#I picked this job because the clerical studies were appealing

[jewishdragon]

It’s me, the serial cleric player in dnd

#i love playing cleric and paladin ok #so good #I think I like to put my religious but not spiritual philosophy into it #and that breaks some DMs #my character is just yeah the gods exist and I picked one #I picked this job because the clerical studies were appealing #I didn’t feel MOVED or anything #the gods exist and the religions are not mysterious #i technically worship all of them as my clerics #it’s just one that I chose to give more of my time and effort to training in #the gods exist why would I pray to just one #why would I pray to the god of death when it’s time #to plant crops and i should pray to the god of rain #anyways #it’s funny bc in character we’ve had atheist characters #who are also baffled by my clerics who are just #so academic about being a cleric #’yeah I wanted to heal and train in medicine and I liked that god #so I signed up for training #the rituals are nice and bring in a community #and I get my magic powers

[believerindaydreams]

@exoplaneeet some fic for you, cos I felt bad about your lack of CS/FL fic...well, actually it’s more SS than FL, with a post-game Tireless Mechanic. (If some of the lore’s off, please note that I have not actually played that much of CS yet...)

The Unrepentant Smuggler leaning against her study wall looks wry and relaxed, from neatly groomed mustache to mildly anachronistic boots. He does not, the Cynical Herald reflects, seem like a man who spent half a Zee voyage raving mad and tied up in his own hammock. Then again, the mutual friend who introduced them is a player of the Great Game; appearances count for less than nothing. 

“Ever since our trip to the Shattered Citadel,” he says. “I tried to loot something that the Mechanic told me not to, and, well, things got a little sticky.”

“No promises, you understand? Secret histories are fraught territory at the best of times, and I’m not even a Know yet.”

The Smuggler shrugs with evident lack of comprehension. “Better than nothing. We’ve been trying honey, laudanum, warm airag- do you know how foetid warm mare’s milk is? And none of it’s done any good. I just keep on dreaming.”

“If nightmares frighten you, go back to the Surface,” the Herald says indifferently. “Or simply wait it out. Even in the Neath, you’ll find that dreams have a tendency to cycle into complacency eventually.”

He glances her over, with the practiced eye of a born hustler, and speaks one word: “Illopoly.”

After that, __ it, she has to listen. 

A blackened engine warms the Physius to a nigh-intolerable point; the launch’s warm is very welcome to her bones, after years of witnessing Kingeater’s cold. Anyhow, their after-dinner Sangiovese is perfectly chilled, after a stint in the iceless ice box. 

“I take it the Mechanic’s as inventive as ever,” the Herald says, cutting herself neat slices of imported Parmesan. “To say nothing of thoughtful- I wouldn’t have expected such an appropriate tithe for my trouble. Or any at all, come to that.”

“Oh, well, that’s Ma- that’s the Mechanic for you,” the Smuggler agrees. “Do you mind if we get down to business now? Only I’d rather get it all out of the way before he wakes up. Talking about nightmares makes him real nervous.”

She studies the sleeping engineer, blissfully comatose now the ship’s safely docked, and nods. “All right. Is it always the same one? Are there patterns?”

“It starts with a desk. Faded viric-”

“It would have to be.”

“Which is far from my favourite colour,” the Smuggler says irritably, “but in the dream, I’m hanging on to the thing for dear life. Because there’s nothing else in the entire universe- literally nothing else to look at, except this desk and a pack of cards. So obviously I start laying out the cards for a game of solitaire, because what else are you going to do? Only that’s when it gets weird.”

“Trionfi,” the Herald murmurs, and draws a small case from her pocket. “Do you recognise any of these, by chance?”

He rummages through the pack. “A few. The Sun-in-Rags, that’s familiar. The Watchman. The Red Grail-”

“You needn’t invoke them,” the Herald says rather sharply, over the sleeper’s choking snore; she brushes an unkempt lock from his face, and he breathes easier again. “How new to the Neath are you?“

“Couple of years.” The Smuggler smiles crookedly. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it, however groovy the zeppelins are. Sorry. Only I don’t know what else you’d call them...”

“Don’t. Just point, and describe your symptoms.”

He does, for the following hour, while she takes notes in graceful Italian script. Possibly he is probing her knowledge of the occult for his own purposes, but the suspicion ebbs as she listens to his fraught accounting; clearly the Smuggler’s unaware of the greater import of his dreaming, and just as clearly doesn’t wish to. 

“After a while I’m not myself any more. The longer I’m playing, the more natural it feels to me- if I spend nights walking through city streets, I find myself weary to exhaustion. I tend people’s wounds with hands that understand scalpels better than control columns. Wake up expecting to be young and beautiful and ravenous, when I shouldn’t be any of those things.” The Smuggler picks up a worn, brimmed cap, strokes it absently. “Simple hypnosis would be a piece of cake by comparison. So. Can you help me?”

