himbowelsh

[himbowelsh]

world's bestest most specialist war criminal

#i'm not even gonna say who bc we're all thinking the same thing

[himbowelsh]

Okay, when I tell you how much I love that Lewis Nixon married a Japanese-American lady after the war and they didn’t have any children and just traveled the world together living off his families’ riches… so good. 

Also, every time I hear more and more about Grace Nixon, I can see if Nix was half the person he was as portrayed as in the Band of Brothers miniseries, I see why her and Nix would get along so well (And why she was basically able to get a lifelong alcoholic who couldn’t get two marriages to work to straighten up, how she was able to manage to live through a literal internment camp, where she literally did the jitterbug and said she was lucky because her internment camp came with “cute boys,” and then how she joined up as a nurse to serve her country and prove her loyalty even though she was going to be a professional cellist in order to escape the camp). 

Like, she’s literally my favourite person in this narrative.

And if this doesn’t convince you, I found her obituary and the fact that this was in her obituary, A LEGEND:

“In 1956, Grace married Lewis Nixon. In marriage, Grace and Lewis had a wonderful, loving life. They happily travelled the world, listened to music, supported charitable causes, and raised pets—among them Anubis the cat, Nicholas the one-eyed dog, and Peter the rabbit—as well as feeding a neighborhood family of raccoons and the annually migrating Mr. and Mrs. Duck. Grace and Lewis often spent time with their nieces and nephews, teaching them cards and backgammon and playing for keeps over the children’s allowance money.”

First off, MR. AND MRS DUCK.

Secondly, TEACHING CHILDREN GAMBLING AND FUCKING PLAYING FOR KEEPS FOR ALL THEIR ALLOWANCE MONEY IM SCREAMING THATS SUCH A NIX THING

“CHILDREN HAVE TO LEARN SOMETIME” -a literal millionaire taking three dollars off a child-

(Also this is on top of the footage of her behind the scenes with Ron Livingston who played Lewis Nixon in Band of Brothers, and Grace flat out saying he was much more handsome than her husband, Ron Livingston trying to defer and be gracious, and be like, “No, no, THIS guy was the handsome one,” and Grace basically being like LOL NO I KNOW MY HUSBAND AND YOU’RE HOTTER THAN HE EVER WAS. A QUEEN.)

#help i barely know her but i love her sm #grace nixon

[himbowelsh]

Band of Brothers | Part Six: Bastogne 

[himbowelsh]

despite my encyclopaedic knowledge of hbo war actors (“jason o’mara appeared in the first two episodes as lieutenant meehan and actually visited the site of the plane crash his character died in to prepare for the role —“) there are still some actors who, like… they weren't in band of brothers, but they feel like they should have been.

I’m thinking, like, timothy olyphant, paul bettany (in a brief cameo, after which he's violently killed off), andrew lincoln??? don’t @ me, i’m right for some reason

#band of brothers #hbo war #when you think about how many big names were in these damn shows #it’s really insane #even james ransone went on to star in It 2!! big movie star!! #tim makes sense bc justified so he’s worked with a lot of the cast already #but just TELL ME he wouldn’t fit right in #bob cast

[himbowelsh]

on the one hand, ron speirs absolutely does not have youngest child energy —

on the other hand, he absolutely does.

#ron speirs #ronald speirs #my guy was the youngest of five!! #he had three older sisters who absolutely DOTED on him #idk why but something about that Big Cryptid Energy screams youngest sibling unleashed in the wild to me

[himbowelsh]

hey lydia you tagged that last win/nix gifset at "richard nixon"

FUCK

HE’S COMING

#i’m fUCKING PEEING

[himbowelsh]

Are you still accepting Valentine’s alphabet requests? If so, can you do Speirs?? Thank you so much! 🥰

valentines day alphabet  ( accepting! )

A   :   AFFECTION.   how does your muse show affection?

Ron shows affection by actively seeking out and tolerating peoples’ company; by letting his carefully constructed shields down around them, one by one, allowing them a clearer picture of him; by listening with rapt attention when they speak; and, of course, the constant bestowing of gifts at strange and inopportune times. If he’s really feeling bold, he might go for the lingering touch, cupping someone’s arm or letting his hand linger over theirs. These mean a lot, and are the only physical contact he’ll really initiate, because this man is...  a little touch-starved.

