#i want email to say your package arrive in mail soon i want email say you have been hired for jorb i want email say u are so so hot secsee

[shandian-go]

Update: March 2022 Arrivals

I'm aiming to wrap up March Arrivals by the end of next week so those of you that haven't received your Second Payment emails yet should be hearing from me soon!

There will be an announcement on Tumblr/Twitter when I'm done, so please wait until after that announcement to ask me for a status update if you still haven't heard from me by then.

Also, just wanted to say thank you to those that did receive your Second Payment emails and sent your payments straight away - I'm constantly dealing with space constraints so it's really, really helpful when I can send packages out ASAP~

Some friendly reminders:

- If there's an issue with your package, please use the CS Form linked in your Second Payment e-mail. You can e-mail me if you're not sure but it's a lot easier for me to handle things when it's on the form :)

- If you want to know the contents of your package, please check through your own order confirmation e-mails and/or your 'My Account' and then check the Status spreadsheet under the 'Arrived at Canadian Address' section

- Early Arrival items are not guaranteed to be in your package and if you didn't receive it yet, it just means it's still en route to Canada and will be part of regular arrivals when they eventually get to my place :)

- The Forwarding Guide has a lot of useful information and I know it's a long read but it would save some time on my end if you could take a look at it before reaching out n__n

#shandian go #announcements

[thishintoflove]

A Sweet Package - BobaDin Week Day 5: AU

Pairing: Din Djarin / Boba Fett

Rating: General (no warnings aside from mild swearing)

Summary: Boba has to deal with an unwanted package at his front door. Luckily, the hassle turns out to be worth it when he meets the package's true owner.

A/N: Here, have some tooth-rotting fluff because these boys deserve it! (ﾉ☉ヮ⚆)ﾉ ⌒*:･ﾟ✧

Also available on AO3

“Ouch, shit, god dammit,” Boba swore as he stubbed his toe.

He shifted his keys to his other hand and leaned against his apartment door as he bent down to rub his toe, glaring at the offending object.

The damn package was in the wrong place. The worst part? He hadn’t even ordered anything recently.

It had been a long day, he was tired, and he didn’t have the time or patience to deal with unwanted shit outside his door.

Boba was inclined to just let it sit there, but he had to move it out of the way if he didn’t want to repeat this stubbed-toe incident tomorrow. As he glanced down again to shove it away with his foot, he noticed that the package had actually come to the correct place, but it had come to the wrong person.

It was his address, but he was certainly not the “Grogu Djarin” to whom it had been addressed.

He’d been living here for almost three months and he hadn’t received any other pieces of mail. Surely there was a forwarding address set up for this Grogu Djarin? The outside label had a personalized message that read, “To Grogu. I love you to the stars and back, little one. Happy Birthday! Love, Dad.”

Ah shit. He was going to have to do something with it.

Boba did not want to be responsible for a kid missing out on his birthday present. Grogu Djarin would probably be expecting his package-- what if this was his only birthday gift? Another closer look at the box revealed a “Perishable: refrigerate after opening” label. Damn, he certainly couldn’t just keep the package and hope that the father in question would come by and collect it. Given its size, weight, and postage markings on it, whoever had ordered it had spent quite a lot on getting it sent.

Boba sighed and bent down to carry the package inside. As he set it down on the kitchen table, he saw that there was no return address, just the information from the company that had sent it. A bakery. A well-known, quite expensive bakery.

He had a very clear picture of what was going on now, but he didn’t know what he could do about it. Boba’s brow furrowed. It wasn’t his responsibility, technically… But the thought of a little boy not receiving his birthday treat, from his father no less, was enough to soften his heart.

He couldn’t get the vision of this unknown man telling his sad child that he wasn’t getting a birthday cake this year out of his head. It was terribly sad...

Oh great. He was on a mission now.

Boba had to get the cake to this child. He needed a plan. Returning to sender would be useless at this point, so he had to find out the current address of Grogu Djarin’s father.

He grabbed his phone and typed up a quick message to his landlord and leasing agency.

"This is Boba Fett from apartment fifteen. Do you have a forwarding address for the previous tenants? I’ve received a time-sensitive package for them."

After sending the message, Boba ambled around his apartment and tried to find something to take his mind off the Problem sitting on his table. He took some cold noodles out of the fridge for dinner and listened to a voicemail from Fennec that mostly involved her complaining about a recent customer.

Right when he was about to dive into invoices from work, his phone buzzed with a message from his landlord. It contained the former tenant’s email address.

He scratched the back of his head as he considered how to compose the email. He figured keeping it formal was a safer bet. He didn’t want this guy thinking he was some kind of creep. Boba hummed to himself as he typed out a message.

"Hello. I’m the current tenant of your previous apartment and I’ve received a package addressed to you. It says “perishable” on it so I figured it was important. Let me know how you’d like to proceed."

He leaned back in his chair, assuming that it would take a while for Grogu Djarin’s father to respond. But it didn’t. Within five minutes, his phone chirped with a response.

"Thank you! I was wondering what happened when it didn’t arrive today like it was scheduled to. It was my own fault for forgetting to update my address when I ordered online. I’m terribly sorry for the inconvenience. Thanks for letting me know what happened."

Boba frowned as he read the response. The man obviously wasn’t expecting anything from him. That was a good thing, but Boba still felt guilty. Perhaps the man was too polite to ask anything of him? He decided to dig a little deeper.

"The package is a birthday cake, right? I recognize the bakery on the label. Do you still need it?"

"Yes, it’s a cake. It’s my son’s birthday tomorrow. All the kids in his class are obsessed with this bakery but we’ve never been, so I decided to order from them as a surprise. I’d offer to come pick it up but my son’s already in bed and I can’t leave him alone. Thanks for letting me know what happened to it. You can get rid of it, or enjoy it yourself if you want."

Boba sucked in a breath and considered his options.

"Are you still in the city? I could bring it to you."

"I couldn’t ask you to do that."

"It’s no trouble."

"Okay, then yes, thank you! I can’t tell you how much that means to me. My address is ---"

Luckily it wasn’t too far from Boba’s apartment. No more than twenty minutes. He could handle that.

He sent back one more message affirming that he was on his way, and then he gathered up the package and his keys. So much for a relaxing night. He had to be up early as usual, but the warmth in his chest almost made up for it. Hell, he felt like some kind of personal Santa Claus. Fennec would say that his actions were “good karma”, but deep down Boba knew he was doing it for the little boy on the label. He knew what it was like to have a disappointing birthday as a child. Boba wouldn’t allow another child to experience that if there was something he could do about it.

Twenty minutes later he was standing in front of an unfamiliar apartment door, double-checking his email to make sure he was at the correct address. He knocked gently, since it was late and the kid inside was likely asleep.

After a brief moment, the door opened to reveal a tall, disheveled man. He was fit and looked only slightly younger than Boba, but his hair was a mess and there was... flour? Yes, flour, spilled across his shirt and sleeves. His brown eyes immediately widened in recognition and gratitude when he realized who was at the door.

“Hey,” Boba said awkwardly, hefting the package in his arms, “I believe this belongs to you.”

“Yes, thank you!” the man exclaimed, opening the door wider and stepping into the threshold, “You really have no idea how much this means to me. My son’s going to be very happy tomorrow.”

“I figured,” Boba replied, handing over the package. He allowed his eyes to run over the man’s features again. He was a mess, but cute. Very cute. And he was clearly a caring father. It made Boba want to be nicer than usual.

“You didn’t have to come all this way. Can I pay you, or give you something to thank you-”

Boba just held up his hand and shook his head.

“It’s no problem, really. I wanted to. As soon as I saw the ‘happy birthday’ message, I thought oh shit, I gotta get this to them. I hope your son enjoys it.”

“I’m sure he will. You really did me a huge favor. We moved a few weeks ago and my head’s still all over the place. Finally got a two-bedroom,” the man said, then quickly shut his mouth when he realized this might be unnecessary information.

“Congratulations,” Boba replied, giving him a wry smile. The man blushed and shifted the package under one arm so he could reach out and shake Boba’s hand.

“I’m Din by the way.”

“Boba. Nice to meet you.”

He knew he could walk away right now, but something about the man in front of him was magnetic. Boba was jaded enough at this point in life to not believe in stupid romantic fantasies like love at first sight, but there was something about this man that seemed special. His eyes captivated Boba’s attention, and he found that he wasn’t ready to end their conversation just yet.

“Were you trying to whip up a last-minute backup cake?” Boba asked, gesturing to the flour he spotted on Din’s collar and neck.

Din gave a humorless chuckle and shook his head.

“Just cupcakes. And it was going terribly. I uh, can’t bake to save my life,” he said, his hand rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

Boba hummed and tilted his head. Should he…? Yeah, he was going to be honest with Din.

“Well, I can.”

Din’s brow furrowed and he gave Boba the most adorable confused look. “Huh?”

“I can bake. Actually, I bake quite a lot.”

“You do?”

“Couldn’t tell just by looking at me?” Boba tossed back sarcastically, but he grinned to show the man he wasn’t truly offended, “Yes, it’s my job. I own a bakery.”

“Oh! That’s amazing! And you… came all this way to deliver a cake from a rival bakery?”

“I’ll be honest, when I first saw the package at my door I was ready to dump it in the trash, but your note changed my mind. They’re overrated, but they’re still pretty good. I’m sure your son and his friends will love the cake.”

“I’m inclined to believe you, seeing as you’re an expert and all.”

“But now you’ll have to allow me to get some free advertising out of this deal,” Boba replied, his grin widening, “If you’re interested in trying some real delicious, authentic stuff, come by my place with your son sometime. It’s over on the West Side. I promise I’ll make something that’ll blow this cake out of the water.”

Din’s eyes sparkled as he nodded, “I think that’s a fair deal. It won’t take much to convince my son, he has a massive sweet tooth.”

“Fantastic. It’ll be worth the trip, just wait and see.”

They smiled at each other like they were in some kind of damn rom-com. Boba knew that he was probably wearing the same goofy-grin as Din but it didn’t bother him. So what if he appeared soft? It was near-midnight on Wednesday, there was no one else in the apartment hallway to see them anyway. Even if there was, Boba couldn’t bring himself to care.

“Well… have a good rest of your night,” he said to Din, taking a step back. He had to leave before he did something really stupid, like lean in for a kiss with this overly attractive stranger. This wasn’t actually a movie- it wasn’t like there was a soft-rock ballad swelling in the background.

“Thank you again, Boba,” Din replied, his voice brimming with sincerity. He gave Boba one last soft smile as the man started to step away, “And I’ll see you soon. I promise.”

“I look forward to it.”

As Boba walked back down the stairs, he couldn’t get the stupid smile off his face. Fennec would laugh at him tomorrow when he recounted the story, but he didn’t care. Sure, real-life wasn’t a movie. But this was as close to it as he’d ever come, and you could be damn sure that he was going to savor it.

#bobadin #bobadinweek2021 #my fanfic #fanfiction tag

[the-bjd-community-confess]

More Divaz confos

Mod: Round two of these, previously: link. There’s some interesting customer reviews in this batch (5 and 8) which may be useful to readers.

1.Vic3mage "the secret bjdivaz vip group is just pictures of boxes coming in and going out". Yeah, between the bitching about d0llshe, asking people to post on doa for them, dunking on ex-customers, posting pics of random doll parts that they can't identify which doll they're supposed to go with, whining about how little money they make, whining when ppl e-mail them, whining. Yeah, other than that it's just boxes, and alpacas u can buy off amazon anyway lol.

