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TenderSteam is the slash ship between Hydra and Rusty from the Starlight Express fandom.
Canon[]
Act 1[]
As Mama asks for the fuel trucks to race with her, Hydra volunteers to do so. Rusty comes forward and says that she shouldn't, as Hydra is too heavy for her. The race is full as well so the two wouldn't be able to do so either way. Control then announces that a spot has opened up, and Hydra and Mama go to get ready, Rusty watching with no belief that they'll win. After they win, Rusty rushes over to congratulate Mama, but sees how exhausted she is. Hydra says it's his fault, as his tanks too heavy for an engine so old. Porter says she shouldn't be pulling freight, which Hydra feels bad about. He skates off, and Rusty goes to follow, before Mama calls him back.
Act 2[]
After the crash in the final race, Rusty gets a message from the Starlight Express and regains the confidence to race. Hydra then appears and Control tells him that he knows who he'll be racing with. Rusty says that his way is steam, and Hydra says that Hydrogen will make steam. Together they can make quite the team, but Rusty wants to know if he'll still be able to whistle if he converts. Hydra says that he will, and Rusty says that this may work. They shake on it and both go to get ready for the final race.
As Electra and Greaseball are fueling up, they hear Hydra coming from the tunnel. He and Rusty then come forward and Hydra fuels him up on hydrogen. They then shake hands as Control calls for the race to begin. They race together and are keeping good timing, till Greaseball abandons Pearl. The two go to rescue her, but fall far behind. They're eventually able to overtake Electra and Greaseball get to the finish line. They grab hands one last time, before both crossing the finish line and winning the race.
Fanon[]
This section is in need of major improvement. Please help improve this article by editing it.
TenderSteam is a popular ship in the StEx fandom. Many fans of the ship saw a lot of chemistry between the two in the show. As well as believing that Hydra might be the best partner for Rusty, both in terms of racing and romantically. Many fans also had a more complete arc for Rusty's racing partner in the Wembley Park version than in the previous iterations of the show. Which led to more shipping between the two. It's main rival ships include Prusty and Quidrogen.
On AO3, TenderSteam is the most written ship for Hydra and the second most written for Rusty. It is also the fifth most written ship in the Starlight Express tag. There are currently 50+ written works.
Fandom[]
- FAN FICTION
- Hydra/Rusty tag on AO3
- TUMBLR
- Tendersteam tag on Tumblr
Variations[]
- Fuel-Steamer Family refers to the ship between Momma, Porter, Lumber, Slick, Rusty and Hydra
- Hyprusty refers to the ship between Pearl, Rusty and Hydra
- The Starlight Polycule refers to the ship between Pearl, Greaseball, Electra, Dinah, Rusty and Hydra