B   :   BOUQUET.   does your muse like flowers? which ones are their favourite?

Flowers sure are...  there. Growing. Yeah, nice colors. Cool. Honestly, not Ron’s thing, he doesn’t really take notice of them, and is certain he’d have a black thumb if he ever tried. The most he’d do for a partner is maybe pick up a bouquet at the flower shop, but he’d just grab the first one he sees. No aesthetic eye, no idea that flowers even have meanings.

C   :   CHOCOLATE.   does your muse like chocolate? which one is their favourite?

This bitch only likes dark chocolate. He doesn’t have rights.

D   :   DATE.   what is your muse’s ideal date? where / who with / etc?

Definitely somewhere private, with someone he feels completely at ease around; Ron’s not much of a movie-goer, and he doesn’t relish the great outdoors, so maybe a quiet restaurant followed by a walk in the park. There would have to be ample conversation, excellent food, maybe a bit of good music...  and it would have to be at night, so that during their walk he can watch the way shadows dance off his partner’s face.

E   :   EMBRACE.   does your muse like hugs? what are their hugs like?

While Ron never actively craves physical contact, and would even claim to dislike it...  he’s actually really touch-starved. He’s suppressed it so long that he literally doesn’t realize, until the first time someone pulls him into an embrace and he just...  unravels. To hug Ron, you have to be someone he trusts implicitly to do so  ---  that’s a list of, like, two people  ---  and you should probably give him forewarning first. While he’ll never initiate the embrace, if he allows someone to hug him, he just kind of...  melts into it. A bit of a teddy bear; will cling tightly, slightly desperate, for a few precious seconds before deciding any longer would make the other person uncomfortable.

F   :   FLIRT.   is your muse good at flirting? how do they flirt?

He’s a magpie. Ron flirts by giving gifts, preferably things he’s stolen himself (it’s more meaningful that way). He’s also not above just… bold-faced compliments, not even beating around the bush. Intense eye contact? Check. The kind of smile that could mean about ten different things, and there’s no real way to guess which one? Absolutely. Maybe Ron doesn’t flirt the way most ordinary people do, but he definitely flirts.

G   :   GIFT.   is your muse good at gift - giving or do they struggle to get it right?

Listen — if Ron’s giving out gifts, the first thing any recipient needs to do is figure out where he got it from. Hopefully, he bought it with his own money. More than likely he picked it up somewhere, and someone might be missing it. Ron’s not really a gift person, and doesn’t give out his treasures lightly — if he does, that means he really cares for someone — but when he offers them, it always means something. Either it’s something he knows they need, something that reminds him of them, or something he thinks they’d like. Maybe his gifts aren’t always obtained fairly, but they’re always thoughtful.

H   :   HEART.   is your muse quick or slow to give their heart away?

Ron’s motto is “finder’s keepers”. If you can steal it, you get to keep it...  but that thing’s under some tight security, so it’s no easy task.

I    :   I LOVE YOU.   does your muse find ‘i love you’ easy or hard to say?

He hardly ever says it out loud… but his eyes scream it, every time he looks at the person he cares about. It’s impossible to mistake Ron’s love for anything else.

J   :   JEALOUSY.   does your muse get jealous in a relationship?

Oh, without a doubt. He is very possessive of his treasures, and is used to keeping an eye out for anyone who might try and steal them; the same goes for romantic relationships. Ron isn’t overbearing with his jealousy, and he wouldn’t do things like snoop through a partner’s mail or follow them...  but if he catches someone flirting with them in public, it would be over very, very quickly. (Ron’s not above sweeping up behind them and pulling them into a kiss, right then and there, staring the errant flirter down the whole time.)

K   :   KISS.   is your muse a good kisser? why / why not?

Ron is a very confident kisser, actually a bit earnest. He’s...  not eager to please, but determined to. On reflex, he’ll cup his partner’s face, leaning into their body while pulling them closer against his own. The closer the better, in Ron’s opinion  ---  that makes it easier to find a rhythm and move with it, as though two pulses have suddenly fallen in sync. His breathing gets heavy; his pulse picks up speed; he’s guided completely by instinct, and it’s working, because as long as his partner’s body is responding well to him, Ron knows he’s doing something right.

L   :   LOVE.   who does your muse love?

