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[softlyspunsilver]

So goooooooood!

Chapter 3's up!

...aaand the more I write for this AU, the more I wonder if I should rename it because this fic's the angst-free [or, well, 1000% less angst] version of Darth Calamity.

[softlyspunsilver]

from chapter 10 of Famous Last Words in May Death Never Stop You by the amazing @slexenskee

I've wanted to draw this scene ever since I read it lmao. Fun fact I was eating lunch at the time and I was laughing so hard I had to leave the room since someone was watching tv. Good times, good times.

[softlyspunsilver]

Amazing!

Only Shooting Stars (Break The Mold)

The AU where Gojo is actually All Might's California kid that literally no one asked for, including me 🤦‍♀️

Satoru’s best friend just told him she hates him. Actually, she told him she wanted to go hiking, which is basically the same thing. 

There is emphatically nothing he’d like less than being dragged through the parched, dry hills around the Dish on an otherwise perfectly normal Saturday morning free of classes, but Makoto is only in town for two days and he promised her he’d do whatever she liked barring arson and/or more tequila shots. 

“Can’t you just get Captain Underpants to go with you?” He throws out as a token protest, staggering into her rental jeep with the darkest shades he owns tossed over his eyes in a desperate attempt to keep his hangover at bay.

He squints at her as she settles in the driver’s seat of her rented death contraption. And why isn’t she hungover, anyway? She had even more to drink than him last night. 

“You know his hero name is Captain Celebrity, and please don’t say that where anyone can hear you.” She rolls her eyes as she starts the car. “Until I get a more famous client he’s still my cash cow, and I’d really rather not get fired right now.”

“You couldn’t have picked a worse one.” Satoru snorts, flopping into the passenger seat. “Isn’t he still cheating on the daughter with the stepmom or something?”

“Alleged,” Makoto hisses. “Allegedly cheating. And no, obviously. I wouldn’t still be his publicist if he was that much of an idiot.”

She tries to back out of her spot and almost immediately slides several inches down the heart-palpitation-inducing San Francisco incline he’d parked her on last night. She gives him a look of pure, sheer terror over her steering wheel. 

Satoru quickly undoes his seatbelt. “Yeah, okay. Put the parking brake on and switch with me— I’ll drive.” 

He has them up and off the worst of Hyde St.’s incline with the undisturbed impassivity of a kid who’s spent his entire driving career wedging himself into tenuous and visibly improbable parking spots all across the bay area. Makoto gives a sigh of relief once they clear the worst of the soaring hills, and actually doesn’t bring up the topic he knows she’s itching to broach until he’s pulling onto the 101. 

“You know, I wouldn’t have to bother with Captain Celebrity if someone would just finally agree to be a hero.” Makoto needles him, for the umpteenth time. 

He rolls his eyes behind his glasses. “Not happening.” He shoots her down flat. 

“You can’t stay in college forever!” She protests.

“What do you mean, forever?” He protests back, offended. “I’m not even twenty-two yet!” 

And she makes it sound like he’s wasting his life away going to college or something! As if getting into Stanford isn’t the most snobbish badge of supremacy you can wave around in this damn state! 

This is what he gets for saving her all those years ago, he laments. A best friend who nags him over all his life choices. He should have let her just fall from that damned New York skyscraper. Or more realistically, just waited it out and let an actual hero swoop in and save her. It’s not as if there hadn’t been plenty around at the time. 

She’d been a twenty-one year-old intern at a prestigious marketing agency caught at the wrong end of a villain takeover, and as far as his mother was concerned he’d been a seventeen year-old ostensibly touring the city for colleges, but in reality had been touring music dive bars more than campuses. They’d immediately bonded over the fact he’d saved her life, but also the indie band shirt he’d been wearing as he’d done it. 

Growing up in LA, his only two real options were surfing or surf rock, and he’d chosen to spend more time on the route that wouldn’t lead him to immediate skin cancer. His mom had eventually moved them to San Francisco, but he’d never quite grown out of his SoCal roots. He’d loved music in his last life, and in this life, he’d decided to chill the fuck out and ignore society and all it’s problems, and music seemed as good a way as any to do it. And he was pretty damn good at it, if he did say so himself. His expansive catalog of songs from his last life and eidetic memory made most people call him a genius, even if he rejected the label. So he was a passable— if not prodigal— guitarist, and Makoto had just learned to play the bass herself, so it was really no surprise they’d not only immediately bonded, but immediately decided to make a band together. 

Makoto jumping ship and splitting her time between the US and Japan had thrown a bit of a wrench in their rockstar dreams, but they were making it work somehow. And considering he can teleport around the world at will, it’s really not that much of a hindrance. 

That does beg the question though, of why Makoto would rather him be a hero than a musician. But he imagines he actually already knows the answer to that. 

“How about you stop cleaning up after stupid celebrities, and become a celebrity yourself.” He argues, with a raised brow. 

Makoto scoffs. “Do you have any idea how hard it is to break into the music industry?” 

With the confidence of several dozen platinum hits spanning several dozen genres sitting pretty in his head, Satoru retorts; “I don’t think that will be a problem for us.” 

She laughs him off at first, but then seems to give it genuine thought. “I guess you are pretty enough to have lead singer appeal,” she concedes, uncharitably. “But we haven’t even released an album yet; you have no idea how well it will be received on the charts. Playing little dive bar shows isn’t going to get us anywhere.” 

Satoru just shrugs. “Then what’s stopping us? Let’s record an album.”

Makoto just rolls her eyes. “Yeah, sure. Come pop by Japan next weekend, and let’s do it.”

“Sure.” He agrees immediately, making her do a double take. He grins winsomely at her. “What? I’m free next weekend. Why not?” 

She just shakes her head in wonder. “Even seeing it multiple times, sometimes I really do still forget you can just… teleport across the world. And stop bullets with your eyeballs.”

“It’s telekinesis,” he corrects, but at this point it’s just rote. 

“No, I specifically remember you trying to explain it had something to do with your eyeballs, don’t try to change it up now.” Makoto pokes him in the shoulder— or tries to, but is stopped with his barrier. “And how the hell that’s supposed to even make sense, I have no idea. But you definitely said it.” 

