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vintagedolan · 3 years

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hiraeth: initial concept

*this is a concept train!! in short, that means you all send in asks and tell me what you wanna see! so feel free to send me in whatever you want to see happen (it would be awesome if you guys send them kinda in order of plot like not jumping way ahead or anything if you know what I mean hehe. anyways, hope you enjoy, and here is my askbox for concepts!! love yah!*

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1: The Valley Isle

“What makes Hawaiian shaved ice Hawaiian? Isn’t it just ice and syrup?”

“Well, every morning we go out and collect water from the waterfall in our backyard, and then we freeze it into ice cubes shaped like the islands, and then we shave each one special into our various menu sizes.”

“Really?!”

“No. Your total is $5.47.”

Koa looked up from the syrup station, reaching over and smacking Kahua’s arm.

“Dude. Do you want to get fired?” She kept her voice low so it didn’t travel past the window.

He just laughed and grabbed the banana syrup, finishing off the mound of ice and sticking a spoon in the side before passing it out the window to the woman who’d asked the question.

“Yes. My master plan is to get in trouble, blame it on you, get it put on your permanent record so you lose all your future jobs and have to stay here with me forever.”

“You act like you aren’t going to also be in LA in literally three months.”

“And you act like you aren’t leaving me here on this rock, alone, for three months,” Kahua countered, turning to switch out the withering ice block from the machine.

Koa looked out over the rainbow of syrups, taking in the view.

Her and Kahua had been calling Maui a rock for years - since third grade, to be precise. She didn’t say it often, and especially not to any tourists who were coming to visit. To them, Maui was paradise. Tropical, perfect weather, perfect beaches. Koa could see it. She understood the allure. But when she thought of her paradise, it came in the shape of a bustling city, of opportunities and new faces and places.

LA.

Kahua called it the haole’s dream. The white girl’s dream. Didn’t matter how many times he complained about being on the same island his whole life, he never really wanted to leave it. The fact that Koa wanted to was seen as borderline criminal by half her ohana, but she pushed their comments and insults aside.

There were only two opinions that she really cared about anyways.

First was Nahele; her older brother. She didn’t have to ask him what he thought - he’d moved to Texas as soon as he could, started up a food truck in Austin, named it 808 GRINDZ and brought every hawaiian cooking method he knew along with him. He’d been making a life for himself ever since then, and he was ecstatic when Koa told him she was moving. The thought of having family on the mainland, even halfway across the country, was comforting enough.

But the most important one? That was Amosa.

Amosa, who called her when he knew she’d be walking to her car after she clocked out.

“Hi Dad.”

“Kaikamahine, my girl. How was your shift?”

“Busy, but it was fine. They gave me a card for a free small everyday that you can have, but you gotta get the sugar free syrup when you use it.”

“Yeah yeah,” he laughed. Even over the phone, Koa could hear the waves in the background, and she knew where he was before he said it. “Come to the dock.”

“Did you book another tour?” She couldn’t keep the excitement out of her voice.

“Come to the dock,” he said, his quiet way of saying no. “I’ll see you soon. Aloha wau iā 'oe.”

“Love you too.”

The drive to the boat dock was short, and the parking lot was busy as ever. Koa passed the bigger boats, with their names in fancy script screen printed on the side. Their buoys and extra snorkel gear, the bars nestled in the middle of the deck, an extra incentive for the tourists to book with them. Everyone loves a mai tai after all.

The Honu Nai sat at her spot on the dock, the farthest to the left. She had three years on any other snorkel boat out there. Her bow was worn, paint sanded off by the salt and sun over time and travel through the waves. But the little drawing of the smiling turtle still shone through on the side, despite the fact that Koa had painted it almost 10 years ago.

Over the edge, Koa could see her father. He was cleaning, like usual, organizing all of the extra gear that he had on the boat. The kids section was scarce again, all the smaller sized wetsuits, snorkels and fins barely taking up a rack. Koa knew why - if there was ever a kid on his snorkel tour who couldn’t afford their own gear, he’d ‘lend’ it to them. Every kid deserves to see the underwater world, he would say. It changes you, shows you what life is really about.

Koa had been in the ocean since before she could walk. If she wasn’t where she was supposed to be, she was one of two places; either diving under a wave somewhere, or writing in her notebook. Or, one of her notebooks at least.

“No book today?” He asked when she jumped aboard.

“Already packed them up.”

Amosa couldn’t think about the suitcases in her room without the tears starting to form. He blinked them away and looked out to the sea of blue.

“Did you pack your snorkel gear?”

“Dad. You know I’m not going to see shit in the ocean in California,” she sighed, moving over to him and putting an arm around him.

“I know, I know. They have sea lions I’ve heard. Maybe they’ll be friendly.”

