#theyre all in varying stages of confusion and interest

[snootlestheangel]

I love seeing all the different perspectives of the COD fandom when it comes to if we had an opportunity to be in a room with them for like a day or something

The X Readers being feral over our big bois and talking about the different things they'd let the guys do (girlie same /gn)

"If I had the guys alone in a room I'd make them food and take care of them for once"

"I'd ask them lots of questions"

I'd force them to sit through the very long and detailed Overwatch Lore PowerPoint presentation

We are not the same

[strrne]

Just a Bliss

for @celebrate-the-clone-wars ‘s ”Red-Handed” prompt!

Also on AO3

Title: Just a bliss

Word count: 1849

Premise: You know what is an underrated and interesting Anidala moment? It's the moment during ”Hostage Crisis” when Anakin wakes up, asks Padmé why she looks sad, and tries to caress her face, only for Padmé to gently pull down his hand because they kind of have an audience. It always got me wondering what would have happened if he had been zapped just a little harder earlier, woken up a little more lightheaded, and if the whole thing had been written by someone who just wanted to have some fun.

Anakin Skywalker was used to waking up to a great variety of sights and sounds. The pale light peeking from between the blinds in his temple quarters, Ahsoka tapping on the door, whispering with an awkward chuckle, ”Masterrr… theyre waiting...” Flashes of faraway explosions, Rex's faraway voice, calling, ”You alright there, General?” Five different brands of needles, pointed directly at him, a droid with glowing red eyes spouting tired threats and demands into his ear. He'd seen it all, a million times, rinse and repeat. And in the end, they all meant the same thing: it was time to get up and fight. Some more.

”Ani… wake up.”

Indeed, it was a rare luxury to instead wake up to the otherwordly vision that was Padmé Amidala: his wife, his heart. Far away from the battlefield… home. She always meant home. Home was the sight of her angelically beautiful face, the sound of her soft, soothing voice. Home was the sight of her large, mesmeric eyes like amber kyber crystals, the ring of her bell-like laught…

Wait, that wasn't right. What was she looking so sad about? Ever the worrier… Anakin grinned dreamily to himself. He knew just the thing to put a smile on those stress-tightened lips, still the most exquisite in the galaxy. Oh boy, did he ever know the thing.

He gently lifted up a hand (which felt oddly heavy), which she just as gently tried to take in hers – sweet, but he had other plans. Softly yet firmly he planted the hand on the nape of her neck, pulling her into a passionate, if very dizzy kiss. Deep and full and perfect.

For maybe half a second.

”A-Anakin!” he half-heard, half-felt her mumble into his mouth. And that was not the only thing he heard: the other sounded suspiciously like about half a dozen senators, gasping in unison before starting to exchange sharp whispers. But that didn't feel right either.

Anakin jolted to sit up, still barely registering the background chatter. The world was spinning, and Padmé seemed oddly out of sorts, now fidgeting and covering her mouth with her sleeve. Anakin instinctively offered a comforting hand, before looking down on his strangely leaden wrists, and finding them to be cuffed together.

”Wait, did we…” Anakin still struggled to make sense of the situation or indeed or the room altogether, but quickly found he had strong opinions about it. He held out his bound wrists accusingly. ”Why is it always me, Padmé?”

His wife's perfect features were starting to gain more definition, and her expression was a whole lot more on the side of ”mortified” instead of ”playful”. Had it not been good for her? Of course it wasn't, they were on the floor. When had she ever liked it on the floor, he reprimanded himself, not completely sure if he was saying this out loud or not.  

”They zapped you again, didn't they?” she guessed, sounding testy with a trace of worry. ”Look around, An-- General Skywalker. Do you remember what happened?”

Suddenly, as though struck by lightning – again – he did.

And around did Anakin look, now finally in possession of his full Force-heightened vision and hearing. What had sounded like half a dozen murmuring senators a minute ago indeed turned out to be half a dozen murmuring senators, each observing the pair with varying reactions, and each in varying stages of reacting. Senator Robb had her mouth open, looking curious and embarrassed about it, like she couldn't decide whether she was looking at something scandalous or romantic. Senator Roohd was pretty firmly settled on "scandalous", Senator Chuchi (whose lap he had apparently mistaken for one of those sand-filled pillows Padmé for some reason favored) was clapping her hands together, clearly decided on "romantic". Senator Organa seemed to have gotten past the initial surprise and was now carefully arranging his face into a half neutral, half appropriately uncomfortable expression. A slight twitch in his eyebrow also seemed to indicate a readiness to forcibly separate the two at the slightest signal from Padmé, an inclination no doubt shared by Senator Farr.  

