#RECALCITRANCIES

[darsynia]

Saw the creativepromptsforwriting post...

I would like to place a order :)

Steve Rogers, MCU/reader is an avengers hero, #12 corner mouth kisses/maybe #57 trembling mouth kiss

I can't believe I let myself think I'd do UP TO 500 WORDS! Steve/Reader, fluffy AF coworker love declarations facilitated by one ginger cat named Kirk. 2,200 words <- OOPS.

Excerpt:

You powerwalk over to the door and pull it open right as you hear the repulsors make their ‘ready to fuck shit up’ noise. “Don’t. You. Dare.”

“Oh look, you’re alive!” Tony says, completely unphased by your vehemence. “As your friend and teammate, let me save you both some time here: you--” he points to Steve “--need to tell her you’ve been making secret drawings of this woman’s every possible facial expression and you--” he points to you “--ought to let him know you stay after sparring sessions to hand-sew the rips in his suit. I’m talking before it’s laundered. Now, go kiss or something. Note how I didn’t say ‘go play with the pussy?’ That’s camaraderie. Stark out.”

With his verbal grenades expended, Tony grabs the door handle from your nerveless fingers and pulls it firmly shut.

“Well, that’s one way to do it,” Steve says in a stunned voice.

The Trouble With...

When you woke up this morning, you had a ground floor apartment and a pet cat. When you got back from your day of team training an hour ago, there was no cat to be seen, and your front door was cracked open to the apartment lobby.

A frantic call to your landlord revealed that they’d sent maintenance workers to finally fix the leaking toilet in your unit (with zero notice. Pepper Potts said she’s ‘on it,’ and you suspect your landlord won’t enjoy that experience one bit). 

The following sequence of events was where everything kind of fell apart.

You love your cat, and your first instinct was to call your teammate and training buddy, Steve Rogers. Your voice had been shaky during the call as you wandered the nearby alleys calling for Kirk and shaking his favorite earth-shaped cat toy. Steve asked twice as many questions as you even understood on the phone, until finally he said he would be right there to help out. You’d thanked him, bent over next to a dumpster, and sobbed.

Two minutes later, Tony Stark had flown in to use his HUD to search for small animal-shaped heat signatures. “Wow. That’s a lot of rats.”

Thor had sauntered up not long afterwards, Bifrost smoke still following his footsteps, but his ‘special cat whistle’ appeared to be inaudible to humans and cats. Not rats though, according to Tony.

Clint texted you a search grid diagram that had suspiciously blood-colored smudges on it, but before you could ask him about it, Nat sent the larger frame image of his lunch (BBQ wings) beside the printouts. “Don’t worry about him, I have some leads,” she’d told you.

By the time Steve showed up on his motorcycle in street clothes, you were completely overwhelmed, and you’d spent more time managing the feelings of your fellow Avengers than your own. As soon as you saw him approach on the bike, you let out a long sigh, pasted on a smile, and headed straight for your apartment building. You needed to feel safe and at home for the coming conversation.

As soon as you touched your own doorknob though, you realized something.

Was that maybe how Kirk felt too? Maybe for Kirk, the enemy of the week was the maintenance man who invaded the ‘ship’ of your apartment, and your cat wasn’t equipped with enough Dilithium Crystals, Phasers, or Tribbles to deal with it this time. When you had found the door open, you’d called out his name and rushed all over the place looking for him, but what if the sound of your voice just wasn’t enough for Kirk to trust that things were back to normal?

Steve’s arrival forgotten, you rushed into your apartment and tried to think of where Kirk’s ‘safe space’ would be. There was a damaged vent on the wall under the bed that he sometimes fiddled with--could he have finally broken it enough to go exploring? You were on your hands and knees setting one of his favorite treats on the floor next to the bed when Steve tapped gently on the door. 

“When I heard how upset you were on the phone call, I--”

Without thinking about the exact words, you blurted out, “Rogers, I love you, but you need to get out, right now. I think I found Kirk, but if there’s someone else here--”

You were so worried about your cat that you didn’t hear what he said in response.

*

You wake up on your side a few hours later on the floor, head resting on your pillow, with Kirk sleeping peacefully on the rug beside you. The bag of treats you’d grabbed to lure him from the vent in the wall is lying on the floor nearby, completely empty.