“I’ve heard they stink.” She laid her head on his shoulder gently, closing her eyes when he kissed her head.

“Well. We have 5 hours until you have to get to the airport, and I say that’s just enough time for one more run, hmmm?”

Koa didn’t want to. She couldn’t think of many things worse than having salt all over her skin for a 6 hour plane ride. But the excitement in his eyes was irresistible, so she simply nodded and offered him a smile, letting go so he could get them on their way out to the reef.

She sat on the bow as they headed out to sea, closed her eyes and soaked in the spray off the waves. Her dad laughed when they hit a particularly big one, cutting through the crest so much that it splashed up onto the deck. He used to do it on purpose when she was a little girl just to hear her giggle and have her running back to him.

They made it to their favorite place quickly, and Koa didn’t hesitate to put her mask on and get to work. She took the line and dove over the side, tying it to the anchor hook under the water before coming back up. Amosa dropped the ladder for her on the back, but she didn’t need it. She was watching the reef.

Moorish Idols. That’s what she wanted to see. They were second only to green sea turtles - honu in Hawaiian. But they were the most beautiful fish, with their delicate top fin that tapered off to a tail. She was always excited to find one and show the kids on tours. All she had to say was look for Gill from Finding Nemo and they were able to spot them. She floated for a while, watching the fish dart around, even spotting a small reef shark about 15 yards to the right before she decided to climb back in to see her dad.

He passed her a towel and smiled at her as she sat down. All he could do was look at her for a moment, taking her in. His baby girl, on the boat she’d practically grown up in for the last time in a while.

He put on his brave face, and forced his biggest smile. “You ready to go out there?”

Koa sighed.

“I don’t know how to tell.”

“You’ll do great. You’re capable, and it won’t be long until you’re writing your own books instead of writing for these… whatever boys.”

“Dolan. Their names are Ethan and Grayson Dolan.”

“Well, like I said. Soon it’ll be your stories out there instead of someone else’s, with your name instead of theirs.” He said it with such certainty that she couldn’t help but believe him. Maybe it was the salt water left over in her eyes, or the glare of the sun off the ocean, but she began to tear up.

“Thanks for always supporting me dad. It means the world. I’m sorry I have to go so far away, I wish I could stay.” It was true - she just needed the money from the Dolan’s to get herself started, and then she’d come back, help her father.

Amosa smiled.

“Kaikamahine, it’s just an ocean between us.” He reached out for her cheek. “And we know the ocean, don’t we.”

“She’s an old friend,” Koa said, her heart tight in her chest.

“Exactly. Now c’mon, let’s get you home and on your way.”

Across the ocean and 3 hour time change, Grayson Dolan was pacing.

“It’s gonna be fine.” Ethan said.

“Shut the fuck up Ethan,” Grayson said.

That was the extent of most of their conversations over the last three days. Actually, that’s how all of them had been since Ethan had signed a deal with their agent for a ghostwritten book about their lives.

“It’ll get more people connected to us, the right people-”

“Has it ever fucking occurred to you that I’m tired of that shit? That I’m tired of people prying into my fucking life? What if I don’t wanna connect with anyone else, what if I just wanna be left the fuck alone? But no, now we’re gonna have some fucking stranger asking us a million fucking questions and digging for information in my own fucking house where I just wanna exist.”

Ethan didn’t have an answer for that. He’d fucked up, and he knew it. But he also knew that he signed a contract, and there was no backing out of it now. Grayson rubbed his hand over his eyes.

“When does the writer get here?”

“She flies in tonight.”

“Fucking fantasic. Can’t wait.”

With that, Grayson walked back to his room, leaving his twin alone in the living room with his hands in his pockets.

#hiraeth #IM NERVOUS

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gingerhaole · 4 years

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Hey-o! Long time follower here. I know you live on O'ahu and I'm going to visit my cousin there for a week. Since you've lived there for a while, in your opinion what's something that I absolutely must do/see/eat while I'm there? I love nature and exploring outside, but I'm open to everything. I want to make the most of my time. Thanks!

Oh, that’s so exciting!! A week is a good time to visit, I think you can get a lot done in a week. Well let me think... If you love the outdoors, there is a LOT to do here! I haven’t done every hike, but I have some favorites. (And AllTrails.com is a GREAT resource, and incredibly thorough.)

Get ready, folks, this is gonna be IN DEPTH! Here’s a guide of Stuff To Do that I made for visiting family;

Near Ewa Beach (where we live):

Ko Olina lagoons: Our favorite beach is here. There are four manmade lagoons that look out over the west, so sunset is especially beautiful. All the major resorts outside of downtown are here, so there’s a very nice little plaza with some restaurants, ice cream, etc. But the beach is the best. You can see some tropical fish, and the waves are always mild.

