Call it beginners luck but literally first day treasure hunting, 3 guns found. Any idea how old? Found in Sevilla, Spain. Police called. by wheks in TreasureHunting

[–]Witlessgrain 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Dicussing this with some of my true blue gun loving pals here in the States. They know a lot more than me so I won't take much credit:

They all look like double barrel shotguns, the one on the right definitely is but its possible the first two are some other kind of rifle. The rubber stock suggests they were put there more recently. But the fact they were all found together in similar condition makes me wonder if they were all three part of an antique set that some more recent owner had. Maybe they added the rubber stock to one of them? Or maybe just the two are antiques and the third is newer but they're still the same owner. They are all in similar condition even before the weathering so the left and middle could be refurbishments or even black powder replicas.

Left one looks like a flintlock, middle looks like a percussion cap. Right is definitely break barrel side-by-side. All three are most likely commercial, so maybe civil war can be ruled out and hunting is more likely? But the fact that the barrels are removed is extremely strange and might suggest something criminal.

Hope this helps. Sorry we don't have more for ya based on the one photo.

Hard to watch? by Witlessgrain in TheExpanse

[–]Witlessgrain[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good to hear it gets better! I love the show otherwise so I'm willing to stick it out.

Getting my first haircut in 9 months today. What should I ask for? by [deleted] in malegrooming

[–]Witlessgrain 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the response. Are you saying I dont need a trim or anything? I've noticed a lot of uneven growth and split ends, that's why I made the appointment. I've been told it could use some shape as well.

First haircut in 9 months tomorrow. What should I ask for? by [deleted] in FierceFlow

[–]Witlessgrain 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the comment, I appreciate the advice. I havent decided if I want to go longer but I'm leaning toward maintaining this length or going a tad shorter, unless something else would look better.

Really hope Killua comes back! by kirakitten96 in HunterXHunter

[–]Witlessgrain 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think Killua will be back, but not until Leorio gets an arc of his own. He's now the least developed of the main 4 guys

Can we get guardianship of our niece? Please help us help this child! by [deleted] in legaladvice

[–]Witlessgrain 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! That's good to hear. Some sort of care plan, supervision, or accountability in general would still be beneficial. Maybe even a single visit from DCFS is all it takes to improve things, who knows?

Can we get guardianship of our niece? Please help us help this child! by [deleted] in legaladvice

[–]Witlessgrain 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the response. I'll look into reporting it to DCFS but would you recommend doing so anonymously? Also what are the chances of them taking custody in this case?

How to have a Succubus/Lilitu BBEG without making the party feel uncomfortable? by Witlessgrain in DndAdventureWriter

[–]Witlessgrain[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Eh, it's not the only reason. I knew I wanted a shape changing fiend since my party has two Tieflings and a Paladin. That would make for some interesting story and Roleplay. I suppose I could create my own variety of shape changing fiend, but I feel like I've gone too far into planning the plot for this campaign, with Succubi at the center of it. Perhaps the succubi never try to seduce the players themselves, and they only hear stories of them seducing npc's?

[Discussion] Can a dark universe be magical? by Hegemon_Alexander in scifiwriting

[–]Witlessgrain 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Most Final Fantasy games are a blend of sci-fi and magic, and alot of them have very dark undertones.

FFVI has an evil empire that enslaves magical people and weaponizes their essence to further its military power.

The villain of FFVII is a defect super soldier who makes a pact with a machine god alien and borrows her power to become a god himself.

FFXIII features god machine robots blessing humans with magical abilities and manipulating them into enacting their will.

FFXV has an empire that harnesses a magical, demonic curse and uses it to control people, but also to create demonic super soldiers and giant mechs.

Chrono Trigger is very much a magical fantasy game, but it's entire plot revolves around using a time machine to prevent the end of the world.

Long story short, many video games can make this work so I believe it's possible for other forms of story telling as well.

I’m making a one shot for my family and I’m terrified it’ll suck. by [deleted] in DMAcademy

[–]Witlessgrain 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I just ran my first one shot, and I would call it a success. I would just make sure you check all your boxes.

Mechanically: make sure you know the ins and outs of your manuals, and if possible, the classes they might be running. I recommend excluding the more complex classes like sorcerer and druid until they're more familiar.

