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Evans Blog Entry |
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January 19, 2024, 12:00:15 AM 1/19/24: r/SketchDaily theme, "Free Draw Friday." This week's character from my anthro WWII storyline is Gunnery Sergeant Evans (first name never given). He appears early in the story and uses some unusual means to help the new battalion get off the ground. There'll be more about him later in my art Tumblr and Toyhou.se. TUMBLR EDIT: I believe I shared a bit about Evans in Sgt. Irene Beaudry's entry. I don't know a lot about his background as he's only meant to appear in the first part of Genesis, chronologically the first part of the main story (though for some unexplained reason, it's presented second). Corporal Drake's role in the story has grown a bit more nuanced--he deals with various instances of passive (well...mostly) antisemitism (his very entry to the story is when the military truck Sergeant Camo is riding in forces his motorcycle off the road as a "joke")--so I imagine Evans playing more of a role in this fashion, as he secretly develops an attraction to Drake. He likely attempts to intervene yet is prevented from doing much by Drake himself, who insists that he just back off and let things be: "Speak up, and it only makes things worse," he snaps. Evans, at a loss, decides to focus instead on helping get Camo's idea for the First Battalion off the ground. Almost nobody in a position to do anything is interested in doing so, not even when Drake presents circumstantial evidence of what the Nazi Party is actually up to, and it's a lot worse than they'd thought. The prevailing attitude is "Well, it's not our problem." Camo and Drake are near-opposites in their worldviews--Camo is the idealist hoping for the best, Drake is the realist preparing for the worst--so in an odd way they complement each other, and Evans realizes that the two of them working together is the best way to get things going. He attempts to act as a mediator, as the two do not get along well at first (Drake mistakenly believes Camo was involved in the incident with the military truck, when in fact he didn't fully understand what was happening at the time, and once he did find out he lambasted the driver for endangering everyone's lives); he also tries finding ways to convince higher-ups to greenlight the Trench Rats project. I don't know if he or Camo is the one behind it, but a skilled surgeon, who later receives the codename Burgundy (I have yet to determine how the characters are referred to before they're recruited, so MAYBE they deal with these names before the battalion is even formed?--unsure), agrees to join the battalion only under the condition that he not be placed in a senior leadership position--a rather awkward condition, given that he's a second lieutenant, whereas Camo and Drake are a sergeant and corporal. (This was my attempt to retcon an explanation why a lieutenant would defer to people of lower ranks.) Evans may have a hand in convincing the famously inhospitable Burgundy to lend his services as part of a team. He also approaches Sgt. Irene Beaudry to ask for her aid interceding with authorities; her position in all this isn't clear to me, but she's in a sort of assistant position, and can be very persuasive. She agrees to put forward Evans's case in the best light possible...if he'll come back to her place for the night. Evans finally hesitates and wonders if this trouble is worth it: He's in the closet, and isn't attracted to Beaudry at all. He also wonders if she plans to blackmail him if he refuses. So his reasons for going along likely aren't 100% altruistic, though his main motivation is helping out Drake, and he steels himself for the possibility of losing his job no matter what he does. He agrees to pass one night with Beaudry. Beaudry afterward holds up her end of the bargain and presents to her superiors Evans's argument for forming the battalion to send to Germany not only to rescue the captured American soldiers, but to spy on the Nazis; she also doesn't blackmail him. She may have a skeezy approach to sex, but is otherwise known to keep her word. Evans is squicked out by the entire experience but decides one especially uncomfortable night is worth helping Camo and Drake realize their goal. Evans realizes he and Drake stand no chance being together. Throughout most of his part in the story, in fact, he's pretty sure Drake doesn't even like him. He accepts this, even though as time goes on Drake's icy demeanor thaws somewhat and there are subtle hints that Evans's feelings are cautiously reciprocated. The Trench Rats are formed and they get their order to ship out before anything can come of it. Before Drake leaves, however, Evans does summon up the nerve to abruptly kiss him; Drake is too surprised to do anything, though when Evans pulls away, they're both flustered, and not unpleasantly so. "Good luck," Evans blurts out, and "Thank you," Drake manages to say, and they part ways for the last time. Obviously, Evans and Drake do not end up as a couple; Drake gets involved with French partisan Papillon while in Germany, and reunites with him following his captivity by the Nazis. He's badly traumatized by his experiences, but Papillon promises to stand by him no matter what and help however he can. Following the war, he invites Drake to return to France with him, and Drake accepts. In the United States, Evans is kept informed of what becomes of all the Trench Rats, including Drake, so he has no cause to wonder what happened to him; I imagine he feels rather wistful about what could have been, but wasn't. Just as before, however, he accepts this. I haven't really explored Evans's post-war life, though I have reason to think he doesn't end up alone. A scenario started forming in my head of him briefly encountering another military person--possibly Navy--who offers him a friendly smile that makes him wonder; when they have reason to run into each other again, the other man's banter leads him to suspect he's interested in him. The only other time this happened was with Drake, and that never got the chance to go far, so Evans is really not good at figuring out how this works. When the sailor finally invites Evans to join him for a drink at a particular bar, that's about as clear a message as he can get, and he tentatively agrees. Upon arriving at the bar he notices there are no women there, only men, and that at last makes the situation crystal clear. He pushes down his nervousness and the two of them share drinks and have a long, pleasant talk. On the way out, the sailor kisses him, and it's nice, though Evans isn't really ready to do anything else just yet. He flushes and averts his eyes afterward, stumbling over an excuse to head home alone; the sailor smiles again and gives a soft laugh and says it's fine: "No hurry. We can go however slow you want." Evans lets out his breath; it's amazing how just a few words can settle nerves. Still, "I think I'd like drinks again, sometime," he says, then manages to add, "And maybe we see where it goes from there." He briefly worries that he's doing it wrong, yet the other man merely smiles wider, and nods, and Evans feels pleasantly flustered just like all those years ago, after a different kiss. [Evans 2024 [Friday, January 19, 2024, 12:00:15 AM]] |