Ewa Beach rail tour: The historic Railroad Society does a 90-minute tour on Saturday and Sunday afternoons and what remains of the cross-island track. It starts in Ewa and goes all the way down the Waianae coast, which is stunningly beautiful. The track passes through Ko Olina, and on Sundays they stop at the plaza so you can get some ice cream.

On the North Shore:

Dole Plantation: The original pineapple plantation is now a kind of museum. There’s a big main house with gift shop and a cafe (where you can get the famous Dole Whip ice cream, not to be missed). There’s also the world’s largest corn maze, a small botanical garden, and a train ride through the fields and garden.

Hale'iwa Town: The whole town is pretty charming; rainbow storefronts, great local restaurants, art galleries, lots of shrimp trucks, and a very pretty beach where you can regularly find giant sea turtles sleeping on the sand. Hale’iwa is the only “major” town along the road that runs the northern shore. You can stop almost anywhere and see amazing beaches. But mind the surf traffic!

Waimea Bay: The Beach Boys sang about this place! It’s arguably the most spectacular beach on Oahu, surrounded by lush mountains on three sides. We’ve seen turtles, seals, dolphins, even a whale in the distance. There’s a famous jumping rock, and you can find rough surf or lapping waves, depending on which end you go. And it’s convenient because it’s right across the road from…

Waimea Valley Audubon: A nicely paved 1.5 mile walk through a beautiful botanical garden, full of fruit trees, orchids, indigenous plants and flowers, and a nene preserve — that’s the endangered Hawaiian duck. The payoff is a waterfall and a natural freshwater pool that you can swim in! They even have changing rooms and a shave ice shack.

In Manoa:

Lyon Arboretum and Manoa Falls: This is up in the mountains, in the tropical rainforest. One trail leads you to Manoa Falls, but it’s a pretty rough hike. It can be muddy and slippery, and there’s a little bit of climbing over roots and boulders. The other trail is Lyon Arboretum, which I love, and there’s a second waterfall at the top of the trail, but I can’t recall how long the walk is. Mostly it’s a very even path, but some of the trails get steepish, so good walking shoes would be required. But it’s also great the just explore the lower gardens.

Pu’u Ualaka’a Lookout: The highest road accessible by the general public is here, on Round Top Drive. The lookout is a small park, but a million-dollar view, all the way from Diamond Head to Waianae, with Pearl Harbor smack in the middle.

In Kaneohe/Windward shore:

Pali Lookout: A park at the top of the Pali Valley, which is a breathtaking expanse, even bigger than the Pu’u Lookout view. This place is full of history. It’s the site of the the Battle of Nu'uanu, where Kamehameha’s warriors forced 400 of Oahu’s defenders off the cliff and to their deaths. It’s a beautiful, eerie, powerful place to be, full of ghosts.

Valley of the Temples: One of my favorite places is the Byodo-in Temple, a replica of a Buddhist temple in Japan. It’s situated at the foot of the Ko’olau Mountains, and features the largest Buddha statue in Hawaii. It’s a beautiful place, very peaceful, with lots of koi and swans and a lovely garden.

Ho’omaluhia Botanical Garden: One of the most beautiful places on the island, if you’re asking me. 400 acres of gardens, a lovely duck-filled lake, and the most breathtaking 360-degree mountain view. NOT to be missed.

Kualoa Beach: Driving to the temple usually takes us on the LONG drive around the windward coast. There are a few very small towns, and the beaches are beautiful. Kualoa is a huge beach park, almost always deserted. The water is calm and shallow, and right off shore is the tiny Chinaman’s Hat island. In back of the park is a mountain range that you may recognize from Jurassic Park! Driving this way takes between two and three hours, and eventually connects to the North Shore. It’s a great way to see this part of the island, and you can stop anywhere along the way for swimming or a bite to eat. Great shrimp trucks, too!

In Honolulu:

Bishop Museum: Our natural and indigenous history museum. It’s pretty incredible, with etymology and ornithology collections, a portrait gallery, a planetarium, three floors of Pacific island history, and a volcano-centric science building!

‘Iolani Palace: The palace of the former Hawaiian monarchy, which offers guided tours. I was really moved when I visited. It’s amazing to see the throne room or the royal jewels, but even more amazing to see the small room where Queen Liliuokalani was held under house arrest, and sewed a commemorative quilt that’s on display.

In Waikiki:

Ala Moana mall: It’s apparently the world’s largest open-air mall. I’m not like a fan of malls, but this place is beautiful to see and wander around. And the FOOD! There’s a whole lower section called Shirokiya Japan Village Walk, which is like a grid of little restaurants and bakeries where you can find any Asian food you’re craving (and the world’s best chocolate cream puffs, too). On Fridays at 8:15 pm, the harbor just across the street sets off a little fireworks show.