Putting off the answer will be false kindness. “I can guide you, certainly. Lead you through the Mansus, bring you to apotheosis, but there’s a price. Though one,” she says, not looking at the innocent in the shadows, “that you might find easier to pay than he would.”

“Go on,” he says, with ready eagerness. 

“Death,” she returns. “Not yours, other people’s. Acquaintances, friends, lovers. Special constables who’ll trace your trail. The prisoners who gave away everything they were, to be broken for your plans- and you will break them, before all’s well. The great appeal of Seeking,” the Herald says, as she links up wood-whispers, “is its solitude, the joys of private watches in the night and hugging secrets to your own heart. Cults are another affair altogether. But perhaps none of this worries you.”

“Not so much, now you’ve put it that way,” the Smuggler says, sober for a moment. “Sounds like I’ll just have to put up with this. Doomed to a lot of tedious clerical work every night, whoo.”

“Then the dreams will continue. Worsen, I should expect. Best improve your shining Hours, or find yourself consumed by them.“

“Which is the Neath all over, isn’t it...so it’s spending every night of my life wrapped up in these visions until I pay off the sacrifices?”

“Yes.”

Improbably, the Smuggler is smirking. “Guess I’m gonna have to ask the Mechanic for the recipe to that Darkdrop mess of his. He did warn me it might come to that.”

“A little more than that. Consider yourself under a geas from now on, as far as cardplay goes.“

That’s when he heaves the sigh. “Aw. Well, that’s okay. I never could beat anybody at Texas hold-em, anyway- hang about. How am I supposed to get by in London without the arcana? I mean, I wouldn’t be able to chat up factions, or find the way to my club, or anything...you sure that’s necessary?”

“There are...unspoken resonances,” the Herald says. “Lore has a way of drawing like to like, water always finds its level. You’ll find yourself making these connections whether you want to or no.”

“How about no,” the Smuggler mutters, and abruptly downs the remainder of his forgotten wine. “Okay. So it’s a strictly undercover, jati existence for me from now on- well, that’s okay. I wasn’t exactly a society highlight in the first place. Anyway, the Mechanic will always have my back.“

The affection, the swaggering intimacy, of the expression he casts at his partner takes the Herald off-guard; not for what it says about him, but herself, the unfamiliar kean of jealousy. Conversations left studiously unspoken, natural shipboard camaraderie and what goes for more than that, her ceaseless vigil at the loneliest place in the Neath. Necessary work, of sure and certain applications, but evidently more corrosive than she’d observed. 

Here is a man, persuasive and fascinating and brimful of mystique; and here is his lover. Suffering from an affliction so exotic, no London physic could possibly promise him a cure. 

“He came all the way here with you,” the Herald says, in a flat tone that threatens no more than it promises. “I wonder why. Kingeater’s Castle is about the last place anyone would seek refuge.”

“Yeah, I asked about that. He said...something about Dockers,“ the Smuggler says, chewing thoughtfully on his mustache. “Your being shipmates together, before, he trusts you. And didn’t want anybody else getting hold of me, in case...well, I dunno, they wanted to turn me inside out to rip a hole through the space-time continuum, or something kooky like that.”

That reasoning, now, sounds like a certain spy of her recollection. “In short, you’re at my mercy.”

“Completely,” the Smuggler agrees, with perfect self satisfaction. He winks. 

She grimaces.

There is very little for the Mechanic to repair at Kingeater’s; but he finds a pile of murder-dimmed knives and busies himself sharpening them to usefulness. Which is just about typical, the Smuggler figures. 

“...so. All’s well?”

“Uh-huh,” the Smuggler says complacently. “Slept like a top last night- or should I say, slept as hard as you? You were sure out of it yesterday. Missed a nice roasted blemmigan.”

“Hey, nursemaiding you here from Godfall wasn’t an easy job. To say nothing of sacrificing all those zee-stories.”

The Smuggler shifts uncomfortably. “She says you’re a damned optimistic fool, by the way. Well, not in so many words, it was more elegant language, but you know what I mean.“

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Said that it was ridiculous for you to think that a curse like this could be lifted without any blood being spilt, but fortunately she was clever enough to dissipate it harmlessly. Bully for your old navigator and all that.”

“That’s not what I had in mind at all. Not that it’s any of my business, but I thought she’d try to take it herself. I mean, look at this place,” the Mechanic says, waving at the castle’s ruins. “It’s ghastly, it’s freezing cold, and the only company is an occasional batch of half-dead zailors, who’ll probably try to eat you on sight. Some quiet warm dreaming about cities and real people would have done her a lot of good, I thought. But if she decided it was too dangerous, I suppose that’s her decision.”