“Are you serious right now? Ginger cats, I swear to God.”

A judicious application of duct tape patches up the vent hole, so you head into the kitchen to make yourself some coffee. As the machine whirs to life, you unlock your phone to find multiple messages from each Avenger, all demanding to know if you are okay, if Kirk is okay, if you and Kirk are okay, if your landlord is around for a ‘casual conversation,’ and so on.

“Nope,” you say aloud, popping the ‘p’ for Kirk’s benefit. Of course, that’s when there’s a knock at your door.

It’s Steve, and he’s hovering like something happened during the disproportionate Assemble. “Hey, can I-- Well, first things fir-- Safe to assume you found your cat?”

“Yes, thank goodness” you say, ushering him in. He’s holding back, shifting from foot to foot, which is strange. You’ve held game and movie nights here before, and once or twice you and Steve had stayed up late afterwards talking, but now he’s acting like he’s never been here before. “Kirk went adventuring in the ductwork. I lured him out with treats, but he took so long I fell asleep on the floor.”

A lot of Steve’s tension drains away at that, and he smiles sheepishly. “Oh! So not answering any messages was-- Not that you have to, of course, that’s not what I--”

“Left my phone in the kitchen!” you say briskly, settling onto the couch so that Steve will be forced to sit out of innate politeness. “I just didn’t want to spook Kirk any more than he already was-- which reminds me, I’m sorry I snapped at you, or whatever. I don’t really--” 

“About that,” Steve interrupts, lurching a couple more steps into the living room.

“Are you okay?” you finally ask. He’d taken off his baseball cap when he walked in, and has been twisting it in his hands in an anxious way ever since. “Sit down?”

“Right, of course,” Steve says, sitting at the edge of the cushion at the far end of the same couch as you. “I’m fine.”

“Good.” Kirk takes that moment to hop up onto your lap, and you let the moment stretch out as you smile politely, hoping Steve will explain what his deal is. It doesn’t work. He is giving off intense ‘waiting for bad news at the ER’ energy, and you can’t take it anymore. “All right, soldier. Spill it.”

Steve laughs weakly, and just like that, the odd suspense drains away. “That obvious, huh? Okay.” He swallows.

That comparison to the ER is starting to feel more and more plausible. “Is... someone hurt and you’re afraid to tell me?”

Steve answers in a headlong rush. “You said you loved me. When you told me to get out of your bedroo-- apartment.”

Suddenly all the obstacles to saying those words for real just melt away.

“That’s because I do!" you whisper, your voice becoming more and more confident as you continue. "I didn’t mean to tell you like that, of course. It slipped out, easy as breathing--because it is. Easy, that is. To love you.” Ironically, your chest feels like you’ve been holding your breath for a couple of months. Kirk’s still on your lap, but his ears show his annoyance at yet another disruption.

“I never-- I’ve dreamed about thi-- Right.” Steve stops himself, stands up, and takes two big steps closer to you before sitting down again, sending your heart into a rolling gallop and Kirk off to an away mission. “I’m falling in love with you. I want to be honest about that.” His eyes trace your face over and over as if determined to etch this moment into his memory. “I kept telling myself it wasn’t right to fall for a teammate--”

“Or, you know, the symbol of all that’s good and right with the world in superhero form,” you tease.

Steve takes your hand, looking at into your eyes with all the sincerity in the world and says, “What’s good and right with the world is this, us. If you’re okay with finding out what that’s like, that is?”

His phrasing is confusing, but the sentiment behind it has you even more in love with him than ever. Steve starts to lift your hand up to his lips to kiss the back of it-- and a loud knock sounds on the door.

“Shoot!” he says, jumping to his feet. “I told Tony to come by if he didn’t hear from me. Because there might be something wrong, or--”

“Open up, one of your neighbors told me I bought a bad replica of the Iron Man suit and I’m feeling a powerful urge to prove them wrong!” Stark says, tapping on the door again.

You powerwalk over to the door and pull it open right as you hear the repulsors make their ‘ready to fuck shit up’ noise. “Don’t. You. Dare.”