”The… the hostages!” Anakin cried. ”Cad Bane!” He gestured to Padmé to help him stand, which she did, if a little half-heartedly, and apparently far more interested in the floor.

”That is correct, Master Jedi,” Senator Paulness said. ”But by all means...” He waved a hand at the two of them, apparently encouraging them to finish any unfinished conversation. ”We'll wait.”

”Well, waiting really isn't the best idea,” Anakin stated simply, before his wife could start protesting. He shot an apologetic look at Padmé, who returned a forgiving one. They'd have to sort this out later. ”My lightsaber…” he quickly added, reaching with his bound hands to an empty belt.

Padmé sighed, beet red in the face as she delved into her sleeve and produced a long, heavy… suddenly very suggestively shaped instrument.  

”You… you dropped it, Master Jedi,” she spluttered, holding out the weapon, waiting for Anakin to take it.

”Oh, he dropped his lightsaber on you alright,” murmured an unfamiliar senator in the back, who to Padmé, judging by the look on her face, was not quite so unfamiliar. Stifled chuckles were heard.

Anakin wiggled his still-restrained wrists at Padmé, indicating that he needed someone else to hold and, uh, ignite his lightsaber. Yeah…

”Padm… Senator Amidala, um… please.”

More chuckles were heard, less effort made to stifle them, more amicable work relationships compromised.

-

Having walked from the explosion unscatled, the cluster of shaken senators shuffled along the long corridors of the inconveniently massive Semate building (which seemed to have been evacuated of all non-hostage personnel), making their way to safety and fresh air. After his daring rescue of the politicians, Anakin had been summoned outside by his comlink and been obliged to abandon his slower but apparently now safe companions.

”Uh, Padmé,” Bail Organa began awkwardly as he placed a gentle, almost fatherly hand on her shoulder. ”I know we just survived a very dangerous situation, and the obviously lacking safety measures in this building warrant a whole discussion of their own… but we need to talk about what happened back there with General Skywalker.”

”Oh,” Padmé uttered, making a small nod, ”O-oh course.”

”Is he… bothering you?”

”Oh, um, no…”  

”Of course, I respect him. And I know he's a Jedi, so I know he'd… ” Bail stopped to think for a moment. ”Actually, I don't know. Would he be expelled from the order or get away with a fine? The Jedi can be very confusing sometimes.”

”Oh, you're telling me...” Padmé began to keenly agree, before catching herself. ”That is to say…  yes. So confusing… wait, slow down, a fine? For what offense?”

”Uh, harassment,” Bail stated plainly, looking concerned. ”Technically, what he did would qualify as…”

”No, no no, no,” Padmé protested. ”No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.” She let out a sharp laughter.

”Wait, are you two…”

”No!”

”Then…”

Bail raised an eyebrow, evidently not at all happy with the very single-track turn this conversation was taking. Still, he ventured one last guess.

”What are the kids calling it these days… friends with--”

”No!” Padmé stopped in her tracks, intending to let all the other senators walk past them, but they all froze in place instead. It was not until Padmé shot them an icy look that they set off again, disgruntled.

”Padmé, it's me,” Bail reminder her warmly. ”You can tell me.”

Padmé knew she could. But that wasn't just her decision to make. She just wished part of that decision had not already been made by her electro-compromised, groggy and confused secret husband.

”He was confused,” she explained, quickly latching onto one of her mental keywords. ”Those electro-shocks are getting to his brain. He probably thought he was kissing… Artoo. He just loves that droid. Last week, he--”

”Padmé…”

”And I've been confused,” she quickly added, desperately and probably tardily trying to figure out a way to make Anakin sound like less a harasser and more a… she didn't like what the opposite of a harasser was. ”I've… flirted him. Mercilessly. Have you seen some of my dresses? I've given him… signals. Inappropriately long hugs…”

”Oh, we know that,” Bail interrupted her, although he immediately seemed to regret this spontaneous confession. Padmé gaped at him for a moment.  

”And so has Artoo, by the way,” she then insisted.

-

By the time Senators Amidala and Organa reached the Senate courtyard, they had successfully established that 1. it was just a kiss, 2. the kiss had not necessarily been disagreeable, out of the left field, or even meant for Padmé in the first place.

