much like greaseball (he was an actual inanely good skater as well) and all I could do was keep saying to my friends “he’s pumping iron” I think he knew I saw just staring at him

(also may or may not have sprained my ankle and can’t walk properly 😔)

[blueberryattack]

Some stuff from my Tassball Sibling headcanon

Because it's in my head atm

(Tassita and fem!Greaseball are siblings/any pre-2018 Greaseball and Dinah (Greasedad and Mom!Di) of your choosing are their parents)

-Greaseball used to call her brother 'Assita' to tease him until their mom chewed her out for it. Tassita would sometimes call Greaseball 'junior' to try and annoy her, but it wasn't as effective.

-Greaseball would generally go by Greasey as a kid. She only lets Dinah and her parents use it now.

-Tassita won a spelling bee once. This is secretly the proudest Greasedad was of either of them until Greaseball won a championship as a junior racer.

-Both Greaseball and Tassita joined a junior racing league as soon as they were able. Greaseball just wanted to prove herself/her family's legacy, but it was more of a social thing for Tass as there were few other young trains in their yard.

-Greaseball and Tassita raced together as juniors but Tass dropped out after a few years due to the pressure to win.

-Greaseball is very much a 'nobody messes with my baby brother but me' sibling.

-Greaseball is Greasedad's favorite but isn't dumb enough to say that out loud. Mom!Di definitely doesn't have a favorite (it's actually Dinah now).

-Tassita thinks it's happenstance that they both ended up at Troubadour station, but Tass getting hired on there was the final push for Greaseball to move after winning her first world championship.

-Pretty much everyone at Troubadour knows now that Tassita and Greaseball are siblings, except for Slick, despite being GB's closest friend outside Dinah.

-- Porter and Lumber, having realized this, have convinced the rest of yard to keep it a secret to see how long it'll be before she finds out.

-Tassita is very protective of his mom's, Dustin's, and Dinah's status as champions equal to their engine partners.

--He would have chewed out Rusty sometime after the race about not bringing Hydra up on the podium with him and Pearl.

-Rusty and Tassita are actually pretty good friends, but Tass does get annoyed by the whistling.

Feel free to ask me questions about my headcanons thanks bye

[tinyuselessadult]

Your personal headcanons for Dinah, CB, and Greaseball?

Certainly!

Dinah enjoys black coffee to combat the daily baking she tastes

On the opposite end, Greaseball enjoys sugary, milky coffee that only Dinah can make correctly.

CB likes tea, not coffee

In their youth, CB had a major crush on Dinah, but she never felt the same. They remained close friends and that crush still lingers in the back of CB's mind

CB sells secret candid photos of Dinah to Greaseball every Sunday. If GB gets out of line CB threatens to sell them to other engines.

CB tunes into his radio during trips and it takes a bit to get his attention

Dinah is a very emotional person, and sometimes cries for no reason, even if she's totally fine. CB and Greaseball know when not to mention the tears and act like they aren't there.

All three have hooked up, but never all at once... yet

Greaseball and CB fight on who can get Dinah better presents on holidays

The crash left Greaseball with some light head trauma, and sometimes forgets people's names, including his girlfriend's. He feels awful every time.

It's okay though, Dinah thinks it's adorable.

If Greaseball owes CB money, CB will sometimes "kidnap" Dinah until he pays him back.

[kindest-little-fella-in-town]

starl-high-t expreeesssss

aka. some doodles from a slowburn greased lightning/hydrusty highschool au me and my friend have been cooking up… explanations included :^]

⭐️

mx. electra is a polite & solitary compsci teacher who’s really damn good at their job, to the point that they have a gang made up of of 2020s-style neurodivergent teenagers from broken homes who stay in their classroom long after school is over to pick their brain about stuff and generally just hang out.

mr. greaseball is this big buff physed teacher who ALSO has a gang of teenage boy jocks that worship the ground he walks on. he’s macho as all hell and spends most of his free time in the school’s gym. whenever he’s not doing that, he’s off flirting with dinner ladies.

they do their best not to interact when they can help it. greaseball’s boisterous nature irritates electra. electra’s effortless charisma irritates greaseball. greaseball’s jocks probably shove electra’s nerds into lockers, and electra’s nerds probably give greaseball’s jocks 0% whenever they mark their tests. it’s slowburn for a reason!

