Have a 2nd snip of my and @yavannie‘s star-spangled mini bang entry this year. Posting begins in November! Can’t wait for y’all to see the art for this fic!
"I got you!" Sam says and rummages his duffle for an extra t-shirt, just a plain white one with a red Coke label over the chest. "Put this on."
Winters takes the shirt and scrutinizes it, pulling a face. "Negative."
"You can't wear your fuckin' uniform, man. Just put it on."
And now Winters looks physically pained and panicked. "There are— I don't—I'm not permitted to reveal—"
"What?" Sam says, watching him. "Reveal what?"
With that, Winters sighs. He unbuttons his uniform and shrugs the jacket off his shoulders. Sam doesn't see it at first, but when Winters turns in the low lamplight, his left arm gleams silver. The whole thing is pure metal with a bright red star painted on his bicep.
"Woah, man, that's—" He comes closer to inspect it, every little metal plate that makes up his arm, the mechanical whir beneath the surface. "This isn’t just a prosthetic. Does it come off?"
Winters shakes his head. His chest rises and falls with rapid but controlled heaves. Sam's fingers hover but don't touch.
"Where'd you get it?"
"You can…I wouldn't mind if you—"
"Touched it?"
This time he nods almost too quickly. Almost as if he's eager to feel it. And Sam gets that. Human contact is scarce out here. It ain't the type of place you go around hugging or cuddling each other to sleep. And Winters never talks about his family, so Sam wonders how long it's been since he'd been touched at all.
Thank you all so much for participating in the 2022 Star Spangled Big Mini Bang! You can see all of our fabulous works in the collection, as well as a few WIPs that will be finished soon. We hope to see you next year. Without further adieu, here are links to the master posts for this year’s creations!
A Climb of Passion by britbrit99, Zenaidamacrouras1
Steve/Bucky, M, Modern AU, 32k
Ain't No Grave by glittercake, Yavannie
Sam/Bucky, E, Pre-TWS Canon Divergence, 19k
bloom by Lies_Unfurl, PanoramicSubDrop
Sam/Steve/Bucky, E, Soulmates AU, 35k
coming home by defined_insanity, Reagy_Jay
Bucky/Sarah Wilson, T, AU- College, 18K
Finding Hope by SomeSortofItalianRoast, Call_Me_Kayyyyy
Gen, T, X-Men Crossover, 16k
Hunt in the Congo by rufferto, SciFiUnicorn
Bucky Gen, T, Post-TFATWS, 24k
If I Take You Home by Writer_Lethogica, onesmolangel
Sam/Bucky, M, Bachelor AU, 19k
Mostly Dead is Still Partly Alive by faeblesmith, StillTurningOut
Steve Gen, T, Steve-centric Emotional Hurt/Comfort, 7k
Not In The Answer But The Question by aimmyarrowshigh, potterspink
Steve/Bucky, T, Shrunkyclunks AU, 27k
should[n’t] have put a ring on it [art] by circaclementine, MsPooslie
Steve/Bucky, E, Modern AU, 18k
shut up and drive [art] by dryadfiona, Girl_Back_There
Sam/Bucky, T, Road Trip, 13k
Single? Taken? Waiting for Captain America? by britbrit99, hkandi
Steve/Bucky, G, Shrunkyclunks AU, 7k
t'aimer sur les bords du lac by burning_brighter, Nivelle
Steve/Bucky, M, Endgame Canon Divergence, 18k
That's Three For Cap by buckybarnesdeservestobehappy, digthewriter
Steve/Bucky, Sam/Steve/Bucky, E, Modern AU, 7k
The big question mark (WIP) by Ely_Pines, endlesstwanted
Sam Gen, T, Pre-CACW, WIP
The Roommates by arrowsshootyouforwards
Sam/Bucky, Steve/Natasha, Pepper/Tony, T, AU - Roommates, 19K
why they lost their minds (and fought the wars) by liloau, Reagy_Jay
Steve/Bucky, E, WWII Canon Divergence, 10K
Hi! We're running a fan content creation event for the podcasts The Bright Sessions and In Strange Woods!
This event will run from June-November, and interest checks are open right now! You can fill out the interest check form here! Please note that these interest checks are not official sign-ups and those will be opening up on June 1st!
You can find mod intros, a full event schedule, and other important information on our blog, and we're super excited to be getting started :D
The Star-Spangled Big Bang is a chance for writers and artists to collaborate and create stories paired with artwork, all of which will focus on Captain America & Co. This year’s bang will be a mini-bang. Authors sign up to write stories that are 5k words or longer. Artists then claim stories and create art inspired by them.
July 13, Wednesday - All sign-ups open
Aug 6, Saturday - Author sign-ups close
August 13, Saturday - Author slides due + 1K Due
August 14, Sunday - Slides go out
August 19, Friday- Artist sign-ups close
August 20, Saturday - Claims open, Partnerships announced
Sept 11, Sunday - Check-in #1
October 9, Sunday - Author & Artist Check-in #2, Posting Date Claims
November - Posting period
Content Guidelines/Code of Conduct
Every creation must be centered around at least one character who has appeared in the Captain America MCU trilogy or The Falcon and the Winter Soldier television show, or has been Captain America in any media canon. Any and all additional characters are welcome as long as the main focus is on the Cap-centric character.
