#poppa the steam engine

[dinahdoeeyes]

My headcanons for StEx characters' ages. (You know... if they were human.)

(I already posted this over a year ago, but it was in a reblog, so I figured I'd post it as it's own original post. I'm just copying & pasting everything I wrote before.)

Okay, so for me, (original) StEx takes place on March 27th, 1984.

Dinah: 23. Dinah really gives me that “Youngest of the coaches" vibe, and knowing that Frances Ruffelle and Jane Krakowski were both 18 when StEx debuted in London and on Broadway (respectively) and Natalie Howard was 21 when StEx debuted in Bochum definitely adds to that vibe for me. (To me, she’s a Pisces, and would’ve very recently had her 23rd birthday.)

Greaseball: 32 or 30, but he’s almost 33 or 31 because I headcanon him as an Aries. I was feeling that Greaseball is a bit older than Dinah, but once I learned that Elvis & Priscilla have a 10-year age gap, I was like, “Yeah, that tracks.” (No pun intended.) But then I thought (literally while writing this), "Hmm, does G.B. seem almost 33?" Even with Jeff having been 36 when StEx debuted, Greaseball gives me more of a 29-31 vibe? Idk for sure now! 🤷🏽‍♀️ My headcanon is that he & Dinah have been together for almost 2 years.

Rusty: 24 or 25. I’m not entirely solid on his age yet.

Pearl: 26. I know people usually see Pearl as quite young, but I'm feeling 26 exactly from, like, every version I've seen of her.

C.B.: 25. Or 26.

Ashley: 30. I read that Ash is like “the big sister” of the girls, while I feel like Dinah is the little sister.

Buffy: 28.

Electra: 29-31.

Volta: 29.

Joule: 24 or 25. She has that younger energy; I don’t mean physical energy, I mean in her personality.

Poppa: 65-70.

Belle: 53-57.

The Rockies: 24.

Dustin: 23 or 24.

Flat-Top: 20. He definitely has the vibe of being the youngest, and I’ve read him described as quite young.

2nd & 3rd Class Sleepers: 26-27.

Duvay: 27. (I’ve gotten the headcanon that she is Ash’s younger sister, which is why I am including her.)

...

I don’t care about the new Belle or Carrie or Killerwatt. I haven’t thought about the ages for Krupp, Wrench, or Purse; I honestly... don’t pay much attention to those 3. 😬 👀

[lune-tic]

[i-may-not-be-first-class]

StEx Appreciation Month Day 12: Poppa/Momma 🚂

Steve Fowler (Broadway 1987, first cast); Gregory McKinnon (Bochum 1988, understudy)

Favourite Actor: Steve Fowler, David E. Moore, Reginald Holden Jennings, Reva Rice, Rochelle Sherona

Favourite Songs/Scenes: The Blues, Light 💡

Favourite Costume: Broadway but I do enjoy the glasses he wore in Bochum

Favourite Ships: Poppa × Belle

Unpopular Opinions: imo Poppa/Momma should be played by both male and female performers

[1010neveragain]

Starlight Express Appreciation Month Day 6: Momma and Poppa

Favorite Actor(s): Reva Rice for Momma and ummmmm Steve Fowler for Poppa

Favorite Song/Scene(s): Rusty Why You Lookin’ Sad 

Favorite Costume: All the Bochum ones where they’re nice n green

Favorite Ship(s): N/A

Headcanon: Poppa/Momma isn’t the biological parent of any of the freight but acts as a parental figure for all of them!!! They took them in from various bad situations.

Unpopular Opinion: Poppa/Momma should have genderblind casting!! The character’s gender isn’t really important to the story or their personality

[starburst2000]

Some say: Poppa x Belle

Others say: Momma x Belle

My school of tought says: Poppa and Momma are 2 separate characters, and they're in a lovingly poly relationship with Belle!

[electricfied-wolf]

I'm back to feeling incredibly bad for Rusty, lads

[workofthediesel]

[greenghostlyjekyll]

Rusty, Poppa McCoy, Pearl, and Electra - Jim'll Fix It

[sweet-dining-car]

StEx Characters Putting a Sheet on a Bed

IDC IF ITS CRAZY SPECIFIC ILL DO WHAT I WANT

Rusty: Asks for help immediately

Pearl and Electra: Gets someone else to do it for them

Dinah: Fights for like 5 minutes then asks for help

Momma/Poppa and Belle: Knows how to put on a fitted sheet

Caboose: Sleeps in a sleeping bag

Carrie: Sleeps in a hammock

Rockies: Fight for 30 min and gets tangled in the sheets somehow

Greaseball: Immediately gives up and sleeps without it

Flat-Top: Immediately gives up and sleeps on the floor

Feel free to add more!

