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#honestly i could yap about this for the next 10 hours
szczurherbacany · 29 days
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who are your biggest art inspirations and influences?
ok SO i made a list of all my artists that are some of my biggest inspirations i could find
i dont think i necessarily want to replicate any of their styles, i just kinda look for certain pieces of „advice” from each of them so i can keep developing my own art :)
also, i do not only look for artists like painters, most of my inspiration honestly comes from movies/photography/music - i kinda take everything from everywhere, simply so i can keep on learning about things from different perspectives
but yeah, heres the list of artists whos work influenced me in some way/motivates me to where i wanna take my art:
- Frank Dicksee
-Wojciech Siudmak (and polish surrealists in general - surrealism is probably my fave artistic movement, and i get insane amounts of inspiration from all of the different artists) - he is especially dear to me bc of his illustrations put in the polish edition of dune - geniuenlly insane
- Marcin Kołpanowicz (another polish surrealist that i adore)
- J.C.Leyendecker, mainly bc of the style if im being honest - the way he stylised his faces and the colouring is so good
- Sergio Toppi (if i could posses the power to be able to perfectly replicate another artists style, it would be him, without a second of a doubt) i will mever be over the compositions, and the inking?
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also honorable mentions to my two favourite concept artists:
- Edouard Caplain who worked on life is strange
- Mikhail Rakhmatullin who worked on ori and the will of the wisps
but yeah other than that im mostly inspired by eathier my mutuals and friends, or by musicians :)
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holocene-sims · 2 months
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List 5 facts about a favorite sim of yours, and send this to 10 simblrs whose sims you adore ♥♥♥
hi sapphire!! 💙💙 thank you so much for sending me this; i always appreciate any opportunity to yap 🫢 about my silly pixel characters!
i'll do this one for yunha ✨ i adore her, and i also think she deserves a little bonus introduction here since she's a new feature on my blog!
she has an older brother! well, only on a technicality, that is. they're actually fraternal twins, but they have different birthdays. her brother, yunseok, was born at 11:57 PM on february 20th, and yunha was born at 12:01 AM on february 21st 🎉 they do, of course, consider themselves twins, and they've always just celebrated together on the 21st because that makes more sense, but they do like to joke about their "age gap!"
now for a whole bunch of stats ✏️ she's 5'5", her mbti type is intp, her enneagram type is 7w6, and her zodiac big three are pisces sun, sagittarius moon, and scorpio rising
one of her favorite movies/movie series is twilight 🦇🍎 she could honestly quote every twilight movie front to back without making a mistake. the funny thing, though, is she doesn't like bella or edward 💀 she just loves all the other characters. she had (has!) a majorrrrrrr crush on alice. also carlisle. and billy and charlie, and.........oh, right, university freshman era yunha also tried out the spiky alice haircut at one point, which she immediately regretted. she got it cut one day, and by the next day, she was off to a beauty store to buy a cheap wig to hide it.
as revealed in her first appearance on this blog, yunha is a great singer, but here's some proof of that! this is her voice claim 🎤
this is oddly specific, but i feel like yunha is one of those girlies who looks wacky while getting ready for the day. she'd be getting ready, like, two hours early, so there's no rush at all, but somehow it looks like she has only two seconds left to do everything. she's just in there going ham cutting her own hair, smacking her face hard as fuck with the powder puff thingy, and aggressively putting on eyeliner like a teacher with their dry-erase marker when it's on its last leg. this tiktok video sums up the image in my head here 💄
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    The two seemed to get their points across. The brine finally stilled in their grip, dejected. Steven did not like being manhandled, but the feeling of gelatin coagulating around his joints was more uncomfortable. Safety’s first, sure... but being unable to move his hands? The... limbs he needed to communicate?
    Come on, now...
    “...carry on, Cyl.” Brennan’s voice rang. Steven felt the skeleton’s gauntlets tighten slightly around his chest. He huffed, just a little.
    “...yes! Right, uh. Honestly, this is a little more complicated than just avoiding flying, apartment sized slabs of stone.” Cylvus lamented. “Considering there are no notes of the entire top part changing, nobody knew that this how this entire thing works underground. And what- what we’re witnessing right now is when the dungeon is shifting; pried apart and then put back together. Maybe— Maybe it’s time based, or maybe it’s triggered, I don’t know, but— ”
   Cyl snapped their fingers together silently, muttering to themselves as they tried to formulate their hypothesis. Their eyes narrowed slightly as another module passed inches away from their noses. It was probably travelling at the speed of a running horse. 
    “ —the point is: I think this entire dungeon is moving in pieces. Pieces within a larger room than the dungeon itself. L-like a bunch of blocks rebuild and rearranged and then put back together. It’s designed to make people get lost within it — “
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     “Your wealth of information and ideas is always—” Brenn’s sentence abruptly interrupted by a deafening grinding of wall against wall just to their left, shaking the entirety of the structure they were hitchhiking on. The skeleton let out an exhale, sharp and rattled, and continued with a heavy sigh. “—greatly appreciated, Cyl. How long does each shuffle usually go for?”
    “Not long; Less than 10 minutes. Too short for us to even pinpoint where we were, and where we’re going. It’s supposed to be effective ”
    “And when the next one will start?”
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    “It’s... one of those...” The radio operator moved their hands about. Steven noticed that Cyl gestured their hands in a peculiar way when they were in deep thought. “...ever-changing variable. Each dungeon have different time limits between shuffles. If we’re in a Tier III dungeon, time limit varies from five to six hours before the next shuffle.”
    “...Fuck me sideways, then.” Brennan muttered under his breath.
    “Seconded. We’re really, uh, kind of at the mercy of a colossal contraption here.” 
   At this point, Steven decided to finally yap. Being left out of the conversation was not a pleasant experience for anyone, especially for someone who was stuck to the wall by the arms. His two seniors, realizing they have forgotten that one more individual is present, turned to Steven and gave him an apologetic grimace.
   “...What about sending Steven to scout the modules and find everyone?” Brenn asked, and the brine jolted with excitement. Finally, some action! Steven responded by yipping and vigorously nodding his head in agreement. 
   “We can, but with the risk of not knowing when this will stop and what wall connects to which?” Cyl commented, their eyes meeting with the brine’s. “Not a great idea. We don’t even know how big this entire thing is. What if we get lost again?”
   At that comment, Steven whapped his tail against Cyl’s gelatinous body followed by a slurry of whines towards his mentor. 
   “We can’t gamble on insanely high risk, Steven. You do not want to learn from Krafften, you understand?” Brennan chided, only to be interrupted by whining through bared fangs. Surely, they could understand that young medic was displeased with the choice they had made? Who did they think he was? He’s licensed, for gods’ sake! He could jump, run, and even leap atop of one of the moving modules if he timed it right enough. It’s not that hard! Instead, he was bound to the wall, treated like a kid. He’s a brine gods dang it, their greatest asset, not a pitiful little brother figure!
   Too bad he couldn’t exactly communicate this without signing. He swore Brennan was trying to saying something to shut him up. But right now, Steven didn’t want to hear it nor lose to his superior. And to ensure his victory, Steven replied with an ear-splitting screech, rivaling that of a loudspeaker’s. 
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    Have you heard the Mining Department’s brines screech before? Brines can be loud, you see. It’s a way for them to intimidate those who trespasses into their territory. Younger ones who were recently rescued whine all the time from within their rooms. The tired nurses and the cleaners down the hall would tell you that it’s like working with fifty alarm clocks everyday, even with noise-cancelling pads installed on their walls. Darlene, the receptionist, would tell you that they whine and yap in pitches that rival a whistle, or Jeb forbid, an emergency siren. (And you may wonder why she always wore the noise-cancelling headphones, donated by the kind souls from Comms. Now you know.)
   Steven has the pitch of loudhailer feedback and is as noisy as one if he wanted to. If it’s going to be a lose-lose situation, damn right Steven will make it everyone’s problem.
   “It’s not the time for this, you little shit!” Brenn yelled, trying to inch close to the unruly junior and maybe clamp his mouth shut.  “Keep this up and Cyl’s gonna put a mouthful of slime in you, you ‘ear me?! 
    On the other hand, Cylvus was uncharacteristically quiet through the entire tantrum ordeal. The slimeperson’s eyes were not even on their two bickering teammates. They squinted, blinked, and went wide eyed with realization.
    ...and then proceeded to wordlessly gave both Brennan and Steven a piece of their mind.
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   “Shut up! Shh!!” The slimeperson scolded, and while the two are still stunned, used their hands to turn the two’s faces to the same direction they were previously looking at. “Look there and tell me what you see.”
    Steven was about to hiss back when his eyes caught trail of something in the distance. The mismatches eyes were focused on a glint of light in the distance. A ball of yellow, dancing from left to right, left to right. Dancing, like a wisp seeking for attention.
    And the brine caught whiff of fear. Fear, like cigar smoke dissipating in the air.
    “...Is that...” Brennan muttered, inching further away to look. “Torchlight?”
    ...And then he realized, eyes blown wide open.
    “...we don’t use torches!” The skeleton exclaimed, rattled. “That’s them!“
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   “That’s our guys!”
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reilleclan-blog · 3 months
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I liked this shot even though it was a bit dark
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Below is a detailed adhd filled description of my morning. Yes I "yap" ie I fucking talk cause this is my fucking blog if that bothers u kindly scroll, ty. Also I heavily hate the term "yapping" if u say that to someone cause they are talking about something they are passionate about , fuck u. I have anxiety just thinking I annoy anyone I interact with and now u tell me I'm "yapping" when u didn't even have to interact at all
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So I work part time helping senior citizens, not to taxing work but it is when I'm mentally ill, have ptsd and just self diagnosed adhd-autistic so I have a hard time being positive and/or wanting to work when I'm physically exhausted. Either way I went to work(oh yeah I stayed up super late cause I couldn't fall asleep) I have a headache but I'm like "we usually chill so today SHOULD BE FINE" even though, I don't ever really relax cause this isn't my house but working has been a decent escape. And we usually watch movies after I've thrown out garbage and washed dishes. And there was a movie from Friday that we hadn't finished but I didn't really care for finishing it so I decided to put in a comedy "parks and rec" this man is still getting dressed so I'm watching the show. He comes out of his room just walking around, turning off lights, going in and out of his room, and even opening the front door all b/c he didn't want to watch the show I put on.