Yeah, he probably deserves that for trying to explain his cursed techniques while he’d been several mystery drinks deep at a college frat party. Makoto probably still hasn't forgiven him for dragging her to that madhouse, but in his defense, she’d all but begged him to take her to an American college party in the first place.

“It’s… complicated.” He hedges off. “My eyes just help me understand how to use my powers; they’re not actually what creates my barrier.” 

Makoto squints at him suspiciously. “... What’s your mom’s quirk again?”

He chuckles awkwardly. “Oh, she can convert energy from the sun. Mine’s a mutation, obviously.”

“Could just be a strange combination.” Makoto muses. “What did you say your dad’s quirk was?”

“I, uh, have no idea.” Satoru coughs, keeping his eyes on the road in a vaguely panicked manner. 

“Shit, that’s right, I’m sorry.” Makoto jolts in her seat, apologetic. “You still haven’t heard anything? I thought your mom said… I mean, they’re not on bad terms, right?”

Frankly, Satoru almost wishes she would continue pestering him about becoming a hero over this particular topic. 

“They’re not on bad terms, no.” He hedges off, shifting in his seat. Why couldn’t his best friend have a normal quirk, like fire breathing or water bending? Or anything besides being a human lie detector when he has so much he needs to lie about? “But they don’t talk much. I’m not sure she even knows what his quirk is herself.”

“Well, I guess it doesn’t really matter anyway, your quirk is what it is.” Mercifully, Makoto lets the subject drop. “Even if it makes no damn sense.”

Satoru laughs that off. “Does any quirk ever really make sense, though?” 

Makoto just clicks her tongue, then launches into a spirited rant on the laws of quirk science. Satoru breathes a quiet sigh of relief as the conversation devolves into a nonsensical argument on what would be the most useless quirk in history. 

One of these days he’s going to have to cave and tell Makoto the truth, but he’d really rather not do it when he’s hungover and facing the prospect of a miserable hike for the next few hours. 

//

And to be fair, nothing he said to Makoto was a lie. 

His parents aren’t on bad terms. Or rather, they’re not on any terms at all, as he doesn’t think they’ve even spoken once in the twenty-two years he’s been alive in this world. But according to his mom, they hadn’t parted on bad terms. They’d been college sweethearts, and his father had always been honest about his intentions to return to Japan. His mother had been adamant about staying in America and pursuing her own career. They’d split up for practicalities sake, unaware he was already on the way, and his mom looks back on that time of her life fondly. 

His mom would go on to have him several months after his father had left the country, and raise him as a single-mother as she built a life for them. His father would go on to be the world’s strongest hero. 

His mother had only ever known Yagi Toshinori as All Might, unbeatable and unbreakable, with a quirk so strong it would have him going down in history as one of the strongest heroes of all time. As far as she— and the rest of the world knew— he had some kind of strengthening quirk. 

But Satoru had seen him before, on one of his trips back to Japan. It had been from a distance, as he’d taken down a villain to the delight of the cheering crowds around him, but it had been enough for Satoru’s Six Eyes to see his quirk wasn’t quite as straightforward as the strengthening ability listed on his hero profile. All Might’s core— where most humans had a swirling mass of plus alpha energy— was as empty as Satoru’s. Satoru was quirkless because his father, All Might, had been born quirkless. The quirk All Might had now must have been  given to him when he was older, growing around that empty space and spreading through his body almost like a parasite. Or a curse. Satoru honestly couldn’t tell.

Satoru honestly didn’t care. 

He has no opinion on All Might, or what choices he may or may not have made to wield the power he has. 

When he was much younger, and saw how much his mother struggled to raise him on her own without help, he would resent him a bit for leaving her on her own like this. But his adult mind could understand the logic in both his parents’ motivations. They both made their own choices, and did what they thought was right with only care and consideration for each other. 

And it’s not as if Satoru’s childhood was lacking in any capacity.  

Actually, his childhood was awesome. 

To be entirely honest, he doubts he would have wanted All Might around even if that was possible. He can’t imagine a better way to grow up than the way he did, rocking out in the garage with his mom on the weekends, surfing in the mornings (with adequate sunscreen), skating from school to the skatepark in the afternoons, and having the complete and utter autonomy only a latchkey kid could have. His mom did what she could to make sure he grew up comfortably and well-cared for, and that included putting in long hours at work that had him on his own for most of the week. It was the best. There were no rules against using quirks in America— someone finally got their act together on personal bodily autonomy and all that— so he’d use his ‘quirk’ to teleport himself all across the world in his spare time. As long as he was back by dinner time, his mom didn’t need to know if he decided to spend the afternoon wandering the streets of Seoul in search of the best hotteok. 

He tried to keep his excursions on the down low, and keep his grades up and his nose out of trouble. While he adored his freedom, he never wanted to worry his mom. She was honestly too good for this world— and for him too, if he was being honest. The least he could do is be as good of a son as possible.

Well, he can try to be as good of a son as possible. As it stands, the majority of his chaotic existence usually gets in the way of that. 

“Oh, Sacchan, you’re home already?” His mother peers out of her office, thick, horn-rimmed glasses making her purple eyes look comically large on her face as she pokes her head over the wall. “Where’s Makoto-chan?”

“Probably on the plane already, unless it got delayed.” He tosses his keys into the basket by the front door, toeing off his shoes. 

She frowns at him. “You drove her to SFO, right? Don’t tell me you let her go by herself!”

He rolls his eyes. “She had a rental car to drop off, ya know. But yeah, I drove her from the rental place to her terminal.” 

Not that she deserved the consideration, after dragging him on a hike of all damn things yesterday. They’d just stayed out the whole night drinking beforehand, what madwoman does that? 

She gets up out of her chair, stretching her arms over her head as her hapless bun spills silver-white hair over her shoulders. “She’s such a nice girl,” his mother enthuses, as she cracks her neck. “I wish you’d bring more of your friends around, Sacchan. Your poor mother worries.”

“I’m in college now, mom.” He rolls his eyes. “We don’t really bring our friends around to meet our parents.”

