Culdee:
Culdee is at his happiest when he’s scaling the Fell with his faithful coach, Catherine – especially early in the morning, with the sun rising to the east. When he can feel the crisp wind blow across his tanks, when he can see the entire island laid out below him, the engines mere specks in the distance, his funnel closer to the cloud than the ground.
“It’s gorgeous up here,” murmured Culdee to Catherine.
“Oh yes,” hummed Catherine. “There’s no place better in the whole world.” Culdee couldn’t agree more.
Mike:
Mike is at his happiest in the evenings, when the moon is just rising and his train is compiled of the last of the ballast collected from the workings. The air is cool, and the trees seem to dance in the breeze, the leaves rustling with woodland creatures all awakening from their slumber to begin foraging. There is no Rex to antagonise him, no Frank to make snippy comments about trackwork. It’s perfect.
“I love this,” Mike admitted freely into the wind. And though his trucks didn’t reply, it felt like for a brief moment the wind spurred them onwards.
Rusty:
Rusty is always happiest when working on the track. It may seem cliché, but the little diesel loves the work – being able to help the other engines run smoothly along the rails, and knowing that it was their handiwork that achieved that. Hearing the praise from the engines only added to the feeling.
“Nice work today, Rusty!” called Sir Handel as he steamed by the little diesel with a passenger train.
“Thank you!” grinned Rusty. Ah yes, there was nothing in the world that Rusty would exchange than to hear that their friends were happy with their work.
Mavis:
Mavis finds travelling down the branchline to be the most joyful experience in the world. As much as she loves working in the quarry, making jokes with the workers (Thomas says she’s “uncouth”, Toby knows the best phrases to get a laugh out of the men) – well, her favourite job is heading all the way down to the harbour. Getting to go beyond her usual running grounds and see a piece of the world.
“Morning Terrence!” chirped Mavis.
“Oh, ‘Ello Mavis!” grinned Terrence, chugging over. “Nice ta see you! Heading for the harbour?”
“Oh yeah – I’ve got stone for a ship. It’s great being out of the quarry – less dust down here!” Terrence just laughed, and Mavis smiled broadly. Yes, this was where she was happiest.
The thing is, that almost all the engines could also agree on one other place where they are happiest: with each other. For all their arguments, they are family – each and every one of them, and they wouldn’t trade their family for the world.
Watch me turn this into angst, hm? I can do that. I can turn everything into angst. I'm the Lady of Angst
Imagine this: MY gets put up against some random Wen! He wins on account of strategy and agility, rather than brute force. The Nie are proud and stuff, but WRH, isn't of being mad, becomes very intrigued about MY.
He starts thinking about how he can very much hurt NMJ if he happens to take MY for himself, and how MY can be an asset as a hostage
(See: my whumptober fic that you resd, if I'm not mistaken)
So he does! He kidnaps MY from his bed in Unclean Realm and locks him up somewhere in Nightless City. WRH' soldiers go onto MY but MY kills them with his bare hands. Which interests WRH beyond "I can use this to hurt NMJ"
And we end up with a situation similiar to canon! Except this time, MY isn't undercover; he has no contact with the outside. He also hasn't commit the crime that got him kicked out of Qinghe— he is doing whatever WRH asks, because he wants to survive. But WRH ends up genuinely liking him. And MY ends up liking him back on account of daddy issues Older Man Gives Praise factor. And he feels horribly guilty about it
Cue, during sunshot, a far more whumpy reunital with NMJ. NMj who is shell shocked. NMJ who's been worrying about MY for years and then sees him by the side of the man who killed his father. NMJ who thought MY was getting tortured but turns out he isn't.
MY who feels horribly guilty. MY who hates to break NMJ's trust. MY who's become almost two separate people on account of compartmentalization: Wen Yao and Nie Yao. (So to speak)
Meng Yao who got legitimised (or made furen for that matter), and doesn't want to give that up. MY who's more attatched to WRH than he ever was to NMJ, on account of WRH's open praise that is also tactful (unlike NMJ's scolding which brought him more trouble) and on account of WRH being significantly older. On account of WRH gutting anyone that tries to hurt him.
And now MY is caugh up in a weird web of relationships where he doesn't want to hurt NMJ and is trying to avoid doing that, who still loves NMJ, but he also doesn't want to disappoint WRH.
MY trying to juggle the two men.
Hihihi
I'm sure I can fit some dead dove in here too if I try hard enough also
Less of an ask, but I wanted to say I love your stuff! You’re really a great writer and you’ve already have an impressive start and motivation for drawing!!! Keep doing what you do and have a great new year! :)
As a token on my appreciation, though I may be pretty bad at writing and I am in and out of the Naruto fandom, you still have inspirational stuff!
Really, i have just been sitting in from of my computer for maybe half an hour thinking how to answer you and sound as a sane person, I am fangirling about your drawing a lot. You can not imagine the smile that you just put on my face and the watering eyes that you make me. I did not expect this message today, and even less that someone may draw my characters ever. I am shocked, happy, and if you were jsut right in front of me believe me, the biggest of hugs would be now crushing you.
This means a lot to me. I cannot still believe that out there there are people liking what I am doing and the interactions and messages that I received about it is something that never was in my mind to receive. You have just made my beginning of the year greater than it was, you have been the cherry on the top, and I really mean it.
Thank you so much for this masterpiece that you have draw, I cannot believe that you have taken some of your time to gift me such a wonderful draw!!! Thank you from the bottom of my heart and I hope that I keep writing and doing things that are inspirational and allow those that encounter it to have a decent time enjoying it. This has meant a lot. Thanl you @orinew and have the greatest of years!!!