And to be frank I don't think I would've cared if he had already said he wanted to watch something, I usually change my mind but.. anyways he passive aggressively takes a movie and puts it next to my movie case. Then continues to walk around this small ass apartment like a weirdo(omg it's his apartment) it's just weird we usually watch the show together but he didn't want to watch my show so bad that he'd rather give himself random ass "tasks" until I asked is he "expecting someone" then like a child he goes "I DONT WANNA WATCH THISSSSS" and I felt hella offended b/c he's the same man saying it's ok to watch what I wanted... so I'm just like ok..... so what. Then he says "I thought u were gonna put the other movie on.." as if I can't change my mind.. like this is genuinely why I don't really trust men relatively ever. This man is sounding like a whole little kid cause something he could watch at whatever time whenever wasn't playing.
And honestly he starts walking around the apartment again b/c for the life of him he can't bother to try and watch a show I brought. I was just like do u want me to leave b/c he's genuinely doing the fucking most and I didn't have time to get into a petty argument on a fucking Monday about a movie when I stay there for like 2 fucking hours. Like ur doing wayyyy too much sir. Anyways I just left early b/c that genuinely creeped me out and it was way too early for this petty ass baby shit... GENUINELY wtf is wrong with ppl.. like he takes a ton of meds so I didn't want to be "rude" about his certain "behaviors" but like that was just so weird. And it's not the first time he's done weird ass shit. But that was the time he really was rude... anyways yeah. I feel like if I explained this to a friend over the phone they would laugh and be like what the fuck is wrong with him.. yeah that was my morning and getting to his place I have to take a bus then walk like 10 blocks💀(on a bus full of ppl not masking and a guy cat called me when I was walking to my JOB) so I mean I still get my hours but wtf ..
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hyungieyoongi · 3 years
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Spotlight: “Run Away to You” Part 3
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You knew it was just a matter of time before someone figured it out.
Your carefully constructed reality was about to shatter.
Pairing: Min Yoongi x Former Actress!Reader
Word Count: 2.0K
Genre: Angst + Fluff (there’s a hug and everything there is fluff on the horizon!!)
Series Masterlist: Run Away to You
Premise: You ran away from your acting career one year ago, disappearing from the spotlight without a trace. No one from your past life knew where to find you. On the anniversary of your disappearance, your carefully constructed reality is shattered.
Part 2 // Part 4
---
You blinked your eyes a few times to adjust to the brightness of the morning as the sunlight streamed into your room through the crack in your curtains. Your eyelids felt heavy with exhaustion. Glancing at the clock on your nightstand, you let out an audible groan at the time. It was 9:30 a.m., meaning you had slept for four short hours, your brain and restless thoughts refusing to let you sleep until the early hours of the morning.  
After you were finally able to stop the onslaught of tears last night, you sat with Marianne on your carpet and told her everything that happened: colliding with Yoongi at the corner store, the fight in your apartment, and how he comforted you during your panic attack. When she asked about the phone call from your old number, you simply played her the last voicemail Yoongi left you, letting his words sink in on their own.
“Shit,” Marianne breathed out.
“Tell me about it,” you agreed.
Your head was pounding, making you feel like you were suffering a hangover this morning from the lack of sleep combined with the many tears you cried. You went into the bathroom and turned on the shower, hoping the scalding hot water would burn away the memories of everything that had transpired.
You decided to avoid looking at either one of your phones, old or new, when you got out and dressed. Instead, you decided to try and convince your neighbor to let you take her dog on a walk. You desperately needed some company and fresh air to clear your head.
Donning the black hat on the hook by the door this time, you locked the door behind you. At the end of the hallway, you spotted your neighbor holding her little black pug in her arms, peering slightly over the railing at the end that looked out onto the sidewalk and street below.
“Hi there, good morning! What’s going on?” you asked, hoping your attempt at cheerfulness was convincing.
“You have to see this. There are cameras all over the place! The landlord had to come to shoo them from the stairwell and elevator this morning. Apparently, someone famous was sighted here yesterday, and now they’re looking for someone they say lives here? It’s quite the scene down there,” Susan let her pug down as she told you the news. He came bounding over to you, expecting to be showered with cuddles and kisses. Instead, you stood frozen in place, taking in everything Susan had just said.
“Cameras? There are cameras down there? In front of the building?” you asked.
“Yes, dear, isn’t that strange? I wonder if we have a celebrity in our midst!”
You let out a cough, giving Susan a fake excuse that you forgot a jacket so you could leave, ignoring her pug yapping at you for attention.
You were back in your apartment before Susan could question your odd behavior, grabbing your phone that you blatantly ignored when you woke up this morning.
You opened Twitter, going straight to the trending page.
The picture at the top of the list was blurry, but you could clearly make out two figures. It was a picture of you and Yoongi, walking to your apartment from the store. It looked like it had been taken on a phone camera, probably from the park across the street. Someone had to have recognized Yoongi, and now, there were cameras outside your apartment complex.
The picture causing a frenzy didn’t show your face, your hair covering your profile. You scrolled rapidly through some of the comments, people speculating about who the “mystery girl” was that Yoongi was with yesterday.
You knew it was just a matter of time before someone figured it out.
Your carefully constructed reality was about to shatter.
---
Yoongi’s phone was vibrating nonstop on the bed next to him. He tried to ignore it, shoving his face further under the thick comforter, hoping whoever was trying to reach him would just give up eventually.
When it started to vibrate incessantly once again, he finally glanced at the screen, fully prepared to yell at whoever woke him up.
An old picture of you filled his screen, one that Yoongi took when you first started seeing each other. You had fallen asleep on his shoulder after a long day of filming. You looked so at peace, one of his sweaters that you stole from his closet wrapped around your frame. He had snapped a photo, setting it as your contact photo, smiling at it every time you called.
He had never changed it.
Yoongi immediately sat up when he realized you were calling. He assumed he would never hear from you again, that the chapter between you two was officially closed. This time for good.
He answered on the third ring, but didn’t say anything, waiting to see if the call was an accident.
“…Yoongi?” his heart lurched at the sound of his name.
“Yes?” he asked tentatively, his voice rough with sleep.
“I need help. There’s a picture…of us. Together. I tried to call Marianne, but she didn’t answer. Yoongi, I…I don’t know what to do. I need help,” Yoongi waited, holding his breath, “I need you.”
He threw the covers off himself, already heading toward the door of his bedroom. You sounded so scared.
“I’ll come get you. Tell me where you are.”
---
Yoongi had given you careful instructions over the phone, his voice calm and calculated. You were supposed to wait in your apartment until exactly 10:30 a.m. and head down the back staircase to the alley behind your building. A car would be waiting for you there.
He told you to wear a mask and act casual, like you were just getting into a rideshare car. Be invisible and inconspicuous.
A black SUV was idling in your alleyway. You opened the backseat door on the driver’s side, shutting it quickly behind you.
“Miss Y/L/N?” the driver asked, turning around to face you. He had a kind smile, eyes slightly crinkling in the corners from his upturned lips. You nodded once.
“Good morning, I’ll be driving you to Mr. Min’s location. He requested that we send this particular vehicle because the windows are tinted for maximum security. Please make yourself comfortable.”
“Thank you,” you said, relieved.
Despite the driver’s assurance, you turned your head away from the window as the car passed the hoard of photographers outside of your building. They seemed to be getting restless with the lack of people coming in and out of your complex. You were grateful to be heading as far away from there as possible.
The car eventually reached a gate, the security guard waving the car forward once it checked the license plates. You pulled into an underground garage. You weren’t familiar with the building; you figured that Yoongi and the boys had moved within the last year as their label continued to grow.
The driver cleared his throat to get your attention.
“Mr. Min would like you to take the elevator, the one just there, ma’am,” he said pointing to the nearest set of silver doors, “to floor 16. He will meet you there.”
“Thank you, you honestly saved me today,” you told him with a grateful smile. He gave you another crinkle-eyed grin.
“It’s nothing, really. Give my regards to Mr. Min.”
“I will.”
The elevator lurched upward toward floor 16, and you realized you had no idea what to say to Yoongi. The doors opened, and you were startled when the man in question was pacing in front of the elevator doors, looking frazzled as he evidently waited for your arrival.
His head snapped toward the open doors when he heard the “bing” of the elevator.
“You made it,” he said simply when you walked toward him.
“Thanks to you,” you replied. “Yoongi, I can’t thank you enough. I know this is the last thing you probably expected today, but I appreciate it more than I can tell you.”
If you weren’t mistaken, there was a pink tinge on his cheeks at your words.
“We have a strategy meeting to get to. The label has some, uh, concerns about the photo.”
Your heart sank at his words, but you realized it was time to stop letting your emotions about the situation run the show. You were potentially going to be forced back into the spotlight you had tried so hard to stay away from. It was time to be professional about this.
“Right. Of course, lead the way,” your tone had become formal, sickly sweet and stiff. It felt unbelievably awkward after spilling your heart out to him yesterday. But you knew your place–you were just part of his label’s damage control problems for the day.
He turned on his heel, leading you down the long hallway, shoes clicking against the tile floor. You followed a foot behind him, wanting to give him, and you, space.
