Hi, I'm VI (vee)! I make art, draw comics, and write fics and those are all organized in my art blog: @vik-skribs. This blog is multifandom and really not organized, but I'm glad you're here :)
continuing with my lower decks watch, i keep loving it more and more! i'm almost by the end of season 3 and i don't want to end </3 also big fan of these two... can i get a thousand more scenes with them
Synopsis: You remember how you ended up here and Ryland spills the beans.
Warnings: miscommunication, light teasing from students, low self-esteem, curse words replaced by child-friendly language
A/N: I am SO sorry I left the last chapter like that, I couldn't resist! Anyway it's not MY fault these idiots act like this ok I just write the fic. More of the reader in this one, everyone is in the next chapter!
Word Count: 1.3k
Part 1 | Part 2
"YOU DIDN'T TELL HER?!" Colt has to hold the phone away from his ear, lest Ryland deafens him.
"It didn't come up! Believe it or not, 'I'm actually my twin brother' doesn't really fit into the conversation naturally!" Colt groans. "Listen, Ry, I would love to chat about this right now, but I'm kind of in the middle of something." Colt looks up at the ground. Or down, depending on your point of view. He's currently in the world's most uncomfortable harness hanging upside-down.
"That's not okay! We agreed you'd tell her!" Ryland pinches the bridge of his nose, his face heating up with his frustration. "This is so unfair—"
"Ryland! I'll talk to you later, I have to go!" Colt hangs up, leaving Ryland to stare at the black screen of his phone.
It's just like Colt to put this onto him, to make this situation so much more complicated than it needs to be. This is not how he planned for his Friday to go.
You stand there, in the lounge, holding a coffee pot and staring at the empty mug. Why does he always have to be so weird? You didn't mind covering for Mr. Letham, you saw the crash on the news when it happened. The poor man is so young, just a couple years younger than you. He teaches middle school art and makes these beautiful, elaborate pieces in his off time.
You were surprised when you got the call to substitute. It isn't that you avoid Grover Cleveland Middle School, but you weren't exactly lining up to cover spots there, either. The children there tend to be very intelligent, but that can make things worse when their beloved teachers are sick and they're left with you. No one is a fan of change. So when you were called in for long-term coverage, you had to seriously weigh your options. On the one hand, you had steady work for at least two weeks. A very nice pay check, as they tend to pay more when it's for an extended period of time. Plus, this was one of the nicer schools in town, so the pay is already slightly better than you would have expected. No fighting for shifts with the other substitutes on standby, no scraping by with beans and rice because all you could afford was to pay your rent.
You had supposed that was all there was to it, no other points to consider. You could suck it up, take your cushioned pay check, and maybe get some nice coffee in the morning at that used bookstore/café, Café Chronicle. You'd been there a couple times before, as a treat to yourself, but now you could go every morning before work.
That's where you saw him for the first time. Cool and collected, but quiet. It seemed to you in the mornings Ryland allowed himself to be more relaxed, but he changed into an entirely different person at work. It was clear to you that he's obviously brilliant, although eclectic. You hoped no one would be able to find out that you've read all of his papers.
The duality kills you. One moment he's chill and charismatic, the other he's this passionate dork.
This has got to stop. You pull the carafe out of the coffee maker, the hot plate on the bottom sizzling as the fresh coffee, still brewing, hits the plate. After filling your mug and slamming the carafe back in, you leave the lounge heading towards where you think he must have gone, out a side door to the school.
"What the heck is your problem?!" you snap at Ryland, who straightens up and pockets his phone. His glasses are dangling beneath his chin. "You are so freaking turbulent-- it's completely impossible to have a conversation with you!" You tilt your head and gesture with your coffee, spilling some. "So? Who is Colt Seavers and why should I give a hoot?"
Ryland cringes and rubs his face with a sigh. "He's my brother."
You nod. "That's great, Ryland. That's very nice. Why is that important?"
"Agh- because he's my twin brother, okay?!" His glasses hook off one ear and are dangling precariously off the other. His eyes narrow and he lifts his hands expectantly. "Well?"
You stand back, straightening up as you process. Your brows tighten as you look past him, trying to make those words make sense. You shut your eyes as you try to visualize why this is a problem to you.
"You have a twin brother," you state, your eyes still closed.
"Yes."
"His name is Colt Seavers."
"Yeah."
"One of you is Ryland Grace. You are Dr. Grace?" You ask, peeking a suspicious eye open. He nods. "Okay." You open both eyes. You're not entirely convinced, but what options do you have? Wouldn't it explain the Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde personality?
"We've been- well, he's been sort of...lying to you," Ryland starts, but the bell chimes before he could explain. You both have about five minutes to get to your respective classes to teach.
"Listen," you start, pulling a pen out of your cardigan, "I deserve to know what the blazes you two have been up to." You grab his hand and write ten digits out. "Call me after school today and the three of us are going to have a chat about what exactly has been happening the last two weeks." And with that, you leave him outside to go back to your art room.
Ryland braces himself against the wall and exhales. Why can't he catch a break? He pushes off the wall and goes inside to teach his eighth grade Intro to Physics course.
The students are diligent in this class. It isn't uncommon for them to finish their work early, and they usually ask fairly interesting and thoughtful questions.
"Alright, who can remind me what the formula for force is? Raise your hand?" he asks, holding his up thoughtlessly to demonstrate. "Yes, Ms. March?" he calls upon a young student, Holly, in the second row.
"What are those numbers on your hand?" Ryland's face contorts in brief confusion as he looks at his hand...before turning red. "Dr. Grace?" she asks.