“Oh look, you’re alive!” Tony says, completely unphased by your vehemence. “As your friend and teammate, let me save you both some time here: you--” he points to Steve “--need to tell her you’ve been making secret drawings of this woman’s every possible facial expression and you--” he points to you “--ought to let him know you stay after sparring sessions to hand-sew the rips in his suit. I’m talking before it’s laundered. Now, go kiss or something. Note how I didn’t say ‘go play with the pussy?’ That’s camaraderie. Stark out.”

With his verbal grenades expended, Tony grabs the door handle from your nerveless fingers and pulls it firmly shut.

“Well, that’s one way to do it,” Steve says in a stunned voice.

Your body has forgotten how to multitask, so you alternate between taking delighted gasps of air and feeling your heart hammer halfway through your ribcage. “You've made sketches of me? I love your art. I was trying to work my way up to telling you that you haven’t been drawing enough.”

“I’m doing it all the time, it’s just you, so I couldn’t, you know. Let you see them.” Steve steps close, herding you against the door, one hand coming up to trace an incredulous caress along your hairline. “You’re insane. I smell terrible after those workouts.”

Bursting out laughing, you bury your head in his chest, feeling and hearing the joyful laughter he lets out along with you. Steve kisses your hair, then your temple, creating a pathway of small steps toward your lips, symbolic of the way your association with each other has grown. By the time he’s pressing a heated kiss at the corner of your mouth, you’re grasping at him with both fists, full of anticipation.

Steve abandons his earlier restraint and takes charge, as though the wait set him on fire and the only way to quench it is through tasting you. One hand grasps your hip firmly, pulling you close, and you tangle your hand into his hair, pouring all the daydreams and late nights of wanting him into this first moment of connection.

It’s many minutes later when he finally gentles the kiss and steps back, apologetically holding up his phone. “I don’t trust Tony to tell everyone he’s made contact,” Steve explains. He taps at the touchscreen keyboard, frowning at the times his large fingers hit two letters at once, while you try to gather all of your molecules into a cohesive version of yourself ala the Star Trek teleporter.

When he’s finally done, you drop a kiss on his bicep, grinning at the thrill that you can even do something like that, even in private. “Thank you. I’m all people’d out today, I should have answered some of the messages that I got, but I saw them and my brain turned off. I’m all out of spoons.”

He snaps his fingers and points at you. “I know this one. You wake up with 100 spoons or something, and you spend them on--”

“Hold on. You might wake up with 100 spoons, but we’re not all supersoldiers!”

“Fair enough. Speaking of which, I’m sensing you’ve nearly run out by now. Can I take you to dinner tomorrow?” 

He’s doing that thing with his eyes, the one where he’s warm and understanding and the perfect man for you and-- Steve clears his throat, and you realize you were staring. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be. I get to draw those, you don’t,” he smiles, then chivalrously takes your hand to kiss the back of it. “Seven sound good?”

You nod. Two minutes later your sitting on your couch screaming into a pillow, and Kirk hops up to meow at you.

“I’m all out of treats, dude. You played yourself!” Another mrrow. “Yeah, okay, yes. You did play an integral part in my current state of delirious happiness. I’ll get another bag tomorrow, k, K?” Kirk rubs up against your elbow, and you take that as a ‘yes.’ “You know what? I think I’m going to refer to my spoons as Tribbles from now on, in your honor.”

Just like his namesake, Kirk the cat does not seem to like this idea, but you’re busy in your own mental holodeck, reliving the last half hour with a lovesick grin.

[junjomonstah]

I like to think about his cute dog qualities... cus they're cute... 😋😚❤️💕

[spacee-pop]

fig • ure • head

noun

a nominal leader or head without real power.

[aashidoodles]

Well, y'all know the drill. When i get really into a game I gotta express that love through doodles so here's the gang in their pre/early teens!