~Anonymous

2.The butthurt users crying and guilttripping under every Divaz confession who have never been seen before elsewhere on this blog are extremely unsuspicious and unproblematic and definitely unconnected to Divaz and unbiased in every possible way

/s

~Anonymous

3.idk shit abt bjd1vas but v1cemage i can absolutely tell you the shit about ch0o is 100% accurate, fucker's got a long, long history of being an awful little man that stretches well beyond his involvement in the doll community. between the two i'd still trust bjd1vas over ch00 ch00 the fool any day!

~Anonymous

4.The Z3st and Div4s thing is really silly and both entities were being shady but did they really have to take the DZ waiting room down with them? :( He had even made a separate thread about it......

~Anonymous 

5. RE: BJD Divaz

I’ve been a customer of BJD Divaz since they first started, when it was only run by Chart3rline. I even contacted other BJD companies trying to persuade them to work with Divaz as their US representative. Most declined because they didnt like D's commission fee, but I was able to persuade a few of them.

I asked them to purchase a doll off DOA because I couldnt afford the asking price, and while they did, I found out later that instead of agreeing to purchase the seller's price, they negotiated the price to be lower. This significantly cheaper price was not passed down to me. I paid the full price +the commission fee based on that full price. I am disappointed I was not told this. This is when I stopped viewing them as a "friend" and instead, as a business. I dont hold this against them, it’s context to what Im going to say later.

I’ve stopped purchasing from D after my recent order from them. This company usually takes 3 or less months to make a doll. I’ve ordered the doll from D and it took 11 months. They let me know it arrived to them in March and that it will be shipped soon, except it only shipped on July, and only after I sent them several "reminder" emails. Before people in the comments try to put the blame on me for not sending a reminder soon, please keep in mind that I acknowledged the email in March and confirmed everything and they keep stressing to not send them emails because they are busy, I’ve emailed once every month since. I’ve since switched to ACBJD and Ive been happy with communication and the dolls ordered. I imagine ACBJD gets the same amount of emails, but they dont berate their customers if they email more than once.

I regret when people wanted a D0llshe, but not deal with him, I always recommended D. I would warn people of ordering directly and instead go through D. They assured buyers they would be handling communication and all the efforts so they wouldnt worry, except they didn’t. A person that I’ve recommended D to, who surpassed 2 years, keeps messaging me for help because D wouldnt reply to their emails. She is respectful, sweet and a timid person, not a Karen. This person, emailed D without a reply so would email a week later, only to be told that their email would be pushed down to the bottom if emailed again. No response, so she goes to FB and IG, who both tell her to email because they arent the person running orders. Finally got a response that they would get their refund, after D0llshe sends D's payment, but minus the PP fees. 3 months later and theres no refund, only a promise of them getting it later. Why is the customer missing out on fees when they have no doll? Customer emails d0llshe and he says he cant offer refund, because they didn’t order through them, which is understandable, but when all options are out for a customer, do you blame them for chargebacks?

If anyone files a chargeback, D will be blacklisting them from every company they rep, as in blacklisting you from buying direct from those companies. I urge everyone who has negative experiences with D to email the companies they rep instead of venting on confession blogs, and writing your experiences on social media. Make it count and send letters to the companies they represent, and please provide proof because they will try to make you out to be a liar.

Speaking of, they made vague posts on cl0ver singing for charging paypal fees, and that they offer guarantees as an official dealer, except when offering refunds, to non delivered products I might add, they are keeping the fees, and offered no help with d0llshe, even before they ended their dealership with them. Someone on DOA was told to not email them unless the wait time surpassed 1.5 years. They are even so petty that they post screenshots with the full name and address (dox) of the customer on purpose and then delete it out a day later as if they just realized their "mistake".

Before you try to make excuses for them about the fires, keep in mind, I am dealing with a business. The lower price negotiation with the DOA sale, I am in no way obligated to give them a pass or treat them as a friend when they made it clear that our relationship is strictly business. Their issues, are not my issues. D0lk got dragged for not shipping in time, others, including artisans, got dragged for being so late with communication and sending back refunds for cancelled orders. Why does D get to be exempt?

The supporters are the worst part of this, because of instead of being honest so D can improve, they support them for being "real". For example, look how micemage words it, to make it seem like this criticism is from one person, when there are people on addicts who didn’t have good experience. Check the bjd dealers tag here, you will see the supporters in the comments going off on any and all criticism of D. Some have sane comments, but the majority are cult like and try to identify the person venting as if it’s one person. Addicts deletes threads with criticism asking people to instead direct it to their feedback group; which lets be honest, no one is going to do because its "not that bad", and most dont want to join a new group, which is mostly dead.

This is my first and last confession on D, I’ve emailed each company they rep and told them my experience as well as contacting the 3 month wait company, with screenshots of my order, how they handled it, and the excuse they used to put blame on the company for being so late (package arrived march to D, 4 months to be shipped is on D, not the company). I’m not using company or order details because I know they are petty enough to try to identify me and publicly shame me like they have to others. This and the threat of suing is why not many people like to go public with their experience. They just keep feedback neutral, move on and never deal with again.

~Anonymous

6. Listen, I can't take you seriously in regards to BJD!vas because you're posting on a confession blog. If you were serious, you would have posted in buyer beware groups, DoA reviews or the board to get things resolved, or you would have made a complaint to the BBB. And your language makes you come off more as someone with an agenda rather than someone who is trying to warn people. If shipping is the issue, stop buying with standard shipping and pay the extra price for express shipping. I saw one of you complain that it sat with them for 20 days; that's probably because you're not the only one and they more than likely have a queue to check and then ship out. Do mistakes happen? Yes, because we're human. I've been in this hobby for a few years now and it seems like most people know you're going to have to wait, sometimes even outside the expected wait time. And shipping something as big as a doll is a timely endeavor. I shouldn't have to say that.

My point is simply to stop complaining on an confession board and either take it to the places previously mentioned. Posting here behind the anonymous mask makes you sound like a petulant child who didn't get their way right away.

~Anonymous

7.My only issue with BJD Divaz is how I never get any updates. Every email, they tell me to join their facebook page for status updates. I dont have a FB and I dont want to create one. I bought my doll through their website, updates should be posted on their website, or they could send me an email. That isnt asking much.

~Anonymous

8. Since there seems to be a lot of either "completely negative everything sucks" or "everything was sunshine and rainbows" confessions about bjd!vaz I thought I'd chime in with a neutral review.

PROS

-They were always polite and professional in their emails, and gave me very detailed answers to my questions.

-I got exactly what I ordered, so no mix ups or missing parts or anything like that.

-I think them being forthcoming about personal issues (only one person on staff, illness, the flooding isue etc.) on social media is good, since it keeps customers updated as to why there might be delays.

-If you live in the US their shipping is very reasonable.

CONS

-Reply times were varied. Sometimes it could take over a week, sometimes a couple hours.

-My order took about 10mo which, when comparing to other people who ordered through the same company around the same time, was about 3x as long as if I bought it direct and 2x as long if I had gone through a different dealer. I get some of the waiting time is out of their control, but it was kind of ridiculous.

-They dont necessarily ship the same day they send you a tracking number. I wish they said something like, "Here's your tracking number, our pickup is Xday so it should start moving after that" just so I could be aware.

All in all no major complaints. I got my doll and all that. Their lone employee is clearly overwhelmed. I hope they hire another person, if only to give the one a break.

Truthfully, I most likely won't buy through them again. I'd rather pay the international shipping and go direct, than deal with the extensive wait time. I'd still recommend them to someone looking for a very long layaway, though. I paid in full, but if I had a 12mo layaway I would've never known they weren't ready to ship my doll until month 10.

~Anonymous

#BJD #ABJD #BJD Confessions #TrueBJDConfessions #BJD Dealers

[aerinsfables]

Can I get a part 2 of that flower shop AU? Pretty please with a bit of “slink back to your hole you wyrm” on top???

Okay! 😊 The wyrm part is gonna have to wait for section 3 though. 😂

Part 1 is here.

———

Flower Shop AU, Part 2

———

Bracken hustled through his errands in an effort to try and make it back to the store in time to see Kendra’s reaction to the bouquet he’d put together. It had been a fun, very novel project, and he wanted to be there when she picked it up, but traffic was terrible on the interstate thanks to a car accident which had blocked off the left lane. He looked in his rearview mirror at the tall stalks of fresh flowers he’d had to pick up that morning from one of the farms out toward the countryside and said aloud, “I’m not going to be very happy if you’re the cause of me being late today.”

The clock on his dashboard told him he had 10 minutes to make it to the shop in order to meet her and see her reaction to his work. He let out a loud exhale and tapped his hands on the steering wheel. Traffic was at a standstill. He glanced at the clock again and then reached for his phone and dialed his mother.

“Hello?” came her cheerful voice.

“Hi Mum,” he said. “I’m stuck in traffic and there’s no way I’m going to make it to the shop in the next 10 minutes.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Bracken,” she replied. “I’ll be sure to assist Kendra when she arrives. I’m looking forward to meeting the patron of such an interesting arrangement.”

“Yeah, I know,” he said, unable to hide the minor disappointment in his voice. “Listen. I had made a little sign with the die-cut machine yesterday, and was waiting until today to put it in with the bouquet. Could you do that? You know. Center it in with the blossoms?”

She laughed. “Is that why there’s a pretty, cursive ‘good riddance’ on the counter this morning? I had wondered.”

He grinned and chuckled. “Yeah, that’s for her. I also wanted to give her the option of pouring an entire tube of glitter into the packaging, that way when the plastic is opened or the bouquet is held upside-down, it’ll dump everywhere.”

An amused sound met his ears. “Do we even know what the perpetrator did in order to deserve such punishment?”

“She didn’t say. But she was terribly upset.” He patted the steering wheel again. “I was hoping to cheer her up a bit, so I put together a little bundle of pink and white hyacinths for her. They’re in a small vase next to her order. Will you please make sure she receives those as well?”

“Of course,” his mother replied. “That’s very thoughtful of you.”

“I wish I could be there,” he said. “Please tell her I’m sorry to have missed her. The flowers I picked up for the arrangements for that wedding tomorrow are in the back of the car, by the way, so we can finish those up whenever I can finally get off the freeway.”

“Thank you for doing that,” she said. “I think our new favorite customer is standing outside already. She looks nervous. I’ll see you soon.”

“Yep. I’ll be there in a bit.”

He hung up the phone and looked at the flowers in the back of his car through the rearview mirror again. “You’d better cooperate with me when we get back,” he said. “No drooping stems or anything crazy. You owe me now.”

It looked like the accident up ahead was finally being cleared. Vehicles started to inch forward.

He really hoped Kendra would be okay.

---------------------------------------

“She was surprised by the hyacinths,” Mother said.

“Surprised in a good way, I hope,” Bracken replied.

She hummed in response. “I liked her.”

He smiled. “What did she think of the bouquet she ordered?”

A glint of what looked like mischief crossed his mother’s face. “She was most pleased with your extra touches, and gave many thanks. I wished her well. Really had hoped she would share her story, but I didn’t press her for details. I did take a picture of the bouquet for your portfolio before she left, by the way. Honestly, my son, that was well done and very thoughtful.”

Bracken waved a dismissive hand at her. “It was a fun project. I’ll bring in the rest of the flowers from the car, then email Kendra her receipt.”

A few trips to the car and back, and about ten minutes later, Bracken sat down in front of the computer at the register and clicked on the necessary mail merge templates which ultimately generated the shop’s standard “rate your service” email. He typed Kendra’s email address into the recipient field, attached a PDF copy of her receipt, and sent the message on its merry way.