More to the point, he wouldn’t want to anyway. College boys are emphatically the worst, and his mom is a very pretty woman. That’s just asking for trouble. And beyond that, he doesn’t have anyone at school he’d feel close enough to introduce her to anyway. He has plenty of people in his orbit to pair up with in labs, hang around the quad with while he’s killing time between classes, or drag to various house parties, but those are superficial bonds at best. 

He’s a young, handsome boy who surfs and skateboards and is good at all sports and plays rock music and still ranks at the top of his class; suffice it to say, he’s never wanted for friends or popularity. But he’s also a full grown man living through a second life; he has very little in common with the people in his age group. It’s gotten better now that he’s a full-fledged adult again, but he still tends to find the petty struggles of his fellow undergrads to be a bit pedantic. 

“You never brought any around in highschool either.” His mother laments. “Sacchan, you’re not embarrassed over your mother, are you?”

“Not at all.” He protests, then adds, because he doesn’t want to worry her, “I just don’t want people knowing exactly where I live. They seem nice enough, but you never really know with people these days.”

He says it to assure her that he’s a perfectly well-adjusted and well-liked kid who has plenty of deep and genuine friendships (entirely untrue) but only serves to worry her even more. 

She frowns at him, eyes downcast. “Oh, Satoru,” she says, in a sad tone that automatically has him lurching forward to comfort her. “I know things with your father are… complicated, but I never wanted to make you feel like you had to hide yourself from the world. I want to keep you safe, but I want you to have fun too, you know?” 

“Yes, I know.” He rushes to reassure her. “And I do have fun— you know I do! You came to my show just last week!”

His mother gives him a watery smile. “Yes, and your bandmate Kenji nearly started a bar fight, and the crowds got so unruly that the fire department got called in.” 

“That guy deserved to be slapped around a bit.” He returns, unapologetic. “And the fire department was just there to make sure we stayed under capacity— we weren’t causing any trouble!”

“No trouble, he says, when the cops were still called by the end of the night.” She teases him. 

He rolls his eyes. He can’t control whether or not two drunks decide to get in a brawl over baby mama drama outside the venue, that was totally not his fault. And also probably not the best show to take his mom to, but it was one of the few local performances they’ve ever done, and she was always making noises about finally seeing his band play in person. Unsurprisingly having two bandmates that live across the ocean and one that hops between two countries means they rarely play shows on this side of the Pacific, and he still hasn’t found a way to admit to her that his teleportation radius is a lot larger than he’d originally told her as a five year-old manifesting his ‘quirk’. 

“Cops or not, it was still a good time.” He grins, adamantly. 

“It was indeed a good time.” She nods, grinning back. She leans up to pat his cheek. “You looked like you were really enjoying yourself up there, Satoru. I always knew you’d be a star.” 

“It was a weekday performance at a local bar, I would hardly call myself a star.” He protests, helplessly. 

Her eyes twinkle behind her glasses. “Maybe not yet.”

--

Yes the title is from All Star by Smashmouth 😂 this fic has the most millennial playlist I've ever made

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[softlyspunsilver]

Wow just wow!

[softlyspunsilver]

Wow this is amazing!!!!

Not even five minutes in, and Justin could already tell they’d made a terrible mistake.

“—it was a calculated risk!” They defended, not that it did anything for the look Victor was giving them. 

If not for…the Incident, Justin was certain he’d have taken them by their shoulders; as it was, though, they could see his right hand twitching towards them for a moment, even as he cautiously looked between them and the rest of the room. 

“You are terrible at math.” Winter dismissed with a scoff, seemingly relaxed were it not for the way he was eyeing Victor. 

Loki couldn’t quite muffle his snort, though that didn’t keep his knives from flickering into existence. 

“You— you met with the Winter Soldier, alone?” Victor repeated slowly, and the air crackled as the lights flickered that much brighter and now everyone else tensed.

Oh boy. 

“Have you no discipline?” Loki asked with a frown, suddenly. “I do not understand how you sorcerers comport yourselves, but on Asgard this lack of control would be shameful.”

Victor froze, and Justin completely understood why. 

“This— you’re telling me this is magic?”

.

Okay, so maybe Justin introducing their friends to each other wasn’t all bad.

Still.

Now Ivan was borderline-unbearable, because he and Loki got along like a house on fire, and now that Winter had proved to not be a homicidal psychopath or whatever the rumors said, tended to also get roped into their antics every so often.

Which in and of itself wouldn’t be too bad, but now those three tended to gang up on Justin— which was unfair on a number of levels, they were the one paying the bills around here and had been the one to introduce them all in the first place, but.

For some reason, Winter had it in his head that they had next to no self-preservation instincts. Justin had no idea why, they’d have thought the contingency plans alone were enough of a hint otherwise, but apparently, no. 

Even that could have been bearable, though, if Victor hadn’t gotten involved.

Victor, who had already been incredibly overprotective since before the Incident. Victor, who was quite possibly the only person who could possibly out-stubborn them, and that wasn’t even counting the childhood friend thing.

Ugh.

This was a nightmare, why had Justin thought his friends getting along was a good thing, again?

.

meanwhile, from the rest of Cabal’s perspective:

Winter: ugh I cannot believe this idiot with a death wish is just walking around with nobody watching his back, no, I’m not worried about this guy who’s way too nice for his own good, nope, not at all

Loki: excuse you— wait, explain more

Ivan: look, I’m trying but he deals with very scary people regularly 

Victor: …this is the first I’m hearing of this, okay, who do I need to kill :) I have diplomatic immunity :) also, nice meeting the rest of the competition Justin’s other friends, if he likes you then you’re okay in my book

[softlyspunsilver]

tfw the plot bunny strikes and refuses to let go, here, continuation of this:

.

Loki was torn between chagrin and vague amusement, as he observed everyone else’s reactions to the two Justin Hammers in between herding everyone to one of the safehouses Victor von Doom had somehow managed to get ahold of in this strange world.

At first glance, Victor seemed to be the most unperturbed— but Loki knew him well enough to note the way his eyes had widened when he’d seen the two side by side, couldn’t help but catch the tiniest shift in the way he held himself and Loki would bet anything that if he were any sort of telepath, he’d be hearing nothing but an infernal screeching coming from his corner of the room. 