”Or some combination of the three,” she added off-handedly as she hurried to join Anakin, Threepio, the suddenly materialized matching set of Obi-Wan and Ahsoka, and a pair of her least favorite senators at the top of the stairs, currently being interviewed by a swarm of HoloNet reporters. Surely they were discussing the hostage situation, the forced liberation of Ziro the Hutt, heck, General Skywalker's rescue of them, even���  

”Ah, and here comes the lucky lady… or unlucky? We'll have to wait for comment--”

Great. Ever the media. The blabber turned out to be Threepio, whom she had completely forgotten was even there. Of course the protocol droid would give a completely accurate, detailed, yet rambly and unfocused recount of the attack. Which simply had to include what was effectively a harmless drunken mistake in the middle of an actual emergency.

Yet, even without the Force, she was already sensing a shift in the conversation.  

”For the last time, I was barely conscious, brain fried, I thought it was my… uh, droid… whom I needed to clean… in a specific spot… stupid oil leaks… I apologized to Senator Amidala many times over before I was summoned here!”

The reporters were starting to look bored. They were also starting to pick up on the seriousness of the circumstances surrounding the undeniably juicy bit of gossip they had on their hands. The two senators had turned to a serious news outlet, giving teary-eyes statements regarding their terrifying experience and last-minute rescue. The trauma of it all was starting to kick in. They were nearly killed by a bomb, and this stupid war was only getting longer and uglier, what did it even matter if Skywalker had unorthodox methods of cleaning his astromech?

And even without the Force, Padmé could have sworn that Obi-Wan wasn't shooting accusing glances at his former Padawan for hiding something, or for lying about it, but instead… for having been careless. And Ahsoka was just shaking her head, with frustration and fondness. There was not a trace of surprise on her face, or for that matter, a hint of concern for Padmé's personal space or her ability to defend it. And apparently Bail was only surprised that Skywalker was responding so eagerly to Padmé's ”merciless flirting”.

Wait, did everybody already…

”So it really was…” one of the reporters still wanted to confirm.

”Such a kiss!”

”Just a bliss!”

[elodieunderglass]

I am very confused. I saw a grey/brown swan at the lake the other day and ??? I thought swans were only white? Do you know why swan was not white?

Swan was baby! :D

Or more accurately: swan was a late teenager/young adult/shiftless Milennial cygnet. It’s autumn! It’s the time of year when these kids are ready to strike off on their own, looking for other young adult swans to hang out with.

White swans, such as Mute Swans and Whooper Swans, start off as fluffy grey babies, then become warmer browny/beige and increasingly more white-colored as they grow. ( Black swans start off grey and turn black - not all swans are white!) They start off as grey poofballs, then go through the Ugly Duckling stage where they look like a torn-up grey dog toy… and after that, they are quite full-grown, but not sexually mature yet. So they look just like a “swan,” but they’re still grey or patchy white. And you’re like “Heck, a brown swan???” Yes!! A brown swan!

Swans are fierce and protective parents who tend to keep personal territories. No matter how big their babies are, their parents guard them fiercely and care for them tenderly… as long as they are grey. When swans gain the feathers of adulthood, their parents send them away. This can either be a gentle process - the daddy swan takes them on longer and longer patrols to the edges of the family territory, eventually coming back without them - or in a hostile way, in which daddy chases them off until they stop coming back home. Usually, the swans in a clutch will have varying maturity/confidence levels, so I’ve seen swans sending off their babies in batches, with the more mature ones going first and the less mature ones staying in the family territory - some adults even keeping the “runts” with them until late in the winter!

By autumn, most young adult swans will have moved out of the family territory. They just fly off aimlessly, looking for things to do. They often find other youngsters and hang out in big groups, often in towns where there is a little water and some nightlife. You can tell they aren’t mature because they’ll still have some grey/beige/brown on them, and a more grey/brown beak. And people say “aren’t they meant to be territorial?” and you can reply that they don’t have territory yet, god, they can barely pay rent!

As they become sexually mature, they’ll become pure white. Fully Adult Mute Swans will also have a sexy bright orange beak and a black nose dongle. At this point, interested swans will pair off (in whatever gender arrangement pleases them best; black swans are particularly Gay) and attempt to secure a new territory together to raise children. If there is no accessible territory, swans will continue to live in a gaggle of shiftless youths who are killing the diamond industry. Swans don’t like to raise their children near other swans if they can help it, except in special cases where there are unlimited resources, like the Abbotsbury Swannery. If the genders aren’t conducive to the conception of children, same-gender swan couples will apparently steal fertilized eggs. Swans are all about FAMILY LIFE and the ones who raise children are SERIOUSLY invested in eggs, cygnets, parenting techniques, territory, mortgages and foraging instruction. They give the appearance of planning their domestic arrangements with military precision.