Waikiki Beach: A pretty unbeatable place to people watch, have a swim, or lay out in the sun (with a mai tai or a beer, maybe). You can see the historic pink Royal Hawaiian Hotel, the statue of famous surfer Duke Kahanamoku, or sneak into the lobby of the Halekulani and use their fancy Japanese toilets!

King’s Village: A couple blocks of shops and restaurants that looks straight out of Disneyland. I love to just look at everything. On Thursdays and Sundays at 6:30 pm, they perform a tribute to the King’s Guard — on Thursdays it’s fire knife dancing and Polynesian drumming, and on Sundays it’s hula dancing and ukulele. Pretty cool!

Honolulu Zoo: It’s a small zoo, but it’s still pretty awesome! Features a brand new gigantic elephant paddock, a new reptile section, and a very nice keiki petting zoo. Sometimes they give all the animals special snacks -- the elephants get giant popcorn balls!

Honolulu Aquarium: Again, it’s not a huge aquarium, but it’s beautifully laid out, and full of native fishes and monk seals. The zoo and aquarium are both right at the end of Waikiki Beach, so it’s easy enough to do one of these and see more of Waikiki in a day.

Diamond Head: The famous (and famously exhausting) trail to the top of the Diamond Head crater takes about an hour and involves the Hundred Stairs and squeezing yourself through a bunker, but at the top you get a 360 degree view, and it is pretty hard to argue the rewards.

In Hawaii Kai:

Hanauma Bay: This a smallish bay in a state park that’s filled with a coral reef, and chock full of tropical fish — sea turtles, eels, puffers, giant parrotfish, everything. You can even see the state fish, the Humuhumunukunukuapua’a! It’s really like swimming in an aquarium, and if you’ve never been snorkeling, this is a great place to learn because it’s fairly shallow and the waves are usually really mild. It’s closed on Tuesdays (that’s when they paint the fish).

Halona Blowhole: Just up the road from Hanauma Bay is a cliff that goes down to tide pools and the Blowhole. Like Old Reliable, only you get a geyser every time the waves come up through the rock.

Makapu’u Lighthouse trail: This one is a paved 3.2 mile walk, but it gets steep and it’s in direct sun. However, the view at the top is pretty spectacular, and I’ve never gone up and not seen whales below. You can, though, just walk to the first benchmark, which is maybe a quarter mile, and get a pretty fantastic view. This is just about on the opposite side of the island from our house, so we usually stay a while in Hawaii Kai and have dinner at our favorite Greek restaurant, and finish it up with some famous Bubbie’s ice cream and a sunset at the Koko Head Marina.

Bear in mind, this is NOT the most comprehensive list of activities, it’s just what I personally like. I hope it helps!

#gingerhaole answers #hawaii #oahu #sweet-peach-tea

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larryshapiro · 1 year

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... it’s doubtful ...

#larryshapiro #Shapirophotography.net #Larryshapiro.tumblr.com #larryshapiroblog.com #Larry Shapiro #FireTruck #Snorkel #snorkel fire truck #fire scene #Massive fire #massive smoke #Chicago fire department #ChicagoFD #Spartan #Gladiator

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andrusi · 10 months

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rating lego firetrucks: seventies, early eighties

ladd#374 Fire Station/#590 Engine Co. No. 9 (1978)

so this is weird and I’ve never seen this before: for whatever reason, the european and american versions of this set are colored differently. this only affects the firetruck a little (the american version has a yellow ladder instead of gray) but it’s worth mentioning. anyway this is our first outing for minifig firefighters and their truck is... fine! 🚒🚒🚒

#620 Fire Truck (1978)

but then the same year we got this, one of the “minifig with an incompatible vehicle” sets. much like the weird roadster ambulance, it’s trash, but I have to admit it is in fact a fire truck. 🚒

#672 Fire Engine and Trailer (1978)/#556 Emergency Van (1979)

another incompatible vehicle. why is there a sink? 🚒

#140/#350 Town Hall (1979)

sheepdog, standing in the rain. bullfrog, doing it again. some kind of happiness is measured out in miles. what makes you think you’re something special when you smile? 🐶

#1062 (1980)

this weird squished firetruck is even worse than the ambulance. 🚒

#6690 Snorkel Pumper (1980)

lego’s first attempt at a bucket truck/cherry picker/snorkel pumper (apparently), and I have to say it’s pretty good. 🚒🚒🚒🚒

#566 Basic Building Set, 5+ (1981)

meh.

