#churchkeys

[swede1952]

Good morning. 🍄🍄🍄

23 July 2024

I was thinking about the old beverage can pull tops that came completely off. Some people even collected them, though I don't know why. Well, you could hook them together and make a chain of some sort and use them as cheap decorations. That was a perfect way to show how classy they were. Kind of like displaying old whiskey bottles as pieces of art.

Anyway, getting back on track, then I recalled the really ancient when cans didn't have a pull tap and a person needed a church key to get in. The trick was to make a big hole on one side of the cans top and a smaller hole on the other side. For beer enthusiast a hole on the bottom was sometimes made.

"A church key or churchkey is a North American term for various kinds of bottle openers and can openers." - Wikipedia

[shelyue99]

some angst hurt/comfort winnix fic rec

they hurt so bad I went back to get a refill

The Replacement by jouissant

I read it twice and still hurts like hell, so many unsaid words and regrets, really tears me apart

At the Hopeless Gate by semperama

reads like a noir novel, grim but eventually hopeful

Great Wars Like Ours by rilla

based on a film au, hurts really bad, kinda scared to watch this film now

In Thy Brother's Eye by Muccamukk

angst due to period typical attitude, feels really realistic though

That Bright Land by aebleskiver

it's a smooth ride at the beginning, but the ending I feel hit by a truck

Blue Birds in the Moonlight by Muccamukk

less painful relatively, still cried when paired with the Great Gatsby soundtrack, cursed the 40s a lot

A Spell of Riot by churchkey

this one destroyed me, I will never be the same again. relationship at the lowest point type angst, will keep thinking about this for a long time, hopeful ending

[newcathedrals]

favorite winnix fics pt. 2

pt. 1

these are all "long" winnix fics (like the first list), which I'm defining as around 20k or more. they're in in no particular order, either, they're all great!

duology by leoandsnake, 118k, series, explicit. felt very "realistic" in its own way. Winnix the long way around, which is my favorite. heavy on Nix's alcoholism. I adore the ending to this, as well.

He Shall Live This Day, and See Old Age by CorvidCordelia, 56k, explicit. Great writing, very classic long Winnix fic.

A Spell of Riot by churchkey, 62k, explicit. very intense portrayal of alcoholism and recovery from addiction. depressing and very well written.

A Different War by x_art, 28k, explicit. Dick keeps having dreams about Lewis. Very sweet, great writing.

Lancaster County by raquelelpillo, 37k, series, teen/mature. AU where Nix visits Lancaster as a teenager with his mother and stays for the summer. Essentially Nix and Dick are teenagers in the 1940s and fall in love. definitely one of my new favorite longer Winnix fics. very creative, great writing style, very sweet. made me feel nostalgic for a summer I never lived <3

Long Ago and Far Away by churchkey, 18k, series, explicit. very classic Winnix, well written. the best fic in this series is "This Tender Offering."

[noneedtoamputate]

Because I think we need it today (I know I do), share a link to your favorite comfort fic in the comments, the one that feels like a blanket. Any fandom, any characters.

Here's a few all of mine.

Minor Poetry by Nympha_Alba (Lord Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane)

The Darkening Sky by @mercurygray (Band of Brothers, OFCs)

To Be Played at Maximum Volume by @churchkey (Band of Brothers, Winnix)

Burn Brighter Through the Cold by Kivrin (Foyle's War, Sam/Andrew)

Where the Pieces Go by @almost-a-class-act (Band of Brothers, Chuck Grant & Joe Liebgott)

A Thousand Cuts by wall_e_nelson (Bridgerton, Anthony)

Come Back Home by @freyafrida (Anne of Green Gables - L.M. Montgomery, Walter/Una)

[lesbiandarvey]

Ok I just remembered another brilliant angsty Winnix fic that you will love if you haven’t already read it. It’s A Spell of Riot by Churchkey. It’s about Nix’s alcoholism and it destroying their relationship and him finally going to rehab and trying to get sober. It has all the angst you could want

https://archiveofourown.org/works/26517619/chapters/64631722

oh shit okay thank you! marked for later ♡

[mercurygray]

Hi! I would like to ask if you could maybe recommend Band of Brothers blogs to follow? I'm interested in fanfic, graphics, GIFs, everything related to Band of Brothers. I hope it's not rude I sent this ask to more people, I'm new to Tumblr and I still have a lot to learn about Tumblr etiquette.

