《My Life is a Series of Questionable Choices》Chapter 32 - Entering the Workforce
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Chapter 32
It has been a few days since our meeting with the lord and both Thundernation and I finally received our citizenship cards. We can now officially work and find a place to stay.
Don’t get me wrong, the Old man’s house is good. It’s surprisingly big and spacious and isn’t run down either; I just don’t want to live next to a porn shop anymore.
Why you ask? Well, one it’s a porn shop, and two I seem to be constantly mistaken as a product rather than an employee. Since the Saintess is sick of this place as well, we were determined to move.
The Old man understood but was sad nonetheless. “I’ll miss you guys. You were the third best things to happen in my life.”
“What were the first two?” I asked.
“The first was to be born handsome and the second was not to suffer from erectile dysfunction. Hehe, even at this age I’m still good to go.”
I could see the Saintess resisting the urge to gag, so I quickly ended the conversation there. “Thanks for everything. You really helped us out.”
“Don’t sweat it. You already paid backed your debt. If you ever find yourself in trouble, you can always come back.”
“It will be our last resort.”
As we left the shop behind, I began to think about our future and what to do next. Fortunately the Saintess had a plan.
“Pebble, you go find a job. Thundernation and I will find a place to live.” She glanced at the money we had saved up. “We should be okay for maybe a month or two, but try to find something sooner than later.”
“Got it. I’ll do my best.”
“Hmm. Will you be alright on your own?”
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“I CAN GO WITH-.”
“I have Advice. It’s fine.”
I left before Thundernation could start to argue with me. Seriously, if he doesn’t fix that possessive personality, he won’t get married.
…Can he get married? For some reason I think of two humans as the default when I picture marriage…
Pebble, don’t get distracted. You’re job hunting remember?
Oh, right! See, I knew Advice got my back. A true comrade.
Yes, yes, now how about you try to find a job at another, more respectable shop? Or perhaps working at an eatery?
Agreeing with advice, I tried to find shops and restaurants that were looking to hire another worker.
“Sorry, nothing is open right now.”
So I tried again.
“We literally just hired someone yesterday. Sorry.”
…and again.
“I don’t think you could even wash dishes with those hands. Try somewhere else.”
After more attempts and an equal amount of rejections I leaned against a wall and sat down. Thinking no one was around; I couldn’t help but mumble out my frustrations.
“Who even wants to work at those shitty places anyway? I hope they all burn down in a fire… Or get sued into bankruptcy… Or be targeted by terrorist attacks.”
“Whoa, that’s some pretty dark things your saying there friend.”
I jerked my head up to the unexpected voice. Standing next to me was an impeccably dressed skeleton wearing a black tuxedo and a bowler hat. Even though he was just bones, he somehow oozed out this dignified aura that demanded respect.
While still being awed, I was able to answer. “Sorry, I didn’t actually mean what I said. I was just irritated.”
“That much I could tell. You mentioned work, were you perhaps fired?”
“No, I was trying to get hired actually.”
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He nodded in understanding. “Ah, yes the job hunt. Where no amount of preparation can help you in truth and your fate is decided by a single person. One of life’s greatest trials, second only to marriage.”
“So you went through the same thing huh?” I kinda felt that we had something in common.
“No, I started my own business and make millions in gold every year. I was actually on my way back to my mansion right now.”
“…I see.”
“Say, since you’re in need of a job, how would you like to work for my company?”
Before I could immediately accept, Advice cut in.
Pebble, don’t just blindly accept, you don’t even know what the business is. Ask some questions first.
Whew, that was close. If Advice was a physical person, I’d have already married them.
“What sort of business do you run?”
“I own many graveyards around the city and also have a funeral service that we provide. Right now I’m currently in need of grave keepers. Are you interested?”
“I am, but if you don’t mind me asking, why me? I’m just a random stranger.”
“This is true, but I feel like the air around you reeks of death. It caught my interest and when I followed the scent, it led me to you. I think you would be quite comfortable in a graveyard.”
It sounded legitimate and I couldn’t find any reason to turn him down, so I accepted.
“Good. Excuse my rudeness for not introducing myself, I am Edward Stonedead.”
“My name is Pebble.”
“Walk with me Pebble. Let me tell you about being a grave keeper.”
With that, I was officially hired and got my first real job.