He never expected to see or hear from her again.

He was wrong.

——

Part 3 is here!

#fablehaven #brackendra #anonymous #thanks for asking! #aerinm writes #flower shop au #not sure how long this is gonna go on but I guess we’ll see! #I’m giving bracken and his family accents in my head btw if that matters at all to anyone 😂

[ruinerofcheese]

So OC time for my Baker! Let me tell you the story of how the Baker started the bakery...

Hint: with the help of (meaning a kick in the ass) from my lovely friend Joel @themechaneer

It all went to shit. The job she was supposed to do was much more difficult than it was supposed to be, and then the guy she was supposed to meet didn't show up, and finally Timefall started coming down hard. As she quickly tried to find a spot to wait it out, she saw a ruin of some kind close by. She sat down on something that once perhaps was a stool of some kind inside the ruins and heaved a deep sigh.

Before all of this started, this whole Death stranding thing with the timefall and the voidouts causing whole cities to go down within half an hour, before all of that she had a life. She had a beautiful wife and a wonderful little boy all for herself. They lived in a city, she was a linguist and her wife was an agent for Bridges, back when there was still something like a police force.

When their city was completely wiped off the map, she was visiting friends to help with a linguistical problem. When she learned from the news that no one survived, she collapsed knowing the love of her life and their little boy were gone forever. Knowing she was a widow at just 20 years old.

She couldn’t just continue her normal job anymore, and she took off for a while. She lived in a cabin for a while, but soon found she couldn’t sit still and took up portering.

And now here she was. Sitting down on a ruined chair, waiting for timefall to stop. She tried contacting the guy again, hoping he was delayed and not lying in a ditch somewhere, half molested by mules, but he didn’t pick up. She sent him a mail saying she was going to wait for another hour, but no more. She was about to get some shut eye, when she heard a sound and someone coming inside.

“Fucking finally!” she exclaimed before she realized it wasn’t the guy she was waiting for.

“What?” came the confused reply.

“Sorry. I thought you were someone else. Someone I was waiting for.” She looked down, but kept an eye on the stranger.

“Ah. D’you mind if I wait out the Timefall here with you?”

“No, sure come in”

There was a bit of an awkward silence after that, where the guy sat down and stared at his hands for a while.

“so…”

“yeah”

“The name’s Markins, by the way.

“Tish”

They shook hands, then went back to awkward silence. In the end she started wandering through the room, where she could reach through the debris and collapsed parts. She soon saw it used to be some kind of eatery. There were the ruined remnants of a deep fryer, and several ovens that seemed to be in various states of disrepair. One of the ovens looked to be reasonably okay though. She looked at it from every side, deciding then and there to come back with a car tomorrow to bring it home with her. Maybe she could actually try and bake something instead of printing everything.

She went back to her seat after she’d seen all there was to see. Markins had followed her movements.

“find anything useful?” he asked

“Maybe. It’s an old oven I’m going back for it tomorrow. See if I can get it to work at my home. It would be nice if I could bake some cookies like my grandma used to.”

“Good god! It has been ages since I had anything like that, you?” he replied with a smile, seemingly thinking back to a childhood memory.

She smiled along with him.

“It’s actually one of my first memories. Drinking tea and eating cookies with my grandma, playing a fun game.” You could almost taste the cookies thinking back to it.

“I remember walking with my mom past this bakery, this patisserie, with all sorts of sweet cakes and pastries in the window. My mom would always have to tell me at least three times to ‘come along now’ when we walked past” he said the ‘come along now’ in a high pitched voice, like his mom had said it all those years ago.

They sat for the next hour talking about all the sweet things they ever ate and the memories that came with it, until the Timefall finally let up. They said their goodbyes and each went their separate ways.

She called the guy she was supposed to meet again, and after he didn’t pick up again, she sent him another pissed off email.

But her thoughts kept going back to the conversation she just left behind. All the good memories attached to the good food, the smells of cookies bringing back other memories… She looked around her, at the people walking past her in the city she just arrived in, and wished she could give some of those memories, that happiness to them. If only she could…

 

It wasn’t until much later, that she finally found the time to drag that oven back to her own place to try and fix it. She replaced the electrical system with a newer version that would actually fit with today’s standards. She worked on the heating components but soon had to give up on it, simply because she didn’t know enough about it. She called in the help of a friend, the Mechaneer who walked her through most of it. He promised he would come by and see what he could do for her. She promised if he got it working, she’d try to make cookies and give him a batch.

So here she was. Joel was trying to fix her oven and she was trying to find out where she could get ingredients for her cookies. She got her grain from the Timefall farm, and she found something like butter in a little shop in the city. She found some sweetener as well, the one that actually tastes like sugar instead of some chemical shit that tasted sweet. And everywhere she went and explained what she needed her products for, she heard the same words and had to make the same promise. “That’s cool! Let me know how it works out! Promise me you send some my way if you can?”

When she came home and opened the door the first thing that hit her was the smell. Something was burning. Worriedly, she turned the corner and found Joel keeping his hand under water.

“Is everything all right? It smells something awful in here.”

“Well,” he replied with a sheepish grin, “your oven works and gets hot. I found that out the hard way. The smell is just some leftover dust burning up though.”

“Oh my god, are you alright? Let me see your hand!”

“It’s fine, just a little burn. I’ve had worse really.”

“If you say so…” she’s uncertain, but soon forgets everything as she realizes what Joel just said.

“Wait. It works? Woohoo! It works!” she dances around her small kitchen, Joel laughing at her antics. She suddenly stops.

“I’ve got to make cookies!” the look of panic mixed with excitement makes Joel laugh even harder.

She tried several mixtures of cookie dough until she found the perfect mixture. The cookies that came out of the oven were a beautiful golden, and the smell in her little home was excruciatingly good, making their mouths water as they waited for them to cool down.

She told him about all the promises she had to make to send out cookies to all the people that helped her, and she could see the cogs turning in his head.

“Why don’t you fix up the place you found this oven in?” he asked after a minute or two.

“And then what?”

“Open the place back up for business. Everyone loves cookies darlin'. Could be a nice way of bringing people together. I'm sure porters would love a nice little rest stop sort of joint where they could sit down. Maybe wait out the Timefall with something sweet to eat. Somewhere they could just relax. Speak their mind a little. It's a simple idea. But would probably mean a lot to a lot of people if you did it. I know I'd come back for a visit if you did."

“I wouldn’t know how to start that. Besides… I’m a porter for Bridges, pretty sure I can’t combine it.”

“Aw hell, Tish! You never liked this job anyway! This way you…”

He was interrupted by a chime at the door. It’s two porters, one intern and his teacher, bringing a package. She let them in, offering them a cookie and some warm tea. They talk about their day, about why the intern wants to start portering, about everything and nothing at all.

After they leave Joel looks at her.

“See? That’s what I mean. People come in, they talk about themselves. They want to share their stories with people, and having something like your bakery might just give them the opportunity.”

“I don’t know…”

“Yeah well, I do. Tomorrow we’re driving to that Bakery thing and take a look at what I can fix for you, while you see what we need to make it habitable.”

As the Mechaneer predicted, it soon took off. She invited everyone she knew and everyone that helped her, and they all showed up. The two porters came back, and soon two porters became four, that became fourteen, and soon her days were filled with baking and laughing, with pouring tea and comforting a sad Porter that lost a friend recently, with taking orders for deliveries.

It started with just tea and cookies, but people came in with all sorts of ingredients. Someone found some vanilla for her to use, another came across an abandoned shelter greenhouse overgrown with apple trees and took some apples for her to use. Soon a gardener started living in the abandoned shelter and started delivering to her on a regular basis. And sometimes sent her honey with his packages as well.

Others came with other fruits and with nuts.

Porters came in with packages from all over the UCA carrying spices like cinnamon and cardamom free for her to use.

A gardener from the south of the UCA sent her cacao beans and raisins and the cookies she made with those send her straight to heaven.

Soon the Baker became a known place where everyone could just sit for a while and forget about the bad stuff for a while. In the Bakery everyone was welcome, and everyone felt welcome.

And that, ladies and gentlemen and non-binary friends, is how the Baker came to be. So come on in, sit down and she’ll be right with you.

#Death Stranding #Oc #My OC #original character #The Baker #The baker origins

[cats-artbag]

.: Selling Keychains and Prints with my BFF! [UPDATE] :.

Hey guys!! My bff @jemidove told me she was making keychains and asked if I wanted to jump in and I did! Please check them out!

*Note : All prices are in USD!

“COOL SKELEBROS” keychain!

About 4.5cm tall

$5 each! (and choose one of my A6 print/bookmark/stickers for free!)

(only two left!) (two reserved)

A6 prints!

1 for $2, 3 for $5!

Bookmarks!

$1.5 each

Stickers!

About 7 cm tall (and look! a COOL SKELEBROS sticker version!)

$1 each

(only 2 left!)

(only 2 left!)

So if you want to order,

Fill in this order form! : https://goo.gl/forms/wosx5fIOBiKcn4ij1

Once we have acknowledged your order, we will email you a Paypal.me link for payment. Please check your email inbox! ** If you live in Singapore, we can deal using PayNow or bank transfer!

You can also check Jemi's instructions for more details below!

I hope to make more keychains if I can! 

(including Niko from OneShot and a special deltarune character :3c)

Check out Jemi's listing below too!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

@jemidove​‘s post :

My keychains and prints have all just arrived!! Yippee!

If you’d like to support my art, purchasing a keychain or print from me would help fund my daily expenses and making more art merch like this in the future!

Below are photos of my current catalogue!

How to order?

Fill in this order form! https://goo.gl/forms/wosx5fIOBiKcn4ij1 [last updated: 01 Feb 2019, 11:43pm] It contains merchandise of my BFF and business partner, ZKCats, too!

Once we have acknowledged your order, we will email you a Paypal.me link for payment . Please check your email inbox! *IMPORANT NOTE: The Paypal.me link will end with "/jemidove/" or "/zkcats/", followed by the money amount required. If you see any other username that is not "jemidove" or "zkcats", it is not us - alert us and do not pay the person! ) ** If you live in Singapore, we can deal using PayNow, bank transfer, or even meeting in person at my convenience ^^

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Prices last updated: 01 Feb 2019]

KEYCHAINS

All keychain designs are selling for $5 USD each, except for the Wolfer original design which will be $6 USD.

DISCOUNT: If you buy 4 or more keychains, I will give you a -$2 USD discount off your order!

Standard shipping cost for keychains:

Malaysia & Brunei: $3.80 USD ($5 SGD)

Countries in Asia & the Pacific (except Australia, Japan & New Zealand): $4.30 USD ($5.70 SGD)

Countries in the rest of the world, including Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Africa, America, Europe and the Middle East: $5.40 USD ($7.20 SGD)

*All shipping costs above include registered mail cost ($1.90 USD), for safer delivery to your doorstep. If you do not want registered mail, indicate that in the form - but at your own risk. If your package gets lost in the mail (which does happen), we will not send a replacement for free. You will have to make and pay for a completely new order, INCLUDING the registered mail cost. Use non-registered mail at your own risk.  

