Line #48 Blog/AskTheFamous8


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/percy_badge_transparent_7.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350: "[[BerserkButton Please stop sending us letters about]] ''Music/TheWiggles''."]]
3	''Ask the Famous 8!''[[note]]also known as ''Ask the Famous 8! & Friends!'' The two titles are interchangeable.[[/note]] is a ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends'' [[FanWebcomics Fan Webcomic]] by sleepyhenry.
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5	This comic is told through an AlternateUniverse CharacterBlog run by Percy. It shows some of the shenanigans that the Famous 8 deal with on a regular basis, as well as dive into their backstories.
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7	The Website/{{Tumblr}} page can be read [[https://askthefamous8.tumblr.com/ here]].
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9	!!''Ask the Famous 8!'' provides examples of:
10	* AbusiveParents:
11	** Gordon's father, Gordon I, was openly abusive to him and blamed him for his mother's death.
12	** James' parents never approved of him being transgender, and they always suppressed his attempts to "act tomboyish".
13	** Bill and Ben's foster parents never accepted that Bill was a transgender male, and their foster father resorted to molesting Bill in an effort to "prove" that he was female. It's also heavily implied that said foster father is a ''pedophile''.
14	* AdaptationalDiversity: A given, since the engines are now humans. The majority of the cast, including the titular "Famous 8", are of non-white minorities, with a few being mixed-race. In addition to this, there are multiple [=LGBTQ+=] characters, including seven of the Famous 8. The original books and television series this is based on did not feature any of these, being written at a time when such were considered taboo, and sleepyhenry decided to include these changes to reflect the diversity of the modern world.
15	* AdaptationalGenderIdentity:
16	** Thomas is nonbinary and uses "he/they" pronouns.
17	** Henry is genderfluid and uses "he/him" pronouns.
18	** Gordon is nonbinary.
19	** James is a transgender man.
20	** Percy is a nonbinary transgender boy.
21	** Duck is bigender and uses "he/him" pronouns.
22	** Bill is a transgender boy.
23	** Douglas is agender and goes by "he/him" pronouns.
24	** Ferdinand is agender.
25	** Murdoch is a masculine agender person.
26	** Bash and Dash are both transgender girls.
27	** Daisy is a transgender woman.
28	* AdaptationalSexuality: Not that the source material had any romantic relationships between the engines to begin with, but each character has a distinct sexuality.
29	** Thomas is bisexual.
30	** Edward is gay.
31	** Henry is gay.
32	** Gordon is bisexual, but he had to hide his attraction to men for most of his life before he started dating Henry.
33	** James is gay.
34	** Percy is pansexual.
35	** Bill and Ben are both grey-pan ace.
36	** Donald is bisexual, while his twin brother Douglas is gay.
37	** Rebecca is lesbian.
38	** Lady is lesbian.
39	* Rosie's and Millie's orientations are not specified, but they are attracted to women, as they're both in a relationship with each other.
40	* AdaptationNameChange:
41	** Percy's legal name is "Claire". No one knows about this in-universe, however.
42	** Toby's first name is "Tobias".
43	* AgeGapRomance: Downplayed with Edward (44) and James (34).
44	* AllThereInTheManual: Most of the information can be found on either the Tumblr page or the Wiki.
45	* AlternateUniverse: One where everyone is humanized.
46	* AuthorAppeal: The reason why Henry and Gordon are one of the prominent couples is because sleepyhenry personally ships them together even before she started the blog.
47	* TheBabyOfTheBunch: Downplayed with Percy. While he may be the youngest of the Famous 8, at 15, he can handle volunteering to deliver the mail, while also pulling the mail train with Thomas.
48	* BerserkButton: Do not ask about ''Music/TheWiggles'' on the blog. At all.
49	* CastFullOfGay: Seven of the Famous 8 are [=LGBTQ+=] in some way, with six not being on the gender binary. There are also multiple [=LGBTQ+=] side characters.
50	* CastOfSnowflakes: No two characters look alike, except for those who are identical twins (Donald and Douglas, Bash and Dash).
51	* CharacterBlog: [[https://twitter.com/Thomas_no_1 Thomas]], [[https://twitter.com/Gordon_FR_II Gordon]], [[https://twitter.com/henry_lyfioenza Henry]], [[https://twitter.com/eyecandyfloss James]], [[https://twitter.com/SEXYGORDON420 Bill and Ben]] have their own Twitter accounts.
52	* ClosetGay: Gordon had to hide his attraction to men throughout much of his life due to his family's aristocratic status. It wasn't until he started dating Henry that he began to feel comfortable with his sexuality.
53	* ComicBookTime: Despite the comic reflecting the passage of time in the real world, no one seems to be getting any older. Thomas, for example, hasn't aged up any more than 17 years old.
54	* CompositeCharacter: Daisy and [=BoCo=] are the same person in this AU, with "[=BoCo=]" being a nickname for Daisy's pre-transition self.