#577 Basic Building Set, 5+

meh 2: basic boogaloo

#6382 Fire Station (1981)

this is the first one of these that really feels like a proper lego town set. I could talk about the design of the station but we’re here for trucks. there’s a brush truck and a ladder truck and they’re both nicely designed, with the ladder truck in particular incorporating some asymmetry that makes it a little more interesting. and we finally get the hoses on string reels that I’ve been waiting for this whole time! 🚒🚒🚒🚒 for both.

#6650 Fire and Rescue Van (1981)

look at it, it’s so small and cute! 🚒🚒🚒

#2635 Fire Engine (1982)

the ladder can be raised and lowered and raised and lowered and raised and lowered and raised and lowered the ladder and raised the ladder duplo is for a baby the baby can be lowered like a ladder but how can you raise your baby when you have no hands no arms no legs no hair only the illusion of a hose that can be raised and lowered your face is pale and the ladder can be raised and lowered and lowered and lowered and

lowered

#3638 Fire Engine/Buster Bulldog (1983)

you can talk to me, you can talk to me, you can talk to me, if you’re lonely you can talk to me 🐶🐶

#lego

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monstersandmaw · 5 years

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Male hermit crab mer x reader (nsfw). Mermay story #3

Edit which I’m including in all my works after plagiarism and theft has taken place: I do not give my consent for my works to be used, copied, published, or posted anywhere. They are copyrighted and belong to me.

Eep, sorry it's a bit later than I wanted, and it's technically not May any more, but I got sick, and I'm still writing those last few hand-written stories for you.

This story got a great reaction from my Patreon supporters, and he’s been a subject of discussion over on my Patreon discord server too! I’m really excited to introduce him to you folks now too!

***

To say that you’d needed money was an understatement.

You’d quit your job at the supermarket because of your arsehole manager, and your bank account was down to single digits as the start of the summer rolled by. You realised you had to do something before you starved to death and couldn’t make your rent. As if by divine providence, your eye caught an advertisement in the window of the local newsagent’s as you went to buy a pint of milk on evening.

Yours was one of the parts of the city that was less populated by humans and more by non-humans, and as such, you’d become a familiar face to the minotaur who ran the shop. With a soft smile, he watched you staring wistfully at the advert on the back of the door, and when you’d not moved for a good few minutes, he said in his big, deep, gentle voice, “You thinking of doing it?”

“Hmm? Oh…” you said, startling and glancing round at him before letting your eyes return to the poster.

With a picture of a wide sandy beach, the “Starfall Springs’ Summer Kids’ Activities Camp” was advertised in bold colours, promising ‘activities and games for all abilities, treasure hunts, learn to swim, surf, snorkel, and even ride, play a variety of games, music, and take part in story telling, basic survival and outdoor education courses, and art classes’.

“I’m not a kid,” you snorted playfully, and the minotaur laughed.

He flicked his white ear and said, “If you’re looking to get involved though, my cousin is running one of the outdoor classes and he’s one of the organisers. He said they’re kind of understaffed this year.”

“Oh man,” you groaned. “I could use the money, for sure, but I can’t teach swimming or bug hunting or whatever…”

“You could take the art classes, or just help out with some of the other activities?” he suggested. “I actually did it a couple of years ago, and it was really fun. They focus a lot on breaking down barriers between the species, and trying to get everyone involved. I think you’d be great at it. Let me give you my cousin’s number…”

He scribbled down a phone number and the name ‘Dane’, and handed it to you on a scrap of paper.

“Thanks,” you said, gratitude swelling inside you, and no small degree of hope.

With the final pay cheque that came in from your former job just in time, you payed your rent for the month and bought a ticket to Starfall Springs. You’d negotiated free accommodation in conversation with Dane, by agreeing to take on two more activities than would be normally expected of an employee. He actually agreed to pay you for the additional activities, so you were more than willing to do it. Dane seemed like a nice guy too, and he said he’d meet you at the train station and drive you over to the camp.

When you got there, you found a huge, white minotaur with a traditional ring through his black nose, wearing a baggy t-shirt and baggy football shorts, his massive hooves clopping noisily on the concrete of the station as he stepped forward to help you with your bag.

“Here, let me,” he grinned, holding out his other hand for you to shake it. “I’m Dane,” he added.

You introduced yourself and thanked him for his help.

“No problem!” he laughed, shouldering your massive sports bag as if it weighed nothing at all, and leading you out towards the station exit where a huge pickup truck waited in the sunny parking lot beyond. He set your bag down in the bed of the truck and opened the passenger door for you to climb in. “I need to do some food shopping on our way back; I hope you don’t mind? I thought maybe you could pick some stuff up for the week too…”

You nodded and settled in as he fired up the truck and drove from the station on the outskirts of the old town towards the centre. He explained where things were and pointed out some landmarks, and before you knew it, he’d pulled to a halt in the little car park at the back of the grocery store in the centre.