Full view here

Left to right, top to bottom:

Sonic the Hedgehog

Amy Rose

Shadow the Hedgehog

Miles “Tails” Prower

Silver the Hedgehog

Clank

Ratchet

Sly Cooper

Berura the Swan (OC)

Peatail the Peacock (OC)

Scarlett the Macaw (OC)

Owlia the Owl (OC)

*Wolfer ($6 USD, original wolf artwork)

Fidget

Dust

Jazz Jackrabbit

PRINTS

Big Swan group print (Artwork by Cortoony)

Printed on glossy 230gsm artcard

A4 size - $6 USD ($8 SGD) A5 size - $4 USD ($6 SGD)

“No matter the mood” print (Artwork by me)

Printed on a special textured artcard! Full view here!

A4 size only - $5 USD ($7 SGD)

Please specify which variant(s) you want:

All 4 moods (in the same A4 print)

Daylight

Sunset

Night

Overcast-Fog

Shipping cost for prints:

(There are a lot of deviations depending on how many prints you order because that affects the weight, and your country, plus currency conversion from SGD to USD for writing this price list so I need some time. Will get back to this soon, but if you want to order a print, let me know and I’ll find out your country’s shipping costs immediately!)

I can definitely say it's cheaper than shipping keychains! 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hope you guys like what we have! We hope to do more in the future!

Every purchase helps us! Reblogs highly appreciated! Thanks in advance!! 💖 ~Cats and Jemi

#undertale #pokemon #sonic #dust #keychains #prints #stickers #catssells #jemidove

[undercovermermaidsoo]

Perth's Specific Courier Hampers

You can relax knowing that we'll take care of the logistics for you. Order an enormous range of fragrant flowers from the comfort of your own home if you're in or sending flowers to any suburb in Perth. We've received a gift that will make your special someone smile, whether they prefer pink and pink roses, yellow gerberas, or white lilies. Visit hampersbydesign.com.au for more information.

Make someone's day by sending balloons or bouquets to say "Get well soon." When you hear about a friend who has made it big, send them a stylish bouquet to celebrate their success.

The most adaptable company reward concept is a gourmet hamper. We're here to help your company stand out for all the right reasons, with bulk orders available and dedicated company customer service consultants. Visit https://sites.google.com/view/hampers-by-design-hampersperth/ 

Perth's Unique Courier

You can unwind knowing that we'll take care of the errands for you.

Order an enormous variety of aromatic flowers from the comfort of your own home if you're in or sending flowers to any suburb in Perth.

Whether they prefer purple and pink roses, yellow gerberas, or white lilies, we have a gift that will make them happy.

Ordering hampers Perth online as an engagement present or wedding present is also becoming increasingly fashionable.

The best part about ordering hampers online is that you can customize them in any way you want with different types of food and wine.

Nothing is more important to our company than making sure that our customers are the happiest in the country.

Our staff, who have a wealth of experience, are gifting experts who can be reached by phone, e-mail, or messenger.

When you place an online order for a hamper, you can always contact our friendly, local customer service team for assistance.

Sweet treats, gourmet foods, and purple wine are just a few of the items in our range that make the perfect gift for everyone in the family or at work.

Whether you're looking for the ideal present to welcome a new baby into the world, or some Champagne and nibbles to celebrate one of life's special moments, we've got you covered.

You must pay these amounts directly to the New Zealand Customs Service or an authorised service provider.

Separate orders placed on the same day should be subject to the same duties, customs fees, and costs as if they were one.

The NZ Custom Service duty estimator can be used to calculate these expected duties, customs costs, and charges.

Supply Alternatives

I can't say enough good things about this company; they're truly wonderful to work with and nothing is ever too much trouble.

I send them orders via email, and they respond promptly and courteously.

We are based in Vancouver, Canada, and we send our mother, who lives in Perth, a seasonal hamper several times a year.

She is overjoyed with the quality and variety of each basket she receives.

I ordered a hamper from my home in Ireland, and it arrived in Perth two days later.

Delivered on time and contacted us to discuss our specific delivery requirements.

Our thoughtful and amusing gifts and flowers can be delivered anywhere in Australia.

If you are not present when the postman attempts to deliver your package, they will deliver it to your local post office for you to pick up.

The online tracking service provided by Australia Post will show you where your parcel is being processed.

Nothing says indulgence like Ox Rabbit's luxury brownies, desserts, and cookies delivered to your door.

They'll satisfy the style buds to no end and are arguably more beautiful than any bouquet of flowers.

For those of you who have left gift-giving to the last minute, this online bakery even offers Food Relief same-day delivery.

I recently purchased two hampers for friends and family in Perth.

Shop for Children's Gifts

Wherever possible, St Anne's Florist sources regionally made Western Australian and Australian products for our Gift Hampers and Gift Baskets.

We're known for our exceptional customer service, as well as our exquisite, fantastically priced merchandise.

St Anne's Florist not only delivers the best flowers in LinkedIn Perth, but we also have a large selection of high-quality Gift Hampers and Gift Baskets that are in style and appropriate for any occasion.

To name a few, we have Baby Gift Hampers, Wine & Cheese Hampers, Beer Hampers, Australian & Western Australian Produce Gift Baskets, Children's Hampers, Fruit Gift Baskets, and Fruit Hampers.

We've spent more than a decade making sure that every half of your Hamper Emporium experience is fantastic.

Every step of the process, from packaging to trade partnerships with the best gourmet producers and beautiful brands, is designed to provide value, luxury, and high quality.

We treat every hamper as if it were being delivered to our family, whether it's a new baby gift, a wine hamper, a thank-you gift hamper, or a romantic Valentine's hamper.

With free hamper delivery across Australia, we know our luxury range offers incredible value and absolute comfort to our Australian customers.

We've teamed up with one of Australia's largest supply networks to ensure that your recipient receives their hamper on time and at the time you specify.

We're excited to offer same-day Sydney supply options, as well as next-day delivery for some major metro areas, to further expand and improve our service.

Our express service is ideal for last-minute gifting, and while these options are not always available in remote areas, we always strive to ensure that your hamper arrives quickly.

What's in a hamper, exactly?

A Christmas hamper is a traditional gift that includes small nonperishable food items such as fruitcake or plum pudding, chocolate, nuts, jams, biscuits, honey, smoked or dried meats, and cheese, all of which are seasonal favorites. Perishable items such as fruits, baked goods, or flowers are included in a "fresh hamper."

Who was the first to invent the hamper?

The French introduced the concept of hampers to England in the 11th century, as woven baskets made mostly of willow that were used to transport food and drink on hunting expeditions or long journeys. Harnesses didn't really take off until the Victorians got their hands on the concept.

What is the local hamper material?

Baskets are made out of natural materials such as willow twigs, vines, and grasses. Other materials include canes, long flat strips made from fibrous plant cores, and reeds, or broad-leafed grasses. Rattan is a thorny climbing palm that is used to make baskets.

#hampers perth #perth #gift

[simplysaiyanlicious]

I am so fucking confused and livid right now

So that limited edition Goku Black figuarts figure I pre-ordered over half a year ago and have been excitedly waiting for?

I think it was six or so weeks ago when I screamed on here that it was finally shipped. Well, it arrived here in the Netherlands about a month ago but it was retained for whatever reason, customs and what-not, no activity or updates for over a month but I figured I’d just wait and be patient because I know these things can take a while.

So cue my excitement when a few days ago I checked my tracking code again and saw it finally had an update and it was shipped from Amsterdam international mail center. It did say ‘return to sender‘ but that’s actually a faulty update according to the site that sometimes happens with international packages, like they scan it and it displays the wrong message on your tracking info or something, and that it will arrive just fine and they’re working on fixing the false updates.

So I just checked again because it’s been a few days and it’s still not here and guess what.

It just arrived back in Tokyo TODAY. It wasn’t a faulty update and I’m just sitting here thinking WHY? WHY THE FUCK WOULD THEY SEND IT BACK AFTER SO LONG? MY ADDRESS IS CORRECT, I DON’T GET IT. WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!

I just want to cry okay. I don’t have a phone number and I’m too much of a chickenshit to call anyway, but I’m expecting an email from the site I ordered him from soon, because when ordering I did spent a little extra to have it insured just in case. So I’ll wait for that or mail them myself one of these days, but oh my god... I really don’t get it.

I’ve been anxiously awaiting Black’s arrival for like EIGHT MONTHS and now this shit. I was so looking forward to finally have him. He was expensive too but that’s besides the point. If I for some reason miss out on this (limited edition and all that)... I mean, I don’t even want to think about it.

Goodbye good mood and hello stress, this day has definitely been ruined... fuck.

#Goku Black #s.h.figuarts Goku Black #fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck #personal

[littleonabudget]

Happy holidays, cuties! To celebrate the holiday season, I decided to start a special sort of gift exchange to spread some happiness and cuteness this year.

🎄 Gift exchange? What kind of gift exchange?

The theme of this exchange is friendship! You and your gift partner get matching necklaces. So they’re like friendship necklaces! It’s a cute way to make a new little friend ^_^ This is what the necklaces look like.

When your package comes, you’ll get the necklace and a piece of paper that tells you who your partner is! Then, the next step is up to you. Message them to say thank you for the gift, and get a conversation going! You might meet your new best friend :)

🎄 How much does it cost? What about shipping?

Each necklace is only $3.75 each! And shipping is FREE! You pay through Paypal, and as soon as your partner buys yours, both necklaces will be shipped.

The necklace will arrive in a plain padded envelope with no return address. Included with your necklace will be a handwritten thank you note, and the tumbr username of your partner. If you’re a secret little and you’re worried about your parents/roomates/etc. opening your package, just let me know! I’ll exclude the note and when you get your necklace, you can just message me for the name of your gift partner after it ships :)

🎄 This sounds fun! I want to participate!

Yay! Just message me your name & address. I’ll give you my paypal email. After I receive the money for your necklace and your partner’s necklace, I’ll mail them out :)

#gift exchange #secret santa #age regression #age regressor #sfw agere blog #agere #regression #christmas #christmas gift exchange #sfw agere #age regression blog #sfw little blog #sfw little #sfw little stuff #sfw little post #sfw little things

[maryanntorreson]

Do you know the 5 love languages? Here’s what they are — and how to use them

Maria Medem

Have you ever been asked “What’s your love language?”

Chances are, you have. Because the concept — first created by counselor and pastor Gary Chapman, unpacked in a series of books, and picked up by many others — has spread far and wide. The five love languages refer to the five simple ways that we want love to be shown to us and the ways that we show others love.

I’m a relationship researcher, and while I haven’t empirically studied the love languages concept, other academics have. Some of the published studies confirm the validity of love languages, revealing they can increase people’s relationship satisfaction and longevity.

What I find so helpful about love languages is that they express a basic truth. Implicit to the concept is a common-sense idea: We don’t feel or experience love in the same way. Some of us will only be content when we hear the words “I love you,” some prize quality time together, while some will feel most cared for when our partner scrubs the toilet.

In this way, love is a bit like a country’s currency: One coin or bill has great value in a particular country, less value in the countries that border it, and zero value in many other countries. In relationships, it’s essential to learn the emotional currency of the humans we hold dear and identifying their love language is part of it.

No matter your situation — whether you’re living alone, spending 24/7 with a partner or roommates, living with adult kids or steering younger kids through virtual school —  the five love languages are a highly effective set of tools to have in your relational toolkit. When we know what another person’s love language is, we can choose the gestures that will most resonate with our partner, friend, parent or child. And when we know which actions speak to us and make us feel loved, we can ask other people for exactly what we need.

While there are plenty of online quizzes to tell you what your love language is, it’s easy to figure out yours and what your loved ones’ are by looking at what lights them up, what presents they give you (since many of us bestow on others what we would most like), and what their perfect day would look and feel like.