He guards his heart very carefully, and doesn’t let a lot of people in; the more you love, the more it hurts when you inevitably lose them. Sad to say that by the time Ron enters the war, he doesn’t have a lot of people he cares about. His relationship with his parents is strained, and he’s not particularly close to his older siblings. While he loves his mother deeply, he rarely sees her  ---  and while he loves Margaret, well, something in his gut feels more unsettled by the day. By the time Ron chooses to stay in the army, it’s in large part because the connections he’s made there are some of the closest he’s ever had. While Ron has a deep capacity for love  ---  deeper than he realizes, or would like to admit  ---   he doesn’t tap into it often.

M   :   MOONLIGHT.   is morning or night a more romantic setting?

At night you can hide in the darkness, unseen, unknown… and so many things can happen in those shadows.

N   :   NAUGHTY.   what is your muse like in bed?

Intense is the only word that really comes close to describing a night with Ron. He does not mess around when he takes someone to bed; like anything else, he commits with a ferocity that might intimidate a weaker partner. Ron is very attentive in bed, very observant and devoting; he’s willing to try anything once. Ron’s more of a tease than one might expect; nothing satisfies him more than driving his partner to the brink of helplessness, delirious and trembling with pleasure. While he likes being in control in the bedroom, usually marking him as the dominant one, he never objects to switching  ---  indeed, those rare moments when his partner is guiding him along gives him a surprising thrill. In Ron’s mind, the job hasn’t been done right if they both don’t go over the edge at least twice.

O   :   ODE.   does your muse have a way with words?

Actions speak louder than words, and get more done. Ron’s a fast talker, but he’d never call himself gifted; if something can’t simply be done, what’s the use chattering about it?

P   :   PARTNER.   what does your muse look for in a partner? looks / personality?

Ron needs someone with self-possession, a decided self-confidence  ---  someone who knows their own mind. Nothing is more attractive to him than being able to keep a cool head in tense situations. He needs someone capable of rolling with the punches and thinking on their feet. They also have to have a gentle touch, because even if he won’t admit it, this is something he needs. Ron has a thing for dark eyes and warm smiles. Likes big butts and he cannot lie. Scars are sexy.

Q   :   QUESTION.   would your muse ask the big question or expect their partner to?

If he gets to the point where he feels like he could, he’d feel like he should...  ohhh, but here’s where that overthinking kicks in. How to do it? When’s the right time? What if they say no? This man accomplishes incredible feats of human badassery by simply...  not thinking anything through in the moment, just doing it. It’s hard to “just do” a proposal. Ron would be so nervous that it would take him ages after buying the ring to work up the courage to actually propose. Even then, it would be a very private thing  ---  no one around, no one there to witness it. He might even leave the ring box somewhere, like sitting on a desk in full view, or in the middle of the table at breakfast, and just wait for his partner to figure it out.

R   :   ROMANCE.   is your muse a romantic or a cynic?

“Romance is a myth and we’re all on the slow but inevitable march towards death anyways.  Would you like this shiny thing I found on the ground?”  (Romance him, please. Change his mind.)

S   :   SWEETHEART.   did your muse have a childhood sweetheart?

Oddly enough… yeah. Ron bounced around a lot in his childhood, moving from Scotland to Boston at a young age, but still going back for occasional European visits. It wasn’t easy for him to get close to people, but he managed it with one girl — a pretty classmate named Mary Rose, with a soft voice and self-possessed manner, who wasn’t afraid to answer math questions up at the chalkboard. She looked him in the eyes without flinching and eleven-year old Ron fell in love on the spot. They had a bit of a springtime romance, holding hands underneath the desks and kissing outside on a school bench. It was Ron’s first real experience with intimacy, with loving someone and wanting them to be his… and it was his first brush with heartbreak, too, when she moved schools the next year and simply never wrote to him again.

T   :   TRUE LOVE.   does your muse believe in true love?

He’s not even sure he believes in love, man. You have to earn a thing like that — it’s not naturally guaranteed to anyone, and even when two people love each other dearly, nothing is promised in life.

U   :   UNREQUITED.   has your muse had their heart broken?

See: Mary Rose. Then there was Ron’s wife back in England during the war, which was an absolute disaster from start to finish. Not only did Margaret leave him a whole hoard of stolen things shorter, she turned him into an inadvertent polygamist. To be fair, no one could have predicted her husband would show up alive at war’s end, after being missing in action for years… but it sure made things awkward. Separating from her was one of the most painful things he ever had to do, especially given how truly he loved her, and the son they had together. That whole experience left a bad taste in Ron’s mouth regarding marriage, and relationships in general.

