I've had an awesome day today. Got to see a lot of interesting locos. And the absolute highlight was being allowed inside the engine room of Di.3 602 and ride in the cab on the return to the station.

What ebooks website are you planning on publishing these books of the Norwegian railway stories on if you don't mind me asking because I'm planning on reading them when they come out

I don't know yet. So far we've only planned hard copies, but we don't know when those will be published either.

All the English translations are however available on my Patreon meanwhile, though without illustrations.

I need a little help from you guys to decide...

Which of these is better? Setskogen has reluctantly agreed to help pull the sleigh... as you can see from her strained smile... Mrs. Claus welcomes her to the team.

Which looks better though? Eyes straight forward, or looking at Mrs. Claus?

Personally I think she looks like she is about to murder the poor lady if she looks at her...

Someone is trying to get Setskogen in the Christmas mood by putting up art on her shed walls… 😂

See the full picture on my Patreon.

I got a new friend while waiting for the train today. It landed on my knee at first, but my jeans were too slippery, so it settled for my backpack. Probably thought I had food... 😅

A lot is happening at UHB these days... Bingsfos is getting his newly refreshed nameplates fitted.

Høland is getting his funnel replaced as part pf one of our mechanic's exam. It has been long over due, so it is good to finally get it done before it falls off due to rust and decay. So they have built a platform to be able to work safely. We'll probably also pull Høland outside to try his abilities as a sun terrasse before removing it... XD Having lunch up there in the sun sounds nice, doesn't it?

And since the numbers on his funnel had to be removed, I was tasked to polish them. Here is some before and after pics. The tags are just identification, to know where to fit them back to the new funnel.

Our coach Co10 (the Sulitjelma coach) has been undergoing repairs for two years now. Last season we fixed the outside paneling, now we're working on the windows and the insides. The floor has gotten some much needed repairs and a few coats of paint.

Inside the workshop we're still working on the windows, window frames and the ventilation shafts. It is long and tedious work, but the results are turning out very good!

So... that was a little update on what we're doing at UHB between driving seasons.

I’ve seen your post about good starters, is there anything with good conversations starters that’ll actually get characters somewhere?

So, starters are something that gives other people an idea of how you play your character, what your goals are, and what you're looking for. They also need to be pretty open ended, or happen in a public place unless you want to hook a specific other character. That means a starter is infinitely customizable and super personal to write. Just copy pasting any given starter is not going to do the job you need it for, it'll stymie your growth and leave you scrambling to keep up with whatever someone else chose for you. On top of that, starters are not what keep RP going: The plot and player is.

So, let's jump in and break it down a little more so it's easier to put together your own starter from absolutely nothing, and how you as a player can keep plot going after the initial starter is dead in the dust behind you on your little journey, shall we?

When you write a starter, basically you're writing a hook to get someone involved in a situation. You're putting out into the world a question, or something that looks like it needs to be interrupted or acted on, so that other people will interrupt or act on it. So write it from that perspective: what would make you want to engage with a post?

So, pick apart what's important to you to get from a partner. When you roleplay, you look for specific goals, an A to B, essentially. Are you writing this scene in an attempt to explore the character and maybe find out something about their past or reveal a secret? Do you simply want to see how they respond to others? Or do you have a plot in mind? If there's an arc of a story you wanna get through, you're gonna have to nestle your starter securely in a situation that will allow you to forward that plot. See what I mean about it being deeply personal?

For example: If I were playing Tony Stark, and I wanted him to show off a new invention while handling his PTSD, I might drop a starter invoking curiosity. I'd set it up with a scene, probably near his workshop but public enough someone would have a chance to see me. I'd be carrying something remarkable but, questionable. "Did you just see him with a bomb?" This item would effect another character, so it would be rewarding to double check Tony isn't about to wreck your household by blowing it up. Then I'd have an experiment or invention in mind. He's made a robot that goes and grabs bombs, and folds over them to protect the household ala Steve Rogers jumping on a grenade. Mostly to stop Steve doing that shit. Cool, cool. I'll have that in mind when I describe what they find if they call out to him, and he ignores them and keeps bolting, or they follow him to see what's up. Then I can discuss it, and show emotions in my post that lead the other character to ask questions why I made this. Reveal a personal story or anecdote, and eventually get cornered by their curiosity or my loud mouth into joking and revealing some deeply personal trauma. Tada, a starter!

A starter that only works for my goals of exploring Tony's trauma, that only works for Tony Stark, that only works with characters who would see him when he's vulnerable at home with the other Avengers. So it's absolutely personalized and broken for anyone else.

Except, throughout, you can see how I logically broke it down! Here is the hook, here is my character's interests, here is why another person wants to care, here is my goal for the reveal, here's enough plot to feed into the machine to keep them interested, here's how I expect the scene to get to a certain point. It's very loosely put together, because by the end of it I might be looking at their trauma instead if, for instance, the explosion sets off a panic attack. Keeping flexibility helps keep a conversation going.

It also helps to provoke. Prod, ask questions, be curious, or offer something that makes other people want to know more. When you just roleplay hi, how are you, hello, how's the weather that's not a conversation so much as small talk. Which will die out quickly because there's no bonding or true interaction beyond the surface level. Like a geode, a character must be broken to see what shiny things are inside. So find something to crack them open a little, a chip here or there.