Here’s a look at the five languages and how they can be applied and optimized — even during a pandemic:

Love language #1: Words of affirmation

Those of us whose love language is words of affirmation prize verbal connection. They want to hear you say precisely what you appreciate or admire about them. For example: “I really loved it when you made dinner last night”; “Wow, it was so nice of you to organize that neighborhood bonfire”; or just “I love you.”

For the people in your life that you’re not seeing in person because of the pandemic, you could film a short video to send them. My kindergarten-aged goddaughter and I haven’t been together  in 7+ months, but we text each other silly videos of us saying — or even singing — what we miss most about each other.

And for the people you are seeing all of the time these days, remember that even making tiny gestures matters. This is my primary love language, and my husband of 29 years knows it. I’ll often wake up and go into the kitchen to find a sweet post-it note next to a glass of ice water on the counter (which is another love language — an act of service).

Love language #2: Acts of service

Some of us feel most loved when others lend a helping hand or do something kind for us. A friend of mine is currently going through chemotherapy and radiation, putting her at high risk for COVID-19 and other infections. Knowing that her love language is acts of service, a group of neighbor friends snuck over under the cover of darkness in December and filled her flower pots in front of her house with holiday flowers and sprigs. Others have committed to shoveling her driveway all winter. (It’s Minnesota, so that’s big love.)

In your home, you could be proactive and do something that eases your person’s daily grind. Why not take on the chore that everyone avoids doing, whether that’s cleaning the oven, changing the litter box, scraping ice off the car, or filling and running the dishwasher? For anyone whose love tank is filled up by people pitching in, seeing someone intentionally scanning the environment to figure out what they can do to make their environment better sends a clear and loving message to them.

Love language #3: Gifts

Those of us whose love language is gifts aren’t necessarily materialistic. Instead, their tanks are filled when someone presents them with a specific thing, tangible or intangible, that helps them feel special. Yes, truly, it’s the thought that counts.

When you’re out grabbing groceries for your family, pick up your roommate’s favorite kombucha or seltzer and drop it by their door. Our daughter — whose love language is gifts — is a junior in college and we know she’ll adore what’s in the box soon to arrive in the mail: a small package covered in valentine stickers and containing her favorite chocolates, gift cards for coffee and a framed picture of our family dogs, Fred and George. It’s an act of love that will fill her mailbox and her emotional bank account.

Love language #4: Quality time

Having another person’s undivided, dedicated attention is precious currency for the people whose love language is quality time. In a time of COVID-19 and quarantining, spending quality time together can seem challenging. But thanks to technology, it’s actually one of the easiest to engage in.

Make an intentional effort to have Zoom coffee dates with the colleagues you’ve been missing, or go on distanced walks with your in-laws. Put a good old fashioned phone call each week on the calendar with your best friend, or schedule an in-house date night with your partner or spouse — no phones or “I’m just going to turn on the TV for a second” distractions allowed. Nothing says “I love you” in quality time language better than them being the only thing on your agenda.

Love language #5: Physical touch

Expressing the language of physical touch can be as platonic as giving a friend an enthusiastic fist-bump when she tells you about landing an interview for a dream job or as intimate as a kiss with your partner to mark the end of the workday.

I know that for some parents with young children, spending too much time in the same small space has created a rub — literally. They’d do anything to have fewer people touching them fewer hours of the day. At the same time, for those living alone or those self-isolating because of their exposure or health risks, they’re experiencing the painful opposite: a lack of touch.

While there are no easy solutions for either case, we can get creative. If you know someone who’s overwhelmed by the small hands reaching for them, you might offer to take the kids to a park so they can run off some of their energy. For loved ones who are touch-deprived, try emailing them an outline of your hand and instruct them to lay their hand on the image while imagining your hand on theirs. Even thinking about a warm embrace — something you can do by texting friends and family members with the hug or hugging face emoji and telling you wish you could be doing this in person — can cause their brain to produce some of the same endorphins as an actual hug would.

Love languages are a worthwhile concept to become fluent in during this pandemic time — and at this time in the world. Long before COVID arrived on the scene, we were already living through an epidemic of loneliness. Loneliness is not just about being alone; it’s about experiencing a lack of satisfying emotional connections. By taking the time to learn each other’s love languages and then using them, we can strengthen our relationships and our bonds to others.

Watch Carol Bruess’s TEDxMinneapolisSalon Talk here: 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Carol Bruess PhD Carol Bruess (rhymes with “peace”) is professor emeritus at the University of St. Thomas, Minnesota; resident scholar at St. Norbert College, Wisconsin; and forever passionate about studying and improving relationships. She is fluent in emoji, loves parentheticals (it’s what all the cool kids are doing), and is happy-dancing her way through empty-nesting (although don’t tell her kids; they think she’s all weepy). Check out her five books and sewing/design shenanigans over at www.carolbruess.com

Do you know the 5 love languages? Here’s what they are — and how to use them published first on https://premiumedusite.tumblr.com/rss

[regionalrelocationsystemsllc]

The Ultimate Change of Address Guide

Hello everyone! This is V, your moving consultant! I found these helpful tips for you online to prepare you for your move. Put your move in the best hands by booking with https://www.regionalmovers.com. Regional provides moving services from Miami Dade, Palm Beach and Broward County to any state.

The number of places you need to change your address can be overwhelming. Fortunately, this guide tells you everything you need to know!

CHRISTINA M.

After moving every few months, Christina is excited to share her moving expertise with others while staying in one place for a while!Jul 2, 2020 · 6 min

When you make your moving checklist, it’s easy to remember things like “buy boxes”, “schedule movers”, and “pack your belongings”.

But there’s one item that’s frequently lost in the long list of other tasks that need to get done: changing your address.

Think about all the places that need to have your address on file: The post office. Your driver’s license. Your doctor’s office. Magazines. Subscription boxes. Your bank and credit cards. When you move, you need to contact all of those places to update your address for their files. When you think about all those phone calls, this can start to feel like one of the biggest jobs on your entire moving checklist.

But a change of address is a necessary part of moving, and you’ll want all those accounts up-to-date as soon as possible after the move.

In some cases, this is a legal requirement — if you’re moving states, you need to update your address on your driver’s license or state ID within a certain timeframe, usually, 30-90 days, depending on the state. And in order to do that, you’ll need to prove your new address, which means you need to update it for bank accounts, government agencies, medical institutions, and more.

In other cases, completing your address change as soon as possible will just help you avoid the hassle of missing mail, packages, or subscriptions.

If you’re overwhelmed by all the steps involved in changing your address after a move, you’ve come to the right place. This guide will help you gather all the information you need and then guide you through all the steps you need to take to successfully change your address. Let’s get started.

Things You Need to Know Before You Can Change Your Address

You need a few pieces of important information before you can even start the process of changing your address. They are:

Your complete and correct new address.

Whether the change of address is temporary or permanent.

Whether the change of address is for just you, or your whole family.

Once you have all that information, it’s time to get started with the actual process of changing your address. This takes some time and work. Read on for a step-by-step guide and a timeline for a hassle-free change of address.

LONG DISTANCE ADVICEREAD MORE

Our Top 5 Long Distance Movers of 2021

500 interstate moving companies, 3 months of research, cross-referenced reviews, license data, insurance data, and federal complaint records.

2021 Best Moving Containers & Storage Companies

We spent 260 hours researching moving container and storage companies to find the best prices, best customer service, and fastest deliveries so you don't have to.

How (and When) to Change Your Address: A Step-By-Step Guide

While the final few weeks before you move can be some of the busiest, that’s unfortunately when you need to be taking care of your change of address tasks, too. Add these steps to your moving checklist to ensure you notify everyone who needs your new address at the right time. This way you don’t miss any mail or services.

At Least Two Months Before You Move

About the time you should start looking at booking your move. This is a good time to start watching your mailbox and taking stock of subscriptions and mailing lists you might be a part of. These can be difficult to remember, so make a list of anything important as your mail arrives. Keep it in a binder along with other important moving documents and information.

About a Month Before Your Move

By about 4-5 weeks before your moving day, make sure you have all the necessary information you’ll need to complete your change of address.

This is also a good time to remove yourself from any unnecessary mailing lists and cancel and subscriptions you no longer want to receive. The less mail you get, the easier changing your address is going to be.

2 Weeks Before Your Move

It’s go time. Now is when you’ll officially start the process of changing your address, beginning with the United States Postal Service.

You have a few options for changing your address with the USPS.

Changing Your Address Online

The USPS offers a change of address service online, which will be extra convenient for most people, since you can do it any time and from anywhere. Just head to usps.com/move and:

Fill out the change of address form with all the required information

Provide a valid email address (this is required to change your address online)

Pay a $1 verification fee by credit or debit card (this is standard to help prevent address fraud)

Wait for email confirmation of your change of address

Changing Your Address In Person

Your other option is to head to a post office branch to change your address in person. When you’re there, just let the representative know that you’re moving and you’d like a form PS 3575. You can fill it out at the branch, or take it home to complete and bring it back later.

Please note that a lot of resources will say you can print out a form PS 3575 at home to fill out ahead of time. This is no longer true. The form is no longer available online, as the USPS pushes for more people to complete their change of address online.

After You Change Your USPS Address

Once you change your address in the USPS systems, all mail sent to you at your old address will be temporarily forwarded to your new address. How long it’s forwarded will depend on the type of mail it is.

This gives you time to move and settle in at your new address before you have to update your address with every agency that has it on file. But don’t wait if you don’t have to.

At the same time that you file your change of address with the USPS, you should call your utilities and financial institutions and make sure they have your new address on file. This will be necessary when you need to change your address on your driver’s license.

Check over the list you’ve been compiling of important mail. While you don’t have to call all of those agencies now, you should. Changing your address is easy to put off once you know your mail will be forwarded, but it’s still best to do as much of it as possible before your move.

As Soon As Possible After You Move

If there are any places on your important mail list that you haven’t contacted to update your address, do that as soon as possible after arriving at your new home.

Update your driver’s license or state ID as soon as you’re able to, keeping in mind that the Department of Motor Vehicles will require you to prove your new address. Utility bills and bank statements often work as proof, which is why it’s a good idea to update these to your new address before the move. There are a lot of documents you can use as proof of address, and the requirements vary by state, so get in touch with your state’s DMV to find out for sure what’s acceptable. Don’t put this off, because most states have a legal requirement that new residents update their state ID within a certain time frame.

For Up to 12 Months After You Move

The USPS will keep forwarding most of your mail for about a year, so keep an eye out for things that were addressed to your old home or PO box and forwarded. This is how you’ll find out if there’s any mail you missed, and any more places where you need to update your address.

Congratulations on successfully changing your address! For being one item on a standard moving checklist, changing your address takes a lot of preparation, time, and planning ahead. It’s not the least stressful part of moving, but by sticking to this checklist, you can know you won’t miss a subscription or any important mail in your move.

#miamidade #palmbeach #browardcounty #regionalmovers

[diaryofthebecoming]

It is hard to support a friend's business when they act very unprofessional about it. There was a girl I knew in high school, she was a senior when I was a freshman and we sat at the same lunch table, after she graduated we kept in contact on Facebook. She started a small business selling candles this summer and I wanted to support her so I bought 2.

First she was reeeeeally shady about how much the candles cost. I kept asking and she would never give me a straight answer, she kept saying "It will be $40 with shipping" which was bewildering to me. I asked her to just tell me the weight of the package, and the cost for the candles alone, and I would use my business shipping account to buy a discounted shipping lable and email it to her. She told me that wouldnt work because she doesnt have a printer at home, so she pays for her packages at the post office. I understand the struggles as a new business owner so I paid the $40.