You sure can, Kind Anonymous Friend! And this ask isn't rude at all - rec lists are a time-honored tradition here on Tumblr and I'm happy to help. Sending a couple people the same ask isn't usually considered rude ...unless you're copy-pasting the exact same writing prompt to six different writers. In which case yes, that's rude. Don't do that, please.

I'm fairly certain everyone on this list liked Band of Brothers or The Pacific at one point. Fair warning, they may have moved on to other fandoms, but I think most, if not all, still post BOB content from time to time!

Network: @hbowardaily - also has a discord server!

Visual Makers: @rebeccapearson @basilone @lupoteodoro @supervalcsi @onlyyouexisthere @tvserie-s-world @lyselkatz @fayestardust

OFC writers: @shoshiwrites @softguarnere @latibvles @noneedtoamputate (also new here!) @loveduringthewar @floydmtalbert / @arethosedustyjumpwings @upontherisers @sergeant-spoons/ @stolemyspoons @msmercury84 @coco-bean-1218

@mads-weasley @thoughpoppiesblow (semi-hiatus) @softspeirs / @dreamingundone (on hiatus but coming back!) @wexhappyxfew (also coming out of hiatus) @coraxaviary (on hiatus but has a big fic!)

In the HBOWar orbit: @almost-a-class-act @junojelli @bobparkhurst / @derry-rain @wereinadell @papersergeant-pencilsoldier @sharpshootershifty @sir-mr-dr-roe @lucky-bastards @aloraundomiel @cody-helix02 @churchkey @anthrobrat @general-taylor @majorhortonisonleaveinlondon @winnix85 @dcyllom

If you're looking for reader inserts or MLM fic, I'm sorry but I'm not the person to make recommendations on that. But this should be enough to get you started!

[lewis-winters]

3 and 6 for the positivity meme?

I'll answer this backwards because my answer to no. 3 got long.

6 - what's a headcanon that you'll die on that hill?

Lewis Nixon III was a theater kid and has done drag in his life. This is forreal. The ghost of Dick Winters revealed this to me in a dream.

3 - what are some fics you go back and read again and again?

oh I love this question. in the last ask I did say I left out some creators and now is my time to redeem myself! (also another reminder that I desperately need to finish this massive fic rec post I have been steadily adding fics to since January BUT ANYWAY)

under the cut!

all of @churchkey's Winnix and ToyeMalarkey fics! god do I love them so much. I re-read A Spell of Riot once a year since it was completed.

and of course @anthrobrat's Bob, TP, and Gen Kill fics!

all of BristlingBassoon's Winnix fics - Queen for a Day inspired my "Lewis has done drag" conviction and When we met, you'd never expect this series is just. divine.

@marycontraire's Contact Tracing. of course.

make it up as we go along - Joe drives his cab, Chuck plays Call of Duty, and Babe just wants to pass Biochem; their apartment is like Grand Central at the best of times and that’s without the two possible fugitives they decided to harbor in the guest room; Luz’s life is turning into a terrible romcom about a coffee shop; Harry’s friends are bad at running a bar but they’re trying their best; somebody got punched in the face; and someday there will be a New York Times Bestseller about all of it.

Or, the interlinked soap opera-worthy drama of a group of millennials in Philadelphia, told day by day.

Lie if God is Sleeping - Gene flipped the puzzle over to read the back. “My name is Edward Heffron,” he read aloud. “I killed a man, and now I’m paying the price. 18,000 pieces. It will take approximately seven days to complete me. For experienced players only.”

What the fuck was a curse this nasty doing in a Philadelphia used bookstore?

rivers always reach the sea - my favorite webgott canon era series fic ever

Situation Normal - Winters and Nixon move to the city, reunite with some old friends and find themselves adopting a new, four-legged one.