In the meeting, you gritted your teeth, your hands balled into fists underneath the table as you listened to a group of label management and the public relations team discuss what messaging, if any, to put out. Would it be better to let it die down on its own? Release a statement saying Yoongi was visiting an “acquaintance”? There were dozens of options they went through. Yoongi’s eyes kept straying to look at you, but your eyes stayed on the clock above the PR analyst’s head across from you.
When they started discussing whether to release your identity, however, you decided enough was enough. You stood, Yoongi watching your every move.
“Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, but I would feel more comfortable if my publicist was contacted before any decisions are made regarding the release of my private information,” you had worked in this industry, too, and hell, you weren’t going to let these people dictate your life. “As you can imagine, this has the potential to have far-reaching consequences on my own livelihood. It would be best to take no further action until she is in this room with you. Otherwise, I will be forced to contact my attorney.”
The room was silent.  
“Until then, I’ll take my leave. Thank you,” you left with a flourish, the adrenaline leaving you as soon as you made it into the hallway. You didn’t know where you were going, you just couldn’t stay still, your feet carrying you away from the room and the murmurs going on inside of it.
“Y/N, wait,” Yoongi called after you. You sped up, hoping there was a bathroom or something nearby that you could go hide in until Marianne showed up. “Stop walking,” Yoongi’s voice was stern.
You paused mid-step, turning to face him with a blank expression.
“Yes, was there an update from your strategy meeting since I left?” Yoongi rolled his eyes at your comment.
“Y/N, stop, I know what you’re doing. You’re shutting yourself off. I don’t blame you for standing up for yourself back there. But please don’t act like I wanted any part of that meeting,” Yoongi said, defending himself. Your confidence deflated slightly.
“Fine,” you flinched at how harsh you sounded. “I’m sorry. God, all I’ve said to you in the past 24 hours is ‘I’m sorry.’ And I am. I just…this is all…it’s a lot. I didn’t expect to see you again so soon, let alone under these circumstances.”
“My studio is a few floors below us. Come on, let’s get out of here while they figure it out,” Yoongi instructed. He walked past you, but you reached out, hand encircling his wrist to stop him. Your skin burned where it touched his.
“I wasn’t ready for any of this again. It’s all too much, too soon. If people find out who I am, my whole life will change, Yoongi. I-I don’t know if I can handle that.” Yoongi didn’t say anything, so you pulled your fingers away from his arm, expecting him to continue on his way to his studio.
Instead, he wrapped you tightly in his arms, pulling you close against him. He smelled like mint and coffee, and you closed your eyes at the familiarity of it, warmth blooming in your chest.
“It’ll be okay,” Yoongi mumbled, cheek pressed against the top of your head.
Enclosed in the comfort of his embrace, you decided to believe him.
Part 2 // Part 4
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Taglist: @loveyoongles @agustd-2020 @delacyrose224 @crispychanniee @sunshinejunghoseokie @jinsearthh @alpacaparkaseok @sheebaba @diamonddia-mond​
Want to be added to the tag list? Let me know!
Check out my other work! ❤️
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mamaspresley · 4 years
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come home | ch
a/n: I was hoping to make this longer but it kind of just wrote itself and it seemed like a good place to end off. Also if anyone would want me to make a tag list let me know! <3
word count: 3.0k+
pairing(s): calum x girlfriend!reader
warning(s): fluff
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Tour had been long. Four months of constant go-go-going, always on the road and never taking a break. The most rest Calum had gotten was four hours of sleep a night, if he was lucky. Calum loved touring and he loved playing for the fans—he owed it to them. They gave him everything, and he was beyond grateful for all he was blessed with. But sometimes he hated the constant push that was being in the band. There was never a dull moment and sometimes that’s all he wanted. Four months was nothing compared to the countless hours he and the boys put into making the fourth record, so he shouldn’t be complaining, but in reality, all that Calum wanted was to be home, to work and lead a normal life instead of the fast paced lifestyle he lived now.
The last day of tour approached quicker than Calum expected, but he was more than happy to step off the stage after playing the final chords of Youngblood. The band wasted no time getting out of the venue and making their way to the airport—everyone knew how tired they were and how badly they all craved the comfort of their own homes, but no one more than Calum. This tour had exhausted him more than any other, and he wasn’t exactly sure why. Maybe it was because, this time, he had someone waiting at home for him. Usually he didn’t want tour to end, he wanted to bask in the feeling of being on stage accompanied by his best friends, playing his favourite songs for his favourite people. But since the morning he left, having gotten up unbearably early and trying his best to keep quiet so he wouldn’t wake Y/N, his girlfriend of eleven months who looked adorable curled up in his bed sheets and wearing nothing but his t-shirt, the constant reminder that he had someone to go home to panged his chest. With each note he played on stage and each step he took in unfamiliar territory, Calum missed Y/N a little more. He’d never felt so strongly about someone before meeting her—the two of them had already had that conversation, talking about how much the other meant to them even if they’d been together less than a year, but the thought only buried itself deeper in Calum’s chest while he traveled the world, alone.
Okay, maybe he was being a bit dramatic—whenever the other boys had to leave for tour, they were never dragged down this much. Sure, the first couple of days were rough and Calum saw from an outside perspective just how hard it could be on someone, but usually the boys would get used to the feeling of being away from their significant others and would focus on the matter at hand. Calum had a hard time doing that—maybe it was because this was the first real relationship he was in while being on a tour. He just didn’t have experience. Maybe he’d get used to it.
If that was the case, Calum couldn’t wait. This was, quite honestly, one of the worst pains he’d ever felt, and he’d give anything to be numb to it. 
“Cal, you want anything?”
The Maori boy was dragged from his thoughts as he glanced up from his phone, laying eyes on Luke who sat next to him on the plane. It was obvious that he was waiting for a response, and Calum lifted his eyes to the flight attendant who stood patiently at their row. He cleared his throat, nodding as he muttered, “I’ll take a scotch, thanks.” Flying first class had its perks. Maybe a drink would replace the cold, empty feeling sat in his heart, a void shaped just for Y/N. Calum wasn’t sure how much longer he could wait to see her.
“Scotch this early in the morning? Sheesh.” Luke teased, which obviously Calum wasn’t too fond of as the darker skinned boy only rolled his eyes and directed his attention elsewhere.
In an attempt to distract himself, Calum pulled back out his phone from the pocket of his hoodie and flipped it over, turning on the device. His eyes dropped to the backdrop displayed on his screen, and Calum swore he could feel his heart literally stop beating for a moment. It wasn’t new, the picture, and he’d seen it a million times since he’d made it his lockscreen last year. But every time he saw it, he smiled. Who knew a simple photo, one that he’d taken by accident, truthfully, could change his entire mood? The picture was of Y/N and Duke. Y/N’s head was on Calum’s chest as they were laying on the couch, the first day she moved in. Duke was curled up on Y/N’s chest in the picture, his nose buried in her neck while she tilted her head back, looking up at Calum and grinning ear-to-ear. The photo was taken from above, Calum holding his arm up above them. To be honest, he didn’t mean to take the photo—he was going through Snapchat and had swiped over by accident, his thumb brushing across the button on the bottom of the screen. The picture was a complete accident, and it was kind of obvious by the blur it was taken in, but he loved the photo dearly. It’d been his lock screen since that day. And every day he saw it and smiled. 
“Cal.” The boy was pulled out of his thoughts again as Luke nudged his arm, and Calum looked up before grabbing the cup that was being passed to him. He thanked the flight attendant before taking a sip and feeling the liquid burn down his throat—a familiar taste that Calum welcomed comfortably.
The rest of the flight passed quickly, and the buzz that Calum nursed from his two glasses of scotch generously helped pass the time. In no time, Calum was stepping off the plane and onto familiar ground, taking a well-needed breath of fresh air as he followed behind his tour manager and band mates. Calum’s heart race quickened when he read the familiar Welcome to Los Angeles sign as they stepped into the airport, and an excited smile crept across his lips. Quickly, Calum pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of the sign, sending it to his girlfriend along with a message that read: ‘See u soon love :))’
After collecting their baggage, the group made their way towards the exit, where a black SUV was parked waiting for them, accompanied by a frenzy of photographers and media reporters. Calum flipped the hood of his sweater over his head and directed his attention to the ground while they stepped outside. Their tour manager and two bodyguards did a good enough job holding the paparazzi back while the boys climbed into the car, ignoring the many questions being fired at them. Once they were all securely inside and their baggage was packed into the trunk, the car took off.
“Fuck, mate.” Ashton was the first to speak up. “I can’t remember the last time I went to an airport without getting mobbed.”
A few of the boys nodded in agreement or gave responses while Calum only stayed silent. He had his sunglasses over his eyes and his beanie covering his brown curls, the hood of his black sweater over his head while he leaned his head against the car window. Calum drowned out the sound of the boys chatting and instead focused on the song that was playing through his earbuds while they pulled onto the freeway. It was midday, around 1 pm, so traffic flow was light for the city. Each boy got dropped off at their separate homes, Michael first and then Ashton.
When they pulled up to Calum’s house, he said goodbye to Luke before climbing out of the car and shrugging his backpack over his shoulders. Their driver was getting Calum’s bag out of the trunk so Calum waited, looking up at his home and smiling before he was pulled from his trance.
“Calum?”
That familiar voice had Calum’s stomach in knots as his gaze followed the words. Jogging up the street was Y/N, dressed in her usual athletic wear that consisted of matching grey leggings and a sports bra with Nike sneakers, her hair pulled into a ponytail away from her face which was bare and free of makeup. She held a leash in her hand which belonged to Duke, who bolted towards his owner as fast as his little legs could take him. The smile on Calum’s face was the brightest it’d been as he dropped to his knees, letting his fingers run through the dog’s fur and rub his belly when the little ball of black and tan fur rolled over.
