chara

"A- actually, it’s Splatter…”

"A- and Dodge!”

i think part of the reason i like rusty and duncans dynamic so much is that they emphasise each others personalities. they’re very intentionally foils to one another and it makes their rivalry (and then friendship (and more)) compelling.

rusty feels a responsibility to be dependable and reliable at all times, and because duncan gets himself into trouble so often and complains so much, he brings out that aspect of rustys personality more than anybody else. and because rusty puts up with duncans. being duncan. you get a lot of funny moments out of him, and it also kinda forces him to grow.

you dont get those things, at least not as effectively, if you pair them up with other people

the original 6 skr engines also just kinda naturally lend themselves to being split into pairs for story purposes. skarloey and rheneas are like brothers, they ran the railway alone for a long time. peter sam and sir handel both belonged to the midsodor railway, and have been together this whole time, so they have that loyalty to one another. that leaves rusty and duncan, and their bond isnt as… solid??? as the other two are, in canon. i mean, duncan likes rusty coz theyre one of the few who will tolerate his BS. but rusty has no reason to stick to duncan in particular. thats why i lke to fill in that gap by having the two romantically interested in one another. skarloey and rheneas represent familial love, peter sam and sir handel represent platonic love, and rusty and duncan represent romantic love. in my take, at least.