By Small and Small - Babe wants to keep talking with Gene, but he doesn’t really know what to say. He feels like, in the past, he never would’ve shut up, but now, since Julian, he’s just got nothing. Maybe that’s grieving; Bill says that’s grieving, anyway, but Bill uses the term like a Band-Aid to put over every aspect of Babe that has changed.

Or: The one where Gene is in med school and Babe's messed up over Julian.

Dear Lover - A group of friends who supervise soldiers' mail are secretly very invested in one Major Winters' letters to a woman he seems to be having a secret affair with.

all or SJtrinity's Band of Brothers (webgott) fics and The Pacific (sledgefu and andyeddie) fics

Green and Gold - Merriell has dark magic and a guilty conscious. He never considered how the war would change them.

The American Sublime - "Tactician that he is, he finds the likelihood of still being loved by someone who, thanks to him, has just awakened to a wicked hangover and a face full of cold piss next to nil."

Dick Winters and Lewis Nixon billet together at a farmhouse in Holland for a rare few weeks of peace and privacy, while Dick struggles to process his promotion and his time away from Easy Company. Set during the first minutes of Episode 5, "Crossroads."

Cows. Wildflowers. Feelings. Handjobs.

Black Ink on Some Blue Lines - It’s been sixteen years since the letter was written, but it never found its way to the one it was intended for. The thing about secrets is they eat away at you, not all at once but slowly over the years, and you begin to wonder, to play out the what if scenarios in your mind. Instead, David buried it away and pretended like it never existed. He should have killed it, he thinks to himself, not buried it while it still had breath in its lungs.

In which David remembers his evolving relationship with Joe over the course of the war and decides to deliver a letter.

Baby You Can Drive My Car - Everyone has their thing. Perco takes watches. Nix scrounges for liquor. Welsh continues his never-ending quest for anything that will please Kitty Grogan. Even Eugene robs abandoned apothecaries with only a touch of guilt, making off with as many bandages and sulfa packets as he can carry. And then there’s Speirs, sweeping behind them like a shadow and carrying away anything they leave behind that sparkles or shines.

Babe steals cars. He’s getting pretty good at it.

Come in From the Cold - In which Smokey Gordon's coffee shop 'Bastogne' saves lives by lending cutting instruments and offering a steady supply of caffeine and sugary goodness. The shenanigans are just a by-product.

Call me 'sweetheart', Please? by @mariamegale - A not-relationship in the making. (baberoe)

anthroposcene, interrupted - Three months ago, Ray Person was a Philosophy major at Harvard. Now, he's dodging Runners trying to get from St. Louis to Cambridge without a) starving, b) dying by accident or c) offing himself. However, three's company, and it comes in the form of a dog with no bark and a taciturn Marine Staff Sergeant who's last name is Not-Pitt, which has gotta count for something.

[lupoteodoro]

“Are you family, sir?” “Boyfriend.”

To Be Played At Maximum Volume by @churchkey

[educationalporpoises]

Tag game: Get to know me

Thank you for the tag @grumpy-liebgott

Name:

Zee or Z :)

Pronouns:

she/her

Star sign:

no. (virgo)

# of siblings and fun facts about them (if you have any):

I have a twin brother. Fun fact he is a sound engineer and will go up to the sound board at concerts and criticize their mix.

# of pets & their names:

I have two dogs: Ghibli and Chewbacca. They are both labradoodles and very stupid.

Fandoms:

Right now it's a lot of Band of Brothers, but I'm still involved in Star Wars and Bandom. I read for a lot of fandoms but I don't tend to create or make friends in very many.

Favourite colour:

Green-- I love this very dark forest-olive shade of green. I own about four shirts in the same tone and I'm getting to a point where I have too many.

Favourite song:

I can't choose a favorite song. Currently I've been listening to "This Is the Day" by The The. Indescribable vibes.