“Hey, buddy! How are you?” Calum talked in that voice that he always talked in when he was around Duke while his hands worked over the dog. Duke yapped excitedly as the 10 year old dog rolled on his back, and Calum shifted his gaze up, bringing a hand to shield his eyes from the sun despite his sunglasses on his face.
Y/N had seemingly let Duke off his leash for the occasion as she had it now wrapped around her hand, making her way over to her boys at a slow pace. Her lips curled up into a smile as her eyes laid on Calum, and when he stood back up straight, she burst into a sprint towards him much like Duke had done moments earlier. Launching herself at Calum, Y/N wrapped her arms around the boy as he did the same around her waist, and the older of the two spun her around, lifting her feet off the ground before setting her down, still squeezing her tight. He never wanted to let go of her; never wanted to feel that feeling of being away from her for so long. 
“God, I missed you.” Calum’s voice was muffled as his face was buried in the crook of Y/N’s neck, breathing in her scent while he held her close. He felt her giggle, the sound vibrating through his body while she returned the words, squeezing him a little tighter. A throat was cleared and unfortunately, Calum had to pull away. 
Calum glanced up, seeing his driver set his suitcase down on the gravel. “Thanks, Milo.” Calum unraveled himself from his girlfriend’s hold, walking over to grab his suitcase while one of the back windows of the car rolled down and Luke popped his head outside. 
“Hi, Y/N.” Luke leaned halfway out of the vehicle, crossing his arms and leaning against the door as he smiled at the girl who stood with a dog in her arms. Y/N smiled back.
“Hi, Luke. How was tour?”
“Good, good. How was home?”
“Good.” Calum watched as the two conversed, his eyes never straying from Y/N as she smiled or giggled at what the blond had to say. Unfortunately the car started back up again and they were forced to say goodbye. “I’ll see you later, Luke. Tell Sierra I say hi!” The car was gone as quick as it came, and then Calum was pulling Y/N into his arms again, forcing her to put Duke back down on the ground.
“I missed you so much,” Calum said, his voice a lot clearer this time as he rested his chin atop Y/N’s head. She hummed, burying her face into his chest and squeezing him tight, her arms around his torso while Calum’s were slung over her shoulders. They stood like that awhile, basking in each other’s proximity while Duke nudged against their feet. Calum was the one to pull away, a hand coming to rest on the side of her neck, his thumb brushing over her cheekbone. “Let’s go inside before Duke gets impatient.”
“I think he already is.”
Calum looked down to see the small dog getting up, stretching a bit before strutting towards the gate and pawing at it. The Maori boy chuckled, shaking his head as he rolled his suitcase down the driveway and watched as Y/N typed in the code on the padlock to open the gate.
                                                            ***
Calum was startled awake by a disturbing alarm, one that didn’t belong to him but he reached over to turn off anyway. His eyes were half shut, squinting through the sunlight that shone into the bedroom, as his hand searched blindly for the source of the noise. Finally he found it, lifting the phone up slightly so he could see and hitting snooze, postponing the alarm for ten more minutes. As Calum set the phone back down and rolled over to hopefully fall back asleep, his arm lazily draped over the body next to his. The mindless action sent a smile across Y/N’s face as he tugged her closer to him, half of her face becoming buried in Calum’s bare chest as he let out some sort of half asleep grunt.
“Morning, sleepy head.” Y/N’s voice was like music to his ears as Calum opened his eyes again, squinting down at her. The blue irises that belonged to his girlfriend blinked up at him, a smile playing on her lips as he groaned yet again, rolling onto his back and lifting an arm over his eyes. “That was my alarm you just turned off.”
“Mm. . . good.” 
Y/N sat up, letting the white sheets fall around her torso as she stretched her arms, yawning and rubbing her eyes before moving to climb out of bed. Calum, having watched the whole routine through tired, hooded eyes, whined and reached out to grab her hips and pull her back into bed. The girl squealed, falling into Calum’s chest as he laughed lowly and wrapped his arms around her waist, tugging her close to him as he nuzzled his face in the crook of her neck. 
“10 more minutes, baby,” he mumbled, voice hoarse and raspy as he spoke into her warm skin. Y/N shifted his body so he was laying over top of her, both hands on the mattress to hold him up, and she grinned, batting her long eyelashes up at him. Calum couldn’t help but think how beautiful she looked. Deep sunken eyes from the sleep she’d only just woken up from, soft lips that he so badly wanted to kiss—that he’d kissed countless times the night before. The smirk that her lips folded into had Calum’s stomach in knots as he bent down and covered her lips with his, slanting them over hers as they worked against each other. It wasn’t until Calum’s tongue swiped at the seam of her lips and pushed its way inside to meet her’s that Y/N pulled away.
“I need to get ready for work, Calum.” Her hands stayed tangled in his curls while she darted her eyes between his, a firm look in her eyes. His lips parted, a sigh escaping as his eyebrows furrowed together—he probably wouldn’t win this one, no matter how much cheeky flirting he could try. Y/N lifted a hand to cup his cheek, running her fingers over his stubble as she mused, “Just because your work is over momentarily doesn’t mean mine is as well.”
“I know.” Calum pouted like a child, his eyes studying her face, the structure of it and the chisel of her sharp cheekbones. He sighed again. “Just wish it did.”
“Spend some quality time with your son,” Y/N said, gesturing to the dog that lay at the foot of their bed, only inches away from where Calum’s legs were tangled with Y/N’s. With a raise of her eyebrows, Y/N smiled. “Take him for a run. It’ll be good for the both of you.”
Calum hummed, dropping to his elbows to give his wrists a break, and stared into Y/N’s eyes. He could get lost in them, and Calum often compared them to the ocean considering how blue they were. He tore his gaze away, glancing out the window to see the sun shining brightly and the few trees he could see greener than ever. “It’s quite nice out.”
“Mhm.” Y/N’s fingers were playing with his curls, tugging lightly at the strands while attempting to comb them out from their tangled, sleep-provoked mess. Calum felt her gaze on him, and only confirmed it when he turned his head back to Y/N and met her eyes instantly. “Really wish I didn’t have to work today,” she mumbled, a slight frown threatening the corners of her lips.
“Call in sick,” Calum suggested. His words were playful but his tone was serious as he lifted a hand to brush some hair away from Y/N’s face. She rolled her eyes, a light scoff escaping her lips when she realized he was serious.
“I can’t, Cal.”
“Why not? Am I not important to you?” He teased her again, leaning over to rest his cheek on his palm while one knee kept Calum hovering over top of the girl, the other leg tangled with hers underneath the sheets. Y/N lifted one leg, wrapping it around the backs of his thighs as she hummed, locking her ankles together.
“You know what I mean.” She glanced over to her phone on the nightstand. Then, after a few moments of silence, she looked back at Calum. “Okay, fine.”
“Really?” His eyebrows shot up in surprise.
“Yeah. I haven’t used any of my vacation days yet.” Y/N shifted to grab her phone, laying back down under Calum as she opened her phone. He rested beside her now, head on the pillow while the calloused fingers on his right hand drew small circles on her hip bone soothingly. The action was mindless but appreciated nonetheless. “And. . . done.” Y/N sent the text, reaching over to set her phone back down before glancing over at Calum with a smile on her face. “I’m all yours.”
Smirking, Calum raised his eyebrows cockily. “Oh, I know you are,” he taunted, making the girl scoff incredulously before she was tugged on top of him with a squeal.
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timextoxhajima · 4 years
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NCT One Shot Collection
Member: Doyoung
Genre: Fluff, crush? tutor Doyoung hehe
Word Count: 2.4k
Jungwoo sat across you in the library, twirling his pen through his fingers, his strawberry blonde fringe covering his eyes from your angle. Girls were looking at him from the back as he ruffled his hair out of frustration.
"Do you know how to do this question?" He whispers from across the table, earning your attention as you pulled out your earpiece.
"Does it look like I do?" You squinted your eyes at him, lifting your own notepad and showing him the nonsensical workings you had scribbled down in the last 10 minutes.
"Where did Mom's smart genes go? They aren't with me and they sure as Hell aren't with you," Jungwoo yawned. You glared at your twin brother through half-hooded eyes.
Jungwoo buried his face in his palms for a while, before suddenly reaching into his bag for his phone. He unlocks it and begins typing. You raise your brow. Probably texting someone for answers.
"I'm texting someone I know to come over to help me out with this question. Not asking for answers, in case you were wondering," Jungwoo declared without even looking at you. You roll your eyes.
It hadn't been five minutes before you noticed some girls sitting at the corner of the L-shaped library look up, their eyes lighting up as someone important entered the library.
God, it's Jungwoo's popular boy group.
Dong Young, Taeyong, Jaehyun and Mark turned up. You were Mark's freshmen orientation camp facilitator so he always found some reason to irritate you despite being younger than you.
"Which question is it?" Dong Young immediately grabbed a chair and plopped himself next to Jungwoo. Taeyong took a seat in the far corner, Mark next to you and Jaehyun next to him.
"Well, well, well," Mark teasingly looked over at your progress. You scoffed and instinctively shoved his head away from you. Jungwoo started explaining the difficulty of the question to Dong Young while Mark was just busy annoying the hell out of you.
"Ah... that's why," Jungwoo took the notepad back from Dong Young who was writing out the workings and explaining the concept to him simultaneously. "Dude, we're both idiots," Your brother hurled an eraser at you.
"I know we're both idiots—” You snapped in return, throwing the eraser back at him.
You and Jungwoo finished your worksheets before expected time with Dongyoung's help. Girls looked over at you with jealousy and spite, wishing that they could've been in your shoes instead: the twin sister of one of the most popular guys in school. Though you weren't close with the guys, you sure saw way more of them at your place when they came over to hang out with Jungwoo. You and Mark could click as friends, and that was a bonus point to get you into this sacred circle you honestly didn't have any interest in.