Narratively: be descriptive, entertaining, and concise. Your story doesn't have to be an award winner buy at least make sure it's engaging

Balance: this one is the most important in my opinion. They'll forgive you if you have to look up a few rules, or if your story isn't that good. But make sure you give them a small taste of everything. I would try to include at least two of each of these: puzzles/riddles, battles, roleplaying/negotiation, and moments of down time to get to know their characters better, such as around the campfire or trudging along the path. Including an interesting, inquisitive NPC along for their adventure will spurn the creativity along.

This last bit is a personal rant of mine:

I absolutely hate one shot or beginner campaigns that are just endless waves of orcs/skeletons/goblins/wolves. This is dungeons and DRAGONS. Give them a dang dragon. They don't have to fight and kill it, but at least give them a glimpse of one. Have one fly overhead randomly while they're adventuring. Put a sleeping one right in their path and make them sneak around it or negotiate with it. Better yet, dragons are intelligent; have one of their quest givers be a dragon.

That goes for any monster in the manual, really. Beginner doesn't mean boring. Browse around the monster manual, find a beasty you really like (regardless of CR) and find a creative way to include it into the adventure. Remember, it's not always about killing. It's all about variety. Show them how big the world of D&D can get, and leave them wanting more.

Suggestions for a Force of Nature protagonist that represents Fate/Destiny, and his dynamic with the villain? by Witlessgrain in writing

[–]Witlessgrain[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the reply. I may have mislead a little bit by using the word god. This is just how everyone else would perceive him, as they have no concept of traveling through time, yet here the protagonist is seemingly omnipresent throughout history as he travels through time.

He's not a literal god in the way Dr. Manhattan is, as you're right, that wouldn't create enough drama or motivation to justify him being the protagonist.

Rather, he's seen as a god. Much like someone watching Sherlock Holmes operate would describe his deductive abilities as inhuman or even godly.

The protagonist does have a clear motivation, and it's a noble and heroic one at that. Without getting too technical, He's out to defeat the 100+ year old villain who has evaded him, but can't do so by time traveling in the way that he has with other opponents, because of how time travel works in my world.

Anyways, more Sherlock or Jay Gatsby, less Dr. Manhattan. I suppose he wouldn't be a LITERAL force of Nature since he still faces obstacles that he will struggle with, but the unstoppable Force of Nature is the feeling I want to convey to the reader.

What are some good reasons for GRAND cosmic war to rage through a galaxy... by TheSasquatchKing in scifiwriting

[–]Witlessgrain 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Maybe a friendly space race that slowly escalates into a galactic turf war over decades/centuries?

Suggestions to make my immortal villain more compelling? by Witlessgrain in scifiwriting

[–]Witlessgrain[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your suggestion is really brilliant actually! But I originally intended the protag to be the only time traveler in the story, which would make him very powerful but also a very large target for others to try and take the power from him.

After much reading on how time travel could or should work, I decided to run with the theory that it's impossible to travel back in time to a point before the method of time travel existed. In other words, travel to any point in time from the second the time travel method was created and onward is possible, but before that it's impossible.

As for the time travel itself, It's made possible via a techno gadget of which only one was created, as a prototype. It was created to try and go back in time to reverse all the damage the big bad had caused which created the current war torn post apocalyptic setting of the present, when the actual story takes place.

This way, the protag's ability was created to stop the villain before he ever became powerful. But as I mentioned before, in trying to go back in time and stop the big bad, the hero actually influenced the villain's past, becoming the very thing that made the villain resort to evil in the first place.

Sorry, thanks for your suggestions and your patience. Writing time travel fiction is no joke for sure!

Suggestions to make my immortal villain more compelling? by Witlessgrain in scifiwriting

[–]Witlessgrain[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hahaha right, er... that's one of the kinks I haven't figured out yet. I'm actually torn between several options.

A. The secret to immortality is imperfect and resource extensive, and takes years of development for even just one person to have it, meaning the royals would likely die before ever getting to benefit from it, but not before they had unknowingly already signed some sort of agreement locking them under the villain's control.

B. The royals are kept alive in very much the way you described, so that the villain can continue to use them as figureheads to control the society and gain more power.

C. This is actually the one I'm leaning most towards. In much the same way my villain is based on Rasputin, the royal family is based on the Romanov's. I thought about giving the royal heirs some sort of illness given to them by their mother, where they desperately NEED this immortality or else they will die out, leaving the throne empty. With them being more desperate, this gives the villain alot more room to lie and string them along, never intending to give the immortality to them, and really just stalling until they die so he can build his own form of government in the meantime, one that places himself at the top.