You followed the massive minotaur inside, his shock of thick, ice-white hair gleaming in the mid-afternoon sun, and the moment the quaint little bell above the door dinged at your entrance, he waved merrily at the gnoll behind the counter.

“Hiya, Sorrel,” he called and she beamed him a toothy grin. To your surprise, he introduced you as well, and added, “We managed to get ourselves another helper down at the beach camp.”

“Oh brilliant!” she said. “I’ll be bringing Ginger over for her first day tomorrow. She can’t wait to get involved in the sports, and honestly, the little scamp is climbing up the walls… I can’t wait for you lot to tire her out for me!”

You chuckled awkwardly, feeling a little knot of apprehension starting to form in your gut. You'd never done anything quite like this before, but you were pretty confident you would do alright. How hard could it be after all?

You knew that the camp provided lunch every day, but you’d have to get your own breakfast and supper, so you stocked up, and when you were both done, you and Dane headed over to the coast.

A gasp of awe and surprise left you as the pickup rumbled down the track and turned the corner to reveal the wide, sandy beach stretching out for miles before the softly lapping waves just kissed it at the shore. The tide was out, and wading birds dabbled at the far off tide line.

“Holy…” you breathed, and Dane chuckled.

The camp’s headquarters were set back from the beach itself, and it appeared to have been the old coastguards’ station before it had been converted into the activity centre. Not far off was a ramshackle old beach hut, rather larger than you were used to and painted in faded pastel colours which looked like the paint had seen one too many winters before being refreshed.

Outside the hut was the most remarkable merfolk creature you’d ever seen.

With a large, vivid orange shell that shimmered like mother of pearl, was what appeared to be ostensibly a hermit crab, except that he had the torso of a human man. His skin was pale, his body slim, and his hair was a brilliant, flaming red, tied up in a scruffy bun with sections flopping about in the stiff breeze that blew in off the distant sea. He seemed absorbed in the humble task of hanging shirts up to dry on a little washing line which was attached at one end to his wooden shack and at the other to a small pole driven into the sand a short distance away.

“Ah!” the white minotaur chuckled as he parked up and saw you staring at the hermit crab mer with astonishment written clear across your face. “That’d be Leo. He’s the camp organiser, and the one who started it all off five years ago.” Dane continued to watch your face and laughed again. “Never seen an arthropodal mer, I take it,” he snorted.

“No,” you said. “I haven’t. I didn’t even know that they existed… I mean… that’s really cool?”

“I’ll tell him you think he’s cool,” Dane said as he hopped out and closed the door. “He’ll love that.”

“Oh god, don’t embarrass me on my first day here…”

Dane’s booming laughter made the merman look up and tilt his head curiously to one side.

You saw as he turned that he had two pairs of rather chunky, armoured, articulated legs which supported most of the weight of his shell, and two larger, clawed legs which he used to propel himself forward. In the same way that a drider’s upper body began at the hips, so the ‘arthropodal’ crab-like mer’s human torso rose from the hips to reveal a lean upper body that made you want to bite your lip and look away. Or maybe just keep staring.

He waved and a broad, almost goofy grin split across his face. “Hey!” he called towards the pair of you.

“Alright?” Dane bellowed at him across the distance.

Leo nodded and then turned his gaze to you.

“You wanna go meet him now while I take the stuff into the house?” Dane asked, already with his huge hands around the handles of about six grocery bags.

“Um… sure?” you said.

Trotting down the little boardwalk path through the narrow, grassy dune, you felt a bit silly, but the movement burned off most of the adrenaline and by the time you’d reached him, you felt pretty confident. “Hi,” you said as he turned to face you, and you realised as he did that actually he was quite tall.

He stuck out his hand and grinned, revealing little dimples in his pale, immensely freckled cheeks, and, craning your neck up, you shook his hand. “I’m Leo,” he said. “You must be the extra helper that Dane said he’d managed to rustle up from the city?”

“Yeah,” you said, awkwardly tacking your name on the end.

Leo released his grip on you, and at that moment, his hair came loose from the bun and blew right across his face. The hair-tie fell to the sand a little way away, and as he swept his hair back off his sharply handsome face, you both bent to pick it up at the same time.

And inevitably, you cracked heads.

At the impact, you toppled backwards onto the hard sand, and he yipped in embarrassment, darting forwards. “Oh gosh!” he gasped. “I’m so sorry. Are you alright? Here…” and he held out his hand to you again. “I’m sorry,” he said.

As you laughed it off, rubbing your forehead, you looked up at him and saw that his pale skin had flushed a dark red, and that his rich brown eyes were shining almost to the point of tears. “It’s fine,” you said. “Really, I’m fine.”