Ivan Vanko wasn’t much better, but at least he’d elected to hyperfixate on cleaning up the loose ends they’d left in relation to their original mission: from his mutters, some of the security cameras’ footage had been trickier to access than not, and required even more effort to scrub. Loki gave it another five minutes before he was forced to look away from his computer and acknowledge the reality of the situation.

Meanwhile, the Winter Soldiers were an interesting study in contrasts; while Winter was extremely apologetic about the situation and had already apologized no less than five times, Soldat seemed to be content to look on in bemusement as the situation unraveled from there. 

…which wasn’t very different from what Loki’s own counterpart was doing, actually, but at least Soldat wasn’t enjoying the chaos. Visibly, anyway, and Loki was getting a new appreciation for just how irritating that particular smirk looked on his own face. If they all weren’t so focused on calming the jumpier, more visibly frazzled-version of their leader, someone would’ve punched it off his face by now. As it was, though…

.

“Who the hell are you people?!” Justin Hammer whisper-shrieked, in between sharp gasps for air and eyes wide as he cowered away from his kidnappers. “And wh— wh—”

“He’s more high-strung than you are.” Someone muttered to the terrifying figure who had his face—

“Of course he is, he has no idea what’s going on and you guys kidnapped him,” his mirror image replied with a flat look, before turning to face him looking vaguely embarrassed. “Look, Hammer— can I call you Hammer? Wait, no, you can be Justin, I’ll go by Hammer and man this is weird— I can explain. Just. Sit down and take a breather, because it’s, uh, a bit of a long story.”

.

Justin would’ve thought an explanation would leave him with more answers than questions.

He was sorely mistaken.

The headache he had now wasn’t much of an improvement from before. 

.

“So, let me get this straight: you,” Justin jabbed a finger at the dude with the dark grey mask which was just about the only thing differentiating him from his twin, “grabbed me because you mistook me for him—”

“Sorry about that, by the w—”

“—and you’re all from some other dimension and pissed off goodness knows how many organizations trying to figure out how to get home,” Justin steamrollered on, closing his eyes in an effort to take things one step at a time because he was trying not to feel overwhelmed but these guys weren’t making it easy, “is that right?”

“Well…”

“I mean…”

“Yeah.” Ivan— not the bastard responsible for his being in Seagate, another version of him who apparently didn’t actively try and screw people over— replied, and Justin opened his eyes just in time to catch the tail end of his shrug. “That about sums it up.”

“Okay.” Justin nodded to himself. “Why?”

“Why what? You’re going to need to be more specific, here, I’m not a mind reader.” 

“How’d you even get here? Or do you weirdos just go dimension-hopping for fun on a Friday night?”

“You’re not the only one wondering that.” The alien god said airily, toying with a— that was a knife, okay, Justin already knew he was in way over his head, he didn’t need the reminder, thanks. Where did it even come from, anyway? “I would really like to know that as well, Ivan.”

“Oh, nah, this was a freak accident.” Ivan snorted, then gave them all a smirk that gave Justin goosebumps for a second. “As for why…look at it this way: this was weird and stressful for us, and from the start you guys knew what was going on and have me to figure out how to get us back. Now imagine if it’d been the Avengers.”

The silent, broody one— Victor, was it?— made a noise of realization. “That is diabolical. I love it.”

“I know, I was trying to figure out how to temper it when this happened. The ray gun was supposed to be temporary, I’m not sure what happened but the end goal’s a duration of twenty-four hours. Sorry you guys got caught up in the beta, by the way.”

“We are going to be having words about proper lab safety protocols when we get home, Ivan.” Victor said darkly, and something in his voice that had six out of the seven other people in the room freezing for a second.

Justin couldn’t help but notice his…twin was not part of that number.

But first, because this was something he’d been wondering ever since he’d heard of how this ‘Cabal’ operated— 

“Why are you going to this effort?”Justin asked.

“Oh, boy, here we go again,” the guy calling himself ‘Winter’ muttered, but before he do more than start to turn to him in confusion, Ivan spoke.

“Because death is too simple.” He said, not looking away from the computer he’d pulled out. “Because any rando with a gun could do that, if they wanted. No, if I’ve got a beef with someone, I want them to suffer. I want them to regret ever having pissed me off, to curse my name every time they step on a Lego and realize who put it there, to—”

“Yes, I know, we get it.” One of the alien gods cut in. The one who didn’t look like shit, and had a long-suffering look on his face partway into Ivan’s spiel. “If I had a penny for every time you go on that rant…”

“Says the guy who uses my ideas to become the official nemesis of the Avengers.” Ivan shot back, unamused, and the way Winter sighed and Victor pinched the bridge of his nose told him this was a recurring argument. 

“Guys,” Justin’s…twin cut in, and Justin couldn’t help but feel something in the pit of his stomach clench as he noticed the way everyone from his dimension came to attention. “If we could focus on getting home?”

“I know, I know, I’m on it.” Ivan muttered, turning back to his computer. “Trying to throw SHIELD off our trail’s easier here, but it’s still not exactly a cakewalk.”

“Okay. What can we do in the meantime?” 

.

The more Justin saw of this ‘Cabal’, of Hammer and the others, the more uncomfortable he felt. 

Because the more time passed, the more it felt like…he was seeing a better version of himself.

How long had he tried to get people to respect him? How many classes on public speaking and marketing had he taken, how many books had he read in an effort to build his charisma, to be remembered as something other than the cheap knockoff of Tony Stark?

And now…

Justin watched as someone wearing his face walked around, and he was quiet, and fairly introverted, but something about him demanded respect, commanded all the attention in the room when he talked, and… Justin wanted that.

.

Of course, Justin’s…twin noticed.

For some reason, the look of sympathy he got felt even worse than the first time he’d donned prisoner’s uniform in Seagate.

Not to mention the conversation they had, when Justin was ushered into a quiet corner near the safehouse’s kitchen as they had tea.

.

It was. A talk. 

Not a great one. 

Not that there really could’ve been, considering, but.

“I am not you, you are not me, and that’s a good thing.”

Justin didn’t know what he was expecting, really.