[vladdyissues]

so making myself actually outline the clone gestation au cause i just sidelined another draft but I'm still wanting immediate gratification for cheese melt ideas so i sat down and self-soothee with some ideas for an AU where Dani and Dan are born due to Pompep. if you ain't feeling it right now, totally fine with this getting buried until you do, just want to share the cheesy wealth (and this fully formed in my head before the college trio + Dan and Dani offspring ideas did)

hope you like soft because i am c o p i n g rn

-so for these two resulting specifically from Pompep, Danny is a fresh adult and high school graduate in the late 2000s, where he gets to live out a certain fantasy of mine--getting to go "fuck it, can't charge me rent on a lair" and planning to go ghost primarily with his human side being his alter ego

-Vlad starts insisting if he's going to do that, he could just move into his mansion. like, increasingly more insistent. what is going on here

-turns out, Vlad is pregnant, and is fully and shamelessly exploiting Danny's need to protect. blatantly, too. Danny knows full fucking well he's being played but the Obsession will not shut up for love nor money

-mood swings make things go full poltergeist the more Vlad is aggravated or backed into a corner. walls bleeding, windows rattling, one particularly aggravated mood swing has Jack nearly get the Death Bed: The Bed That Eats treatment from an armchair (he wouldn't have died but he would have soaked in ectoplasm until his eyebrows burned off)

-this shit, Danny can deal with. this is the kinda weird he's used to. then Vlad starts showing and he starts getting... a little softer. and Danny, snarky frenemies-with-benefits more than dearly beloved partner, has no idea what to do to pivot with that

-Vlad is in denial. he does not have pretty pink magic love powers making him feel adorable wholesome things towards the baby or deep affection for Danny, who fathered it. one of those being true is a quirk. all three of those things being true clashes so hard with his supervillain-coded aesthetic makes him refuse to even think about it. so he bottles it up

-the second he gets to hold Dani after she's born he starts crying. full on ugly cry. one of the things he wasn't processing was that this was real in a way that specifically meant he was going to be holding his baby. a real, actual baby he can pour all his obsessive levels of love into and who he's going to be able to love for his entire existence

-no, fuck it, he does have pretty pink magic love powers, and if you get near his baby you get to learn what a curbstomp is

-teeny tiny baby Danielle Masters

-has first shaky flight as well as first steps, because I am a hopeless weeb and the scene in Urusei Yatsura where a baby alien is encouraged to fly into a cousin's arms like one would encourage a baby walking is just forever seared into my brain

-Danny and Vlad become used to casually grabbing her out of the air or flying to grab her. no big deal. just a floating baby. don't want her phasing into the crawlspace or walls and getting confused and lost. it always makes her giggle

-right around when the excuses for Danny's supposed human life are wearing thin, Dan breaks loose, AU AGIT happens--but Vlad's not making clones this time around so there's no ready-made body to move Dan into

-and since they can't get one ready to go... well, homemade will have to do

-(note: rather than de-aging, it's more reincarnation--it's him and has his memories and ghost self and all that good stuff, he's just not grown and stuck in the body of a baby or overwriting a totally new person. the older he gets, the more original Dan he's able to process as him and not the edgy OC lurking in the back of his mind that feels fully-formed)

-so, Vlad and Danny are expecting kid #2 with gremlin toddler Dani running around

-this time around Vlad's mood swings affect the power grid. one very bad one ends up making a power line go carnivorous and start snatching birds out of the air

-they're prepared for softness this time, and this time Vlad just lets himself feel such things. though it does manifest in jello cravings from hell... and in actually admitting he is in LOVE with Daniel, not just attracted and attached

-somewhere in there Danny's parents realize they've been lied to. for years. mainly coming to a head because supposedly, he should be nearing the end of a four-year degree. they need an explanation

-the half-ghost reveal takes a few weeks to comb through. still, it goes... relatively well.

-so. time for relationship reveal. right?

-turns out running off to shack up in their college buddy's mansion raising kids instead of pursuing higher education hits several more of their buttons than just being the town hero who happens to be a ghost does

-and making a SINGLE aggressive move towards Vlad? Danny's shifted from protection to unity and hey, he will be keeping his family together. no matter what. go on. try something :)))

-they don't come around to it before Dan is reborn but that's fine, making sure baby Dan is loved is more important anyway

-(Dani totally brings them around over time. she keeps sneaking into their lab to watch them work and hand Jack or Maddie tools before dipping back into the portal giggling when they notice her)

BONUSES

-Dani is an adorable big sister and will drag baby Dan everywhere with her given half a chance

-when they get older, the short jokes will fly. mainly from Dani herself. Danny and Dani's favorite in-joke is Dani trying to reach something with powers and sarcastically thanking Danny for the height genes

-Dan ends up being an adorable kid who really likes just. soaking up the loving atmosphere. threaten his good time at your peril, first time he transforms he's a force of nature

-of course Vlad and Danny incorporate their family into their snark

"Being the father of my children won't save you from my vengeance, Daniel."