“Let’s hope I’m less clumsy tomorrow,” he said. “I wouldn’t count on it though,” he added. “Ugh. Anyway, I should let you get settled in and stuff… you know.” The blush darkened even further, and you had to chuckle.

“Sure, ok. I’ll see you tomorrow,” you said, deciding to cut the poor guy some slack. For what was essentially an armoured tank on legs, he seemed surprisingly awkward and shy.

He nodded and as you walked away and turned to glance back once you hit the sand dune, you saw him smack his own forehead with the palm of his hand and shake his head, muttering, “Idiot!”

You pursed your lips and suppressed a good-hearted snicker, heading into the former coastguards’ headquarters to unpack and start thinking about some supper.

Next day saw the arrival of the first groups of children, and before they got there, all the staff for the camp assembled over breakfast to talk through the last minute details which required attention.

You would be helping in the first week of activities with the children who wanted to learn to ride, and the four centaurs who had volunteered their services for the project told you what they’d need from you. As it turned out, they wouldn’t need much, just help with tacking them up and getting the kids sorted at the start and end of the hour long lesson. You’d be needed to put out cones and poles for them to walk around or over, but other than that, you got to sit on the side and watch for a while.

After that, you would be heading over to help Leo with some of the treasure hunt and beach activities.

Your first morning passed in a whirl of activity, but luckily none of the children fell off the centaurs, and you made a particular friendship with a very cheeky and very tiny Shetland centaur named Sinnavo. She pushed her bushy blonde hair out of her face at the end of the class, once her rider had dismounted and headed over to her next session, and hissed, “Bloody hell; that human was a right little shit!”

“So much for improving inter-species relations…” you muttered out of the corner of your mouth and she snorted in delight, pawing the ground.

“Yeah, right? Anyway, that’s me done for the day. Enjoy your afternoon, my lovely! And do me a favour?”

“Sure?”

“Count how many times Crabcakes over there blushes, will you?”

“‘Crabcakes?’” you asked, eyebrows skyrocketing as you followed her gaze to the hermit crab mer who was currently corralling children of all races and species into a tight bunch so he could explain the rules of the treasure hunt.

The tiny, sassy little centaur grinned. “Well, it was that or ‘Leonardo da Pinchy, but he really hates that one.”

“Oh my god,” you muttered, stifling laughter behind your hand as Leo looked up at you, a clipboard in his hands and a suddenly suspicious look on his handsome face.

As you said your goodbyes to her and headed over, he pouted. “She called me Crabcakes, didn’t she?”

“Maybe?”

Blush one.

He rolled his beautiful eyes. “She knows I hate that, but I call her ‘Haystack Hair’, so I guess we’re even.”

“Does none of the species here get along?” you asked, only half joking, and he laughed.

“She’s been helping out with the Summer Camp since the very beginning, and she’s one of my dearest friends. Don’t worry. It’s… It’s just this ongoing thing we have. Ignore it. And… please don’t call me Crabcakes.”

You crossed your fingers over your heart, and the grin you got from him in response was enough to stall its regular rhythm.

The more time you spent with him, the more fun you seemed to have.

As he worked with the much younger children, he became bubbly and animated, and all his awkward nerves seemed to melt away. It was a delight to watch him working with them, encouraging them, emboldening them, and making them laugh with his silly expressions and goofy behaviour. He was always supportive and attentive, but he brooked no nonsense either. The group you had towards the end of the week had a gnoll with cerebral palsy and a young lizardfolk child who needed a special beach wheelchair, but he made sure they were included in every activity, and from the looks on their faces as he took his time with them, you knew they were having the time of their lives.

Human children and half-bloods, avians and felines, orcs and werewolves, disabled or not, were all allowed to be themselves, and for the most part, everyone got along. It was amazing, and you’d never seen or heard of the likes back in the city, and it gave you a thrill that seemed to set the marrow of your bones alight every time you woke in the morning and got ready for a new day.

You had Friday afternoon off, and as the last of the children left, one writhing and screaming and begging to be allowed to stay for the next week, you saw Leo stagger slightly where he stood on the beach.

Frowning, you stood and went down to meet him. “You ok?” you asked.

He laughed nervously. His cheeks were now a little sunburnt, and you'd lost count of the blushes by Tuesday morning, but you thought he looked a little pale underneath the pinkish tinge. “I… I feel a bit squiffy, that’s all… I’m good. I think… I think I might need to eat something though. Or drink.”

“Too much sun? Maybe drink first then eat?” you suggested. “You stay put and I’ll grab you a lemonade and one of those seaweed and fish snacks.”

His answering smile was so sweet that you almost reached up and kissed him, but you stopped yourself in time. You didn’t know him all that well, despite hanging out almost every lunchtime. At the end of the day he was always the last one packing up and the last one to go home, but when he did, that was it. He seemed intensely private and quiet, valuing his alone time as much as the time he spent entertaining the kids in the Summer Camp.

