the wings that you burn turn to ashes, my dear

Title: House in the Trees
Fandoms: Marvel Cinemagic Universe, Captain America (Movies)
Characters: Steve Rogers, Howling Commandos
Pairing: Howling Commandos & Steve Rogers
Rating: Gen
AO3 Tags: Character Study, Fandom Snowflake Challenge, Pre-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Alternate Scene, Genuary Fic Event
Summary: Steve at the opening night of his Smithsonian exhibit.

Notes: For ~yeetresponsibly, who has proven that we don't need to work together in order for him to feed me fic ideas. I love and hate you.

Written for a few challenges: Fandom Snowflake Challenge on DW and the Genuary Fic Event on Tumblr. This was a response to my own lyric challenge I created for Snowflake, with the song lyric: When the last of your friends have gone, you learn a whole lot about hanging on and on. from "House in the Trees" by Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness.

“Captain America: The Living Legend & Symbol of Courage,” the sign out front proclaimed. Steve snorted. The only thing legendary about him was the fact that he lived, long after he should have died.

He walked past signs showing his height, before and after the serum, followed by a replica of a motorcycle he’d ridden. The walls were decorated with stories of his victories throughout the war. Steve didn’t read them. He didn’t have to. He already knew what happened.

And then he saw the uniforms.

Read more at AO3!

Challenge #3: Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

In your own space, tell us who, from one of your fandoms, would you most want to have dinner with (or tea, or a random afternoon visit), And why? This could be a creator, an actor, a costumer, a set designer, a director, a character, a composer, anybody! What would you talk about? What are you dying to know?


So I had to think on this one a bit. I have several writers I would love to have over - the ones who I have subscribed to, whose works I've read over and over again, just so we can chat about writing and fandom and our stories and you know, just hang. I would like to be able to hang with my writing group again at some point, when it's safe to do so.

But the big one, I think, would be Carrie Fisher.

She was supposed to attend Rhode Island Comic Con a few years before her death and she ended up having to cancel. I remember telling my partner that it would be so hard to wait in line with both him and our son (who was a toddler at the time), but I would do it for Carrie Fisher. As she didn't attend, at the time I always thought there would be another chance to meet her.

And then she passed away.

I'm sure everyone has a story about Princess Leia and what she meant to them as a character. For me, I remember being eight years old and watching The Empire Strikes Back on VHS (taped from TV, so part of the Hoth scenes is missing). There was this woman, not much bigger than me, standing in front of these pilots and taking charge and telling them what to do. She didn't have to listen to anyone. She led the rebellion and even when things went south, she still took charge.

And then, as I got older, the way Carrie spoke of her mental illness resonated with me. As someone who's struggled with anxiety all my life, I was determined to accept that this is just "the way I am" and there wasn't anything I could do about it. I was wrong. Carrie helped me see that. She also helped me see that it was okay to be just as I am, flaws and all, and to be proud of what made me unique.

I'm not going to say that I'm ever going to manage my anxiety 100 percent. I do know that I'll never get the chance to tell Carrie thank you face to face, but I like to think she knew the impact she had on the world. So, thanks Space Mom, the General. You inspired my generation and the ones who come after me, too. ♥

Challenge #12

Commit an Act of Kindness (or two or three ♥ ).

I think it's perhaps cheating to say that my act of kindness this weekend was for myself, but it's true.

I got sick last week. I work retail and deal with people all day long, plus have two young kids who are walking petri dishes. It's going to happen. Usually, my way of handling this is to pop a bunch of DayQuil and pray that it passes quickly. Push through my shifts, and I can rest when I get home.

This time, though, I did the thing. I asked for help.

I never ask for coverage for my shifts. Most of the time, it is nigh impossible to find someone to take a shift, especially since 1. I have keys to my store, and thus can't just ask anyone to come in, and 2. I open, and no one likes being at the store early. But Matt took one look at me, told me that yes, he would come in and open, and that I should go the fuck home.

Then I texted two other people, both of whom agreed to come in early so the store had coverage.

I would still be sick right now if I didn't have Saturday off to rest. Granted, I still have a cough, but I no longer feel like walking death. I need to remember that it's okay to take this time for myself, that I need to get better, and I won't be able to do so when I'm too busy running myself into the ground.

As a second act of kindness, I finished an additional treat as part of chocolateboxcomm. No details on that, as it's a treat and won't be revealed until Valentine's Day, but I feel pretty good about it. ♥

Challenge #6

In your own space, make a list — anything between one and ten things is a sweet spot, but don't feel constrained by that! - of things that you wish existed in fandom or elsewhere, or that you'd like someone to make for you. Are you dying for podfic of your writing? Do you need icons for a character that doesn't get much fanart? Is there a story you want to read? Are you looking for new canons to get into? Would you like a collaborator for a project?

Maybe you want more people to talk about a certain fandom with, or you'd love to trade ficlets with somebody over email. Maybe you're new to a fandom and would like some recs to start reading, or communities to join. This is the time to ask!

( a wishlist behind here! )

Challenge #3

Pimp Your Favorite Communities, Fests or Challenges!

Unfortunately, most of my favorite comms have already closed their signups for the year, but I'll still talk about them here!

( I lurk more than I post but these ones are fun! )

Challenge #1

In your own space, introduce yourself!

Oh hi. I'm Amie! I am also late to the game, but you know, this sounded like fun.

As the bio says, I am a writer, barista, baker, daydreamer, mom, INFJ, the most Virgo to ever Virgo that you will ever meet. I've been writing for as long as I can remember, from little stories I would write for my father to filling notebooks upon notebooks in order to get these stories out of my head. The long running joke is that, because I'm a writer, of course I work in a coffee shop, since those seem to go hand in hand.

I have two kids, Quentin and Gabrielle, who are 6 and 3, respectively. I'm trying to be the best mom I can and encourage them in ways that help them grow while still being the incredibly unique individuals they are. Q is my long-haired rock star who wants to be a paleontologist when he grows up. Gabby's entire personality can be summed up by the "hold my beer" meme.

I've been involved in fandom in some way for the last 15+ years. My current fandoms lean more towards the MCU, Power Rangers, and Final Fantasy (especially X, VI, and VIII), but I'll always write for Highlander and Star Wars. I used to be rissa_jennings and wingsyouburn on IJ. I love me some found family feels and gen fic, and some filthy, filthy smut. If you can make me care about these characters and what happens to them, then I will love your fic. For reals. I love music that features a piano, Andrew McMahon is my hero, and someday I want to be as brave and no holds barred as Carrie Fisher.

If you're interested in reading what I've written, you can find me at AO3 at wingsyouburn. I'm also really bad at introducing myself, so. Hi!