I was very, Very clear to her- even before I sent payment- that one of these candles was a birthday present, and I needed it before October 10th, as that was the day of my best friend's birthday party. I bought the candles 5 weeks in advance. When I didn't hear any shipping updates from her for 2.5 weeks I asked if she had mailed the candles yet.

*She hadn't even made them yet.* She had been too tired from her day job to make them, but it is "fine" because she was going to use "2 day shipping"

I was kinda P.O.'ed but I just reminded her that delivery services were having massive delays due to covid, and asked her to send my order soon.

It gets down to the week of and she still hasn't sent my items because "Her printer was out of ink, and she needed to get more to print the lables. (I thought she didn't have a printer????)

Even though I explicitly stated I needed the candle by October 10tt at the latest, she waited until October 7th to mail my order. Surprise, Surprise. The package was delayed. It got here October 14th. She was shocked, I wasn't.

When the box arrived I learned she had used a $25 medium sized flat rate priority mail box, to ship two 4oz candles. From the $40 total I paid I deduced that the candles had be two for $15. Kinda high IMO but she has the right to charge what she believes her products are worth. She had also included a shiny black gift box for the gift candle which was nice.

Despite the hassel of getting them, the candles were enjoyable. They both smelled really nice, I liked mine and my best friend really liked hers.

About 3 weeks after I got my package, the Facebook friend girl posted that she was having a buy 1-get 1 half off sale that weekend only. I was really enjoying my candle, and I figured I would take the deal.

I messaged her about 2 more candles, and asked again about if she could use a less expensive form or shipping. Once again she told me she doesnt have a printer, so then I asked if she could just pack the candles in a regular box and not use the super expensive flat rate boxes for a package that weighed less than a pound and she told me she can't afford to buy shipping boxes so she uses the flat rate ones because they are free to her. *facepalm* At this point I wasn't even sure I wanted the second order or candles anymore, but I had already brought it up to her and I'm really bad at saying no so I paid for the second box.

I ordered these candles the first weekend of November. When I bought them I told her that my lease would be ending on December 20th. I gave her my new address and told her if my candles wouldnt get here by December 19th, to just send them to my new address. We had a friendly 40 minute conversation about where I was moving to, why I was moving, and the negative impacts the pandemic had caused in my life that lead up to the decision to move instead of renewing my lease. She seemed very friendly and sympathetic during this conversation.

Fast forward 6 weeks. Around December 15th I inquired about if my order had been shipped, and told her to sent it to my new address now if she hadn't shipped it yet. She told me there was a possible covid case in her household, and that she was waiting for everyone's test results to come back *before she started making my candles*

What the actual fuck were you doing for the last 6 weeks before the covid scare? Luckily all members of her family came back negative, and a few days after Christmas she contacted me to let me know

"I'll be making your candles this weekend"

Awesome. 2 months after I paid she finally started making the items. At this point I stopped having friendly conversations with her, as I was feeling pretty taken advantage of for twice now sending her money and just being left to wait, as an obvious non-priority.

Finally in early January she sent me a tracking number and told me she had thrown in some free wax melts for taking so long. I checked the tracking for a few days and realized it was moving in the wrong direction. I asked her what address she sent my package to and she repeated my old address.

At this point I'm just done. I want my money back more than I even want the candles, I just don't want to act like a dick.

I reminded her about the 2 conversations we had about my change of address and once again, she was inappropriately shocked. With everything going on with her day job and raising her son she had completely forgotten that I had moved. She just used the same address as last time.

To me it sounds like this person really just cannot juggle starting a business with everything else that is going on with her life, but I still don't want to be a dick. She offers to reroute the delivery address. A week later she sends me a screenshot of an email from USPS confirming the package had been rerouted, and that it was available for pick up from a post office in town.

The address the email gave wasn't the address of *the* post office in town, but a lot of businesses around here have parcel drop-off centers in them. I figured that must be the case here. The email stated my package could be picked up at the USPS office inside Generic Name Sports Equipment Store downtown. I drove to the address and Generic Name Sports Equipment store wasn't even there. The address listed was a barbershop that had a "Closed Permanently" sign taped to the front door, and a larger "Space for Lease" sign hanging in the window.

I double checked the screenshot and the email she showed me was from usps customer service so I have no idea what happened here. A quick google search showed Generic Sports Store used to be in this location but closed a year ago. I sent her pictures of the building and the screenshots from google and told her that I could not pick up my package here. Now this part obviously wasn't her fault, but there was no sense or urgency from her to fix it. Eventually when the package wasn't picked up it was returned to sender. Two weeks ago (the week of valentines day) she told me she got the package back and would resend it with the right address.

Welp, it's been two weeks, today is Feburary 28th. It's now well past the 90 day window to dispute the transition with my bank. I messaged her again this morning asking if she remailed the box yet and she said SHE WAS WAITING FOR ME TO SEND HER MY NEW ADDRESS. Which I had already sent 3 times, instead of going back in our text message history to find it she just waited, radio silence, for me to take the initiative to send it again.

So I just sent her my new address for a 4th time, here is hoping I actually get my fucking candles. I am not going through any of this again.

Helping out your friend's small business is a great gesture, but take my advice: if they fuck up your first order, maybe give them a year or two to get their shit together before you order again.

#personal #rant #small business #helping a friend #candles #people you know on facebook #candle

[lachlantrash]

Instagram.

"He/She posted a picture with another guy/girl on Instagram."

A/N Btw Mitch is single in this and every other Lachlan imagine he's in, unless I've specified otherwise so leave me alone okay chill the fuck out fam.

'Hey (Y/N)... I know you and Lachlan have ended things but since you're back in Florida, I was wondering if you'd like to meet up with Mitch and I?' The text message you get from Jerome says.

'Sure, as long as you guys won't be awkward about it. We were friends before him and I dated, we can continue being friends after.' You text back, running a hand through your hair.

You and Lachlan dated for nearly a year, you even flew away from your home in Florida to move in with him merely six months into the relationship. But right before the one year mark, Lachlan called off your relationship saying he didn't see it going anywhere. You were heartbroken, there you were in another continent for a boy you thought you'd spend forever with, and he broke up with you. You moved out a few days later, flying back to America and spending time with old friends before returning to Florida. You were going to try and stay in Australia, but everywhere you went reminded you of Lachlan, so you had to get out.

'No worries, want to meet up at our place?' Jerome texts you back, and you sigh out as you type out a 'yeah'. You get out of bed, for the first time today (even though it's 2p.m.) You go into your closet, deciding on a simple black v-neck and a pair of jean shorts. The weathers hot so you top it off with sandals and brush your hair out of a bun it was in.

Before you dated Lachlan, you were really close to Jerome and Mitch. Obviously when you moved to Australia it was harder to communicate, but you tried to maintain a good friendship with them because lets face it, they're probably the only reason you and Lachlan got together. Lachlan came to Florida to visit, but only Jerome knew. So you were hanging with Mitch, and in walked the tall blonde with Jerome and instantly you two hit it off.

'I'm leaving my house now, I'll be there soon.' You text Jerome, grabbing your keys before heading off. You stop at a coffee shop that's on the way to Jerome and Mitch's house, getting yourself and Jerome a coffee before continuing on your way.

"(Y/N)!!!!" Mitch shouts when you pull into the driveway. Both Jerome and Mitch were outside of the house, making it obvious to them when you arrived.

"Hi Mitch." You laugh as you step out of your car. "Hey Jerome, I got you coffee." You add, motioning to the extra cup in your hand.

"Ah, well thank you so much. I finished my cup off a few hours ago, I didn't know how I'd survive." Jerome thanks you, walking towards you to grab the cup from your hand. He pulls you in for a brief hug, though it's awkward since the both of you are holding coffees and are desperately trying not to spill them.

"C'mon Mitchell, I won't bite!" You smile to Mitch as you pull out of your embrace with Jerome.

"We've missed you, (Y/N). Try not to move to Australia again." Mitch says as he hugs you.

"I'll try my hardest not to move to Australia, I don't really have a reason to be there anymore." You smile sadly.

"Sorry, that was inconsiderate given the circumstances. I just meant don't leave Florida, y'know?" Mitch says, letting you go with an apologetic smile.

"No it's totally fine, honestly. I'm fine about it right now. Anyways, what did you guys have planned for today?" You say, changing the subject.

"Well... We were thinking you could record a few videos with us? A would you rather video for my channel, and a challenge video for Jerome's?" Mitch asks sheepishly.

"Ah, I see why I was invited here now. Trying to keep the channels interesting, huh boys?" You laugh.

"To be fair, I just wanted to hang out with you but Jerome suggested we record some videos with you." Mitch dejects, not wanting it to seem like his idea.

"Way to sell me out." Jerome says, pouting for half a second before smiling. "I couldn't even pretend to be mad, he's not lying."

"I guess I can be in a few of your videos." You sigh dramatically pretending it's a hassle to record with them.

~While recording.~

"I still can't believe you'd rather have a third leg over a third arm." You laugh at Mitch, reaching into your bowl of Would You Rather questions that Jerome wrote down for you.

"Would you rather date Jerome or Mitch?" You read out loud, rolling your eyes. "Seriously guys?" You ask.

"I didn't come up with the questions, be mad at Jerome." Mitch points out.

"I'd rather date Mitch, he gives better hugs. I hope all of you get a comforting Mitch hug one day. Plus, he didn't come up with these questions." You say, looking at the camera.

"Awe, why thank you Princess." Mitch says, pulling you into one of those comforting hugs you were talking about. You tense up, remembering the pet name Lachlan had called you throughout your relationship.

"What, a pet name already?" You try to sound casual, but your words come out as a shaky stammer.

"Of course." He winks, pulling away obviously not noticing your behavior. "Okay, I think that's good enough of a video for today, I'd like to thank (Y/N) for joining us and hopefully she'll be back again." Mitch says, then does his outro before standing.

"I could never do this as a job, I don't know how any of you boys do it. It's so time consuming." You sigh, tucking hair behind your ear as you try to calm yourself.

"Awe, it's not that bad. Hey, I have a question for you." Mitch says, starting to move things around so it's his normal recording set-up.

"Shoot it." You say as you stand, helping him move lights around the room.

"Do people know you and Lachlan aren't together anymore? If I post that they might ask why you're in Florida and Lachlan's not, so I just want to make sure it's fine for me to post that." Mitch tells you, moving his tripod to the corner of the room.

"I don't think he told his fanbase yet but my friends and his friends know. I don't have a problem with you posting it, I guess ask him if he cares." You shrug.

"Well uh, my phones dead... Do you think you could text him for me?" Mitch asks sheepishly. You sigh, grabbing your phone from your pocket.

'Hey... Mitch just recorded a video with me in it, he wanted to check with you to see if you care if he posts it, but his phone died.' You text Lachlan, the first text you've sent him in a few days. You have texted him twice since you moved, both asking him to mail you things you forgot. Neither time did you get a reply directly from him, but you did get emails from an international shipping company saying your packages were on their way.

'He can do whatever, I don't care.' Lachlan texts back, and you roll your eyes and respond with a k.

"He said 'he can do whatever, I don't care.'" You tell Mitch, who mumbles something under his breath.

"Okay, I'll edit it and get it up as soon as I can tonight." Mitch says.

"I'll watch it tomorrow, but I think I'm going to head out. I have to do boring people-non Youtube related jobs... You wouldn't understand." You say with a smile.

