TAKE TWO. I’m unhappy with version one. I exaggerated the worst aspects of Sir Handel’s reaction here thinking that it added clarity and… comedy? Dunno what I was thinking with that one tbh. And then I didn’t tag/couch the material in a safe way.
I’ve deleted the original. If you’ve reblogged the original, I’d be grateful if you deleted it too.
------------------------------------------------
Heads-up: I think Sir Handel is, at the time when he meets Duncan, a canonical toerag who canonically hates everything on reflex... probably due to trauma- and adjustment-related issues.
This means I believe he was a dick about Rusty’s arrival and any preference for the singular ‘they.’ Like, as ugly as his reaction to meeting Skarloey. Worse, even.
I don’t think this lasted forever, or even very long (Sir Handel just spirals when he doesn’t have his grandparental figures around - and Skarloey's just gone away to be mended), but he was purposefully difficult to Rusty at first.
But you know who DIDN’T fuckin’ stumble over Rusty’s nonbinary presentation, even though it’s like 1954, on a British railway?
The S.R.’s other career hater…
I have exactly ONE headcanon for these two, but I think it’s a good one.
When Rusty arrives and gives their pronouns, these two are at the opposite ends of the spectrum re: take-in-stride-ness.
Peter Sam is the one who asked if Rusty was “a he or a she?” and, when Rusty said “I’m a ‘they’” was like “... what does that mean?” It’s 1953 or whatever on the Island of Sodor. These are perfectly natural questions.
Sir Handel jumps in before Rusty can even answer with “you have to be a he or a she.”
Rusty explains. They are very clear with themselves on why they like this pronoun and they explain it in a way that makes sense to everyone present who isn’t determined to be a dick about this: “You know when a train is coming in, and you don’t know the engine pulling it?”
Some digression as their audience relates the junctions or the lack of junctions and subsequent unfamiliar engines in their personal histories. Duncan is the one who is the most ‘yeah yeah i’m sorry you guys are stupid it’s a simple question’ about it.
“You don’t know if the engine is a he or a she. So what do you say when you see the new engine in the distance? Everyone says ‘ah, there they are.’”
A beat while everyone digests this.
“ ‘I don’t see them.’ ‘Give them a minute, they’re almost ‘round the bend.’ ‘They’re here, lads, get ready!’ With most engines, you meet them and learn that they’re a ‘he’ or a ‘she’. But I’m always the ‘they’ in ‘ah, there they are.’”
“Oh,” says Peter Sam, brow furrowed in thought. “How come?”
“It’s just me,” smiles Rusty.
Peter Sam likes that smile, likes Rusty, and smiles back. He will spend the rest of the night and the following couple of days’ conversation needing to slow down and visibly screw up his face to think through diagramming his sentence whenever he refers to them (it’s a very cute expression). After this period of earnest practice he never has to think twice about it again. It’s just Rusty.
Sir Handel doesn’t like Rusty. He doesn’t like strangers. He doesn’t like engines who smile too much (unless they’re Peter Sam, and even that’s… complicated). He certainly doesn’t like engines who Peter Sam looks on the road to making friends with (everybody. that’s basically everybody.) And he instinctively hates this whole “difference” thing. He’d be fussed about it in anyone. Engines should be he or she!!! And if anyone is going to be fussy and high-maintenance and go against that, it oughtn’t be a shunter and utility engine!!!!1!
He starts in being a real heel, arguing with Rusty. ‘They’ is for more than one engine, it doesn’t make sense for one engine. You’d think he’d never heard Rusty bring up the example of singular they one damn minute ago. No, clearly this diesel-burning mechanical oddity is trying to deceive them. Why? What do you mean, why? For the sake of deception. For unknown but nefarious purpose!
Now, Duncan also doesn’t like Rusty. He doesn’t like diesels. He doesn’t like Rusty’s general air. He can tell Rusty is the sort of suck-up that managers like better than him, and that already has him sulking and glowering.
However, Duncan has zero problem with their pronouns (indeed, he is able to use them effortlessly from the first, and is eternally impatient with anyone who will ever have even the slightest difficulty getting used to them).
And, though he already doesn’t like Rusty, Sir Handel harassing them about so stupid and pointless a thing pisses him off.
So their first night together features Sir Handel trying to bully Rusty – and Duncan just sailing in to argue with Sir Handel until the air is rather blue. (Peter Sam is shocked by the language he’s hearing!)
The crux of Duncan’s argument and discontent is that
Sir Handel should stop being fookin stupid
At this point, Sir Handel is already gasping in indignation.
Sir Handel has no business giving anyone else shit about what they’re called when he goes around being called Sir Handel (Duncan spits here, and spits again every time for the rest of the night he sarcastically says the name). Engines shouldn’t be theys? Yeah, well. Engines shouldn’t go around with titles!
Sir Handel is furious. It’s the name of their OWNER!
Yeah, well, people shouldn’t have titles either! Duncan proclaims that he’s, like, a democrat. [small d]
Sir Handel’s brain explodes.
The two of them are at each other’s throats until Mr Hugh arrives in his nightcap to sternly explain to the “new” engines the concept of bedtime. (Duncan and especially Sir Handel ain’t that new around here anymore, but allow a tired man his sarcasm.)
Anyway, that’s the story of Duncan, all-around jackass and yet… nonbinary ally?
------------------------------------------------
(If only an ally because he hates the oppressor, and his class issues run so deep. As do Sir Handel’s… Look, while the two learn to rub along together and they do appreciate having a fellow hater with whom they can grumble about things, I don’t think their mutual class issues have ever gone away. I would hesitate to go so far as to ever describe them as friends. Duncan and Rusty in the end, yes. Duncan and Sir Handel? The only thing they have in common is their worst instincts, and they never stop low-key looking down on each other.
Like, James and Gordon overcame less of a gap. But also they have things in common besides their grievances. Their friendship was born the moment Gordon saw something in James he could approve of, and James was instantly like ‘oh hell yes your approval was all i ever wanted!!!!! #winning’ Sir Handel is never gonna acknowledge anything in Duncan he respects, and if he did Duncan would be all ‘your approval fills me with shame’ about it.)
26 notes
·
View notes
Hi, I’m an idiot! why are we so sure black beard will kill shanks? I’ve been fan since OPLA and everyone keeps telling me it 😳
Also did Oda really said buggy is his favourite? 🥺That’s so sweet he likes him. I thought it was gaimon
He did say his favorite is Gaimon but! He also said his favorite antagonist is Buggy and tbh seeing how much he enjoys writing him it's just obvious he loves him.
And I'm not exactly saying it will be Blackbeard specifically, I literally have 0 theories regarding Shanks' death. I just have the feeling he'll die because his death flags are... Too obvious. He doesn't show up very often but when he does it's to leave us viewers wanting more and loving him. He's not an antagonist, in fact, he's loved by the main character and he's basically his mentor. But he still keeps a major secret from us. He's very complex but unexplored and... This type of character always ends up dying.
Loved by the main character + Doesn't show up much but is important for the plot + Hides something = Death will get a strong reaction out of the characters and will break our hearts but we won't miss him that much at the end of the day and thanks to that we will have a big part of the main plot revealed finally
Also, he's not an antagonist but since he does have something mysterious going on, Oda can't just leave him alive and happy and being a good-hearted Pirate at the end of the story. He's either an actual villain (which I highly doubt) or he's dying. Because otherwise, I think it'd be a pretty underwhelming ending for his character. But Oda surprises us by breaking stereotypes in Shonen a lot, so maybe Shanks doesn't die. But who knows... I'm just saying that if somebody has to die, it's gonna be Shanks.
20 notes
·
View notes