Favorite author (of anything readable - books, fanfics, zines, webtoons, whatever!):

For fic I really love (all on AO3) fluorescentgrey Muccamukk churchkey and independent_variables among many, many others. I love @/anticmiscellaney 's zines-- his comic art is unique and a beautiful addition to the genre. Right now I'm reading a lot of war biographies or histories. For fiction Catch-22 was my favorite read of the year, along with delving into the Discworld universe.

Favourite fic type:

I'm a total sucker for historical AUs, fix-it, and kidfic/found family. I also love songfic-- it was really popular when I was first reading fic and getting into fandom but I see less and less of it now.

Favourite holiday:

Passover. It has the best food.

Do you have a partner (romantic, qpr, anything!)?:

Ahahaha no I am destined to be alone forever.

Hobbies:

I draw and read and write and also now I work on bicycles. I love working on my bikes. I'm replacing my wheels next week. Isn't that exciting. Also enjoy hiking and being outdoors and cooking for my friends and family. Earlier this week I made a batch of raspberry-white chocolate blondies that unintentionally turned out pink.

Fun facts about you:

I'm not fun enough for fun facts. Uhhhh my mom and I go mushroom hunting (not the psychedelic kind, mostly for chanterelles and lobsters). We tried to teach our dogs to hunt truffles but they didn't have the attention span. Oh! I do West Coast Swing. It's like classic 1940s swing dance but modern and (imo) prettier.

Tagging: @blood-mocha-latte @veeforvindicta @charliemack @lewis-winters

@georgieluz @star-trek-supernatural (sorry if anyone's been tagged! I'm bad at keeping up with this stuff)

[wiltedprayers]

e, j and p for the hbo war ask game!

thank you so much for the ask! <3

e — what was a character arc in any of the shows that you loved?

answered here! but to add to that, I enjoy leckie's arc so much so that episode 4 of the pacific (gloucester/pavuvu/banika) is my favorite of the bunch — I love that the show took the time to explore in-depth the effects of warfare on the soldiers' mental health instead of just going 'well war sure sucks.' it's portrayed very well, and it's always stood out to me the character of gibson and his chat with leckie, which is incredibly interesting: how hopeless it is, how dark, the impact it has on leckie (who's already in a pretty bad place) and how it shapes his already thwarted view of life. so basically it's hard to talk about leckie's character arc without going off about banika's psychiatric hospital and its importance/effect on his psyche, since it's a key aspect of his story imo.

j — do you read fic for any of the shows? if so, rec a few of your favorites.

yes, of course! I mainly read winnix and hilldane (predictably...) and im putting together a list of hilldane fic recs, so I'll leave some of them here:

Lifer by reservoirbetweenus — hilldane. I can't explain how much I love this fic. it's post-war, with eddie going through the korea war and andy having a hard time adjusting to civilian life without him. can't recommend it enough!

A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall by Skew — hilldane. god oh god. so good. i love hilldane before-peleliu fics and this one is amazing and has great andy characterization!

when our history's told by seabright — hilldane. I've said it before but i really enjoy it when andy's disability is explored in fic. this one's amazing (and also post-war!)

Things He Cannot Lose by churchkey — winnix extra. paris/aldbourne angst my beloved! key moment in the winnix fanon.

p — what's a headcanon you have for any one of the shows?

im gonna be honest, im not one for headcanons — not because I don't enjoy them but basically because im very passionate about the source material, and whenever I think about a hc i chastise myself and go 'he would never say that.' but these are limitations for myself mostly, I love seeing everyone else's thoughts! for band of brothers, though, i do like to think about winnix going together to Harry's wedding — as friends, of course. for the pacific, I think it's fairly obvious eugene was a bit in love with andy/eddie, and also I love the idea of chuckler/runner/hoosier/leckie all finding each other at some hospital after peleliu (they did meet again irl, so)

(this ask took me so long to write I kept going over my fic recs and the whole thing got deleted, so I had to start over. damn you tumblr.)