⭐️

onto other folks. cb is a super senior who sells drugs to kids in the hallways, and slick is his protégé. she’s an a-grade student who uses her grades and Thrifty Siblings to cover for her crimes, because cb doesn’t really gaf about potential expulsion/grades slipping… he doesn’t even want to graduate. he’s just doing it for the love of the game…

(also, yes, control is the headmaster. yes, he is still, like, 7 years old. it’s funny to imagine ok)

hydra is a good kid. he is semi-involved in the Family Drug Business but doesn’t commit as hard, in part because he is far too busy angsting over the guy he has a crush on (who himself, poor oblivious idiot, is too busy angsting over the popular girl he thinks he has a crush on). he cries about it to mx. electra’s cult; in turn, they all try and wingman him in the stupidest ways possible.

also really random bonus but i wanted to draw it. greasebear Exists, as he does in most of my aus, because i feel like a stuffed animal would fix at least 50% of gb’s attitude problems (and also cause it’s really fucking funny). he keeps losing it around the building and has to find increasingly complicated ways to smuggle it back without people finding out it’s his (because every teacher thinks it belongs to a student, and it would destroy his manly image!). sakaki-azumanga-type shenanigans ensue…

⭐️

perhaps i will draw more doodles of other characters if anyone else fucks with this, or write some fic maybe. for now i’m just tossing niche self indulgence in ur faces lol,,,, enjoy🙏‼️:D

[ratsvalley]

Okay so here’s some world building lore on couples in Starlight express

Fair warning I cooked this up while sleep deprived last night so it will sound corny as hell.

(Gonna be mentioning RustyxHydra and GreaseballxDinah)

I’d like to think each train has a power cell located deep within them. Of course, it’s their very essence , their life blood, so they have to keep it covered from the world.

But consider then showing that power source to someone like their romantic partner, let me preface this by saying it’s NOT sexual at all, but rather an extremely intimate gesture.

It’s like a subtle promise to your partner that you trust them, while they promise to you that you are safe and loved and that they are being exposed to your rawest and truest form.

This is only ever done around couples so the thought of it being accomplished with friends is absurd.

Enter Rusty and Hydra. In my carrot AU I like to assume Rusty’s core was damaged in the explosion, and of course, the only way for him to consider winning the race is by hooking up to Hydrogen’s fuel cell.

It’s a very tense moment when hydrogen first opens his fuel cell, and Rusty is met with the green glow from inside him, utterly shocked and confused that his friend would go this far just to help him.

He’s seeing Hydra in his most vulnerable moment.

As he learns to collect his thoughts he utters a sentence with a dry mouth: “Hydra- why would you do this. Isn’t this weird for you??”

And Hydra just continues to gaze into his eyes firmly as if to comfort him. Uttering the words, “not when it’s with you.”

On the other side, Dinah’s shown her core to Greaseball, (it’s probably a disco ball /j) and she’s terrified at this point that her girlfriend hasn’t shown off her own. Does greaseball not love her? Has she failed to make her feel comfortable?

Greaseball on the other hand is struggling very hard to open up with her. She’s the reigning champion, she can’t be seen as soft and weird. But…at the same time she’s worried that once she opens up Dinah won’t like what she sees. She dreads the day Dinah leaves her, but she can’t express that.

One day Greaseball finally lets her walls down and shows Dinah her purest form.

It’s all scratched up and oily.

She’s worried what Dinah may say so she quickly goes: “yeah it’s not the prettiest. Sorry,”

Dinah doesn’t care because Greaseball is FINALLY opening up around her, she doesn’t know who hurt her in the past but she’s determined to keep her safe no matter what.