V   :   VALENTINE.   how does your muse feel about valentine’s day?

He doesn’t...  actively dislike it...  just chooses not to partake, for the most part.  It makes him feel a little lonely, and then he feels stupid for feeling lonely.  In a relationship, he honestly wouldn’t know what to do on Valentine’s Day, and would let his partner plan it.

W  :   WEDDING.   would your muse get married? why / why not?

See: Margaret. Ron’s got a history. It’s not that he’s afraid to get married again, he just… knows how easily things can go wrong, and isn’t prepared to put himself on the line for that much heartbreak. Sure, allowing himself to love in the first place is also taking that risk, but — marriage is more formal somehow. Lots of legal red tape. While he likes the idea of his lover being his, and him being theirs in return… he’s ambivalent towards marriage. If it’s gonna happen, he’ll need a little convincing, and to feel absolutely confident that this is the right step — that he’s not going to be left out to dry again.

X   :   XOXO.   does your muse use / like pet names?

Not his thing, to be honest. He might try, but can never make them sound natural.

Y   :   YOURS.   does your muse get protective easily?

Protective is Ron’s middle name. When he loves someone, they immediately become the prized jewel in his hoard of precious things… and he lets no one, no one get away with hurting them. At times, Ron’s possessive streak can definitely get a bit out of hand, verging towards unhealthy at times. He needs a strong partner, able to assert themselves and set boundaries, which he will be sure to respect once established — otherwise, if Ron catches someone flirting with his lover, there will be hell to pay.

Z   :   ZZZ.   how many people has your muse slept with?

Not many at all. Ron… doesn’t make friends easily, and sex with Ron is a very intense experience, so you have to be prepared. Not many people are. He had two partners before the war, two partners during… so, a total of four people have been to Ron’s bed and lived to tell.

#😈😍😈 #new speirs biography got me fixated kiddos

[himbowelsh]

(the paramedics in question were Roe and Spina)

#this hit me like a brick #bill guarnere #babe heffron

[himbowelsh]

“One small detail I do love, private David Webster, who’d left Harvard to join the paratroopers and had established himself as a thinker, a philosopher, a writer; I will be honest, I do love him regretting his instinctive reaction to being shot. A writer editing his own words, mourning his use of cliché.” - Band of Brothers Podcast, episode 5

#yes hi i hate him so much #webster my belov-- loathed #<3 <3 #david webster

[himbowelsh]

most feral men in easy company, ranked :

RON SPEIRS

ron fuckin’ speirs, y’all

somebody should make a highlight reel of speirs’s most feral moments

steals things. literally just pockets them right in front of people, looking them dead in the eye. just. takes them.

took on a german machine gun and lived

stalks people silently in the woods

delivers ominous nihilistic speeches without blinking

has a cult of rumours surrounding him, each more feral than the next

Y’ALL KNOW WHAT HE DID IN FOY

working knowledge of roman history which apparently comes out of nowhere???

after v-e day, a few easy company guys brought their buddy dressed as a german right to speirs and said “sir we found this german prisoner”, and speirs, without even looking up, just said “shoot him”

“WHEN YOU TALK TO AN OFFICER, YOU SAY SIR”

(historically, said “i’ve killed better men than you”, which is possibly more badass)

pistol-whipped a bitch

uhh, remember that time he got so mad general strayer was trying to take his car that he destroyed it with extreme prejudice before shoving it over a cliff??

 T H E   G L A R E 

earl mcclung

could smell germans??  how even the hell

remember that one time the germans blew up the bridges in holland while mcclung was literally on it, and as the dust settled everyone thought, “well, there goes mcclung”, but he literally tuck-n-rolled himself over the bridge and behind a log while the explosion was happening??  and lived??

they called him freaking “one lung”.  just imagine you’re in the woods all alone, just vibing, when some guy called One Lung comes barreling out at you.   “what’s your name,”  you ask between screams of mortal terror.  “THEY CALL ME ONE LUNG”  he replies.  that’s objectively terrifying.

joe liebgott

needs therapy.

winters knew.  winters knew exactly what was up.  do not leave liebgott alone with the prisoners.