[churchkey]

Merry Christmas 🎄! My dearest Churchkey, I wish you a very happy and full-filling new year! May all your wishes come true! Thank you again for all your FANTASTIC FANFICS! ❤️ LOVE ❤️

Aaah thank you so much, what a sweet message! It is my pleasure, thank you for reading and supporting my wild endeavors lol. I wish the same for you, and peace, and love, and beautiful winnix dreams forever 😍

[altloser35]

Any love out there for Churchkey? Made by @MastaPhat

[odyssej]

As the rehearsal in the hall draws to a close, Grit has brought quite the bulk of mini beer bottles to knock back. Mavis passes one as well as the churchkey to Giles, but he shakes his head silently.

Mavis then tentatively asks,  “Do you get hives?”

Again Giles shakes his head, incredulous at such an assumption.

“Oh, well,” Berenice casually takes the bottle from Mavis’s hands. “More for me, then.”

[haroldhearsawho]

Ok so I’ve gone through the AO3 tags and my own AO3 history and bookmarks and here are some excellent kid fics/fics that feature Nix’s child:

Always and Forever by fiorediloto: This is my personal favorite Winnix kid fic. It’s so beautifully written and the author absolutely nails both Dick and Nix’s personalities in my opinion. Ugh I just love both of them so much in this fic. Nix has a teenage son whom he has been raising himself alongside Dick since he was a child in their home that they share together. They have always hidden (or attempted to hide) the true nature of their relationship from him, but Dick is for all intents and purposes his second father. It deals well with the secret nature of their relationship, period typical attitudes towards homosexuality, and what coming out to family would be like during that time. It also features Blanche which is always a plus 🫶 She has a great line where she says to Nix, “Well [Nix’s son] is Dick’s boy too, isn’t he?” Just a very heartwarming fic all around

In storms and at sunset by jouissant and Volta by jouissant -parts 3 and 4 respectively of the What things we have heard together series by jouissant: These are classic Winnix fics and possibly the holy grail of Winnix fics but the 3rd and 4th parts of the series specifically heavily feature Nix’s daughter and her time spent with Nix and Dick over the years and the ups and downs that went with it. It’s just brilliantly and beautifully written with great character studies and also deals with the period typical attitudes regarding homosexuality and coming out during that time very well.

Impulse Control by BristlingBassoon and Queers by BristlingBassoon -parts 2 and 4 respectively of the When we met, you'd never expect this series by BristlingBassoon: These two installments of this lovely series feature Nix and Dick’s relationship with Nix’s son over the years and their reunion/rekindling when his son is an adult. It deals with period typical attitudes towards homosexuality and coming out to family wonderfully and somewhat painfully/heartbreakingly so as well. Also the OC of Nix’s son’s girlfriend is a major character and she is a perfect addition and compliment to the story. I absolutely adore the way Nix is written in this one.

Lately, I've Been Thinking by jouissant: This is sadly an abandoned/unfinished fic but I still wanted to include it because it’s great and has alllllll the angst and repressed feelings you could ask for, plus best of all it features Dick as a single father with his own daughter and it just makes my heart warm 😭😍 Dick and Nix run into each other after not having seen one another in years and ending their relationship on bad terms, and now Nix is sober and Dick has a daughter. (Nix also has a daughter in this but is only mentioned briefly)

It Is My Heart That's Late by churchkey: This fic doesn’t actually feature their own children but it features Dick’s boss and neighbor’s little girl who he looks after and it’s very very cute

Here are a few other fics I like that I could think of that also feature Nix’s child and his and Dick’s relationship with him/her in some sort of capacity:

Soldier's Things by Falco

He That Shall Live This Day, and See Old Age by CorvidCordelia

Thrill Divine by alwaysbored

*Also just a side note but I find it funny how we know canonically irl Nix’s son was named Michael but in almost every fic other than one or two that I’ve read he has a different name and sometimes his kid is a daughter instead lol. Idk why but I just find that funny because for all of their other family members fic writers use their real names and identities

what do you think about nixs exwife kathy? and his kid... like the fact nix is a dad i cant picture it but i feel like theres a lot of untapped potential there

I assume you’re talking about the characters in the show and not the real people and just my thoughts on what the idea of them in my head were like because I don’t want to speculate on the actual people and their lives too much.