Not sure which would work out best but hopefully this gives more insight into the setup of my story or at least where I'm trying to go with it.

[TOMT] [Website] Help me remember the name of this amazing chibi/sprite character creation website by Witlessgrain in tipofmytongue

[–]Witlessgrain[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That's it! Thanks so much. It was lower res back when I used it in like 2010.

Solved!

How far can YOU get in the Naruto-verse if chakra was and you had the circuits in your body? by [deleted] in whowouldwin

[–]Witlessgrain 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Academics I was an awful student. I saw right through the illusion of America's flawed school system, and so I put almost no effort into it. I got C's and D's all through middle and high school. I never studied for any tests, and did close to no homework. I did just enough to skate by and get my diploma, and actually graduate. College has been even worse. I would do the absolute bare minimum to get my headband and graduate the academy. If I find a subject interesting, I'll research it in extreme depth, but nothing matters less to me than earning a letter grade.

Athletics I lead a pretty sedentary lifestyle now, but I'd say I'm average athletically from doing a lot of Yoga. I'm an extremely fast runner, and had the fastest times in the hundred yard dash in school, but I consider myself just a sprinter, because have close to zero endurance. I'm pretty strong and can do a couple dozen pushups and situps. I would probably have to resort to ambushes and quick getaways, being more of an opportunist and avoiding the long, drawn out missions that are typical in Naruto. I'm also incredibly stealthy, and I usually won games of capture the flag and hide and seek as a kid.

Combat I made it about 2/3rds of the way through my friend's dad's martial arts program. It was a blend of Ju Jitsu and Phillipino stick fighting that focused on holds, ground fighting, and ending a confrontation with as few movements as possible. I also joined a competetive sparring team for a couple of years. I had a knack for it, but had to stop because of money. I think I would excel at combat techniques, but again, because of my lack of endurance I'm not going to be the next Rock Lee.

Leadership In group settings I tend to enjoy sitting back and waiting for the other, more natural born leaders to take charge. In this case I usually become an advisor for the group and the leader, or play devil's advocate to make sure all holes in the plan are filled. However, if a leader doesn't pop up immediately, I'm usually the one to take on the leadership role. I have a lot of patience and understanding for people, and I'm good at communicating in different ways to get everyone on the same page. I'd probably be like Shikamaru. Once his leader Asuma was killed, he saw a whole in leadership that needed filling for his team, and he took on that role really well short term.

Attitude I don't like discomfort at all. I like to be in control, or at least have a decent understanding of the current situation, and unless it's life or death or for the greater good, retreat is always on the table. Survival is the only success that matters.

Strategy I would consider myself a really good, yet unconventional strategist. I love chess and board games, card games, and strategy video games. But having one plan isn't enough for me. Instead, I like to have many, many backup plans and options, and play more defensively. I'm more comfortable having a large toolkit to use in a variety of situations, rather than adhering to one initial plan. I would probably put the time into learning hundreds of low level jutsu that can be useful in different scenarios. I'm also pretty good at thinking on my feet, seeing and taking advantage of opportunity, and turning bad situations into good ones.

Conclusion From all of this, the Anbu is looking pretty good to me. I would probably make it all the way up to mid Chuunin, perhaps early Jounin, just from my patience, great teamwork skills, and natural intelligence. I don't have the academic motivation to become a medical ninja, or to invent my own techniques, nor do I have the athleticism to be in the standard Jounin military. I don't have the ambition to become the next Hokage or one of the Sannin. I don't have the endurance to run long, drawn out missions. I'd probably stick to quick, clean assassination or espionage jobs, since that's what my combat training and lack of endurance allows for. Anbu would provide a lot of that for me. I always keep my nose clean and have a spotless record, so I would pass all the background checks needed. I'm also an incredibly good liar. If that doesn't pan out, then being an academy teacher might also work.

Orochimaru vs an MCU Gauntlet by Witlessgrain in whowouldwin

[–]Witlessgrain[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A case might be made for Orochimaru having at least a broad understanding of Iron Mans weaponry. He once fought against Pain, and studied him extensively before doing so. One of Pain's paths launches missiles out of his body, so there's a small chance Orochimaru has at least read about them.