So your Young Adult Swan was probably just trying to decide what it wants to do next in life… maybe grad school… be nice to it if you see it again, it is very brave but also bewildered and broke.

Thank you so much for asking me! I’m so happy that I was able to answer this for you. This is such a sweet and pure ask!

I have literally thousands of cute swan photos from when we lived on the boat. Here’s Sweet Lips and six of her brood, bothering me once when I was working from home.

(and, as I get asked this constantly - you know how you guys are always asking me how to say “hello friend” to swans and I won’t answer? Hint: Sweet Lips and a few of the babies are saying “Hello friend” here…)

[cathrynstreich]

3 Important Questions to Ask A Buyers Agent Before You Hire Them

In the beginning stages of the home buying process, most buyers rarely think ldquo;itrsquo;s time to hire an agentrdquo;.nbsp;Instead, they start shopping for homes online to figure out wherenbsp;they want to live and what size homenbsp;they can afford. Finding a Realtor right away doesnt feel like a necessity at this point.nbsp; Unbelievably, many buyers donrsquo;t even interview agents, they simply use whomever is closest to them socially. The truth is, a good Realtornbsp;will save you a ton of time right up front.nbsp; If you have ever bought a home before, the chances are high that younbsp;gained some valuable information from the experience. Imagine buying and selling hundreds of homes. How much more knowledge would you have then? This is just one of the great aspects of working with a skilled Realtor. They have libraries of information about each area and neighborhood stored away in their head, and they love sharing thatnbsp;valuable information with their clients. While you can definitely continue to search the Internet for your dream home, itnbsp;is extremely beneficial (and can even save you lots of money) to be lead through your buying experience by anbsp;knowledgeable local Realtor. If you choose a great agent, your home purchase will most likely be a great experience. Ifnbsp;the agent you choose is terrible, chances are very high that your homenbsp;buying experience will likely be terrible as well. So, be sure to choose wisely. Its one of the most fundamental truths of buying a home. Since the Realtor you choose will have such a large impact on your life, I want to give you three essential questions that will help you choose wisely. These questions are easy to ask and will reveal volumes about thenbsp;agent(s) you are considering.nbsp;As you read through these three questions, youll recognize why these topics are so important to cover with any Realtor you are considering hiring to help you buy a home. How Many Transactions Did They Complete in the Last 12 Months? As with anynbsp;company that provides a professional service, you typically dont want to hire someone who is inexperienced or struggling just to stay in business. Would you hire a tattoo artist or a new hair stylist on a whim? Probably not. Within all service industries, knowing the experience of the professional helping you is crucial to your success. The national average for annual sales per agent is around five transactions. FIVE This average is extremely low due to the number of agents who are brand new, work part-time, or just cant do the job. A part-time agent may have responsibilities at another job which could interfere with your schedule, especially in a busy market where homes can be sold in one or two days. An agent who is desperate for a closing due to their poor sales volume is going to benbsp;extremely motivated to close a deal with you; which maynbsp;be in conflict with their ability tonbsp;put your best interests first. In Colorado Springs, we currently have 4,568 licensed agents registered with our local MLS. As a city, we only sell between 800 to 1,500 homes per month. That means there are a whole lot of Realtors out there who arent doing much business at all.nbsp;Plenty of people with licenses, but no real experience or knowledge. These agents are hungry for business, sonbsp;theyre probably not going to tell you anything negative about their experience level willingly. I already know that many newer agents are going to be upset with me writing this.nbsp;However, ours is a customer service industry, and this data is a truth that will greatly benefit consumers. Somenbsp;Realtors are on the other end of the spectrum, selling over 60+ homes per year. This can mean that they get overbooked and might not be available in a timely manner. If they do show up, theynbsp;could be so burned out that they are unable tonbsp;give you the attention you deserve. Constantly bouncing from deal to deal can result in a very distracted agent. They may also be part of a large team, which can be confusing for buyers asnbsp;they often get handed off from person to person with limited consistency. So, how can you know when a Realtor has enough work to have a pulse on the market, but not so much that they cantnbsp;properly serve a new client well? There is nonbsp;set amount of homes sales that makes a perfect Realtor, butnbsp;manynbsp;professionals would say between 20 to 50 homes per year is a good indication of a buyers agent who isnbsp;well experienced, yet still able to take on another buyer and serve them well.nbsp; What Price Range and With What Areas Are They Most Familiar? A buyer agents skill level can vary dramatically by price range.nbsp;An agent who exclusively works in the luxury market has no business trying to help someone in the entry-level price ranges. They wont know how to structure offers based on the current competitiveness of the market. On the same note, a Realtor with all of their experience in the