"Come on, we're supposed to get dinner," Dongyoung patted Jungwoo on his back, patting down the creases on his pants as he stood up. Jungwoo did a little "oh", before sweeping all his stationery into his bag and leaving you at the table, your things still sprawled out. Dongyoung watched as the rest of the guys started packing up too, noticing that you hadn't moved an inch and instead pulled out a textbook of a different subject.
Fast forward two months later, you were done with exams. But neither you nor Jungwoo did as well as your tutor, Dong Young, had expected the both of you to do. You found yourself quickly avoiding Dong Young and rushing home after soccer practice, not bothering to update him on the grade you received.
"Yah," You felt a pillow ram down into your side. You groaned and opened your eyes, turning over to notice him standing over you. Your eyes registered the walls and ceiling of your room, and some of your hair was stuck in your mouth. Then, you registered Dong Young’s face.
"Oh my God," You grabbed the pillow he hit you with and covered your face. What the Hell is he doing in my room in the morning—
"You got a C for your math paper?" Dongyoung's voice was strict.
"I've been hearing this all day yesterday in school, I was surprised you didn't kick down my door last night—"
"I'm never gonna know anything if you and Jungwoo continuously hide your grades from me. What good am I of a math tutor if the both of you don't improve?"
“You are a good math tutor! We’re just… learning it at an... exponentially slow rate..." You mutter under the pillow.
"That's not even the proper way of using 'exponentially' in a sentence. Come on, get up," Dongyoung pulled away the pillow and picked up your plushie that you kicked to the floor.
"What? Get up to go where and do what? Finals just ended, let me catch up on my sleep," You whined, this time pulling the blanket over your head.
"Your mom told me you knocked out at 9pm last night and it's 11am now, so for the record, you knocked out for 13 hours. I think that's enough sleep you've gotten in the last 24 hours," Dongyoung pulled the blanket away from your face, sitting at the edge of the bed.
"Oh Lord, the numbers that are spewing out of your mouth—"
Dongyoung sighed and rolled his eyes, looking down at you with his rabbit doe eyes.
"Okay then, treat it like you're doing it for me? Pretend it's our date you're going out for."
"No, you're going to lecture me on our—wait, what?"
"No, I'm not. Jeez, am I such a bad date that you think I would yap about your math grade all day?"  
You blinked and watched him turn away to leave the room. A frown had formed on your forehead, and you were unsure if you misunderstood him, or you were simply hallucinating. Shaking your head, you rubbed your eyes and sat up in bed, stacking the pillows atop each other nicely and folding your blanket.
What is Dongyoung doing here? It’s not like he had a tutor session with you or Jungwoo.
You were dressed casually in a large tee and jean shorts, your hair tied up messily in a bun. The kitchen came into view, and Dongyoung looked like he was ready to smack Jungwoo with a plate. Your mother was laughing while she flipped pancakes, agreeing with Jungwoo on something he said. You don’t remember the last time you had breakfast with your brother and mother around, much less Dongyoung.
“Do I want to know what I missed out and why he’s ready to kill your son?” You directed the question at your mother and grabbed a seat between Jungwoo and Dongyoung, using your hands and digging your fingers into the crowns of their hairs to push them apart.
“Oh, I think that’s for you to find out on your own, sweetie,” Your mother turned with a plate of freshly flipped pancakes, and there was a glimmer in her eyes that you hadn’t seen in a while. They almost looked… mischievous…
You frown at her strange, strange reaction that you not only found unfamiliar, but unsettling for some reason—
“Dongyoung hyung likes you!”
Everybody freezes. Your mother blinked at you, then at Jungwoo, and bit down on her bottom lip when her eyes finally travelled to Dongyoung. She awkwardly moved back to the stove and the sink, ignoring the extremely tense and awkward atmosphere behind her. You turn your head painfully slowly to look at Dongyoung, locking eyes with him for a second. They were so soft and gentle, unlike the look he had when he was teaching you or Jungwoo. You could’ve sworn he blushed, but he quickly snapped out of it by moving away from your hand that was still in his hair and nearly pounced on Jungwoo.
“That felt really good—” Jungwoo was shielding his head from Dongyoung’s rampage, nearly falling off the stool.
“You! I can’t believe this—” Dongyoung exasperatedly huffed, his hair messy from your pushing and arms slightly red from trying to beat up Jungwoo.
All this was happening but nothing was happening in your head. You still couldn’t process this. Was this a prank? Just so Jungwoo could poke fun at the both of you? Was it true? Was this why Dongyoung said that you were going on a date?
“What are you doing here, Dongyoung?” You carefully asked, looking at Dongyoung like you were scared of what he might say afterwards. The question obviously caught everybody by surprise, because it looked like another freeze frame. The water at the sink your mother was standing by was the only sound in the kitchen. Jungwoo was cautiously scanning Dongyoung, trying to read his expression because Dongyoung was now back-facing you after going crazy on Jungwoo.
Dongyoung had his lips sucked between his teeth and he turned around and shyly locked eyes with you. The eye contact didn’t last very long though.
“I… I came to ask for permission from your mom… and this idiot…” He glares back, over his shoulder, at Jungwoo. He sighed heavily and looked like he was bracing himself. “To ask you out.”
“Good God!” Jungwoo exclaims and buries his head in his hands. You weren’t sure if he was elated or distraught. He suddenly stands up, and the impact pushes the stool outwards at least a metre, the sound of the stool’s legs dragging against the floor scares you a little. “After one whole year! You finally got it off your chest!”
One… one year?
Dongyoung had his head hung low, and his eyes plastered to the floor like it was made of gold.
“Come here, y/n,” Jungwoo walks around Dongyoung and reaches to you, pulling you towards his chest and wrapped his arm around your shoulders. “You can choose to break his heart and say no, or you could say yes and let him take you out on a date. It doesn’t matter. Hyung and I had a deal that if he shut down, like he is doing right now, I’d be the one to tell you this.”
You frown at your brother and lean the opposite direction, feeling squirmish at the physical contact. Most of the time, the only physical contact between you and your brother was when you were beating him up over something dumb he did.
“Hey, Earth to y/n?” Jungwoo waved an open palm before your eyes.
“I heard you, whackass,” You nearly growled, slapping his hand away. You turned your attention back to Dongyoung, who now looked frozen in place, like he had just looked Medusa in the eye and turned to stone. You writhe away from Jungwoo, only now noticing your mother wasn’t in the kitchen anymore, and approached Dongyoung. He was a little shorter than Jungwoo, so looking up at that angle to meet his eyes weren’t very difficult.
What was difficult was realising that he reciprocated your feelings all this while. The two of you were just too dumb to notice anything. Either that, or the both of you were great at masking your feelings.
Had it been Mark who was in your room and saw you fresh out of bed, you would’ve killed him on the spot. But it was Dongyoung, and you were only worried about how shitty you looked in the morning.
“I… don’t know what to say…” You begin, unsure about how to approach the situation. Do you tell him that you gradually fell for him while he was teaching you? Do you tell him that you would totally agree to a date?
“It’s okay, y/n,” Dongyoung finally speaks and shakes his head. “I don’t want you to feel pressured. Jungwoo and the others just wanted me to get it out of my system, so… well, you know. If you say no, at least it wouldn’t hurt as much as if I waited another year to do s—”
“Yes.”
You bit down on your bottom lip, only now realising what you blurted out. You hurriedly covered your mouth, like you said something wrong. Dongyoung’s eyes were blinking non-stop, and Jungwoo’s eyes were widening to a size you never knew was possible.
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“Omo,” Jungwoo pressed his own cheeks together and screamed while running out of the kitchen. “UMMA! Y/N SAID YES!”
Dongyoung’s eyes were now wide, and it was the same look he had when you or Jungwoo were too dumb to understand an easy question.
“I’m sorry,” Dongyoung finally breaks the silence by providing an awkward chuckle. He rubs the back of his neck and breaks the eye contact, looking away to catch his breath before looking at you again. “Did I… we… did you say yes?”
You slowly nodding, feeling your heart race in your chest. Your palms were sweating and you could start to feel your neck turn sore from the angle you had to tilt to see his face.
Dongyoung burst out into small giggles, rubbing his face and leaving his palm on his cheek, now looking at you with curious eyes.
“Is it rude to ask if you said yes because you feel the same… or that you didn’t want to hurt my feelings?”
You gulped and licked your lips. You were ready to keep your feelings to yourself because being Jungwoo’s sister already brought you unwarranted attention. Had you confessed to Dongyoung earlier, being ridiculed by most of the female student population wasn’t a nightmare too unrealistic. But now that this happened…
“I feel the same,” You respond quietly, looking at your feet because you could already feel the blood rush up to your cheeks and ears. “Ever since you started tutoring Jungwoo and me, I was already… feeling things.”
Silence.
You felt someone’s hand press into your hair, gently rubbing his fingers into your head. Dongyoung had never touched you before, because he was always the prim and proper nice guy of the group, so realising that this touch was unfamiliar only confirmed that Dongyoung was the one patting your head.
“Well, I’m glad it worked out, and I’m glad they coerced me into doing this. If not, neither of us would’ve known,” Dongyoung’s free hand reached for your chin and tilted it upwards, making sure that your eyes were now looking into his. He pulled both his hands away, suddenly realising the bold moves he was making on you.
“So, y/n,” He finally grins comfortably, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Where do you want to go for our first date?”
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sorry-i-spaced · 3 years
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The Lost Hawk - Re-Imagined
I read a fanfiction a while back talking about how Hawkeye was a Hawk (the bird) but they never explained how he turned into a bird. I was talking about the fanfic with my friend last week and they challenged me to write my own version of how Hawkeye turned into a bird... so I present to you: The Lost Hawk - Re-imagined
“Battalion Aide needs a surgeon and I know none of you want to go, so we’ll be drawing tongue depressors,” said Colonel Potter as he motioned for Klinger to begin walking around to each surgeon so they could pull their fate. BJ picked first and a huge wave of relief washed over his face when he revealed a normal size stick in his hand. The next surgeon to go was Hawkeye. Lifting the stick from Klinger’s stash revealing the snapped in half stick, his face fell grim. 
