Maybe A Human

Okay, this one might be a little confusing in terms of metatextual setup, but just stick with me.

There's this old sci-fi series called the Vorkosigan Saga that sold a ton of books and won a ton of awards, but it's from the 80s, true vintage. @audreycritter has told me to read it for years, because I got her hooked on The Queen's Thief and she wanted to hurt me in return, I guess.

The first book chronologically is Shards of Honor and it's phenomenal. I think(?) it was originally published as a prequel and you can read it as such, but I do recommend starting there because it gives you the context of the relationship between the Scary Soldier Politician and the Brave Captain Woman on opposite sides of a galactic war who fall in love despite it all, etc. etc. It's so engaging and good and did I mention the couple are both middle aged? Refreshing.

But really what I'm recommending here is the second book, Barrayar, which takes place after they're married and has The Most Dad Of All Dads, the Bruciest of Sci-Fi Men if Bruce were known across the civilized universe by the title of Butcher for the deaths he had a hand in, I kid you not.

I will caution that, as I said, this series was written Back In The Day so it has some rough spots when viewed through modern eyes but is shockingly progressive for its time, which is important when viewing The Dad Man because every time you think this man is going to fumble, he does not. He is stone-cold Team Wife and Kid. He is The Most Terrifying except when his wife (the main POV for Barrayar) decides to stick her oar in, because SHE is even scarier than he is, at the end of the day. And he loves her for it. They remind me of how people talk about that Barda lady and her guy.

Also, to have a rewarding and productive time in equestrian sports, you really need to establish an empathetic and compassionate relationship with a nonverbal creature, and that definitely goes against the grain of pop culture Masculinity (Though, unfortunately, the weight of Tradition™ means that much of organized Equestrian sports are still abusive, while there are individuals pushing back against said traditional practices).

Very much did in the sense that I literally do not know where my job is at the moment. But, for the time being I haven't been let go because nobody else including the store owner knows where it is either.

So, I don't wanna risk doxxing myself by posting pictures but goddamn am I tempted because this is not a believable event. This is a cartoon problem. For looneytoons.

But yeah, so, I work(ed?) at a kiosk selling boba tea, right? Freestanding kiosk in the mall with full water and electrical hookups and multiple fridges and sinks and a mini kitchen and the works. Fully functional tea shop. Very important to note that it was there last night, The work chat was discussing another issue last night at closing time. I'll get back to this.

It's been showing signs of being on the way out with how business is being handled lately and I've been considering other options, which is probably why I'm not as torn up about this as I should be, but maybe it just hasn't set in yet, but that's not the point. The point is there's been a lot of shit breaking and not being replaced and nobody mentioning anything about it until I walk into work in the morning and have to figure out why shit like the fucking cash register isn't there today. So I'm kinda used to having to ask questions about big things that nobody bothered to update me on. I was out for two weeks recovering from a surgery, so I came to work this morning assuming there'd be some kind of bullshit, yeah?

So, the question I had to ask the chat this morning was:

Not a text I ever thought I'd have to send in sincerity, but there it is. Because what I found instead was a fenced off patch of discolored tiles and a few holes in the floor where my entire place of employment used to be.

And the answer? Nobody knows! It was there last night when the mall closed, and every single trace of the structure and all its contents including drink making supplies and our safe and cashbox was gone when it opened again. And when I say nobody knows, I mean everyone from last night's closers to the actual (former?) owner of the store jad no fucking clue about this until getting that text from me this morning. For once I am actually the first to know. 🎉.

So. I guess I didn't so much lose my job as had it stolen. Not by AI, but good old fashioned hands-on human beings picking it up and carrying it away somehow. All mall security would tell me was that they were instructed not to tell me anything and have us contact our management. Who also don't know anything. And later on I came across some construction workers around the gravesite of the kiosk discussing filling in the holes, asked them about it, and was told that they "weren't at liberty to say".

So, not only is my job gone in the most literal physical sense of the word, but it was taken in some kind of super secret kiosk extraction in the dead of night without any warning or witnesses and nobody is allowed to speak of it. The store owner said she was gonna figure it out 10 hours ago and still no word back.

My mother in law thinks the FBI took it.

Not any of the other stores around the state. Just the one little kiosk.

Why? Because she loves a conspiracy and is just a little bit extra.

Also because she was around for the massive crackdown on Yakuza-owned businesses in Waikiki (in her homestate) that did actually involve the FBI seizing stores (no confirmation of making kiosks cleanly disappear in the middle of the night though).

Still no word from my job on what's actually going on, but the most likely theory so far is that maybe the kiosk was on lease and got repossessed? The mystery continues

According to the owner, based on what she's been able to find out, the kiosk was not removed legally and they're starting a potentially long process of legal action. I hope she gets to sue the shit out of whoever did it but for now at least I know for sure I'm unemployed.

Really hoping for more details in terms of who/why/how, so I'll keep updating if I learn anything.

For now the summary is: An unnamed entity that is most likely mall management (on account of mall security cooperating with them) stole an entire kiosk and all the contents including money and machinery with barely a trace in the middle of the night grinch-style, with zero warning or explanation, and ensured the silence of both security and the construction crew, in an action that was definitely preplanned and illegal, and as far as I know nobody knows its whereabouts.

Enjoy the unintentionally funniest text I've ever sent in my life

Aaand a close-up:

HEY HI HELLO THIS ONE'S MY FAVORITE

*reluctant sigh*

*scrolls back up*

Dog Town Residential... Now in motion! Expand to see all the animation crops