“That tool,” the Smuggler says, voice suddenly edged with hostility. “The one you told me not to touch.”

“What about it?”

“You specifically pointed out that thing in the Citadel, just to warn me not to touch it. Me. Your notoriously greedy, treasure hunting buddy.”

“Now, I wouldn’t have said that. It’d be rude.”

“...did you hijack me? Did I spend a month blithering out of my skull so that you could get a curse from A to B, just to cheer up your ex-shipmate?”

“Don’t be silly,“ the Mechanic says loftily. “If it was that important to me, why wouldn’t I have done it myself?”

The Smuggler considers. “Cos messing around with dreaming on that level might have earned you unwanted attention in Parabola again. What ever happened to that worm, anyway?”

“What worm?”

“The one you put in the suncatcher. The one that was trying to kill you, so you couldn’t sleep for ages. That worm.”

“Oh,” the Mechanic says, with relief. “We gave it to the Khanate to get rid of, they’re good at disposing of stuff like that. And that was a snake. Not the same thing at all.”

“You sure? I know I’ve seen that in old fairy tales- worms are dragons, dragons are snakey sort of things...”

Above them, in a half-ruined tower, the Herald makes a note to herself. 

A preposterous suggestion. And yet, and yet- if the Khanate’s unwanted visitors were merely cast off elsewhere, does the war of illusions continue on another plane? Will I find my Mechanic’s foe there, reincarnated as some viscid ouroboros worm?

Strange to say, but I look forward to finding out...

#fic #cultist simulator #fallen london #crossover #always crossovers #ecstasy in cosmogone #sunless sea

[365news]

365NEWS NEWSPAPERS HEADLINES FOR SUNDAY 23RD JUNE 2019

365NEWS NEWSPAPERS HEADLINES FOR SUNDAY 23RD JUNE 2019       *PUNCH* Desperate Nigerians exploit gay, outcast claims, BHaram war to seek asylum in Europe, US, Canada Community conspiracy landed dad in life jail Surviving daughter of freed centenarian prisoner After rains of herders attacks, traumatised victims contend with more hardships in Taraba IDP camps God raises bad leaders sometimes to teach people a lesson Ituah Ighodalo Giving construction jobs to foreign firms akin to importing poverty-Muftau Salawu Lightening the cost of governance burden on govts lean resources How we curbed corruption, increased revenue by 500% Lagos FMC Ndume not a rebel, confers credibility on Lawans victory Adeyeye Its a waste of time to attend varsities for certificates to get jobs Naallah, KWASU VC My friend wasnt allowed into a Dubai club for wearing jalabia Kemen W Law allows gov, others to buy off official cars when leaving office Dankwambo AG Government by the people Bello has failed because he didnt prepare for governorship Audus son Ogun indigenes bemoan attacks by soldiers, miscreants Army raids Ogun community for arms Abdulrazaq certificate: Claimant alleges police intimidation National Assembly poll: Wabara to head PDPs probe panel Women set for court over 35% representation US trains Lagos pupils Ibadan elders honour Ajimobi Decongesting Lagos ports, FGs top priority Osinbajo ACF backs FG on almajiri Troops kill 42 ISWAP terrorists in Lake Chad *VANGUARD* Bolt goes bigger, unveil corporate trip package EDO Crisis: If I were Governor Godwin Obaseki Abia secure ' Speaker Suspected criminal disguises as madman to rob residents Ondo gets $37m World Bank loan to upgrade health centres World Hydrography Day: Navy develops first indigenous navigational chart Marry me, or I die, says lady arraigned for breach of peace 3-month-old baby is youngest survivor of sexual abuse out of 4,514 Gov Bello condoles, assures family of Ibrahim Linco of Gov't support Photos: Osinbajo, Sanwo-Olu, Bala Usman tour Apapa traffic Daura zonal pilgrims office begins orientation for 137 intending pilgrims Ocheje, Kogi APC chieftain, dies at 69 2019 AFCON : Mahrez concerned about unknown quantity Kenya Residents, traders protest indiscriminate location of gas stations in Ondo Gbajabiamila receives rousing reception from APC members at Lagos airport DPO, girlfriend arrested over death of housemaid in Katsina State Kogi Guber Poll: Tenants don't dislodge landlords, Bello replies Seidu Ogah Osinbajo heads to U.S, meets Pence Oshiomhole showingu bias, needs to hear from all parties before taking sides ' Obaseki's aide Kalu expected to be fit for Guinea You have to be a successful artiste manager before you can make profit ' TinnoStiles Breaking: Ighalo's strike rescue 3 points for Eagles in AFCON opener Bollywood channel 'StarLife' debuts on StarTimes *THE NATION* Running with the vision! 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[cutsliceddiced]

New top story from Time: From Uber Drivers to Airbnb Hosts: How Federal Workers Are Turning to Odd Jobs Amid Lingering Shutdown

(PROVIDENCE, R.I.) — When her paychecks dried up because of the partial government shutdown, Cheryl Inzunza Blum sought out a side job that has become a popular option in the current economy: She rented out a room on Airbnb.