“Har har har,” quipped Frank, thankful he could stay behind. 
Everyone knew how bad it was down at the front and everyone always feared the worst when it came their time to make a visit. 
“Alright Pierce!” Potter began. “I expect you to come back in one piece! Klinger will have your jeep ready in an hour.”
“Eye Eye Captain!”
“That’s colonel to you and just yes sir will suffice” 
“Yes sir,” mocked Hawkeye as he saluted and marched out of the office.
Frank looked at Potter and BJ and rolled his eyes, “what a do do.” 
****
Hawkeye has been on the road for a short amount of time. As he rounds a bend he sees a Korean soldier standing in the middle of the road flailing his arms about. Hawkeye comes to a stop and looks at the man.
“Uh, can I help you?” asks Hawkeye unsure of which side of the war this man was fighting for.
“Out” yells the man curtly. 
“I’m not an infantry man, I’m just a doctor, you don’t want me I promise I’m no fun” scrambles Hawkeye.
“Out” yells the man again. 
“Okay, I’m going” replies Hawkeye as he stumbles out of the jeep and raises his hands. The Korean leads Hawkeye off the main road. Once out of sight he spins Hawkeye around so that his back is facing him. He takes the butt of his gun and rams it across Hawkeye’s head. The blow knocks the man unconscious. 
****
MASH 4077 
“I hate that we must work under such primitive conditions,” whined Frank over his patient.
“Suction! Frank quit your yapping. I’ve only been here for a couple of months now and I already know that our unit is more advanced in equipment than other MASHs” retorted BJ.
Just then the O.R door burst open and in rushed Klinger.
“Colonel Potter! The aid station called Hawkeye never showed up. I put a call into some of the checkpoint MPs and they found Hawkeye's jeep. Untouched.But no Hawkeye to be found”
“Hawk? Potter you have to let me go find him” shouted BJ 
“Hunnicutt! It is no use to be down two surgeons! You need to stay here. Klinger get on the horn to ICorpse and tell them to put a look out for Pierce.” said Potter, surprisingly calm for the brevity of the situation. 
****
Unknown Location
Slowly opening his eyes Hawkeye notices he’s in a small room- looking to be no more than 5 x 10. He notices he’s lying on a small cot near the door and that he can feel the inner workings of a headache forming. That’s when he begins to feel the walls caving in. Jumping to his feet he begins taking heavy labored breaths. Stepping towards the door he shakes the handle. Locked. He soon begins banging on the door and screaming “Let me out!” “I can’t breathe!” “The walls are caving in” “get me out” 
Soon the door yanks open and standing before him is the Korean from before and two new guys who Hawkeye is sure are the head Korean’s goons. The two new guys are carrying a litter and restraints. Abandoning his current fear of death by small space he begins to fear the new one being presented ~ being operated on. The two Korean henchmen grab his arms and Hawkeye begins to kick and scream. Thrashing about. Somehow the men are unfazed and get him onto the litter and strap him down. 
Lifting the litter they follow the head Korean.
“You know, I’m perfectly healthy. No need to waste precious time and medical equipment on me.” Began Hawk. The men just keep on walking. 
“If this is about earlier, I’m fine. Just a little claustrophobic. It developed when my mom died.” 
Nothing. They had now plopped his stretcher down on an operating table. 
“Come on guys, I’m fine. I’m a doctor. You can trust me.” Tried Hawk one last time. 
A different Korean walked over to Hawkeye’s side, with a syringe full of a yellow-reddish substance. As a mash was being placed over his face he saw out of his peripheral vision the syringe being injected into his forearm.  That was the last thing he saw before darkness consumed him.
****
MASH 4077
“I won’t say it again Hunnicutt! If you try to go AWOL again I will put you under house arrest!” beckoned Potter. 
“Honestly sir, why don’t you because I will do it again. Why hasn’t anyone done anything!” cried BJ. 
“We are doing all that we can as fast as we can. But these things take time.” eased Potter.
“Ugh” grunted BJ as he began to walk away. 
“Klinger! Get Goldberg to stand watch outside the Swamp. He is to not let Hunnicutt out of his sight!” called Potter.
“Yes sir” saluted Klinger.
****
Unknown Location
Slowly opening his eyes, Hawkeye raises his head only to realize he was left lying on his stomach. Sitting up he hears the faintest bird flap. Looking over his shoulder to see if there was a window in the room that he somehow missed during his previous inventory. He is met with a mouthful of huge angelic white satin feathered wings. Touching the edges of them ever so gently he begins to cry. His sobs are anything but quiet. Alerting his captures of his awakeness, the door opens and the three Koreans from before are back. The two who restrained him before drag him to his feet and they drag him outside. 
Once outside they hoist him into a jeep and get in themselves. Once two miles from the 4077 the head Korean yanks Hawkeye to the ground and spits “Now your name fits you! Bye Bird Boy! Have fun learning to fly! If you give up, walk back the two miles back to your camp” and with that the three Koreans drive off laughing. 
Getting up off the ground Hawkeye begins attempting to teach himself how to fly. Each time falling flat on his face. Each time injuring a different part of his body. Finally giving up he remembers what the Korean had said.
Bye Bird Boy….walk back to camp
“Shit! No one will want me. Beej. My dad. Who wants a half bird half man as a son. Let alone a friend. With that he starts sobbing again. After a moment he composes himself and wipes the tears and snot off his face. He realizes what he must do. Trying to fly again, he begins flapping his wings harder and harder. He begins to lift off the ground and starts floating in the direction of camp. But he doesn’t want to go back to camp per say. What he is really looking for is trees and buildings. He doesn’t even care that he taught himself to fly anymore. He rams his body into as many trees and buildings until he feels like the injuries sustained are adequate enough that they might just kill him. He slowly lands back on the ground. Beginning to feel a concussion forming he lies down so he can seal his fate. In a hushed tone he whimpers out the words, “bye Beej. Sorry dad.” and shuts his eyes. 
****
MASH 4077
Due to the strange loud noises no one was accustomed to hearing Klinger was assigned to not only patrol the compound but the area surrounding Rosie’s Bar. On his second loop, the noises stop and Klinger notices a body lying next to Rosie’s Bar. Running over, he sees wings. And human legs! Not knowing what Chinese  medicine voodoo experimental shit he’s just stumbled upon he runs back into camp to wake Potter. 
“It’s half man half bird sir. Sorry to wake you.” stammered Klinger as the two rushed over to the unconscious body with a litter. 
“That’s quite alright son. Once we get him into pre-op, get Burns.”
“Not BJ?” asked Klinger confused on why Potter would choose Burns for a case so unamerican esc. 
“Hunnicutt is still on house arrest” replied Potter. 
In pre-op the doctors began assessing the man's wounds.
“This man has wings! That’s not natural” quipped Frank. 
“V-very good Frank” weakly shot back the unconscious man who was starting to wake up.
Frank turned his head uneasily, “Pierce?” he managed to get out.
“Live and in stereo”
Potter ran to his side. “Pierce! It’s good to see you. We need to fix your injuries” stated Potter calmly, taking on a rather fatherly tone. 
That triggered something in Hawkeye. 
“No! Leave me alone. Don’t touch me” he screamed as he thrashed around. Potter and Frank tried to hold the flailing man. 
“Pierce, come on buddy you know it’s routine to fix injuries.” reasoned Frank.
“No! You just want to hurt me like they did.” thrashed Pierce some more. 
“Klinger, get me a sedative!” called Potter
“You're just like them. You're not really getting a sedative. You're going to inject me with something else. I know it! Leave me alone -”
“-Owe! He’s biting me” yelled Frank whose arm was now in a Pierce teeth sandwich. 
Klinger ran back in and handed the syringe full of the sedative to Potter, who quickly slid it into Pierce’s forearm. 
Slowly the thrashing stopped and his jaw loosened just enough for Frank to yank his arm out of Pierce’s mouth. 
Opening his eyes to the sharp light of the post - op, Hawkeye quickly screwed them shut again. Opening them a 2nd time, more slowly this time, he notices BJ asleep in the chair beside his bed. Reaching out to touch his arm ever so slightly BJ jolts awake. Retracting his arm quickly Hawkeye stares. 
“Hawk!” 
“The one and only” 
“How are you?”
“Fine. Dandy. Mind telling me what’s the damage doc”
“Concussion, lacerations to the torso, broken ribs mostly in digits 5 and 6, lots of cuts and bruises, dislocated shoulder, oh and you have wings.” deadpanned BJ.
“Joyus” 
In walks Potter, noticing the boys chatting he walks over. 
“Pierce! You’re awake. I’m going to cut to the chase. You said some rather weird things before we sedated you. The weirdest one being that the people who took you injected you with stuff. What did you mean by that? 
“Colonel, I’m scared that they may have poisoned me. I watched them inject this yellow-reddish substance in my arm before they put me under. But I don’t know how many times before and after that, that they did it.” cried Hawkeye. 
Potter’s facial expression grew warm and sad. 
“I think we should get a blood sample and send it to Seoul. To see what we can do. I also think we should do another surgery to remove the wings they surgically implanted.”
BJ had at some point gotten up during the conversation and retrieved the necessary tools for extracting a blood sample.  He motioned for Hawkeye to give him his arm. Which he complied. 
“Colonel, I really don’t want another life altering surgery.” protested Hawkeye. 
“Pierce, it will help make things go back to normal”
“No! I don’t want it.” cried Hawkeye. 