Now, if the other person absolutely fucking sucks at prompting you or offering a chance to open up? You may wanna, as a player, screw with the narrative and make for external pressure. Put your character under a deadline, by making them be waiting for something stressful. It makes them try to get things in fast, and they mess up. Maybe have a phone call or something happen, so they have to talk in front of the other character and divulge more than they meant to. You can force things on your character from outside, and it can help keep things going.

Relying entirely on your characters to keep things going is a fool's errand if the characters are not expressive, extroverted, and mouthy. A quiet stern guy who keeps to himself will want to kill a conversation quickly, and it'll drive other players off because they think that's you doing it, not your character. So make sure your narration explains why they're acting like that, and give tips to approach for the other character. Like I said, external forces may be the only way to force someone out of their shell while making sure your RP partner wants to keep digging!

You may have to fudge your character's personality or characterization slightly to get the ball rolling. Don't be afraid to make them slightly OOC if it means opening a door to tons more IC things. What, you've never blurted out something by mistake, or gotten mad and said something you regret because it's not really you? You never lied? Tch! They can fuck up too! Let them! Explore that!

Starters are never gonna be as easy as reading off cards, or having something set-up for you. You're gonna have to look at the setting for your character and see what's important. Are there places people frequent? Are there hobbies your character does that may be interesting? Can you arrive covered in blood because you're an assassin to prompt other people to fret until they realize it's not your blood and you can brag about the kill? Can you do something that seems out of character, but is perfectly normal? Be interesting! be interested in what your partner has to offer too, maybe it's not what you intended but following THEIR plot concepts can be super rewarding too!

So, good luck, and happy roleplaying!

Branch manager

I'm riding a huge creative wave these days, so I've gotten a real kickstart on planned Christmas booklet! Too see the rest of the artwork done, visit my Patreon page, where I post everything I create. You can see all my artwork both related to the series and other things I draw and create, as well as photos from my urbexing adventures and sometimes photos of my rock collection, or just photography in general. I also post a lot of photos from my work at the railway there. If you ONLY want to see the Norwegian Railway Stories, I have created a tier specially for that. By picking that one you will not get all the other things I post or the WIPs, only the stories and finished artwork. Here is a link to my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/LittleRedToyota

Or if you want some merch, here is my Redbubble: https://www.redbubble.com/people/littleredtoyota/shop

For the book (Norwegian language): https://butikk.mia.no/products/nysgjerrige-bingsfos or https://pckassenettbutikk.no/norsk-jernbanemuseum/produkt/nysgjerrige-bingfos/

Will you join me on a potentially lethally dangerous mission...? Pretty pleeeeeaasee?

Illustration for the upcoming Christmas special. Higher resolution available on the author's Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/LittleRedToyota

Huge shoutout to all my patreons! You make this series possible!

Today, my father would have turned 75 years if he still lived. 14 years since he passed... Happy birthday in heaven, dad!

So how are the engines treating you at the Norwegian railway are they being mischievous as usual or awkwardly good and how is working with steam engines treating you since you are team diesels

I actually work mainly with steam engines. And none of them are alike. Two identical engines can have completely different behavior. One can be hard to run, while another runs at the sight of the coal shovel... Steam engines are alive in a whole different way than other machines. And I really enjoy working with them. So far I have only fired and driven the engines at UHB and the Norwegian Railway Museum, but this summer I will also get to try my hand at the engines at Setesdalsbanen. I really look forward to that. I do enjoy driving the diesels too, even if my passion is with the steamers. As weird as it is, I actually learned to drive steam engines before I learned to drive the diesels...

As for the "team diesels", it's some leftover thing from when I was in the TTTE-fandom. I have long since left that fandom, but I have forgotten to change my avatar's t-shirt. I will get around to it eventually as I don't want to associate with that fandom in any way.

It is always fun when you can sneak in some really old OCs into the official illustrations… I have removed his livery, but this is an OC I made back in 1995, his name was Premiair, named after the airline with the same name. He is among one of my oldest OCs that has stood the test of time, I haven't drawn him in… at least 20 years, so this was a interesting comeback. 😂

A little teaser for the Christmas booklet in the making.

Smallies peeking curiously out of the window at the commotion outside.

The full picture can be seen on the author's Patreon page.

I have to ask because I am curious

Do you monitor or look over the activity on Norwegian railway stories page too if so it has to be overwhelming to look over and read all of those questions and I'm sorry for starting a random conversation with the engines I just enjoy their company and their charm to them

Yes, I mod all of it, including the NRS discord server. Combined with having a job and a family, along with hobbies and book writing, it can be a bit overwhelming at times, especially when people treat the askbox like a chat and spam the same stuff over and over. I sometimes have to delete asks that either are too explicit to post or are repetitive, or that I simply don't know how to respond to. Some asks also make me worry for the wellbeing of the person sending them. It is a fine balance, but I try my best to answer all of them, even if it sometimes can take a little while. I am glad you enjoy the series, I wouldn't keep creating books if nobody enjoyed it. Hopefully I will be able to release the English version soon.

People used to comment on web comics.

People used to comment on fanfiction.

People used to comment on fanart.

People used to comment on OCs.

I hate "content" culture.

I hate "consuming content" and scrolling immediately to the next thing.

People used to be excited about the art that other people created.

People used to want to share that excitement with creators.

I hate this future.

Baby chameleons help eliminate fruit flies

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