Any and all ratings are welcome, as well as any setting, be it canon, canon divergent, or AU. Creators will be able to outline their preferences on rating, do-not-wants, and collaboration interest level if desired so that participants may take that into consideration when choosing what stories they’d like to collab with.
Please be mindful of portraying marginalized communities respectfully. This page from Writing With Color has a list of blogs and resources that discuss diversity in writing. Any creations that sympathetically portray hate groups or actively promote racism, transphobia, homophobia, etc. will not be accepted.
All fics must be edited, beta read, and legible. All content must be thoroughly and appropriately tagged.
Please be respectful of your fellow participants. This event is designed to be inclusive regarding characters, ships, kinks, etc. and therefore we will not allow kinkshaming or ship/character bashing within event spaces. We are a diverse community and will not tolerate any racism, transphobia, homophobia, harassment, etc. This includes harassment, targeting, and general inappropriate behavior towards the mods, who are fans just like you, doing this for fun in their spare time to share more Captain America love.
What sort of content am I committing to if I sign up?
Authors will be required to create one original, cohesive story with a minimum of 5k words (no maximum). Artists will claim one or more stories (depending on the number of sign-ups we receive, as well as artist interest) and create one piece inspired by that story. Each collab team will be required to create a banner for the master post as well.
We are also accepting sign-ups for pinch hitters (both author and artist) and beta readers. You can sign up for multiple roles, or just one role. Pinch hitters and beta readers do not need to commit to anything at the time of sign up; you’ll be notified when we need your help and can decide at that time whether you’re able to participate.
What sort of artwork is acceptable?
All art must be visual, original art. By original art, we mean that the final product must be an original product of the artist. Using photos for reference is fine, and you can use whatever traditional or digital medium you require, so long as the art starts and finishes as your own product. Photo manips are allowed as long as they have been significantly edited, via Photoshop or other programs, to clearly resemble original art. Hit up the mods if you need clarity on an idea.
What ships are allowed?
Every creation must be centered around at least one character who has appeared in the Captain America MCU trilogy or The Falcon and the Winter Soldier television show, or has been Captain America in any media canon. Any and all additional characters are welcome as long as the main focus is on the Cap-centric character. Other than that note, we welcome any and all ships for the main pairings, including polyamorous ships, queerplatonic ships, and genfic. All side pairings are welcome as well.
Are there any age restrictions for participation?
Sorry, but yes. You’ve got to be 18 or over to participate.
Can I use a work that I’ve published previously, or that’s been sitting in my drafts for 3 years?
For this event, we need all original content, none of which has been published previously. That being said, if you’ve got an outline or a draft that’s been hanging around your WIP folder for too long, now’s the perfect time to dust it off and finish it! You can submit that work to be claimed.
What if a friend and I want to work together?
Writing or artist teams are welcome, but since claims will be anonymous, no author/artist team sign-ups will be allowed.
How will claiming work?
Authors will create slides with information on their stories, and authors must have a minimum of 1k words written to be considered for claims.
The mods will compile the author submissions anonymously to share with the artists prior to claims. Once claims open, artists will submit their choices via Google forms.
Where are the submissions going to be hosted?
All submissions will be posted on AO3. We will also promote all creations on Tumblr and Twitter.
What if I can’t finish on time, will I get an extension?
We’ll have plenty of check-ins to make sure that you will indeed finish on time! If you’ve got any concerns, the mods will work with you to find a solution on a case-by-case basis. We will also enlist the help of pinch hitters if necessary. If you drop before claims, there will be no penalty; however if you ghost us after claims and leave your partner hanging, we’ll take that into account for participation in future events depending on the circumstances.
We do ask that as you know you can no longer continue in the event please speak with a mod as soon as possible. We understand situations happen but the sooner we know, the sooner we can get your partner a pinch-hitter.
Can I post work-in-progress snippets on my personal blog?
Yes! Prior to claims, all snippets and sneak peeks must be shared anonymously; the mods will assist in this process. Once claims are done, you will be able to announce your team and share snippets as you create. Please keep snippets to 500 words or less, and roughly ⅓ of the artwork or less.
I can’t sign up, but I still want to participate, what can I do?
No worries, there are lots of ways for you to help support the Bang! Follow us on Twitter and Tumblr; reblog, comment, and share our posts to spread the word. We’ll also be asking for help with beta reading, pinch-hitting, and other cool ways for you to get involved!
Where can I find event info?
Info on the SS(M)B will be posted on Tumblr (@starspangledbigbang) and Twitter (@starspangledbb), with a collection on AO3. We will also have a Discord for participants.
Who are the mods?
Your friendly SS(M)B mods are bangyababy, Call_Me_Kayyyyy, and nachodiablo.
I’ve got more questions, help!
No problem, we’re happy to hear from you! Ping us on one of the social media sites above, or email starspangledmods at gmail dot com.
November is posting month for the Star Spangled Mini Bang!
As we go through posting month, completed works will be promo-d here and on our Twitter. For those of you who don't want to wait, you can check out our AO3 collection and follow along!