55	* CoolOldGuy: Toby. He's the oldest of the Famous 8, at 72, with no intention of retiring.
56	* DeathByChildbirth: Gordon's mother, Lily Lu, died while giving birth to him.
57	* DisabledInTheAdaptation:
58	** Thomas is an amputee in his right hand[[note]]He uses a prosthetic hand[[/note]], and he has ADHD and PTSD.
59	** Edward is missing the last two fingers of his right hand and is farsighted, and has bipolar disorder, social anxiety, and PTSD.
60	** Henry has asthma and hemophilia, and he has general anxiety disorder, hypochondria, depression, schizophrenia, and PTSD.
61	** Gordon is on the autism spectrum, has severe burns and hypertension, and has depression and PTSD.
62	** James is partially deaf in his left ear[[note]]He requires a hearing aid while he's working[[/note]] and nearsighted, and has borderline personality disorder and ADHD.
63	** Percy is on the autism spectrum, and he has general anxiety disorder and auditory processing disorder.
64	** Toby is colorblind and has general anxiety disorder.
65	** Duck is on the autism spectrum and has social anxiety disorder.
66	* DudeLooksLikeALady: Percy looks rather feminine compared to his peers, as he has long hair which he sometimes ties into a bun and a noticeable bust. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], as he is transgender and currently in the process of transitioning.[[note]]Unlike other trans-masc people on the railway, Percy is comfortable not binding his breasts.[[/note]]
67	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Many of the older posts were drawn in a more cartoony style instead of the realistic style of the current posts. In addition, Thomas was Caucasian, and Toby's design was not finalized when sleepyhenry started the blog.
68	* FosterKid:
69	** Thomas was orphaned at the age of six, when his parents were killed in a car accident. From there, he was taken in the care of his closest living relatives, his distant aunts Annie and Clarabel Clementine. Though they loved him deeply, they were ultimately unprepared to raise a child, so they put him in the Shining Time care center on Sodor.
70	** Percy was abandoned on a doorstep by his mother, who did not feel ready to raise a child just yet. From there, he was taken to a hospital until he no longer needed constant care, and he was soon sent to the Shining Time care center.
71	* GoldDigger: Gender inverted and double subverted with Gordon I. He originally married in order to expand his own wealth, but he changed his mind after he began feeling unconditional love for a Chinese woman, Lily Lu. After Lily's death giving birth to his son Gordon II, he reverted back to his old ways. At present, he is married to Lady Carmine Redferne, who hails from an even wealthier family, and has faint connections to UsefulNotes/TheBritishRoyalFamily.
72	* HeterosexualLifePartners: Thomas and Percy are adoptive brothers, but they're extremely close to each other.
73	* LethalChef: Thomas. [[https://askthefamous8.tumblr.com/post/621104758962388992/has-thomas-ever-tried-cooking-anything-i-can-only He nearly burns the kitchen down in one ask.]]
74	* NamedByTheAdaptation: Each of the characters are given last names, when they had none in ''Thomas and Friends'': Thomas' is Vaishnavi, Edward's is Rosemore, Henry's is Ly-Fiorenza, Gordon's is Featherstone-Redferne II, James' is Alvarez, Percy's is Ferris, and Tobias' is Smith.
75	* OfficialCouple: Several throughout the series, with a few notable examples. Toby and Henrietta are HappilyMarried, Edward and James are in a committed relationship (as are Thomas and Ryan), and Gordon and Henry [[https://askthefamous8.tumblr.com/post/639064569275367424/he-said-yes became engaged]] as of New Year's Day 2021.
76	* OnlyKnownByHisNickname: Cranky is only referred to by that name. No one InUniverse knows his real name.
77	* OriginalCharacter: Gaylen Lovell-Featherstone, Gordon's younger half-sibling, and Lady Carmine Redferne, Gordon's stepmother.
78	* RaceLift:
79	** To name the Famous 8 themselves: Thomas and Edward are British Indian, Henry is of mixed race (Armenian Italian-Vietnamese), Gordon is British-Chinese, James is Latino-Spanish, Percy is Ethiopian, Toby is British African-Israeli, and Duck is German-British.
80	** To list the side characters: Donald and Douglas are Afro-British, and Bash, Dash, and Ferdinand are of mixed ancestry (Japanese-African-Caucasian-Jewish).
81	* RelatedInTheAdaptation: Ferdinand is Bash and Dash's older brother in this AlternateUniverse.
82	* RunningGag: Even though asking about ''Music/TheWiggles'' is strictly discouraged on the blog, people still ask about it, much to Percy's dismay.
83	* ShoutOut: The childcare home that Thomas and Percy are sent to is called "[[Series/ShiningTimeStation Shining Time]]".
84	* YouthfulFreckles: Percy has these. They're less noticeable with his dark skin, however.

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