"And by that you mean stay at home in your pajamas?" Mitch laughs back, and you nod. "Okay, but keep in touch! We need to hang out again soon."

"I will, don't worry. Tell Jerome I said bye, and thanks for inviting me over." You tell Mitch, and then you leave.

~Next Morning, Mitch's P.O.V~

I wake up and check my phone, seeing I have a few texts from Lachlan.

'Seriously man, not only did you record a video with her after we broke up, but you had to ask her about dating? Why the fuck did you call her princess?'

'Calm down, it was for a video dude.' I text back, rolling my eyes at his anger. He broke up with her, so even if I was flirting it doesn't involve him anymore.

'I don't get why the fuck you're still talking to her, we broke up. Just leave her alone.'

I leave his message on read, and instead I click (Y/N)'s name in my phone. 'Lachlan texted me, he wants me to leave you alone. Could you text him saying it was just a video, he's pissed I called you princess.'

~Your P.O.V~

'Lachlan texted me, he wants me to leave you alone. Could you text him saying it was just a video, he's pissed I called you princess.' You open the text message Mitch sent you. You tell him you'll talk to Lachlan, though you'd really rather not. He shouldn't have a problem with Mitch's video, even if he is your ex, he can't control who hangs out with you.

'Can you explain to me why you have a problem with Mitch's video?' You send to Lachlan.

'Can you explain to me why you let him call you princess? That's my name for you.' You roll your eyes at his reply, he doesn't own the name.

'You don't own the petname princess. And even if it was your name for me, we're over now so it doesn't matter.' You send back.

'Oh, so you guys were trying to make me jealous? I'm over you.' He sends back.

'No, we weren't trying to make you jealous. Just leave Mitch alone, he's just being a good friend after someone broke up with me unexpectedly because he didn't see our almost year long relationship going anywhere.' You send back, getting out of your messages so you don't feel compelled to read any message he might send.

~Few hours later.~

'I didn't mean for him to do that, I'm so sorry (Y/N).' Mitch texts you. It was your most recent message, along with about ten from Lachlan and a notification saying he posted a picture on Instagram.

"If the video wasn't clarification enough, (Y/N) and I broke up." And the picture is one of him kissing a ginger girl.

'Honestly you sicken me. We never talked about telling your fans that we broke up, and you letting them know like this shows you only think of yourself.' You text Lachlan, ignoring his messages of 'I'm honestly over you' and 'Answer me dammit.'

'You letting another man call you princess sickens me. I loved you, you were my princess and now you're letting someone else call you it as if our eleven months were nothing.' Lachlan sends back.

'What the actual fuck? You broke up with me. I was hopelessly in love with you, hell if I'm being honest I still am, and you broke up with me. I moved to another continent for you, I lost the majority of my friends to be with you. My sister hasn't talked to me in weeks, because she's pissed I moved to Australia for you. I did all of that for you, and you broke my heart and sent me back to a place where I'm alone again. You treated our eleven months as if they were nothing as soon as you told me you wanted me to move out.' You say, crying as you type out the message. How could he be mad at you for this? He caused it.

'I made a mistake and told you to leave, I just didn't appreciate what I had. But when Mitch called you princess I realized I lost everything. I've been broken too, you're not the only one hurting from this. I'm the one who goes to bed at night remembering that I ruined us. I don't like being away from you, I miss you so much.' He sends, sending your heart into overdrive.

'You don't get to do this. You don't get to just tell me how you're hurt and have me come back only for this to happen again. You posted a photo of you online kissing some girl, who is she? If you're as broken as you say you are then why do you look so happy to be with that girl?' You text back.

'You were with Mitch, I didn't do anything different than you did. Her name is Hailey, she's a friend who decided to help me try and make you jealous online. You weren't answering my messages so she suggested doing this, and it seems to have worked.' You can't believe him.

'I didn't kiss Mitch, I didn't do anything with Mitch besides make a youtube video. Kissing another girl and showing it off online two weeks after we broke up isn't going to make me come back to you.'

'I don't expect you to come back, I just want you to let us move forward with the relationship we had. I'm so pissed with myself because of what I did, and I wouldn't expect you to come fly back out here after what you're going through. I'll come to you, I'll come to Florida and we can stay there if that's what it takes to get another chance with you. I took the post down as soon as I knew you saw it, please give me a chance.'

'Don't waste your time flying out here yet, give me a few days to feel this out through text message. This isn't me forgiving you, I still can't believe you kissed another girl in hopes to get me back. Honestly that's a stupid idea and she probably just wanted to kiss you. I don't blame her, I would have too. You're so lucky I fell so hard for you, you're getting one more chance and if you fuck up for even a second then that's it.'

'That's all I'm asking for, I'll never ruin us again.'

A/N So I think this had a cute ending amirite or amirite?

#lachlan power #lachlanpower #lachlan x reader #lachlan yt #lachlanyt #lachlan

[alphacrone]

The Origin of the Bittle-Zimmermann Cruel Jam Empire (Another Non-NHL!Jack fic)

[Sequel to this fic]

CW: FOOD, mentions of real people

“Alright, so I got so stressed out about the exam I had today that I made a couple things of jam,” Bittle said as he swept into Jack’s apartment. He’d had his own key since Jack had gotten the place, and he abused that privilege on an almost daily basis. If it had been anyone else, Jack would have regretted living so close to campus.

“What’s ‘a couple?’” Jack asked without looking up from his laptop.

Bittle huffed and set a box down on Jack’s table with a small thud. “I plead the fifth,” he said, hand on his hip.

“Mhmm.” Jack raised an eyebrow, standing to peer inside at the half dozen mason jars. “What’re today’s flavors?”

“Three things of strawberry rhubarb -- I experimented with adding vanilla and nutmeg -- and jalapeño jam, which everyone back home loves to use for holiday parties and whatnot. Goes great with cream cheese and crackers.”

“Because I throw so many parties,” Jack chirped.

“Didn’t I tell you?” Bittle asked, bustling around to grab himself a cup of water. “We’re hosting a holiday party before everyone goes home. Not a big thing,” he added quickly at Jack’s frown. “Me, you, the gang, the Frogs…”

“Matt?” Jack asked far too casually.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Bittle said, frowning down at the sink. “Things have been kind of weird with him lately. I think he’s gonna break up with me.”

Jack gritted his teeth. Sure, he wasn’t Matt’s biggest fan, but he didn’t the guy was that stupid. “His loss,” he managed to say, switching over from his assignment to his Gmail account to try and distract himself. There were three new emails waiting for him: one from his parents, checking in; one from his bank with his daily checking account balance; and one, surprisingly, from Georgia Martin.

“You’re sweet,” Bittle said sadly, sitting down across from Jack. “But he’s, like, way out of my league. I never stood a chance.”

Jack frowned, mouse hovering over George’s name. “Bittle, he’s out of your league because he’s- he’s little league and you’re- you’re fucking Peyton Manning.”

Bittle chewed on his bottom lip, looking pleased. “Thanks, Jack.”

“Just stating facts,” he replied, opening George’s email and skimming the contents. “Huh…”

“What?” Bittle cast him a curious glance.

“I have an email from George Martin- you remember her, right? She was the AGM who knocked you over while you were Tweeting your way to class.” Bittle glared at him but nodded. “She’s just...I don’t know. Checking up on me. Making sure I’m doing okay, asking if there’s anything I need from her. That’s...nice.”

Bittle cooed. “What a sweet lady. I should send her some jam.”

“We’ve got plenty,” Jack mildly. Bittle scoffed.

“There’s a whole case left at the Haus. I’m giving some to Farmer for the volleyball team, and some to Atley for being the best advisor ever, but I think I can definitely spare one or five jars. And make some bread to go with it.”

“Here,” Jack said, pulling his wallet from his pocket. “Use my card for the shipping.” “Jack, I couldn’t-” Bittle started, but stopped at the look Jack cast him. “Alright, thank you. The Sin Bin’s been running a bit low since March and Ransom broke up and Holster declared a moratorium on Nursey using the word ‘hashtag’ in conversations with Dex.”

Jack chuckled and shook his head. “You know, you can always count on me to be your personal Sin Bin. You don’t have to pay for all of your baking from fines and Christmas money from Moomaw.”

Bitty sighed. “You know I can’t do that, Jack. Plus, I have two whole jobs now! They don’t pay much, but they definitely fun my butter obsession.”

Jack sighed fondly, holding back a smile. Bittle had managed to get a job over the summer filming video blogs for the administration office’s YouTube channel. It was a weak attempt on their end to attract students to Samwell, but Bittle loved it to death -- and he’d been so good at it, they’d offered him a position as a tour guide. Neither was more than a few hours a week and both were minimum wage, but they made Bittle happy and gave him some sense of financial independence, no matter how inconsequential.

“Okay,” Jack said placatingly. “Are you staying for dinner?”

“Only if you’re ordering Thai,” Bittle teased.

Jack rolled his eyes fondly and opened up his phone, thumb already on the GrubHub icon.

The holiday party was as low-key as Bittle had promised. Matt had broken up with him, but Bittle didn’t seem too upset. Ransom and Holster were so burned out from finals and the season that they didn’t even try to bring a keg, and Shitty brought a whole sack full of presents for everyone, poorly wrapped in “non-denominational, boss-ass snowman” wrapping paper. Nursey and Dex seemed to fighting less, and Chowder brought Farmer, who was always really nice to Jack. They sat around Jack’s tiny living room, eating jalapeño jelly on crackers with cream cheese and drinking wine that actually came from a bottle.

“I feel so adult,” Bittle whispered to Jack, cheeks flushed from the alcohol. “It’s like the New Year’s parties my parents always go to.”

Jack grinned down at him and helped himself to some of the artichoke dip that had just been pulled from the oven. “You’ll be 21 in a few months, Bittle,” he said. “Soon you’ll be old and boring like me.”

“Shh,” Bittle shushed. “Will not.”

“Oh, did I tell you?” Jack sat up a little straighter, trying not to feel excited when Bittle leaned into his space. “George wrote a thank you note for the jam and bread you sent over. Apparently,” he continued, leaning over to grab his own glass of water. “Alexei Mashkov had some -- they brunch, or something -- and was asking her for your contact info. I can pass that along, if you want.”

“Oh!” Bittle held a hand to his mouth. “An NHL star wants my jam?”

“What?” Holster looked over at them. “Bits, are you boning a pro athlete?”

“No!” Bittle gasped loudly. “Alexei Mashkov wants my actual jam, the kind I make in a kitchen.”

“Dude, what?!” Ransom jumped up, eyes wide with excitement. “You’ve talked to Mashkov?!”

“No,” Bittle repeated, looking frustrated. Jack casually leaned over to grab the wine from the coffee table and pour Bittle another glass. “Jack talked to Geo- the Falconers’ GM recently and she was so nice I sent her a care package and she shared it with Mashkov and now, apparently, he wants some for himself. Which I am happy to do,” he said, turning to Jack.

“Cool,” Jack said. “So that’s, what, $5 a jar, $6? How much for the bread?”

“What? Don’t be silly,” Bittle said, stunned. “I can’t charge him.”

“Why not?” Lardo asked, head tilted to the side.

“That’d be rude!”

Shitty snorted. “Bits, I think that’s small change for someone like him.”

“It was a gift for Ms. Martin,” Bittle said sternly. “So it would be a gift for Mr. Mashkov as well.”

“But you don’t know him,” Ransom argued, looking a little too disappointed at that fact. “And he hasn’t done anything for you, like favors or whatever. Obviously he should pay you, at least for the cost of supplies.”