BJ was just finishing up putting Hawk’s name on the sample tube and put it down before inserting himself into the conversation to try and remedy it. “ Hawk, I know it’s scary to go through not one but two life changing surgeries in the span of a few days. No one is saying it will be easy. But you know as well as I do that this will help make things go back to somewhat normal. I know we don’t know what exactly happened to you out there, but I want you to know that you're the bravest person I know.” tried Beej. 
“Fine. I’ll do the surgery” sighed Hawk
“Really! My speech worked?” asked Beej
“As long as it gets you to shut up then yes.” retorted Hawk.
****
Several Weeks Later
Hawkeye was sat up in the swamp on his cot hooked up to a makeshift blood transfusion machine. BJ was sat on his own cot reading Hawkeye’s hometown newspaper aloud to keep to his friend company during his weekly transfusion.  It had been hell the past several weeks. The surgery to remove the wings went swimmingly. Hawkeye was so happy he almost forgot they had to wait for his results from the blood sample to come back from Seoul that he got piss drunk and made out with a nurse. That was until news regarding his blood sample came back. The North Koreans did in fact try to poison Hawkeye.  Potter figured that transfusions would solve the problem. 
Beej stopped reading the article he was reading and lowered the newspaper to face Hawkeye. 
“What” asked Hawkeye
“God Hawk, I’m glad you're safe and sound.”
“Me and you both”
“I’ve missed you in O.R, Frank isn’t fun to torment alone”
“Potter figures I can get off biweekly transfusions by sometime next week, which means I can start helping out more in O.R and I can get back to chasing nurses and tormenting Frank”
“I heard that you ninnies”
The two laughed 
The End
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skeletorific · 7 years
Note
Every single Undertale ask you haven't answered yet. Heck even the ones you have.
I’m putting a hecking read more line because that’s a lot of shit
1. Who’s your favourite character from UT? Excluding the skeleton bros its Undyne. I love her I love her I love her she reminds me or Erza from Fairy Tail and did I mention I love her?
2. Who’s your least favourite character from UT? Honestly? Alphys. Its not that I think she’s poorly written (she’s very fleshed out) but I don’t really like characters that I have to feel sorry for. Pity’s not really an emotion I like. Plus she never really apologized to me or Mettaton. She only seemed to be concerned with how she felt. Which I think its important for people with anxiety and guilt to learn how to forgive themselves, but it would have been nice to hear her say sorry.:
4. What’s your favourite quote? Anything out of Flowey’s mouth
5. What’s your favourite soundtrack? Spear of Justice. So pumped up
10. Your first letter to Mettaton was:Leg so hot. Hot hot leg. Leg so hot you fry an egg
11. Your reaction when you saw Omega Flowey for the first time: CONFUSED AND HORRIFIED SCREAMING
12. Your headcanon about Frisk’s gender: Female, but I really don’t give a shit. Mae or gender neutral Frisk is cool too.
13. Which UT character reminds you of yourself? Sans, minus the badass stuff, but with the laziness, fashion sensibilities, and shitty sense of humor
14. Which UT character reminds you of your best friend? My best friend….honestly some bizarre fusion of the River Person and Asriel
15. Would you smooch a ghost? If the right one came along
16. Which UT character would be your best friend? Why? Like I said, Sans and I have a lot in common. I think I’d have an odd friendship with Mettaton if the right circumstances came along. And of course Papyrus.
18. Did you do sth in game you regret? I KILLED UNDYNE
20. Your favourite land in UT and why: (Snowdin, Waterfall or Hotland) Waterfall. The atmosphere and the music were stunning, and I loved the color scheme
21. Your favourite place in UT and why: (Undyne’s house for example) The Judgement Hall. Gorgeous colors, beautiful atmosphere, and I am a sucker for pillars and stained glass.
22. Your headcanon about River person’s gender:…..honestly, not a clue. I’m going genderless.
23. Your headcanon about one of the UT characters:……too many to count. But Undyne is afraid of thunderstorms and copes by going out to fight them.
24. Butterscouch or cinnamon pie? B-scotch, my dude
25. Your opinion/headcanon about six human souls: Not all of them are kids. And they are all salty lil fucks.
26. With who would you go on a date? The dates with Sans were always pretty chill. 
28. Do you wanna have a bad time?….I mean not really
31. Would you want to fall into underground? I think only if I knew I could help them get out. While still being, you know, alive.
32. Describe or draw your undersona: I don’t really have one? When I think about self-insert stuff I tend to just view myself as a human who ended up friends with them on the surface. 
33. One reason why you love UT: Story, characters, writing, unique take on old mechanics
34. One reasom why you hate UT: For a game that’s meant to be replayed a lot the puzzles are repetitive as shit. The steam vent puzzles in Hotland can go fuck themselves. I’m with Papyrus its a shitty place.
36. Your favourite amalgamate: Lemon Bread. I love them for no reason.
37. Your headcanon about Gaster: who do you think Gaster is to Sans and Papyrus? (Father, brother, uncle etc) I’m that basic bitch who lives for Dadster
38. Your opinion about bad puns: This game actually completely changed me. I was a well-known Pun Hater. Now I’m a piece of shit who lives for the groans that follow a particularly bad one 
39. Do you draw fanarts from UT? If yes, then what do you like the most to draw? Can’t draw for shit
40. Which of human souls fits you the most? Patience. I kind of let stuff roll of my shoulders, and prefer to wait for the right moment. I’m also lazy as fuck
41. What would be the first thing you would to show to Sans, Papyrus or the rest of characters in human world? Why? Roombas. Just want to see Undyne and Papyrus gush about it and watch it for hours, Alphys try and reprogram it, Toriel use it to clean the house, Mettaton feeling oddly jealous of the attention its getting, and Sans laying his socks on top of it.
42. Which song reminds you of UT or one of the UT characters? Why? I’ve posted about this before but “Salvonic” reminds me of Frisk after a Genocide run and “Just Gold” by Mandopony makes me think of Chara and Flowey
43. Your opinion on underloid: Haven’t listened to much, but I’m down. I like vocaloid.
44. Do you forgive Asgore for what he’s done? Yeah, I love my Goat Dad, even if he makes poor decisions.
45. Did you pay for Tem’s college? Once, because I’m a filthy cheater and wanted Tem armor.
46. Have you seen any youtube letsplay of UT? Jacksepticeye’s play-throughs are what got me into the game in the first place. I also watched dan and Phil’s.
47. Do you listen to any fanmade songs? If so, then which are your favourite? Yeah dude. I really love the “stronger than You” parodies, and fishy love is my jam.
48. What are your favourite theories? Chara is the narrator
49. Who is your favourite enemy? (Not including boss monsters) Doggo. His yapping face fills me with glee
50. Do you have any headcanons about Chara’s past? (Why they hate humanity, why did they fell to the underground etc) I had a lengthy as fuck backstory written up at one point, but I think they had a neglectful as fuck dad. Not abusive, but he just left them alone and only paid attention when they did something wrong or “earned” his attention. Nobody in their lives did anything, leaving Chara to believe that you can’t trust other people to help you out or care about you. They ended up in the Underground by accident. They were walking late  night, fed up with everything, frustrated, crying and ended up tripping into the hold. What sucked was that they weren’t sure their dad would even notice.
51. Who is your favourite dog? Greater Dog. That little bark noise made the world right for a brief and shining moment
52. What was your reaction to true lab? Fuck this shit I’m out….
53. Your fabourite voice acting: tehrogue does good stuff. And FUCK supershadicx250 and crashboombanger’s Fell Sans’ voice FUCK ME UP RN
54. At the end of pacifist run did you stay with your friends or did you come back to your family? Did anybody actually go back to Frisk’s family? Other than for intellectual curiosity?
55. Who is older - Sans or Papyrus? For some reason regardless of universe I always see Papyrus as the older one.59. Your favourite puzzle: That one with Mettaton in the Dungeon
60. Which battle was the hardest for you? FUCKING WOSHUA I HATE THAT BATTLE I DON’T KNOW WHAT IT IS BUT I CAN’T FIGHT WOSHUA
61. Did you still hate Flowey after you discovered his true indentity? I never hated Flowey.
62. The saddest moment: The God of Hyperdeath begging me to stop trying to abandon him
63. Which ending is your favourite? True Pacifist, obvs.
65. Any post pacifist run headcanons? I love PTA!Sans as much as the next girl but PTA!Papyrus is where its at. Also Alphys is introduced to a whole new world of anime because the only anime that ends up Underground is the crap kind that people throw away.
66. Your favourite NPC: I’m guessing you mean side character? Gerson. Love me some cantankerous old people
67. Humans or monsters? I REFUSE THIS CHOICE
68. The funniest situation: Temmie Village released horrified and manic giggles out of me, but also the date with Papyrus.
69. Skeletonfucker, robotfucker, goatfucker or kinkshaming? *looks at Red*………..kinkshaming (JK total skelefucker)
70. When playing for the first time how many candies did you take? All of them. Fuck da police.
71. Did you kill or spare Flowey at the end of the game? Spared, but hot damn I wanted to kill him.
72. If you had to be one of the main characters, which would you choose? Undyne. I want that hair and muscle tone74. Which character(s) would you like to cosplay? I’m not much of a cosplayer but I wouldn’t mind doing Chara. I’ve kind of got the hair anyways.