entry-level market would be totally lost working in the luxury market. Other than using the same sales contract, there arent really many similarities between the two markets. An educated and experienced agent will utilize tools to structure an offer thatnbsp;will catch the attention of the seller and should always be within the buyers comfort zone. Most sellers and listing agents are looking to work with an experienced agentnbsp;so they have the confidence that they can get the deal closed. The agent who writes your offer can have an impact on whether or not your offer gets accepted. This can also be the case for the mortgage lender that you choose. Any sellers who have had bad experiences with contracts falling apart are always going to be more sensitive to this. If your agent is knowledgeablenbsp;about the market within your price range and areas of interest, they will know how to structure your offer to have thenbsp;greatestnbsp;level of impact when received by the seller. In any market,nbsp;some areas will always be hotter than others. For example, ifnbsp;a house comes on the market in a hot area, you may only have one day to submit an offer. The same price range in another area that is not asnbsp;competitive may not require as aggressive an offer to attract thenbsp;sellersnbsp;attention. Innbsp;fact, you may be the only onenbsp;making an offer onnbsp;the house at all. Knowingnbsp;specific local market demand is one of the key traits of a good agent. Certain price brackets will dramatically change your status as a Buyer. In a Sellerrsquo;s market, homes within the average price point will go quickly, and with much competition. However, in Colorado Springs ifnbsp;yoursquo;re purchasing a home above $600,000, depending on the area, you could find yourself in a buyers market; particularly if youre purchasing a homenbsp;above $800,000. The demand for the neighborhood, mixed with the number of buyers innbsp;your price range, will determine how much leverage you have as a buyer. Youre not going to find this information on Google. You need someone who works that market and price range on a regular basis to really knownbsp;exactly how much leverage you have. Not knowing this could cost you greatly. Havingnbsp;an agent that understands this is absolutely critical. Your agent should be able to educate you as to which areas offer the best probability of protecting your investment; using data and sold comparable homes in each area. Dont just hire the first Realtor you meet. Do some homework and find one that best matches your criteria and needs. It will be one of the best decisions you make throughout the home buying process. At Great Colorado Homes, we split our agents up into different price ranges and areas so that we are well rounded as a company. When I receive a potential client in a price range and area thatnbsp;Irsquo;m not very familiar with, I typically refer them to an agent that is more experienced in those areas. We believe very strongly in the importance of matching the right agent with the right client to ensure the best results. What Is Their Typical Process When Helping Home Buyers? This question is designed to find out how prepared your potential buyers agent is. Agents who are inexperienced typically do not prepare well and tend to be more reactive than proactive. If the agent youre interviewing has a process for educating their buyers, chances are high that they know what theyre doing. If the agent starts rambling and walking you through the process right there on the spot with no prepared materials, they are most likely not well prepared and couldnbsp;pose a risk to your transaction. Anbsp;good buyers agent is going to walk you through a series of questions and will listen intently to understand your situation. They are going to notice which parts of the home buying process youre familiar with and which parts you may need some education on. They are going to look out for potential pitfalls and roadblocks thatnbsp;could cause you stress or problems along the way. Here is anbsp;copy of my personal buyers guide. I use this guide with any of my new home buyer clients who would like to sit down andnbsp;walk through it. This guide helps me to understand my clients needs better, and it also helps to educate them on the home buying process. It only takes about 30 to 45 minutes to walk through, and my buyers always feel more confident after going through this with me. (This is a Google Slide presentation, so it may not work on all devices. You can access it directly here: goo.gl/KynEpx) nbsp; There are many different waysnbsp;for Realtors to educate home buyers. My slideshow is just a quick example. The bottom line is that you need to pay attention to how prepared your agent is before you hire them. A prepared Realtor isnbsp;typically a more professional Realtor. They should have some sort of system that theyve prepared ahead of time to help you, as they would with any other buyer. They should also have a good system or team of people to help make your transaction smooth. Therenbsp;are many other aspects to choosing the right buyers agent to represent you, but we hope this article will get you on the right track. Itrsquo;s imperative that you have a foundation to build off of as you are searching for the right buyers agent. Remember, if you have an educated agentnbsp;who is working for your best interests, theynbsp;will make the differencenbsp;between you having a stressful transactionnbsp;or feeling confident and enjoying the process. It really is a big deal. Take your time. Do your homework. Choose wisely. Happy house hunting. : ) 3 Important Questions to Ask A Buyers Agent Before You Hire Them published first on https://thegardenresidences.tumblr.com/