But as for Kathy, I’ve always sympathized with her to an extent however it was very clear her marriage to Nix was never going to work and they were not the right match for one another at all. I know the real Dick did not like her at all and basically called her a gold digger who didn’t care about Nix or love him. He said she didn’t know how to love him right or care to figure out how or something. But we all know how he was very biased on this front lol. But yeah Nix was definitely a terrible husband to Kathy and didn’t treat her as well as he probably should have, but from what I’ve gathered she probably wasn’t completely innocent herself and also didn’t care about Nix or being a good wife to him all that much either. I also don’t think she had any qualms or illusions about what Nix might be getting up to while overseas or with whom, it was probably par for the course and an unspoken understanding. It was for the best for everyone involved even their child that they split up.

As for Nix being a dad and his kid… Yeah it’s very hard for me to picture Nix as a dad as well. I think it’s something that he really struggled with for a very long time too. He probably wasn’t there much for the first few years of his son’s life, maybe not even much of any of his childhood. Even when he was there or around he probably wasn’t a great father to be perfectly honest. (We all know he’s not a patient person by his very nature, for one thing.) It’s not even that he didn’t want to be, he just really didn’t know how to. Especially considering who his own father was and what a terrible father he was to Nix. Like the worst father imaginable, something out of nightmares. It’s understandable that caused him a lot of trauma that also affected how he was as a father himself. I think Nix feels very guilty about it obviously and often beats himself up over it, but he’s also convinced himself that it’s best for his son that he isn’t in his life at all so he doesn’t pass down his trauma and fuck him up like his own father did to him. I also think that he feels like he never deserved to be a father while Dick did and yet he’s the one who has a kid he never sees while Dick has no children even though he’d make a great father, and he has a lot of guilt over this. It especially pains him to see how good Dick is with his own son the few times they are together, and how much his son likes Dick. And he feels like Dick is a better father to his own child than he is himself. In my head one of the issues that Nix struggles with the most in their relationship is that he’s kept Dick from living the life he deserved and meant to have which was to be a father and family man, and he feels that he’s taken that away from him and hates that he can’t give that to Dick himself. It’s one of his main insecurities, that one day Dick will come to his senses and leave him and find a nice girl to marry and make his wife and then have lots of perfectly mannered little redheaded children. Which will also make Dick’s mother and the rest of his family happy of course as well.

In my head I also think that it’s Dick that eventually gets Nix to see his son again and be a much bigger presence in his life sometime down the line when his son is a bit older. Nix seems to take to fatherhood much easier and does a better job of it as his son is older as well. He usually goes to visit his son where he lives but as his son gets older he starts to come visit him and Dick where they live together and Dick is known as his Uncle Dick, and the three of them surprisingly get on very well together. Maybe his son even visits during a week in the summer when Dick has his nieces and nephews over as well and Nix likes to pretend during that week it’s like it’s their own family that they have together, this is their own little (or not so little) family that they could have together if they were like everyone else.

(Also I’m working on putting together a list of Winnix fics that feature Nix’s child and will post it for you as soon as I do. There are some very good ones out there!)

[noneedtoamputate]

31 Days of Virtual Gifts - Day 8

Sorry I am so late in getting these out!

Each day this month, I'm going to send one Tumblr mutual a virtual gift I think they will love.

For @churchkey I'm gifting you some of those Korean meatballs I made after rereading "To Be Played at Maximum Volume." They were delicious! It's at the top of my list for Winnix fic, and I promise you some comments in 2025.

[simplymuzing]

New exhibit in North Beach at the Church Key Stop by say hi and have a beer while enjoying the collection of images hanging on the wall. #sfart #sflocalartist #sfartist #abstractart #abstractartist #arte #artcontemporain #artecontemporaneo #contemporaryartcollectors #contemporaryart #emergingartist #bayareaart #bayareaartist (at ChurchKey) https://www.instagram.com/p/CoTGKGJPveS/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=