[thisismondaymood]

Headcanons on how StEx characters would react if you give them an energy drink:

Pearl: pretends to not like drinking that kind of stuff but actually enjoys it

Greaseball: pretends to handle the caffeine quite well but throws up when no one is looking

Rusty: he'd either be hyper af (like a kid that ate too much sugar) and a bit sassier or cries his eyes out

Poppa/mama: starts using caffeine to compensate everyday life (just like most adults)

Flattop: he's almost caffeine resistant and even feels sleepy

Caboose (CB and AV): gets hyperactive af and goes feral (there might also be the risk of him stabbing someone with random pointy objects)

Canoose (BV): gets super confident first but has a mental breakdown as soon as the caffeine is broken down by the body

Dustin: takes one sip, finds it disgusting and touches that can never again

The rockies: battle eachother who can drink the most cans

Electra: zaps uncontrollably

Elektra: claims that he can handle that bit of caffeine but shuts down after half a can

Components: are too worried about Elektras condition to feel any difference

Dinah: giggles constantly

Belle (sleeping car): feels more youthful than everyone else

Ashley: she'd probably be very chatty and uses the can as an ashtray

Trax: feel happy and serene for once in their life

Control: gives his parents a hard time

[finleyforevermore]

2023's StEx Appreciation Month!

Day 12: Poppa and Momma McCoy

Lothair Eaton in the first picture and Maria Jane Hyde in the second picture.

Favorite Actor: Steve Fowler (Broadway, 1987-1989), David E Moore (Bochum, 2009-2016), Mica Paris (2017 Off-West End Workshop), Reva Rice (Bochum update, 2018-2023), and Maria Jane Hyde (Bochum update, 2021-2023, understudy)

Face Claim/Voice Claim: Lothair Eaton (face) and Steve Fowler (voice), Reva Rice (face and voice)

Favorite Song/Scene: Starlight Prelude

Favorite Costume: For Poppa, Broadway/pre-2018 Bochum. For Momma, the one she has looks great! Though I never really understood why she wore a skirt for act 2, when she didn't wear one in act 1.

Favorite Ships: Poppa x Momma, Poppa x Belle, and Momma x Belle

Headcanon(s):

Poppa/Momma is not Rusty's biological parent.

This isn't a headcanon I personally believe, but I think the idea Momma being trans (MTF) is really sweet.

Unpopular Opinion: None for Poppa, and for Momma, I like her a lot!

[goblinlovesmusicals]

You know, I actually really like the idea that Momma and Belle weren’t the best parents to Rusty or The Rockies.

Momma seems very attached to being a champion, so it wouldn’t surprise me if she was one of those moms that wasn’t around her kids a lot because she was at a spa (or in Momma’s case, probably training and doing anything she could to stall the effects of aging).

And Belle worked all night, so she probably slept all day.

The two of them inadvertently caused their kids harm by pledging “Steam is Superior” any chance they got, which led to a lot of pride and them getting harmed by the Diesels. I’m not saying they can’t be proud about steam, but they dislike other forms of energy for just being other forms of energy, which seems hypocritical to me, because Greaseball is portrayed as bad for being proud of Diesel (I know it isn’t the same situation and GB’s actions weren’t good, but hating other forms of energy because they aren’t your own seems to be a universal issue with engines).

I can also picture Momma and Belle just naturally being free-range and hands-off parents, they’d let Rusty get beat by the Diesels because he needed to toughen up and learn to fight his own fights.

I’m sure they adore their kids, but that doesn’t mean they were super good parents.

Idk where any of this is going, I’ve just been thinking about it.

[minatoiskyuubismate]

Finally finished: My first Starlight Express Fanfic in english. Its a one -shot.

[marastriker]

📁📁📁 pls~

Dinah is the shortest out of all the coaches and a bit chubby. She has insecurities concerning her body image, but the others are always super supportive and complimentary.

The only biological child that Poppa/Momma have is Rusty - the rest of the freight were just adopted by him/her, though the Rockies are all siblings, the Hoppers are all siblings, and Dustin and Flat Top are siblings. CB and BV are siblings, but not related to any of the other freight.

Elektra (post 2018) is albino!

[margaret-the-sylvia]

It’s this guy’s birthday today, that last name looks awfully familiar…

[starburst2000]

StEx Appreciation Month 2023!

Double day bonus!

Day 11: Belle the Sleeping Car; Day 12: Poppa & Momma the old steam engines!!!

My school of thought says that Poppa and Momma are 2 separate characters. It also says that they're in a poly relationship with Belle.