Another version of himself, forcing him to acknowledge things he’d thought he’d gotten over— how was he supposed to handle it?

“You were set up for failure from the start, you know. No child should ever have to carry some of the burdens you grew up with.”

Just.

Someone who understood, and how was he supposed to deal?

“You cannot change the past, but you can control your own actions in the future. What do you want to do, who do you want to become? What makes you, you?”

Justin had thought he’d felt tired when he’d finally been brought into the mess these guys were part of, but now his exhaustion felt soul-deep and he didn’t know when he’d started crying but no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t stop—

.

Mercifully, the others left him alone for the rest of the day. 

He… needed to think.

.

Justin wasn’t the only one having a hard time, he knew: he’d noticed the way Soldat followed Winter around, trying to mimic his self-confidence, and the Loki of this world looked at the easy camaraderie his counterpart had with a hunger that would’ve made Justin very nervous if that expression were aimed at him. 

Something dark and feral, all jagged edges and brittle smiles and it shouldn’t have resonated nearly as much as it did but—

It made for a good conversation starter, if nothing else. Something relatable to bond over tea, because Victor was a monster who had an irrational disdain for coffee and Justin needed his caffeine fix if he wanted to keep what was left of his sanity.

.

Justin didn’t know what he brought to the table. Not compared to whatever his twin did, anyway, and he didn’t want to go that route either because he wanted to be himself. 

Even if he wasn’t certain what that looked like, anyway, not after decades of chasing after Tony Stark’s shadow, but…

He’d find out. Somehow.

.

“Hey! Guys, I figured it out!” Ivan’s excited cheer woke everyone up early one morning. “Just gotta get my hands on some materials, but we can go home soon!”

[softlyspunsilver]

waking/rising update

Chapter 8 is now up!

[softlyspunsilver]

Wow wtf is wrong with poeple. Just leave poeple alone.

What happened with misskirby?? Is it the ssme thing that happened to swpromptsandasks?

Idk what happened with swpromptsandasks, that was never my scene, but if it's "they got harassed, suicide-baited, and death-threatened so much that they said 'fuck it and fuck you' and left tumblr" then yeah. This is from the author's notes on the artist formerly known as misskirby's latest fic, posted earlier today:

[softlyspunsilver]

Omg I

Love it!!! Justin now has the winter soldier!!!!!! Soooo

Gooooood

warnings: [implied] canon-typical violence, threats, extremely dubious legality and questionable self-preservation skills. 

.

“Huh. And here I thought all those parking garage scenes had been just Hollywood being Hollywood.” Justin said conversationally, as though he weren’t being held at knifepoint by a masked man. 

“You said you wanted to talk.” A rough voice said, and he blinked.

“Wait, you’re the— oh, huh. Okay then.” Justin’s eyesight wasn’t the greatest even when his glasses were on; right now, however, pinned as he was against his dashboard and glasses somewhere near the clutch… suffice it was to say, there was no way he’d be able to pick anyone out of a lineup anytime soon, even if they weren’t currently in a dimly-lit parking garage.

“What is it.” The man said more than asked, and Justin could now feel the serrated edge of the knife pressed at his shirt collar. 

“Job offer, mostly.”

The man froze, before giving an incredulous snort which, rude.

So Justin powered on, before he could let himself dwell too much on the magnitude of the situation because worst came to worst, there was always  Plan K-2359 but things didn’t need to be that way.

“Rumor has it you have it out for HYDRA.” He continued with the calm that came with having a stacked deck, “I have a mutually beneficial proposal, if that’s true.”

“I’m no mercenary.” The man replied, with an edge that told Justin he was on thin ice but he knew exactly what to say.

“I’m not asking you to be. But you’re a freelancer right now, aren’t you? If your enemy’s HYDRA, I’d be more than happy to be your benefactor.”

The pressure on his neck eased up, and he let out a slow breath. 

“I’m nobody’s attack dog.” The man said, and there was a weight to his words that told Justin there was a story there but now was not the time— “What’s the catch?”

“No catch.” Justin shook his head slowly, “Just…an interested individual whose interests align with yours, for now. If I’d known they existed five years ago, I’d have taken action then. As it is, most of my other contacts who can do anything about it are busy nowadays with other projects and I hear you’re the best in your field. Ball’s in your court— you decide if you want to take it or not.”

“I could kill you right now.” 

“You wouldn’t live to see the end of the month.” Justin countered easily. “No matter how good you are, with the bounty on whoever kills me? No stone will be left unturned. You can run— my associates have diplomatic immunity in over fifty countries, and Wakanda likes me enough to keep an ear out. Is it really worth it? Or would you rather just say no and walk away, and pretend this never happened? Because I’m game if you are.”

“Do you have a death wish?” If Justin didn’t know better, he’d have thought the man facepalmed as he started muttering.

…which he might have, actually, considering Justin couldn’t exactly see what was going on behind him. Other than the fact that he’d put his knife away sometime in the past few seconds, anyway. 

“—ucking swear, I’m pretty sure anyone with self-preservation or sanity doesn’t just go and seek out ghost stories of monsters better left forgotten—” 

“Hey!” Excuse you, Justin had plenty self-preservation, it wasn’t like he was Tony, or anything!

For his efforts, however, Justin just got lightly shaken by the back of his shirt like he was some sort of errant puppy and now he felt more offended than anything else.

“You know what? Sure, why the hell not, I’m listening. Can’t be any crazier than what you did.” The man said, sounding oddly exasperated.

Justin frowned at that, even as he straightened himself up and tugged his shirt back into place. “Personally, I’d have thought you’d like the idea of having the backing of one of the most powerful people in the country.”

“You went and sought out the Winter Soldier, with no backup.” 

“You’d have never heard me out if we had an audience,” Justin replied reasonably, and couldn’t help but feel a tad bit smug at the answering groan.

.

Hammering out an agreement wasn’t too hard, after that. 

Lots of back-and-forth, but the Winter Soldier seemed more amused than anything else and their worst argument was over who got the last of the granola bars Justin regularly carried around for when someone was on a tight schedule or had forgotten their lunch. 

The notorious former Fist of HYDRA had the same taste as one of the Sales interns. Not that either would ever know that, but good to know.