cut off a guy’s finger???  as a souvenir??  jesus freaking ch—

i think he tried to bite webster in that one scene

definitely tried to maul guarnere  ( he had it coming )

remember that one nazi

bill guarnere and joe toye

they go together because they’re the exact same level of wild animal

bill gets +1 point because they literally called him “wild bill”

stole a motorcycle, broke his leg, and tried to go awol from the hospital a few weeks later…  by painting his cast black and trying to walk out. it did not work. when the hospital staff caught him, he basically said “and i’ll do it again” 

they tried to demote him to private for this, and simply failed

joe + brass knuckles

once don malarkey was being threatened by another paratrooper, and joe came out of nowhere, slamming the guy into a wall, almost off his feet, screaming “NO ONE THREATENS MALARK”. imagine it and tell me you’re not shitting yourself a little.

both got their legs blown off, at the exact same time on the exact same day, and not only LIVED, but wisecracked at each other while waiting to be taken away

bill tried to jump out of a med-evac plane with one leg.  there was some turbulence, so he literally hopped up and was like “GIMME A PARACUTE, I’M GOIN”

joe tried to kick his brother’s ass with his own prosthetic leg

donald malarkey

“what?” you say. “malarkey was so chill.  one of the chillest guys in the company!”

what about that time he stole a motorcycle

or jumped off his roof with an umbrella just to see what would happen

or ran into open fire to try and score a luger

OR THE TIME HE CHUGGED STRAIGHT METHANOL AND ALMOST DIED

lewis nixon

“tune in or check out hoes”

#ive got a few greatest hits but this one’s… up there

[himbowelsh]

I’d like to say that Dick Winters is the real life version of a man written by a woman

[himbowelsh]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: The Pacific (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Wilbur "Runner" Conley & Lew "Chuckler" Juergens & Robert Leckie & Bill "Hoosier" Smith, Mary Houston/Sidney "Sid" Phillips, Sidney "Sid" Phillips & Eugene Sledge, Robert Leckie & Bill "Hoosier" Smith Characters: Robert Leckie, Lew "Chuckler" Juergens, Bill "Hoosier" Smith, Wilbur "Runner" Conley, Sidney "Sid" Phillips (The Pacific), Eugene Sledge, Mary Houston, Original Child Character(s) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Babysitting, Starbucks, Friendship, Accidental Baby Acquisition, Hoosier Smith Is Superdad Summary:

Hoosier weighs his options, and finds them severely lacking. He could go back to bed, over the sound of Leckie’s bitching, and find himself short half his snack supply, with no extra cash to make up for it. Or he could earn his keep by heading to Chuckler’s, and spending the day chasing around an indeterminate amount of kids.

Neither option’s good. Neither looks appealing. One adds some weight to his wallet, though, and Hoosier is ultimately a pragmatic man.

“Jesus Christ, fine,” he mutters, and drags himself off to get dressed over the sound of Leckie’s chuckling. “How bad could it be?”

------------

Team Leckie gets roped into babysitting Chuckler's nieces and nephews.

It's... as much of a disaster as it sounds.

#the pacific #hbo war #my fics #okay i dont even go here at the moment #but once upon a time #i promised team leckie babysitting antics #and i finally opened up the doc again after... 7 months??? #my sister was still alive when i wrote this lol #but here it is!!

[himbowelsh]

~ cathy linh che, from split; “letters to doc”

#😨😨 #are you proud of yourself??? #i mean... you should be this is gorgeous #but aRE YOU PROUD OF WHAT YOUVE DONE HERE #joe toye #buck compton

[himbowelsh]

I apologize in advance for the person I'll become when Masters of the Air comes out

#i cannot be held responsible for my actions

[himbowelsh]

the news starts comin and it Wont Stop Comin!!!

#... OH #damn this is... hah... Nice. #okay im ready for MOA now please #masters of air

[himbowelsh]

Will I ever get an album from the Band of Brothers mortar squad?

#what the hell why are they so good wHO GAVE THEM THE RIGHT #mortar squad #dont mind me... just gonna listen to that speight singing video on loop #for the next 24 hours #this is find this is good this is FINE

[himbowelsh]

Liebgott’s draft cards and U.S., World War II Jewish Servicemen Cards. Poor Lieb was underweight.

#joseph liebgott #mans was a SHRIMP oh my god