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Text
Shadows
Paul Weber looked up at the bright blue sky covered by green palm trees. He closed his eyes and tried to think of his farm in Des Moines. He tried envisioning rows of golden wheat before him as he stood in his fields letting the sun grace his tanned skin. It wasn't like this awful, sticky, hell called Guadalcanal. "Hey, Weber!" Paul snapped out of it and looked behind him to see a broad-shouldered, brown-haired blue-eyed New Yorker he knew as Luke Giovanni "You done being lost in thought over there, pal?" Paul shrugged "At least something was going through my mind" he said with a smirk. Luke rolled his eyes "Very funny, farm boy. Just get back to shoveling. I'd like to get these fighting positions set up before Tojo comes a knocking." Paul looked down at the hole he was helping Luke with and promptly got back to work. "Aw, shucks." The resident slim, brown-eyed Virginian named Jackson Lee piped up. "Lay off of him, would 'ya Luke? I mean, don't you miss the city?" "Yeah, sure. I do." Luke replied "But I don't waste my time thinking about it, I'm thinking about digging this fucking trench so I can mow down Japs so I can go home a lot sooner!" Luke replied.  
"Well, I find that thinking about home every once in a while, helps me through all of my troubles." Jackson said "What's the city like, Luke?" Luke looked up for a moment "Better than this shitty place, that's for sure." Luke continued as he shoveled "It's got lights, there's always something to do" Luke stopped and smiled as he thoughts of home entered his head "and there's always these pretty dames making eyes at ya." Paul chuckled "Any of those dames your girl back home?" Luke grinned "When I get back, that'll be the case." Luke paused "What about you, Paul? Jackson your cousin doesn't count." Jackson rolled his eyes in response.  
Paul thought back to the night before he shipped out to San Diego for basic training. He remembered Anna nestling her head against his shoulder as they lay in bed. Paul spent that night staring at the slowly spinning ceiling fan trying to sleep. He remembered their tearful goodbye as he went on the train to San Diego. "Come back to me" her words echoed in his head. "I sure do, fellas." Paul spoke as he gazed at the blue sky. "Yeah? What's her name? Is she skinny? Fat?" Luke smiled and chuckled mischievously "Yeah, I knew it. You like fat chicks don't you Paul? I bet she's got-" "Aw, hush, Luke! Let him talk!" Jackson interjected. Paul laughed it off and refocused his mind on Anna. He pictured her smile that lit up her eyes, her slim figure in a blue floral dress. Paul noticed that both the men's jaws dropped as he described her. Paul looked back to happier times.  
As he recounted his experiences to his squadmates, he remembered the first day her bright blue eyes met his while he was out in town that weekend. He remembered how he worked up the courage to ask her to the movies that night. He remembered her red lipstick, white gloves, curled brown hair, and her bright red dress that night. He remembered their first kiss in the night when nobody else was around. "Damn, Paul! You know you are way too lucky of a guy, you know that?" Luke interjected. "That's enough about her, fellas. What about you Jackson?" Jackson gave a hearty laugh "Well, unlike what this city boy thinks, there's plenty of pretty girls out where I'm from." He described a blonde-haired, green-eyed beauty who moved from Alabama. "I asked her out to the coffee shop, and we talked for a while and, well, the rest is history."  
Paul smiled and raised an eyebrow "That can't be all, man. I mean, what happened after that?" The smile faded from the Virginian "She found out I was going to San Diego and called it off. Didn't want to deal with the shadow that would follow her should something happen to me." Paul looked down. "Well, come home alive and she might change her mind." Jackson shrugged "It was only one date, not a marriage proposal. I was heartbroken at first, but I figured there's plenty 'o girls out there."  
A tall, gruff, marine with a holding a Tommy gun with one hand came up to their little home away from home. His entire body eclipsed the sun from their perspective looking like he was a tall shadow looking down at them. "Are we working here? Or are we screwing around?" The men replied that they were doing both. "Well, less yapping and more digging. Tojo can hear you guys with that racket you're making. Get to work" the shadow growled. "Yes, Sergeant!" The men replied as they got back to their shovels. Paul and his friends got back to digging. They finished digging and started mounting and making adjustments to their Browning M1917 water-cooled machine gun.  
When it seemed like they were in the clear, Paul turned to the New Yorker. "You know, Luke. I've never really been to the city before. I like my farm and all, but it's a little quiet sometimes. A visit or two to the city would be nice. Any pointers?" Luke's eyes lit up "Aw, yeah man! There's cabarets, fancy restaurants, theaters, anything you could want! Hey, you should bring Anna with you! She'll love you for it!" Paul smiled "I supposed you don't mind taking us around?" "What else do you think I was going to do?" Luke replied with clap on Paul's shoulder. Jackson shrugged as he brought a box of ammo. "I'm not sure, fellas. I've heard stories from some of my friends. It seems all noisy, smelly, and dirty. I like my quiet life out back in town, honestly." Luke raised an eyebrow "You need to find a new set of friends then, pal. So, they had one bad experience. So, what! They didn't have me to take them around!" Paul laughed and turned to Jackson "I'd trust this guy to take me around the city. Come with us, Jackson. See it for yourself."  
Jackson looked down for a moment. The Virginian was a refreshing contrast to the boisterous Luke, whom one would worry if he was quiet. With Jackson, it was almost the opposite; you would be worried if he spoke as quickly as Luke did. The sergeant returned to their fighting position with a cigarette hanging from his lips. "Well, it looks like I'll be joining you boys for this little scrap." He said as he set down the radio next to them and scraped some dirt off of the upper receiver of his Thompson. This time, the shadow from the brim of his helmet completely covered his eyes. The only feature he could make out was his square jawline. "Make like first squad over there and gather some bamboo and build a little bunker for the machine gun. Make it happen." The men leapt from their fighting position and went about their duties. Jackson chopped down some bamboo strands and tied them together over their fighting position. It was wide enough for them and the sergeant to stick their weapons out.  
About 25 yards down the line lay an opening. That opening was guarded rows of sharpened bamboo pikes backed up by a line of concertina wire. Along that 25-yard open stretch was a minefield that was further backed up by 10 marines with rifles and machine guns. Paul kept an eye out for rustling in the trees and bushes. He opened the action slightly to make sure he had a round chambered before closing it. By the time it was sunset, they were finally done constructing their fighting position.  
Night soon followed. Long hours of quiet followed, save for the wind blowing against the trees and the soft cooing of tropical birds. Paul took a sip out of his canteen that shimmered in the pale moonlight, the cool water soothing his dry throat. Paul looked to find Jackson asleep, his eyes softly shut in restful sleep. He turned to Luke on the Browning, who scanned attentively for anything unnatural in the jungle. Luke gave Paul a nod as he continued to scan. Paul couldn't find where the sergeant was. It felt as if he was a shadowy presence than an actual flesh and blood man in their bunker. If the sun couldn't make out his features, the moonlight surely couldn't either.  
The silence was penetrated by a terrible shrieking noise. Paul ducked down into this makeshift bunker as a shell exploded close to him throwing dirt into his bunker. He saw that Jackson was now jostled awake and ducked down with him. More shells howled into the night and lit up the night with their fiery explosions. Paul turned to find Jackson laughing off the whole affair "Just like the county fair back home!" Paul couldn't help but smile at his friend's comparison of the danger they faced from the bombs to the colorful celebration of light. Luke's eyes were wide with fear as he held tightly to the machine gun. "C'mon you Jap bastards! Quit fucking shelling us and come out here!"  
When the howl of the last shell found its explosive mark, the sergeant called for the squads to sound off. Everyone sounded off. Paul said a quick prayer as he clutched the cross he was wearing and shouldered his Springfield from his fighting position. Squinting into the darkness, Paul saw amorphous shadows moving at the perimeter. At that moment, a bright, white light shot above them to reveal men in khaki uniforms and pith helmets with rifles in hand trying to cut the wire. Paul wasted no time putting the sights on the chest of one of them. His target's face was shrouded in darkness, but he could feel his gaze moments before Paul pulled the trigger. The shot echoed throughout the camp as the man crumpled to the ground.  
"Japs!" A marine called out. The roar of machine guns drowned out the crack of rifle fire and the baying of the Japanese soldiers as they barred toward their position. The charging soldiers held their rifles at their waist bayonets at the ready. Paul felt rounds whiz by as he frantically shot at moving shadows, cycling his rifle as fast as he could with each shot. Luke continually fired bursts until his machine gun ran silent. "Loading!" Luke called out. Paul rushed to grab an ammo belt to feed it into the machine gun. With a metallic clanging of the charging handle, soon the machine gun was roaring again.  
Paul picked up his rifle and sent rounds down range. Errant bullets whizzing by as he prayed their makeshift bunker would hold. Paul glanced at muzzle flash from the sergeants' Thompson as he made his weapon sing. Even the light could not lay a shadow on their leader. He heard a howl of pain close by in the din of battle. Paul checked to see if Luke and Jackson were okay, he thanked God that they were, but he could no longer see the muzzle flash from the sergeants' Thompson. Paul snapped back to reality and loaded his own weapon before returning to shoot at amorphous shadows howling and running at them.  
The din of battle continued into the night. Day had finally dawned by the time the last shot cracked into the morning. The pungent smell of gunpowder and death filled the air. The light of the sun revealed a scene of gruesome carnage. Craters from exploded mines and shells were punctuated by the bloody, torn corpses of men in khaki strewn about the field like discarded rag dolls. Paul surveyed the carnage as he turned to Jackson who clapped him on the shoulder and gave him a reassuring nod. He turned to see Luke staring in horror at the scene. His eyes wide with shock at the destruction that man was capable of.  
Paul glanced at the sergeant, whose body lay crumpled at the bottom of their fighting position his face covered by his helmet. A bloody wound marked where a bullet connected with his chest. Paul removed his helmet to reveal the sergeants' face. His icy blue eyes remained open as they gazed into the bright blue sky. His expression was neutral, almost as if they felt nothing of the fear they all felt during the battle.  
All of the men looked at each other and silently knew what to do. Paul closed his eyes and asked his squadmates to help gather wood to make a makeshift cross for his grave. As they were digging, Jackson noticed that he could no longer make out Pauls' features, as they were covered by the shadow made by the brim of his helmet.
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