Other than that, though, Justin’s sales pitch wasn’t half bad, if he could say so himself: their agreement very heavily favored the Winter Soldier in regards to intel and resources, and they both knew it. In return, Justin got a solid ally against HYDRA, and maybe perhaps a security specialist for especially sensitive situations— on a case-by-case basis, of course, but still nothing to sneeze at.

All in all, though, it was a very productive meeting, and Justin had another associate on speed-dial if push ever came to shove. 

Today was a good day.

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Replying to @kine-iende​ [hope this works and you see it, still trying to get the hang of how tags work] who said:

Thank you, author-person, for this incredible detailed answer. (Also i don’t mind being tagged - or not) With Tony being so aware of the dynamic between those rivals, Justin ending as a villian is less going a betrayal from almost-family and more of a ‘natural phenomen’ he should have seen coming. Because as always:rivals ^^

.

To be completely honest, if this AU were a tv show the ‘Justin Hammer accidentally founded Cabal’ reveal would’ve been the huge plot twist revealed at the end of either Season 2 or 3, and it’d be a major shocker for the Avengers…but not Tony.

also just realized I somehow made an AU where the protagonist basically becomes a villain out of Spite™ and I’m not sure if that’s the weakest origin story ever, or what

After all, if this were a tv show, it’d be centered around the Avengers, and the main season one conflict would be in seeing how Tony fits in the team— which would get resolved eventually, but not before the audience gets a good look at their dynamics. Like, the chemistry between Iron Man and Captain America, how easily and seamlessly they work together without needing more than a word or two because they’re on the same page, or Tony’s cordial yet distant academic respect for Bruce [which gets contrasted with Iron Man’s uncharacteristic instant bromance with the Hulk], or… well, the list goes on.

Not to mention that having a common enemy alters their dynamic as time goes on, because while if this’d been a one-off things would’ve still been rocky between Tony and the team, whereas having to constantly coordinate because new intel indicates that their last enemy was actually connected to something bigger and that means even more teamwork…

So by this point they’ve got a good idea of their characters, how they roll, how they react under pressure and during downtime and throughout all this, Justin Hammer would make cameos because he’s SHIELD’s main weapons supplier […among other groups, which in and of itself foreshadows some of his shadier connections later on] and between him and Tony, they’ve basically cornered the market on experts in that field— which comes in handy when we’re talking about alien tech. 

Justin wouldn’t get much screentime compared to the others, but enough for the Avengers [and the audience] to see he makes for a very good foil for Tony, with their differences being highlighted all the more due to the similarities. After all, both come across as good people: Tony’s very friendly to anyone who isn’t on his shit list, and Justin acts very polite and gentlemanly to strangers [and is 100% a mom friend to anyone he cares about]. Tony’s a hero, though, while Justin’s long since made it clear he was a businessman first and foremost.

Through all this, Justin and Tony’s dynamic is intentionally kept vague— one moment they’re perfectly friendly, the next they’ll be at each others’ throats and, again, sometimes can get misinterpreted as something else. 

Then the Reveal happens, and suddenly all those past encounters and hints come up and it’s so obvious in retrospect but—

Who would’ve expected it?

Tony. 

Tony’s the only one who’s not surprised by what the latest intel’s hinting at, obtained from an intel broker who turned up dead not long after […because said broker’d also been messing with HYDRA, but that’s the plot twist that comes up in the next season]: nothing specific, nothing concrete, but something that ties a good chunk of the previous Villains Of The Week together to reveal a far, far greater threat. 

The Cabal, and while some of its members have long since become familiar names— e.g. the Fantastic Four normally are the ones who have to deal with Victor Von Doom, but not always— its founder had been a mystery for the longest time. A mystery that has just been ended, except nobody could have expected to see the name on the file.

Everyone else’s caught flat-footed and going through several permutations of ‘oh shit’, meanwhile Tony just leans back, scrubs a hand down his face, and looks out the window with a low whistle.

“Well played, Justin. Well played.”

.

Which is when the audience learns more about their very strange dynamic, which gets revealed to have started out a rivalry during their childhood [and has now basically escalated to the most high-stakes game of chicken there ever was, but shh].

Here’s the thing: if Tony were to call their rivalry off, Justin would stop.

But…

Tony can count on one hand how many positive constants he’s had in his life: Jarvis’ [and, after his heart attack, JARVIS’] presence, and his rivalry. Those are the two things that’ve been there for him through thick and thin, the only two safe places where he knows where they stand, knows they won’t try and tear him down and that means something. 

JARVIS will never leave him [not this Jarvis, at least], but… this rivalry’s been a thing since before he met Rhodey, since before his parents died and Tony’s not entirely certain just how much it’s shaped him, but he can count on one hand how many people give a damn about him and want to see him succeed and— 

Tony’s not sure he has it in him to call it off. Not at this point. 

Not when part of him knows why he did it, because— well, every superhero needs an adversary, don’t they? For a moment, he’d been surprised Justin had the guts to do this, but it makes complete sense the more he thinks about it and Tony knows just how little respect Justin has for the others, of course he’d be the type of guy who’d go “ugh, fine, if you want something done right, gotta do it yourself”. 

.

also, before this all seems very one-sided, I think I forgot to mention that Justin’s really benefiting from this rivalry too— not as obvious early on, but it gives him something to focus on and work towards. 

Something that kept him from depression when he thought too much about his past life and discovered just how much he’d forgotten, was still forgetting, something to keep him from being bored when he looked up one day and realized— he didn’t actually have any goals in this life, did he? 

Not when his life thus far had been dictated by his parents, and he’d been okay with following along to their script for him because if it wasn’t him, it’d be his sister or an innocent child who’d be forced to live up to their impossibly high expectations as the heir to Hammer Industries… but it was something he was resigned to at this point, not something he was particularly happy about. 

This time, he… didn’t know what he wanted in life. Nor did he remember what he’d wanted last time— had they wanted to be a doctor? Teacher? Writer? They didn’t remember anymore— and it’s startling to realize that he couldn’t remember the last time he’d smiled if he wasn’t talking to his little sister. 