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Leftover Apocalypse
[Participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge] This is a story about the newly-adult Calliope Smith having a terrible day that ends in her getting mysteriously teleported from Phoenix, Arizona to a fantasy world where her life is in constant danger. She considers this an upgrade. Someone evil is looking for her, and she doesn't know why. Someone who seems to know a lot about her has promised they'll help her, but she doesn't know who they are. All that matters to Callie is that magic is real and one way or another she's going to learn it. The end of the world is coming up, sure, but Callie won't need to worry about that. In fact, by the time she even finds out about it one of the doomsday devices will already be destroyed, and the authorities will be well on the way to dealing with the other one. It's fine. Everything will be smooth sailing. Almost certainly. Probably. Chapters are usually about 2500-3500 words, and the goal is to post 2-3 per week but I sometimes get busy or have some writers block. It's your standard portal fantasy / Isekai premise, but unlike some the main character's time on Earth and how she got pulled into another world will (eventually) be explored. Some slight GameLit-feeling stuff later, no menus or level-ups but there's something suspiciously like a skill tree when the magic system gets going. No number crunching, and while the main character will get to do some silly stuff she won't be a god like in some fics (and will in fact spend a lot of time being badly outclassed by her enemies). Some reader interaction, ranging from adding to the worldbuilding to occasionally making big important decisions about skill progression. Please note that the main character is flawed and impulsive, and will make some stupid decisions. That's part of the story, but I get that it's not for everyone. Trigger Warnings: Foster care system references, crappy parenting. Some mental health adjacent stuff, specifically the main character has some issues where she experiences varying levels of empathy and emotional vulnerability depending on the day (it's complicated and not meant to portray any real-world conditions). Occasional violence including mention of death and grievous bodily harm, but no detailed descriptions of gore.
8 61The Beta Test
Our nameless narrator participates in a beta test for an early VRMMO game Meridian 60. That's not the real name but it captures the spirit of the adventure given the chronological and contextual era of the game. His character is unique and special but purely for mundane reasons and not because of any inherent or social significance. The first chapter which is mandatory to submit a story on RR serves as a bit of a prologue with some exposition, although I limited that to a reasonble level. I plan to begin releasing additional chapters starting Thursday, to align with the 48 hour submission approval process and also because I have something to do Wednesday. I haven't written anything but the summary and first chapter, nor have I plotted anything out. This is because my plan is to release roughly 34000 words a day, 10 chapters of ~12.5 pages each, for 3 days at which point the story will be complete. I'd have liked to plan for more but handling the interface tables and so forth needed for a data heavy litrpg slows down the writing process. 100k words is a bit short, a standard pre epic fantasy 300 page spec fic novel, but this is mostly a writing exercise and I am considering a longer project if I can maintain the pace. Probably do a different concept, maybe a dungeon core, over 5 days, since a 500 page novel is more common these days. Slight subversion of VRMMO stories Stat heavy/crunchy No paying your bills by gaming No out of game conspiracies No angst, interpersonal drama, or damsels/dudes in distress Schedule is 30000 words a day excepting the first chapter, a limitation of RRs fiction submission system Fantasy, high magic, male lead, no party, guild, or harem No gore, some profanity, no sexual content, and no current plans for anything traumatic
8 92THE BLACK PHONE IMAGINES, ONESHOTS, + PREFERENCES
CHARACTERS:>Finney Shaw>Robin Arellano >Bruce (I don't remember the last name)>Vance Hopper>Billy/paperboy (I also don't remember his last name)>Griffin (yea I'm sorry, I am extremely bad at last names)>maybe Gwenny, It may not be appropriate due to her age, but I am still questioning
8 1232reborn: wolf man
An elusive boy who no one noticed is reborn in a world with magic, monsters and royalty. sadly he is not the latter two. will he survive in this new world by being elusive again? or will he strive forward in a new direction? As of now we have proof readers and editors who will be starting editing all chapters starting from chapter 1? Or 2 on tueday march 24 2015
8 181Reborn as a Dungeon Boss
If anyone were to take my actions, my feats, my influence on the world, and write them down as a story, there would be one point that needs to be raised before all else. This is not a song of redemption. This is not a tale of hope. This is not a parable of goodness. No. Mine is a warning of destruction. Slaughter. Death. For death brought me into this world...and death I shall bring to it. This will be my second attempt at writing a novel. For the fans of my first work, I'm sorry for disappearing for so long...life happened. I will continue that one at some point, but for now I want to try to get back into the groove of writing. Thank you for giving me a chance.
8 151Return to the Fairies
In the time when legends were reality and myths were true, the humans and fairies were at peace. When the humans sought after the fairies' longevity, they paid the price, and lost their connection to the fairy race and ultimately, magic itself. But those pure of heart can see the fairies still. Those whose eyes are clear can see the magic in the air. Those pure of heart can use magic.
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