[greasebabexpress]

Small Town AU

(But it’s CB who ends up babysitting Greaseball when she was a kid and her dad was out of town)

To clarify, CB is not the first choice person to leave your child to, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do given the circumstance

GreaseDad doesn’t even know where CB lives let alone what he does for work he just kind of appears sometimes

He’s a “don’t ask, don’t worry about it” kind of friend, but that does clear up his schedule to babysit when you have to work overtime

Greaseball thinks CB is weird (she still does) but as a kid he was like, super weird, especially when he would rack up the phone bill taking “business calls” on their landline

CB however, likes to think that he’s the cool fun babysitter, and will let Greaseball do whatever she wants to do. Stay up late, watch cartoons and scary movies, eat as much junk food as she wants. The works

Since she was about 8, CB and Greaseball loved watching horror movies because they making fun of how cheesy, horrible, and unrealistic they are

GreaseDad was PISSED because he ended up having to go to a parent teacher conference where her third grade teacher had to tell him that Greaseball started playing “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” on the playground with the other kids where they would take turns running after each other.

There were many parent complaints to say the least. (It was Momma, Rusty was very much a crybaby and did not enjoy playing the game)

One time when Greaseball was about 12 and CB was babysitting, he rented Jennifer’s Body thinking it was just a typical horror movie, but instead it accidentally sparked her gay crisis.

She watched that movie at least 3 times in a row that night.

Red box did not get their DVD back.

(CB did not pay the late return fee)

[moonkit60633]

DIESEL GOT STEX’D

i don’t remember actually watching the episodes he’s in, so his personality is more of the 2d one

[mango-dot-yum]

This is a follow-up on a post I made a bit ago after discussing it with my friend @141n3!

(original post here:)

My original post was mostly focused on how Greaseball is emotionally abusive to Dinah, but I didn’t mention how he is canonically physically abusive as well.

In That Was Cheating/There’s Me, Greaseball physically pushes Dinah to the ground. I cannot think of a version where Greaseball doesn’t do this(not saying there isn’t, just saying in most productions he does push her). As most people know, there is never a situation where it is okay to push your partner to the ground when you’re mad at them. And Dinah immediately apologizes, showing he’s done this before and that being physically abused is normal in their relationship.

In the OLC, the 2nd and 3rd class sleepers have this interaction with Dinah and Greaseball:

This is plain and simple. The sleepers(who I assume to be Dinah’s friends since all the coaches seem to be friends) mention how Greaseball beats Dinah. Why would they say this randomly, unless they have seen it happen, or Dinah has told them about it? And the fact Greaseball doesn’t say anything is odd if he isn’t actually doing anything. Greaseball clearly cares a lot about his image, it’s why he gets so mad when Electra steals his spotlight. Why wouldn’t he be like “I am not beating my girlfriend, I actually love her so much and she’s the coolest!” so the sleepers don’t go around spreading “rumors” that he beats her?

Also, there was a comment on the wiki from years ago which I want to talk about, because I want to talk about the fandom perception of Greaseball- specifically in relation to Dinah- and how it comes off as misogynistic, most of the time unintentionally.

Like I said, this was YEARS ago. While what this person said is problematic, don’t look for them on their social media platforms or anything. That’s not cool. People can change.

First off, they’re implying the sleepers only said this because they were jealous of Dinah and GB. This is something that is commonly said when women come out about abuse. “Oh, she’s saying (male celebrity) is abusive to (male celebrity’s wife)? She’s just mad that (male celebrity’s wife) is happier and richer than her, lol.” Everyone is a product of society, and society portrays this type of response as typical from women. That doesn’t make it okay, but I don’t think that(or the rest of this) was intentional

Secondly, I want to talk about the downplaying of abuse. “Could Greaseball have gotten a bit handsy with Dinah in an argument from time to time? Sure” “She fell, but it’s not like he grabbed her and YEETED her to the ground!” He does grab her and push her to the ground, but the phrasing here makes it seem like anyone who says that is dramatic. This also happens in real life with real abuse victims. “Y’all are so dramatic, (victim) had a little red mark for an hour or two after a tiny slap on the wrist, it’s not like (abuser) beat them until they’re black and blue!”