Justin’s never been one to seek out the approval of the adults in his life— the fact that he was surrounded by Parents of the Year [note the sarcasm] probably had something to do with that— and remembering a past life means he sees everyone his physical age and lower as kids, so he doesn’t see many people as equals.

…and then Tony decided he’d like having a rival.

At first, yeah, it was confusing; even as an adult, Justin didn’t entirely get why, but it was. Something.

Something good, and gets even better because this is something they both decided, that had nothing to do with the meticulously-annotated plan his parents had for his life, and while at first it was weird, Justin found he was actually enjoying himself [for once].

To the point where he found himself actually getting honestly, genuinely invested in said rivalry, and if he sometimes found himself trying to drill self-care into Tony sometimes, well, those bags under his eyes made them look bad, okay? It was self-interest, nothing more, really!

Really.

So when Tony went and became a superhero, Justin found himself taking a step back for a moment as he paused to consider his actions.

Paused before taking the plunge, because this was it, was serious, was pushing the limit and going past the point of no return. Was he really willing to do this?

A moment to consider things, deliberate on the possible consequences and what could happen— then he gave a sharp, decisive nod.

“Yes, we’re doing this.” 

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Uhhhh..... heads up Amazon device users, I guess????

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In Dangerous Galaxy, how are the other Jedi reacting now that they're safe from the Senate? Have their relationships with the clones changed? Have any of them allowed themselves to open up about what they went through, about how they may not have allowed themselves relationships because of what they had to do?

Smiling quietly as she accepted the cup of tea Commander Colt made for her, Shaak nodded her thanks to him as she cradled the cup close, savoring the warmth and scent of the precious liquid. Across the table, Depa accepted her own cup from Colt, smiling softly up at the man and then blowing on the tea, a tad more impatient than Shaak for the heat.

Not that Shaak could blame her, Depa had just arrived and it had been raining as usual.

The wind had a tendency to make things cold.

Curled into his master’s side, Caleb napped quietly, the quiet buzz of troopers all around them sending the young padawan into a deep, secure sleep.

Not that Shaak was any better, if she was honest.

Ever since Vod’alor Kote, since Commander Cody, conquered Coruscant and took over the Republic, a sense of security had finally settled into Shaak’s very bones and soul.

The knowledge that the Senate could no longer use them was… reassuring.

That was the easiest word Shaak could use, reassuring. Her actual emotions couldn’t be put into words, the sensation of overwhelming joy, the painful relief, uncertainty of the future, the knowledge the troopers were there…

So many emotions and mixing and mangling in her chest and filling her with a sensation she just couldn’t explain.

And over all of it, happiness, warmth, the knowledge that they were safe.

Yes, Shaak was more than happy to sit with her fellow council member, enjoy the tea Colt had made for them as Caleb napped on his master, his mother’s, lap.

Not that he knew it.

The jedi did their best to shield their own children from the knowledge.

To know you were the product of a Senator taking advantage of a Jedi, to know you were the product of rape…

Yes, the Jedi did their best to shield the children. So many of the younglings were given fake planets to claim their own.

She knew that Caleb’s history listed him as ‘Coruscantian’ born, young Zatt was listed as coming from Dac instead of the home of Glee Anselm like Kit and she was aware that Cal Kestie was listed as coming from one of Stewjon’s moons, instead of the planet.

Just enough that his biology could be explained but try not to put him to close to Obi-Wan.

There were many other younglings like them.

But generally, only the parents themselves and the healers in question knew. The only reason Shaak was aware of Cal, Caleb and Zett was because of her own closeness to their parents on the Jedi council.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t know.

But one could only spend so much time together before one figured things out.

Cal Kestie especially was easy to see, the way he looked so much like Obi-Wan and how rare redheaded humans apparently were. That relationship was more of an open secret than anything due to the similarity.

Just like the Vod’alor and Obi-Wan’s relationship.

Or well, almost relationship.

Obi-Wan himself had not cottoned on but the rest of the council could see how much the Vod’alor pined for his Jedi, the way he watched him with a softness that… well, frankly Obi-Wan deserved.

They could also tell that there was no chance in hell Kote would do anything, that the clone was terrified of abusing his position of power.

It made Shaak hope that Obi-Wan figured out things sooner rather than later, seeing as he pined for his former Commander too.

In these trying days, Shaak couldn’t help but feel that they all deserved some happiness. Some softness. “Are you returning to Coruscant?” She looked up from her cup, meeting Depa’s eyes at the quiet question.

The other simply looked curious, so Shaak shook her head. “Not… yet at least. I believe I will stay here for as long as the clones are here.” She glanced at Colt, smiling slightly when the commander straightened in attention, his chest puffing out slightly.

After all, they had looked after her, had shielded Shaak.

She should return the favor until the last of the clones were decanted and ready to move out.

The Jedi owed them that much she felt and by the soft, none-judgmental hum she got from Depa, it was clear the other both understood and agreed.

Let the Jedi give back to the troopers, in any way they were willing to accept the aid of Jedi.

[softlyspunsilver]

heartlines update

Chapter 4 is now up!

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What the fuck. Is there anything Amazon doesn’t want to ruin??? #Ao3 #fanfiction

Amazon Unveils a [Horrifying] Fanfic Publishing Platform

Today, Amazon announced the imminent launch of its newest endeavor, Kindle Worlds, a publishing platform for fanfiction. When I read the announcement, I was horrified, then angry, then sad. I want to take a moment to explain why this is such a tragedy.

Keep reading

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Omg omg omg this story is killing me!!! Just so gooooooood! And the emotions of the clones hurt so goooood! I want to wrap them up in bubble wrap!!

waking/rising update

Chapter 6 is now up!

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Hey runners (and walkers)! Thought this might be helpful :)

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Wow ! Just every bit of this is amazing!!!

I want to know what's going on with Dooku in Dangerous Galaxy!

Fixing his clothes first as he was watched by the room, Cody finally nodded to the trooper on the comm terminal, taking a deep breath as he focused on the platform, watching as Count Dooku came into view.

