Engines Together
is a fanfic of Thomas & Friends and The Railway Series written by MikeD57s that tells the tales of the adventures of the engines on Sodor with the ups and the many downs they face. And yet in spite of all of the problems, the engines know they’ll always face them together.
Currently, the fanfic is in its fourth season.
Engines Together contains examples of:
- Adaptational Jerkass: Some characters are much meaner than they were in canon:
- Sir Handel is a far more vain and selfish engine in the fanfic as he whines and complains about everything. It all comes to a head when his attitude causes a major accident that almost kills Bear. He does get better in the second season though especially once he meets Luke.
- Spencer is much more insulting to the other engines than he was in canon as he puts others down without a care in the world.
- Henry is more cynical and rude towards others when in canon he was the nicest of the three big engines. He gets better though.
- Adaptational Karma: At times. Just to name a few:
- Unlike in canon, Cranky is scolded for his comments about lorries in Horrid Lorries.
- Arry and Bert are scolded by The Fat Controller for their actions in Middle Engines.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: Some characters are much nicer than they were in canon.
- Played with a bit in regards to Thomas and Gordon.Thomas was a very cheeky and at times, rude engine in canon and the OVA The Adventure Begins does show that. However he knew when to dial it back and when we see him season one he’s a more sensible engine. As for Gordon, while he was shown to be as rude and pompous in canon, this was mainly before the first season started. By the time we see him in the first season, he’s usually the nicest out of the three big engines and is more willing to admit to his mistakes. Furthermore whenever he does get humbled, the lesson sticks.
- The Fat Controller is far more forgiving to his engines as he’s willing to hear his engines out when a accident occurs, rarely blames them and in the rare times he does, it’s either justified due to the engine doing something dangerously foolish or he apologizes to the engine for snapping.
- Aesop Amnesia: Averted for the most part as whenever a engine is humbled, they take that lesson to smokebox.
- Beware the Nice Ones: It’s a very good idea to not anger the engines on Sodor since they will make the perpetrator pay one way or another.
- Big Good: The Fat Controller.
- Character Development: Happens to a lot of engines throughout the fanfic.
- Darker and Edgier: At times, the fanfic can delve into darker territory than its source material with violence, death and PTSD being discussed in heavy detail. Furthermore, accidents can cause fatal injuries to engines and drivers alike with Gone Too Far and Doing It Wrong happily showing this.
- Downer Ending: At times the fanfic can dive into this:
- Gone Too Far ends with Bear having a nasty crash thanks to Sir Handel’s actions with Sir Handel himself being banished to the Blue Mountain Quarry.
- Diesel Strikes Back has Oliver land himself in massive trouble after attacking Diesel in return for the shunter attacking Emily.
- Heroic Sacrifice: In the final part of Day Of The Diesels, Bert gives his life up to save the engines from Arry and the exploding Ironworks.
- Jerkass Ball: The flashback in No Sleep For Cranky reveals that Edward and Boco of all engines grabbed it when they refused to believe Bill and Ben’s claims about Cranky causing trouble.
- I Hate Past Me: Gordon mentions numerous times that he hates being the pompous engine he was when younger.
- It's All About Me: Whoo boy does Spencer have this mindset as if he’s not putting others down then he’s bragging to everyone that he’s the greatest engine ever. Even the vain James can’t handle him.
- Killed Off for Real: Happens to quite a few characters in the fanfic.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Happens a lot in the fanfic.
- Meaningful Rename: Diesel renames himself Bradley as a means to finally let go of his devious past after the events of Day Of The Diesels.
- Misplaced Retribution: Averted for the most part as while he will scold them for bad behavior, the Fat Controller will not scold a engine for something they didn’t do.
- Nice, Mean, and In-Between: The three big engines have this dynamic. Gordon is the nicest engine of the three as while he can be somewhat pompous, he generally knows when to put others above himself and the lessons he has learned stick with him. Henry is the meanest engine as he’s cynical and rude to other engines though he does eventually get better. James is the middle of the group as while he’s vain, he’s rather outgoing and usually friendly to the other engines.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: The Fat Controller loves to give these out though his engines can also dish these out as well.
- Shadow Archetype: Gordon sees a lot of his past self in Spencer.
- Shout-Out: The shunting montage between Oliver and Diesel in "Frieght Fight" was directly inspired by the shunting montage by Diesel and Eric from Sodor's Darkest Days.
- Suddenly Shouting: It happens a ton throughout the fanfic though it’s primarily whenever Sir Topham Hatt or one of his engines are telling someone off.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Despite saving his life in Spencer Meets His Match, Spencer is still rude towards Tamara.