Portraying the fandom as the ones in the wrong was also a choice. Like I said, I was a lurker in the fandom for years so I didn’t actively engage in it. But from what I saw, people were downplaying Dinah’s abuse like people do now- even more so back then! Were there people mischaracterizing her? Absolutely. Does it mean Greaseball did nothing wrong? Absolutely not. Greaseball himself(and many other characters) see Dinah as a quivering, docile baby lamb which is part of abuse. Dinah does say things and gets shut down, yeah, but what does she do after she gets shut down? Does she stay with what she said? No. In That Was Cheating, she apologizes to Greaseball. After GB leaves her for Pearl, she gets mad at Pearl and cries to her friends. Her being shut down repeatedly and accepting it proves the abuse even more.

I don’t want to talk about the kink thing too much because I am a minor and I don’t want to shame people, but I do want to mention that this is what is said when a woman in relationship has bruises and is also known to have an aggressive partner. “(Guy) would never do that! She probably likes it and asks him to do it”

Now, how does this connect to the current Starlight Express fandom? Because people still refuse to admit Dinah is a victim. I have done this before myself, in a post I deleted because I realized that I shouldn’t have said that. “Ik they’re toxic, but they’re so cute!” Is it a crime to like a ship? No, but fiction DOES affect reality in many ways. If you turn a blind eye to abuse and misogyny in fiction, you eventually will in real life.

Part of this is because the show itself has made Greaseball less of a bad person over the years. I get why, you don’t want a terrible person who mostly still gets his way in the end in a musical meant for kids, but it does impact perception of him. If you see a bunch of content of and based on current Greaseball, you might start to attach his new character to his older one.

I don’t want to be overly negative, especially because a lot of people in this fandom that I have met are such kind, genuine people. But we all need to acknowledge our own biases towards racism, misogyny, and any form of bigotry in media to be better people. What we consume and how we consume it affects us.

(Note: this is NOT to hate on Greaseball introjects, fictionkins, or Greaseball fans. This was me having a good conversation with my friend about a character, and I also wanted to bring up how important the way we consume fiction is.)

[itsnotamatterofif]

Loving the Slick love in my ask box today!!! I went with a little scene between Momma and Slick for this one, post the final race. In my head Slick has kind of the Ignored sibling vibes, but her motivations other than ‘money’ aren’t very clear.

Hope you enjoy!

✨Do you want a mini fic? Send me an ask!✨

It's going to be a long night.

Whilst everyone else is out partying and celebrating Rusty's stupidly triumphant win, Slick is alone. Hiding in the maintenance shed, drill in hand, she's instead adamantly focused on the painful joints that had become loose following the crash with Greaseball and Electra. Those two got whisked off to safety immediately, but of course no one at this god-forsaken, stupid, annoying yard had bothered to ask the tanker-

She huffs in annoyance as the drill slips out of her hands again. Why the engineers had to make their tools so fucking tiny she would never know.

With a curse and a groan, she heaves to her wheels, bending down to pick up the drill. This is the second time this has happened now, and to be absolutely honest if she drops it a third time it would be the absolute cherry on this awful cake of a day.

“Here, baby, let me help.”

She jumps back suddenly, apparently too lost in her own thoughts to realise someone had entered too. With a glance upwards, her vision is filled with a figure that is undeniably Momma, and any shock in her system fizzled away into annoyance.

“Piss off Steam train,” she snaps, grabbing the drill and retreating back to her bay, “I can handle this myself-“

“‘Steam Train’?” Momma repeats incredulously, and the fact that she is not only still here but also smiling makes Slick want to scream, “damn, one bad job and it’s like your first day at the yard again - believe it or not, Miss Slick Oil, I came here to make sure you were alright.”

“I’m fine,” Slick grumbles quickly, “doesn’t Rusty need you or something? I’m sure you’re due a speech about the power of steam anytime now.”

“He can wait,” Momma says easily, and with a creak and a groan, situates herself on the bay next to slick, “looks like you got pretty banged up there.”

Slick can’t help the grunt of frustration - why won’t this fucking engine leave her alone? “Ain’t nothing I can’t handle.”