Other government workers are driving for Uber, relying on word-of-mouth and social networks to find handyman work and looking for traditional temp gigs to help pay the bills during the longest shutdown in U.S. history.

The hundreds of thousands of out-of-work government employees have more options than in past shutdowns given the rise of the so-called “gig economy” that has made an entire workforce out of people doing home vacation rentals and driving for companies like Uber, Lyft and Postmates.

It’s even happening among White House staff. Kevin Hassett, the chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, told reporters on a conference call Tuesday that “a long-time dedicated employee” trying to make ends meet without a paycheck was driving for Uber to make ends meet.

Blum decided to capitalize on the busy winter travel season in Arizona to help make ends meet after she stopped getting paid for her government contract work as a lawyer in immigration court in Tucson. She says she has no choice but to continue to work unpaid because she has clients who are depending on her, some of whom are detained or have court hearings.

But she also has bills: her Arizona state bar dues, malpractice insurance and a more than $500 phone bill for the past two months because she uses her phone so heavily for work. Blum bills the government for her work, but the office that pays her hasn’t processed any paychecks to her since before the shutdown began. So she’s been tapping every source she can to keep herself afloat — even her high school- and college-aged children — and is even thinking about driving for Uber and Lyft as well.

“So after working in court all day I’m going to go home and get the room super clean because they’re arriving this evening,” she said of her Airbnb renters.

“I have a young man who’s visiting town to do some biking, and he’s going to come tomorrow and stay a week,” she added. “I’m thrilled because that means immediate money. Once they check in, the next day there’s some money in my account.”

The shutdown is occurring against the backdrop of a strong economy that has millions of open jobs, along with ample opportunities to pick up Uber and Lyft shifts.

The Labor Department reported that employers posted 6.9 million jobs in November, the latest figures available. That’s not far from the record high of 7.3 million reached in August.

Roughly 8,700 Uber driver positions are advertised nationwide on the SnagAJob website, while Lyft advertises about 3,000.

But the gig economy doesn’t pay all that well — something the furloughed government workers are finding out.

Pay for such workers has declined over the past two years, and they are earning a growing share of their income elsewhere, a recent study found. Most Americans who earn income through online platforms do so for only a few months each year, according to the study by the JPMorgan Chase Institute.

Chris George, 48, of Hemet, California, is furloughed from his job as a forestry technician supervisor for the U.S. Department of Agriculture forest service. He’s been driving for Lyft but has only been averaging about $10 for every hour he drives. Paying for gas then eats into whatever money he has made.

He just got word that he’ll be getting $450 in weekly unemployment benefits, but hadn’t received any money as of Monday. In the meantime, he’s taking handyman or other odd jobs wherever he can.

“I’ve just been doing side jobs when they come along,” he said Monday. “I had two last week, and I don’t know what this week’s going to bring.”

George Jankowski is among those hunting around for cash. He’s getting a $100 weekly unemployment check, but that’s barely enough to pay for food and gas, he said.

On Monday, he made $30 helping a friend move out of a third-floor apartment in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Jankowski is furloughed from a USDA call center and does not expect to get back pay because his job is part-time and hourly.

Jankowski, an Air Force veteran, calls the situation “grueling.”

“It’s embarrassing to ask for money to pay bills or ask to borrow money to, you know, eat,” he said.

Some employers were looking at the shutdown as a way to recruit, at least temporarily.

Missy Koefod of the Atlanta-based cocktail-mixer manufacturer 18.21 Bitters said the company needs temporary help in the kitchen, retail store and getting ready for a trade show, and decided to put out the word to furloughed federal workers on social media that they were hiring.

“I can’t imagine not getting paid for a couple of weeks,” Koefod said.

American Labor Services, a staffing agency that employs 500 people a week in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, sent out an appeal to furloughed federal workers on Monday, asking them to get in touch for clerical or light-industrial work.

“Some might not realize that they could get something temporary, it could last for a short period,” said Ben Kaplan, the company’s president and CEO.

Israel Diaz sought out an Uber job and applied to be a security guard after he was furloughed from his Treasury Department job in Kansas City. He said federal work has become increasingly demoralizing and that he and many of his co-workers are considering quitting.

“In the old days, you work for the federal government, you get benefits, great,” said Diaz, a Republican and Marine Corps veteran. “Now, it’s not even worth it.”

via https://cutslicedanddiced.wordpress.com/2018/01/24/how-to-prevent-food-from-going-to-waste

#Time #top stories #IFTTT #news