"Both your kids share DNA with my dad, it's not going to kill you to share a dinner table with him."

"No, but if you ever remind him he is my father-in-law, it will kill you."

"Eh, he already got me killed once, I'll roll those dice."

apologies for the sheer WALL of text, just. i have a particular vision of the AU i'm writing and this version ain't compatible, but it IS soft and i am weak for that

ONCE AGAIN

[wardensantoineandevka]

the real problem with the Veilguard score is not that it's bad (because it isn't) it's that they didn't put all of the stuff on the soundtrack

[prettyboysdontlookatexplosions]

they should install a feature on the internet (the whole internet) that gives people a pop up when they’re about to fire off election takes and the pop up says “are you aware a recent NYT/sienna poll found that 47% of voters think kamala harris is too liberal or progressive while only 9% thought she wasn’t liberal or progressive enough?” (x)

[hedgehogoftime]

Teenage Exocolonist Kids: How would they be as Jedi?

Sol: Our nonbinary icon is THE Jedi, especially after Transcendence. Goes on a long multi-lifetime journey to learn to accept there are things they cannot change and tragedies they cannot avoid is PEAK Jedi story. Definetly Master/Councilor material

Tangent/Tang: Eh, Tangent would probably not be a very good Jedi when it comes to active duty. She struggles with empathy which is a core Jedi value, but I think Jedi training would help her come to terms with her identity in a very helpful way. Definitely a more "stays at the Temple and researches/debates" type Jedi than one who goes out on active field work.

Cal/Recalcitrance: My gentle, plant-loving pacifist husband is PRIME Jedi material! Definitely head of the AgriCorps and teaches the younglings about cool plants from across the Galaxy on his off days. Man is literally great for the role of a Jedi. He's a Master, but probably not on the Council as he has no patience for politics.

Nem/Anemone: Eh... I do not think Nem would be a very good Jedi. Too angry, too attached to the memories of her loved ones. Relaly I see her more as a nat-born soldier or a light-aligned Bounty Hunter who works with the Jedi, but doesn't really get them. Not to say she's bad, but if she were trained as a Jedi she'd probably Fall at some point. However, I do think she'd make her way back to the Light eventually, with help. But, I don't see my girl as a very good Jedi.

Dys/Dysthymia: Dys would be a good Jedi... but only in certain circumstances. Definitely a Jedi Shadow, but with how he fails to get along with others I can't see him doing traditional Jedi things. However, he does have an instinctive knowledge of letting go. But, I do see his inability to feel fear as a detriment. Jedi train to overcome their fear and at in spite of it, but since Dys can't feel fear, i feel he would be missing a key piece of Jedi education. Not good.

Marz/Marzipan: Marz, actually would be a GREAT Jedi! Granted, not a very conventional one, with her love of the spotlight and drive to succeed, I see her as the Jedi's Liason to the Senate, as one of the few of the Order with a head for Politics. This lady would have the Senate and the Media eating out of her hand, giving the Jedi a sterling reputation. While she struggles with passion in some cases, I think she could easily overcome it!

Tammy/Aspartame: Did someone say Creche MasteR? Because this lovely lady is a Creche-Master! She would not only be great at caring for the Younglings, she's treasure every moment of working with them and readying them for the journeys ahead. And is Definetly secretly a Master and a badass, she actively chooses not to kick people's asses. Peace and love, baby.

Vace/Olivaceous: Not a good Jedi. At all. Too proud, too full of ambition and vainglory to hack it as one of the Servants of the Republic. Probably a Mandalorian, honestly, and a neutrally aligned one. If he were to become a Jedi he would fall. Period. He's too much like Anakin, too focused on his own glory and power to understand the Jedi Way.

Nomi-Nomi/Nomination: I'm...honestly at a loss, here. I think Nomi would make a very... weird Jedi? But a good one, probably? They're definitely kind and compassionate enough to be a Jedi, but they struggle with attachment so... probably a mid-ranked Knight who's a Smash Hit with the Younglings. Probably the first Jedi Twitch Streamer.