“Was this following your little tangle with Greaseball?”

She can feel Momma’s eyes on her, expectant and perceptive.

“Yeah,” she finally admits, the whir of the drill filling the shed for a second as she screws a loose bracket into place, “Electra took the brunt of it though - you should have seen how smashed up their stupid little chest screen got, it was great-“

“I’m sure it was.” Momma’s tone is even, loaded with patience - considering the fact that she’s been taking care of all the trucks and Rusty for god knows how long, Slick’s surprised at just how much patience she has left. “Slick, baby, why’d you do it?”

Like ice in her fuel pipes, Slick knows exactly what Momma’s on about. Why she sabotaged Rusty, threw the entire final whilst convincing Lumber and Porter to work against their friend, and why she was more than happy to leave Rusty to the mercy of the engines.

She knows why, of course. The empty space where solid bullion should be under her loading bay won’t let her forget, as well as the messages of anger from the various bookies and sponsors she’d been rigging the game for. All of this for a way out of this dead end yard, to get somewhere she’d be actually useful for once, or be able to race with proper engines, not jumped up ego cases like Greaseball and Electra, and not have to deal with the stupid coaches anymore.

Or stupid Rusty, who was actually nice to her sometimes, or the stupid trucks, who were quite useful in her various escapades.

She didn’t think Hydra was capable of hatred, too oblivious to the world to be capable of negative emotions, so the look of sheer disappointment before the downhill race was unexpected.

“Cash,” she admits simply, setting to work on wedging a fuel pipe back into place, “if I’d had pulled it off proper, and your little pet project hadn’t put ideas in Rusty’s head, I’d be set for life.”

“And what would you have done with that cash, Slick?” Momma asks. Slick wants her to be angry - she was expecting fire and brimstone from the old steamer, not patience, and the whole thing is just making her angrier.

“Gotten out of here, for one,” Slick starts with a humourless, dry laugh, “gone somewhere sunny - I’m sure an airport in paradise somewhere needs an A1 tanker, I know people who’ll convert me.”

Momma hums thoughtfully, considering Slick’s answer as if it wasn’t some hasty excuse. “Kid, this ain’t easy-“

“What ain’t easy?” Slick shouts, teeth bared as every ounce of fuel left in her surges and boils with rage - she thought she was prepared for this, prepared to tell the rest of the yard exactly where they can shove it, but apparently not, “kickin’ me out? Telling me to fuck off? I’ll tell you, it’s gonna’ be damn easy - I knew it was comin’, and I wanna’ be out of here as much as you wanna’ see the back of me, so fuck off out of here with that fake pity, it’s-“

“It ain’t easy to apologise, Slick,” Momma interrupts, and Slick feels shock hit her like a cold front. Momma is looking sorrowfully down at her clasped hands, lips bared in a tight line. “I never did do right by you, and I’m sorry about that - if this is because of anything me or the boys did-“

“No, no it ain’t,” Slick mutters, and as the rage begins to seep out of her like sludge, embarrassment fills its place, “I just- I feel trapped here. All I do is follow around those jumped up engines, and they treat me like shit, I’m- I’m tired, Momma.”

Two large arms are around her like a flash, and before she can argue she’s tugged into the steamer’s side; it’s… it’s nice, the hug, nicer than she remembers them. Momma’s been spending most of her time recently making sure Hydra doesn’t blow, or trying to stop Porter and Lumber from blowing him up, she can’t remember the last time she had a hug. Against her will, she feels herself go lax, whatever fight she had draining, and instead she just aches.

“I understand if you still wanna’ leave, baby,” Momma says quietly, muffled slightly from where her face is so close to Slick’s hair, “but you know you’ll always have a bay and a safe place to rest here, and I swear by the Starlight that I will do better by you.”

Something in her throat is threatening to break if she opens her mouth to reply, so she grits her teeth and screws her face up to stop any rogue fuel leaks. She’s not sad, not angry, not pissed off, everything just kind of hurts now, and Momma’s arms are so warm.

“Let me know if I can help with anything,” Momma adds, and Slick can finally hear the smile in her warm tone.