Bittle huffed, looking worked up, so Jack squeezed his shoulder and said, “Bud, Mashkov wouldn’t see it as rude. George’s words were, and I quote, ‘Mashkov really wants to order some jam from Bittle.’”

This seemed to sway Bittle. “Well, if that’s what she said…But the bread is gonna be complimentary, got it?”

“Dude, you could sell this shit for a hundred bucks and people would buy it,” Ransom said around a mouthful of crackers and jam. “It’s that good.”

“Oh, stop,” Bittle said, frowning. “Let’s open presents. Ooh, wine.” He noticed his newly-filled glass and took it happily. “I made all’ve y’all food and stuff, in those baskets over there. Merry Christmas.”

Shitty collapsed on top of Bittle, nearly spilling his wine, and kissed his face all over with glee. Ransom and Holster immediately began stealing things from each other’s baskets, and Lardo stole from both of theirs while they were distracted. Jack leaned back and watched his friends, feeling calm and content and confident that he was right where he belonged.

A few days after Jack returned to Samwell from his winter break in Montreal, he received a text from an unknown number with a 401 area code. He opened it, curious, and grinned as he read the message.

From (401) 680-XXXX: Jack Zimmermann! George gave me ur number, hope that’s OK. A few friends would like to order jam. And bread! Will pay for bread this time )))

With a laugh, Jack pulled up Bittle’s number and slowly tapped out a text.

To Bittle: Alexei Mashkov says friends of his would like to order jam and bread. He emphasized that his friends would be paying for their bread.

The reply was almost instantaneous.

From Bittle: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!😱😱😱

From Bittle: ARE YOU SERIOUS

To Bittle: Yeah, bud. Your jam is good.

From Bittle: Oh, it’s really not. But I’m glad people like it.

To Bittle: I’ll text him back and see what the order is. Do you think you could get him an ETA after that?

From Bittle: YESSIR! 😉

Jack stared at the winky-face emoji for an embarrassingly long time, wondering why his cheeks felt so hot and his heart so light.  

It was a few weeks later that Jack received a large envelope. For a few minutes, he wondered why someone had sent him a huge wad of cash and several checks, then remembered the order he’d organized before classes started. Checking that he had time, Jack grabbed his bag and his laptop and headed out on the ten minute walk to the Haus, feeling happy as the chill of January nipped at his skin.

When he arrived, Bittle was sitting at the kitchen table studying, wrapped in a large sweatshirt he’d stolen from Jack before break. Underneath he wore what looked like two sweaters and a scarf wrapped around his neck.

“Mail call,” Jack said, throwing the envelope onto the table. Bittle looked at it, confused, then peeked inside.

“Oh, goodness,” he said, pulling out the wad of cash. “This is- this is too much-”

“It’s the amount we agreed on,” Jack said, sitting down across from Bittle. “Six dollars per jar, three for a loaf of bread. They ordered a lot of jam.”

“Oh,” Bittle said again, staring at the money like he’d never seen such a thing before. “Gosh.”

“People like homemade food, especially things that keep like jams and preserves,” Jack said, quoting the many market studies he’d...perused over break. “Because it’s homey but not something they would want to make themselves, the average, upper-middle-class consumer doesn’t mind spending a little extra money on this kind of quality good. Plus, your stuff is abnormally delicious, Bittle,” he added sternly. “If you’re willing to put in the work with this jam stuff, people will be willing to pay.”

By the end of his speech, Bittle’s mouth was agape. “Was that…?” He began, looking a little shellshocked. “Was that a business proposal?”

Jack shrugged. “Sort of.”

“Huh.” Bittle looked down at the money again. “Well.”

“I’ve gotta get to class,” Jack said, clapping Bittle on the back. “You think about it. And don’t spend all of that on butter, got it?”

Bittle rolled his eyes. “Bye, Jack. Oh! Wait! Try this before you go.”

Jack ended up five minutes late to class with an entire tupperware of shortbread cookies. No one, not even the professor, seemed to notice his tardiness after he offered to share with the whole class. It was a fair trade; there were always more cookies to be found when Bittle was around.

“But what would we call it?” Bittle asked on Valentine’s Day as he mixed a new batch of blueberry jam for Mashkov (“Call me Tater!”), Robinson, St. Martin, George, and several people whom Jack believed to be players on teams other than the Falcs. “Also, do you think they’d mind if I sent samples of my apple butter? I made too much and there’s no way the boys’ll eat it all…”

“I don’t know, ‘Bittle’s Kitchen’?” Jack said, sketching out a rough business model on the back of a Jiffy Lube receipt. “And I think Tater would ask you to marry him if you sent him free apple butter.”

“It would be a partnership, we’re not putting my name in there without yours next to it.” Bittle sighed, mouth pursed as he fell into thought. “Are there any good jam puns? ‘This is My Jam?’”

“Door jam, paper jam, traffic jam,” Jack listed off. “Jam It.”

“Funny,” Bittle said drily.

Jack laughed. “I don’t think you should limit yourself. What if everyone loves your apple butter more than your jam?”

“You bite your tongue,” Bittle said, waving his spoon at Jack. “My jam recipe has been perfected over several years, the ultimate hybrid between my mama’s recipe and my Aunt Judy’s, with my own flare, obviously. There ain’t any jam tastier than this north of the Mason-Dixon.”

“Sure,” Jack said easily, grinning up at Bittle. “I still like ‘Bittle’s Kitchen.’”

“Of course you do,” Bittle sighed. “Do your parents want any of this, by the way? I’ll probably have leftovers.”

“My parents want to adopt you,” Jack said, returning to his doodling. “So, yes. Anything and everything you’ve got.”

“Tim Gunn wants how many things of apple butter before his brunch next month?”

“Maman says a dozen.”

“And no jam?”

“Jam’s not in this season. Apparently he likes apples.”

“What is even happening right now?!”

“Also papa says hi.”

“...tell him I say hi back.”

<<So Mario told me that Sid asked him about jam,>> Papa said in lieu of a greeting during their monthly phone call. This call had been one of his parents’ stipulations before they agreed to pay for grad school. At first it had made Jack feel like a child who needed to be monitored, but halfway through his second semester he found he enjoyed talking to his parents.

<<I’ll put him on the waitlist. You have an order or just an inquiry?>> Jack said, grabbing a pen and notepad from his bedside table.

Papa just laughed and said, <<Can I give him your phone number?>>

<<Sure,>> Jack said. <<That’ll simplify things. Now tell me about that gala Maman’s been working on all month.>>

“What do you think of ‘Haus and Home?’”

Jack sat up straighter, eyes burning with fatigue. It was finals and he and Bittle had been working at the library together for hours. This was the first thing either of them had said in almost as long.

“For what?” Jack asked, rubbing at his temples. It was probably time to pack up and head home. The Haus was closer, and he wondered if Bittle would let him crash on the couch if he put a towel down first.

“The jam...thing,” Bittle said hesitantly. He looked as tired as Jack felt. “Y’know, because this all happens in the Haus kitchen and it’s been our home for years now and it just feels...right.”

“I like it,” Jack said, a slow grin spreading across his face. “Yeah. Yeah, that’s good.”

“Good,” Bittle said, meeting Jack’s smile with his own. “Alright, let’s head off to bed. I think I’m about to pass out.”

“Okay,” Jack said, closing his laptop and shoveling books back into his bag. “Can I-?”

“Do you want herpes?” Bittle asked crossly. “Because that’ll be least of your worries if you sleep on that couch.”

“Bittle.”

“I will walk you home, you big baby,” Bittle said, standing and packing his things. “C’mon.”

Bittle did end up walking Jack home. He also ended up sleeping on Jack’s loveseat, covered in the throw blanket his mother had sent Jack for his birthday. Jack smiled down at the sight of Bittle passed out on his couch, dead to the world, and wandered into his bedroom to write one last email before crashing himself.

“What?”

Bittle stared at the computer, both hands over his mouth.

Though he’d lived with Jack over the summer, working full-time for the admissions office, Bittle had been kept completely in the dark about this particular project.

“Lardo and I have been working on this logo on and off since May,” Jack said, grinning at Bittle actually leaned over to stroke the laptop screen. “I paid her, of course, so it’s kind of...official.”

“Oh, my gosh…” Bittle whispered, then Jack found himself pulled into a tight hug. “Oh, this is too wonderful! Jack, this is amazing, this is-! Oh!” He buried his face in Jack’s chest. “We have a logo.”

“We do.”

“A real logo!”

“Yep.”

“You know what this means?” Bittle asked, looking straight up at Jack.

“What?” He asked, all too aware of how close their faces were.

“Lardo’s a professional designer!” He cried, grinning widely. “She designed a logo for money -- she’s a professional! This is so exciting.”

“Bittle.”

“Yeah, I know,” he said softly, pressing his cheek to Jack’s shoulder. “Are we really doing this?”

“I think we are.”

“Wow. I...wow.”

“Yeah. Seconded.”

Bittle’s senior year was busy, full of ups and downs. He was captain and led the team to victory at the Frozen Four, something that filled Jack with so much pride he thought he might burst. Bittle also came out to his parents, which had been a mixed bag of emotions, but things slowly seemed to be heading in a positive direction. There had been the long, drawn-out horror of Bittle trying to write a thesis, but after many sleepless nights he got through it. Professor Atley would be receiving a lifetime supply of free Haus & Home goods for all she did to aid Bittle, of that Jack was certain.

Jack’s last year of his MBA went pretty smoothly. He worked part-time in the sales department of a video streaming company in Boston proper, which was challenging in its own ways, but Jack found he really did enjoy managing accounts and developing sales strategies in tandem with the marketing team. He learned more in that job that he had in his actual MBA program, he felt, but both were preparing him to take this leap with Bittle. As scary as it was, Jack felt calm and confident in the risk he was about to take. Everything seemed easier when Bittle was by his side.

His birthday/graduation present to Bittle came in two parts: the first was a notebook filled with two-bedroom apartment listings all around the area, keeping close to their friends and within their budget; the second was a URL written down inside a sparkly card shaped like a mortarboard.

“Jack…” Bittle breathed, clutching at Jack’s arm as he pulled the website up on his laptop -- one of the few things he had yet to pack, though graduation was only a week away. “This is…”

“I’m sorry I didn’t include you in the creative process,” Jack said sheepishly. “I just wanted it to be a surprise. I gave Dex and Chowder a bunch of your pinterest boards in preparation.”

Bittle smiled up at him with wide, shining eyes. “Jack, it’s beautiful. Dex and Chowder made this?”

“They did. We’re almost there, bud.”

Bittle hugged him tight. “Okay, mister, I love these surprises, but no more decisions without me, okay? Ugh, I could stare at this website forever. Look at it. Jack, it’s ours. This whole...thing is ours.”

“Yeah,” Jack said. “Happy Birthday.”

“Happy Graduation,” Bittle said, raising the cup of beer someone had handed him in the midst of the party that was raging downstairs. “To the future.”

“The future,” Jack repeated. “And the present.”

“Was that a pun?” Bittle asked. “I’m disowning you if that was a pun.”

“Let’s get back downstairs,” Jack said, wrapping an arm around Bittle’s shoulders. “And enjoy being college students a little longer.”

“Sounds good,” Bittle said, leaning against Jack’s side. He stayed there for the rest of the party, and Jack’s face hurt from smiling so much by the end.

[My writing tag]

[The Non-NHL!Jack AU]

[My online novel, The Discourt Knife]

#cruel jam empire au #check please! #anna writes things #jesus this got long #also didn't include everything i wanted lo #*lol #pre-relationship