"I'll bet it's from his loooverrr," another student chimes in.
"I thought he was with Mr. Butcher?" someone else asks.
"The geography teacher?" Ryland asks before he gets a hold of himself. "No, wait, this isn't appropriate discussion for the classroom. Let's get back on topic. Force is-"
"No, that was just a rumor. They'd be cute, right?" Holly shoots back, giggling after. The class erupts into conversation, just before Ryland hears:
"What about the art sub? He's always staring at her! What was her name again?" Ryland almost chokes on air.
"Okay, we're done. 1, 2, 3, eyes on me! Anyone else speculates about my dating life and we're doing a pop quiz. For a grade!" Groans from everyone.
As soon as he turns his back to write F=ma, he can barely make out Holly telling her desk neighbor, "see? It has to be the art teacher!"
Ryland shakes his head, pretending not to have heard.
As the students work on their booklet, he finds himself staring at his hand. Is he that obvious? He thinks about the small moments you carve out of your day to share with him. The coffee, the grading...what if it was never about Colt? What if you had feelings for him, for Ryland?
After the last bell, he pulls out his phone and stares at the screen for entirely too long. "Ugh, okay, just do it. Just do it," he says, typing the number on his hand. You told him to call, but the thought of it makes his throat tighten.
From Unknown:
hi! this is Ryland :)
You fire back immediately the name of a bar and a time.
From You:
Meet me there. BOTH of you!!!
Ryland slides down in his chair and reacts with a 'thumbs-up' emoji, forwarding the text to Colt.
What has he gotten himself into?
Your 20s are not about getting your life together they're about learning to escape the self imposed torture labyrinth you've built inside your own head
So I just simultaneously did, and possibly didn't lose my job today :)
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.
I don't know what else to say aside from I've been laughing all day and I'm gonna have a hell of a time explaining Schrodinger's Unemployment to the benefits office.
Update that is not an update because I'm basically certain this isn't what actually happened:
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
(also shout out to the person who proposed Carmen Sandiego)
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.
So now I'm officially out of a job. Because my workplace was literally stolen in the night.
Actually fuck it let's share some photos cause I wouldn't be inclined to believe this myself. It's not like anyone can stalk me at my job now and I'm not gonna have to see any coworkers that might find my tumblr.
Enjoy the unintentionally funniest text I've ever sent in my life
Aaand a close-up:
The last remains of a once Very Much Solid And Immobile Workplace
edit: I should clarify this isn't my kiosk. my kiosk was probably taken out in pieces and most likely by mall management. but it's an extremely funny coincidence
Still haven't heard back from the unemployment office, but a few days ago I ended up telling this to the SNAP caseworker, who absolutely lost her shit and then put everything on hold to go investigate this herself out of a sense of justice and Needing To Know More. World's most nosy angel who helped me out a lot in general (in case she ends up seeing this: I appreciate her so much).
While she didn't find a facebook listing for a used kiosk (yes, that post is just a coincidence, I'm sorry), what she did find was the actual kiosk for sale. By the owner. On a reputable website.
Now, there are a lot of funny conclusions to be drawn from this, but I'm afraid it's not quite that wild. I asked a friend in management about it and turns out the listing is from months before the disappearance, it wasn't kept a secret, it just wasn't relevant. She had been trying to sell it for a while without much luck, wasn't selling the entire business, but just the kiosk with that branch included (the listing advertised that it would include the equipment and drink recipes and retain the current staff). It also said the lease with the mall was active until some time in 2027.
So, no, as funny as that would be, the owner did not heist her own kiosk. However, what this does tell us is:
She must have owned the kiosk outright, so the only way this could be a repossession is if she had a mortgage on it? I guess?
It definitely isn't about the lease being up. So any eviction would legally require like 30-days notice and, presumably, a valid reason like a violation of the terms. (this is how it works with renting homes in my country, and I've never rented a business location, so I can only guess that it's similar)
The store was not financially beneficial enough to keep. This could just mean that she was focusing on other ventures like she says in the listing, but it could really also mean that she was having money trouble and couldn't afford to keep the location.
SO. This leaves the most likely scenario being that the owner was behind on rent, and the mall manager (who has a history of being outta control and pulling shit like this, as well as harassing asian businesses and our shop specifically) decided to illegally remove the entire kiosk about it.
Still no confirmation at all about anything, but I remembered the listing today and realized it gave some additional clues.
Also, sorry to go asking, but I'm gonna slip my ko-fi link in here because both final checks and unemployment are taking much longer than expected, and I had to move apartments very suddenly (like found out the day after losing my job kine sudden), which is burning through my savings too. The job market in my region is absolute dogshit right now and I'm partially disabled so I'm kinda freaking out. Everyone's struggling right now so if you're enjoying the story but can't donate please don't feel guilty, I also like sharing the laughs.
Most of my coworkers have been paid, but she hasn't responded to any of my messages so I'm probably gonna have to call her. I did go to BOLI about it, but they're backlogged for the next six months lmao.
Got approved for unemployment, who will be paying me less than my rent each month but at least it's something. Working on finding a new job.
We got a new apartment and are in the process of moving in, and trying to contest a lease break fee on account of the old place becoming unlivable.
Got a crack in the car windshield as soon as things started looking up because the universe Is Not Having That.
My partner got me a novelty dishtowel to commemorate the incident
ME: hold up. you see that? train's been through here
FRIEND: how can you tell
ME: tracks. they're not fresh, maybe 60, 80 years old
FRIEND: no chance it'll come back, then
ME: don't be so sure. That's well within their lifespan... and they're highly territorial
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