The man looked… calm, at ease, wearing his normal clothes, standing in a relaxed position with sharp eyes focused on Cody. “Ah, Vod’alor Kote. I must commend you on your… revolution. I did not see this coming,” The man smirked at him, seemingly impressed with what he saw. “Neither did I expect you to present an image fit to rule, your last display left a little to be desired.”

Honestly, if it wasn’t for his men, Cody wouldn’t have dressed up but this was good, even if it had taken Cody a while to get dressed as Tracker and Switch had insisted he couldn’t show to the meeting in just armor.

Something about playing the part as Vod’alor and honestly, Cody got it...but he didn’t have to like it.

So, he had waited until the two showed up with an outfit that didn’t make him look like just a common soldier among all his vode or like he was mimicking the Mandalorians. For all that they were based on one, they didn’t want to be Mandalorians, not anymore.

So, Cody had reluctantly dressed in the tight leather pants with matching black boots so polished they shone along with the tight long sleeved shirt. Thankfully though, there was armor to go with it, black greaves with silver designs and a good chestplate with the same black and silver details artistically painted in swirls and geometric designs and to cap it of, a blood red cape with silver fastenings.

It made him look dangerous, his belt containing obvious blasters and viroblades along with the hidden ones filling in that image.

Raising a brow, grateful the others had insisted he dress well, Cody crossed his arms slowly over his chest. “No, I imagine you didn’t… neither did Palpatine.” He drawled, trying to emulate the way he had seen Obi-Wan act when conversing with an enemy that wanted to negotiate.

Because that was what he suspected the other wanted, to negotiate.

Dooku paused, tilting his head before inclining it slowly. “Then you know.” He stated calmly.

“There was a reason we exposed him working with the CIS, we know.” Cody returned a tad dryly.

Honestly, not even half of Palpatine’s crimes had been aired to the public, if they had, there might have been calls for blood in the street for the Senate for not realizing it. And Cody would rather not have people like Bail and Padme in danger for being fooled by a man like Palpatine.

Letting out a low hum, Dooku stared at him, as if indecisive. “…Will the Jedi order’s service to the Senate continue? Will the clones be taking those services?” The man suddenly asked and if Cody had been holding anything at that moment, it would have gotten thrown at him.

As it was, Cody gritted his teeth so hard there was an audible click and he saw Helix wince on the other side of the room.

Dooku however, only cocked his head. “You must understand, I have to ask… there was after all, many reasons for me to leave the order...and not all of them had with disagreements for the future and the state of the order.” He continued, folding his hands in front of him and lacing his fingers.

Cody took a deep breath through his nose before shaking his head hard. “No. Those will not continue and if any of the Senators are discovered to be requesting them… they will be executed.” He stated sharply.

Dooku’s brows rose in surprise and slight disbelief.

“They have been warned. The Jedi council has been told to relay to all of their members to report any Senators that requests their services,” Cody continued darkly. “This has ended and anyone discovered to try and pressure the Jedi… will meet their end.”

Count Dooku gained an odd look, staring at Cody as if he couldn’t quite understand what was going on. “…Shockingly… I believe you, Vod’alor Kote, it is… good to know,” The man said slowly, a tad dazed sounding and Cody mentally sighed as he was reminded that this man was once part of the Jedi order, would have gone through the same thing Obi-Wan had at some point. Hell, Cody had discovered by looking at records that Palpatine himself had requested Dooku many times prior to his departure. “It also makes my job a tad easier.” The Count continued, oblivious to Cody’s knowledge and thoughts.

Rocking on his heels, Cody frowned slightly. “Your job?” He queried, mentally wishing for a large cup of caff, the kind with frothy blue milk in it and caramel syrup that Obi-Wan had given him on late night report work.

“Several leading members of the CIS wishes to speak with the new leadership of the Republic,” Dooku waved a hand. “They see the chance for more… equitable treatment now than before under new leadership.” He explained steadily, as if he moments before hadn’t been indicating the generational long abuse of the entire Jedi order, himself included.

This should surprise Cody but somehow… it didn’t.

Dooku had always been a calculated man in public from what Cody could tell, so that he could shuttle his emotions… well, it made sense.

But the CIS leadership wanting to talk to Cody… now there was a surprise.

Frowning faintly, he nodded slowly. “I see…” In a way, it made sense, new leadership, new chances after all and the CIS wanted equality for the outer and mid rim planets from the start. Unconsciously, Cody’s hand rose to rub his chin, Dooku watching him with curious eyes as the trooper, the leader in front of him, mimicked the gesture of his grandpadawan. If he had watched Dooku instead of thoughtfully staring slightly down, he would have seen the older man’s lips twitch in a faint smile at the gesture.

“I feel it fair to warn you, Vod’alor,” Dooku suddenly interrupted the others thought process, Cody’s head jerking up to look at him. “Not all wish to, they will continue to fight and Grievous… he listens to no one. He wants to maim and he still wants to bring down Jedi.” Count Dooku stated seroiusly.

Okay, that did not surprise him but… “Why are you informing us?” Cody frowned at him.

Holding out his hands as if in surrender, Count Dooku gracefully shrugged. “To show my sincerity with this offer. I am merely the messenger for the other planets that do wish to speak with you. And Grievous is a lose canon… I worry for what he might do to certain… members of my lineage.” The words were uttered steadily in a cold tone, as if unconcerned.

But Cody got it.

Obi-Wan.

Grievous always tried to murder Obi-Wan and the realization hit deep and hard as he stared at Dooku. “...You do realize that if any of the Senators of the CIS were involved wi-”

“If you think I let them live long,” Cody was interrupted, Dooku’s lips twisting. “Then you’re more foolish than even Skywalker.” He drawled arrogantly, cocking his head.

For a moment, Cody wondered how much of that arrogance was a cover, a protection from the old hurts of the past.

Then he discarded the thought and nodded slowly. “I did notice there was some… missing members.” He smirked.

Cody got a smirk in return, Count Dooku shrugging slightly. “…They shouldn’t have touched the Order.” Was all Dooku said. The unsaid ‘they shouldn’t have touched my linage.’ Was in there somewhere.

To that, Cody had nothing to say. The two leaders of each factions continuing to make arrangement for later discussions, involving the leaders of the planets under the CIS that wished to speak.