“Sure,” Slick replies, simple and quiet, “will do.”

[itskitkat1209]

I went to see Starlight Express on Saturday in Wembley and had a great time. Here are some thoughts:

Hydra is lowkey my favourite. He reminds me of the popular kid in school who was genuinely nice to everyone and would talk to the quiet kids like any of his friends (I always appreciated people like this as a quiet kid). He is a great addition to the story.

I was a little annoyed when he didn't get to go on the podium with Rusty at the end of the race, when he was the whole reason he won.

Electra was magnificent as I expected. Their song was great and I loved how them and the components' costumes expanded outwards during AC/DC. It really was a spectacle.

Lesbian Greaseball was the butch rep we needed, though she was still kind of a bully. And that makes Dinah wlw too. U.N.C.O.U.P.L.E.D was pretty funny, especially when she handed one of the other carriages her tissue.

We had Scott the swing on for Rusty who has an amazing voice. Swings really are underrated because they perform at that incredible standard for multiple characters. His duets with Pearl were lovely and their voices go together so well.

Missing Caboose is valid but we have Slick instead now, which I don't think is the worst trade. All the pyrotechnics during Wide Smile were awesome and I could feel the heat from near the back.

A lot of people miss the old costumes, which is fair, but I think they look more sleek and modern, which is most of the point of the changes.

Also, some people who complain about all the changes are forgetting how badly some things in the original have aged. Even ALW has acknowledged that. Not everything new has to be bad, although I did really like a couple of the cut songs.

I don't know if this is just a tiktok thing, but people keep saying the plot is incoherent and hard to understand. I didn't really find that at all. Maybe people were confused because a lot of the songs are just setting up the characters in between plot events, or maybe it's just that it's typical tiktok media illiteracy.

As for the theatre itself, it's probably the best one I've been to. Even though I was in a cheap seat, I still had a decent view of everything. The lobby with all the glitterballs was gorgeous as well.

At the performance, there were camera people filming throughout, which indicates to me that we could be getting a proshot. They've already recorded several other performances for promo material which is why I don't think it's that.

[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!)

[oil-on-the-tracks]

Stex Phasmophobia AU main character info!

Rusty McCoy 🚂

24 years old

He/him

Dating Pearl

Majored in theology in uni

One of Momma’s kids (who runs their investigative company)

Has bad asthma

Became a ghost hunter because of Momma’s company, because of his field of study, and to genuinely help people

“Greaseball” Jr ⚡️

24 years old

She/him

Dating just Dinah,, at the moment

Greaseball is just her lastname and what she goes by (I shall think of her actual first name later trust)

Was originally going to uni on an athletic scholarship years ago, but after his first year suffered a sports related head injury and could no longer safely play professionally

Went into ghost hunting independently at first because he had an interest in it as a preteen, still had his old equipment, so fell back on it after not being able to do sports professionally anymore

Was contracted out by Momma after struggling to find work for a few months, Momma lowkey felt bad

Slick McCoy⚠️

21 years old

They/she/he

Rusty’s little sibling, adopted by Momma when they were 6

Didn’t go to uni, instead went into the “family business” of ghost hunting because Momma wanted to make sure they had some job stability

Honestly is mostly doing it for the money and to give her big brother a hard time

Though plays drums as a hobby and side gig (fucking loves Radiohead)

Electra Von Trapp💰

25 years old

They/them/any

Comes from old money, family used to be german nobility

Their “components” are their roommates and friends, but the house they live in is also basically one of those youtuber/influencer group houses and they all make content together

Very popular influencer and content creator who started doing ghost related videos after a one-off video of theirs about it became very popular

Also does drag as a hobby

Got hired by Momma partly out of hope that their content creation would help promote the small organization

Also! Note! I know I am not the best at drawing POC and specifically black hair, because its something I am still in the process of learning as an artist. If any POC think theres something in particular I could do better to improve my depiction please do shoot me a dm or ask or anything to let me know!! I want to try and get better!

Everyone feel free to send asks about to AU! Anything about it at all! Id love to talk about it more between making textposts and art!