Rex/Basorexia: Honestly? Rex'd be a good Jedi. No in-depth explanations here, just vibes. Definitely Jedi material

[pitconfirm]

sometimes I see words and im like there’s no way that’s a real word but it is actually a real word and then I never think about it ever again

[recalcitrantlycaffeinated]

My go tos are

- go offline

- daily mass

- no caffeine

Confession is also an oldie but a goodie!

But yeah the televised daily mass out of Canada is on youtube and is a darn good time. Rosary? Centering prayer? Almsgiving opportunities near you?

Good luck and, as Fr. Vinny would say, have an excelLent :p

I am choosing to believe that you are merely telling me to use Microsoft Excel a lot in Lent, I do not see the pun, it cannot hurt me

Confession!!! I always forget about going to Confession because almost every church within a half hour of me does not believe in having Confession at a time other than Saturday afternoon. Lent would be a good time to actually drive out to the cathedral and do that. Or go to one of those weird services with 800 priests. Thank you!

And also ooh yeah, never thought about doing a televised daily Mass. Dragging a 5 year old to daily Mass regularly would be terrible for everybody, but it's something I can just watch on my own, that's an actual possibility.

I tried to give up caffeine cold turkey one year. As it turns out, this is more of a sacrifice for other people than a sacrifice for me. My manager at the time pulled me into his office two days into Lent and said, "Robyn, I don't know what you've changed, but I need you to stop it right now before I have to fire you."

[moonsofmachinery]

Hallmark Sanctity, My little iterator OC! They're a Gen 2 Iterator from the Roaring Skies Local Group. They go by Wistful Tuning Flowers and tend to spend most, if not all, of their time in anon Sliverist group chats. They kind of have a fear of committing to any personality, so they use anon group chats to flesh out someone they would... 'want to be', devoid of any problems or issues. Basically uh, they're a little messed up. Doodles below!

Pleading Intellect is an Anon Pseudonym but I general call them that because its what they're most known by. In my own headcanons, though, they're known as Half Wit Wonders. I just thought it sounded cool and kind of fits their attitude and curiosity in the few broadcasts we do see. Hallmark is also friends with Grey Winds. Hallmark tends to view Grey winds as the perfect image of 'Calm' and 'Responsible' they think they are while forgetting that Grey Winds does have flaws as well. They do eventually come to terms with that fact and have a better, truer friendship with them because of that. Which is why they make a messanger (With Pleading's help) to go and attempt to contact Winds when they suddenly go offline.

Hallmark is a character in my fic which I have not posted, and probably will not post for a good while. Its kind of a passion project involving ocs mixed with canon and its very near and dear to me. I dont know if anyone will like it, but I will eventually post it. If you're interested, maybe send me an ask :]

[junjomonstah]

Can Cal blush with his Augment?? I know he stays like... neutral temperature'd/resistant to heat and cold but does that only mean outside elements don't affect him?? What if he got sick? Does he show a fever or does that get canceled out...?? Many things this man makes me wonder...

[aseuki]

I saw you take character asks for the tournament so I'd like to plop in Velocity 👉👈

This mechanics geek would certainly want to ask about the function and origin of those fascinating looking wings on Stell's back. Unfortunately, she takes 50 years to decide whether she actually wants to go up to him to ask.... So in the meantime, she's just glaring holes in his back from across the room, as if planning Stell's untimely demise.

Ayooo welcome!! Unfortunately Velocity's indecision and glaring would do little to coerce Stell to share his secrets (and more likely earn his easily-achieved ire), but if she observes long enough she might be able to glean some insight herself!

[Obtained: +5 Annoyance] What are you staring at, you want to fight???

[talesfromthenorsesmouth]

what up it's ya boy back with a page of scruffy riddler drawings to remind myself what his face looks like (it looks like David Tennant because of my many personal issues)

actually lots of pre-Riddler baby Edward because uhhhhhh

[blackjackkent]

No Rakha adventures tonight cos I've got raids, but I s2g tonight I'm finishing this OYE scene (and maybe the whole chapter) if it kills me.

[manguopudding]

i have a type, and, well,