And you admired that about him. He knew when he had reached his limits and, shy and retiring though he was, he was not afraid to say that he needed to head off and recharge. To your relief, the other camp staff respected that too, and wished him a goodnight, but you secretly wished each time that he’d stay for just a little longer, so that you could see him out of the context of the camp’s structure.

Returning with the drink and snack, you found that he’d made his way a little further down the sandy beach towards the shore, his shell leaving a deep furrow in the hard sand as it dragged behind him. You wondered suddenly if it was particularly burdensome for him.

“Leo?” you called and he stopped, just with his pointed, crablike toes dipped in the shallowest of the calm waves.

He turned, the wind tugging playfully at his auburn hair, and your feet faltered. He was beautiful, in an androgynous, fairytale kind of way. “Thank you,” he said, taking the bottle from you and draining half of it in one go. He looked at the snack and said in a slightly vague voice, “My favourite…”

You grinned. “I noticed you always pick them at lunch time,” you admitted.

He smiled and said, “Thank you. I’m… I’m…” and then he tailed off with a sigh, turning to look back at the sea without finishing his sentence.

“Leo?” you asked after a long pause.

With his crab legs as they were at the moment, he towered over you at maybe seven or even eight feet tall, and the only part of him that you could reach was the ‘shoulder’ of his crab’s body where it joined his human torso. He was wearing a plain red t-shirt that day and the breeze made it ripple softly, revealing the pale skin of his upper half every now and again.

As you touched him, he jumped slightly, and then laughed. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m… I’m not very good with people…”

“I think you’re amazing,” you blurted. “I mean, you’re so good with all the kids and stuff, and they all loved the activities you organise…”

His smile was sad this time, and it made something crack inside you to see it on his handsome face which, until the end of the week’s activities, had so frequently been illuminated with his brilliant, happy laugh.

Leo swallowed nervously, turning the wrapped snack over in his hands without opening it, toying with it as if maybe you’d forget about him if he stayed like that long enough. Eventually, however, he huffed a shy laugh and said, “I mean… outside of that. I ‘get’ kids. I know how to make them happy. I know what to say to them. They’re simple. It’s the adults I don’t understand. I get…” he tucked his long hair behind his freckled ear and flushed. “I get nervous. I say stupid things…” He shot you a look and added, “I crack heads with them…”

You had to laugh, and at the sound of it, the nerves seemed to dissipate a little. “I think you’re doing just fine, Leo. And you get me, anyway. Although I’ve always been told I’m a bit of a child still…” you added playfully.

He laughed. “Thank you.”

“Listen, I know you tend to keep to yourself in the evenings, but are you coming to the barbecue tonight? Dane said it’s gonna be on the beach…”

Leo looked at you and licked his lips. “Are you going?”

You nodded.

“Alright,” he said. “I’ll come for a bit.”

Impulsively, you reached and took his hand, giving his fingers a squeeze before letting go and turning away. “Looking forward to it then,” you said as you left him in the waves to recharge a bit.

The torches which Dane had stuck into the sand flickered and blazed in the wind, and the tide, which had crept up the beach as the evening had slunk in, formed a beautiful backdrop to the party. The other camp staff were all there, from the centaurs to the drider and werewolf who had taken the outdoor and wildlife activities, to the naga who had led the more arty classes, and, lastly, Leo arrived just as the food was deemed ready.

He snuck in at the edge of the group and touched your shoulder lightly.

“Hey, you made it!” you grinned, and he nodded bashfully.

“Leo!” the naga yelled, raising his beer over the flickering flames in the pit at the centre of the ring of eclectic stools and stumps for sitting on.

“Hey,” Leo mumbled, and then to you he hissed, “Any second now, someone is going to make a ‘coming out of his shell’ comment, I bet you.”

“What do you bet me?” you countered playfully, and Leo blinked.

“What?”

“What are the stakes?”

“Uh…”

You chuckled and said quickly, “Ok, if someone says it, I’ll come for a walk with you along the beach to get you away from everyone. How does that sound?”

Before he could respond, the werewolf on the far side howled, “Look who's come out of his shell for the evening!”

And you and Leo burst out laughing, much to everyone’s surprise.

“You’re on,” Leo said. “Let me grab some food first, ok?”

You watched the strange way he moved, his heavy claws tugging his body and shell forwards, and a million questions burned in your mind: what did his body look like inside the shell? Did he ever leave his shell? Did he spend more time in the sea than on land normally? Did he have gills to breathe like other mer, or could he hold his breath like a selkie for ages? Where did he get a shell that big from?

You were still pondering your questions when he returned with a fish finger sandwich in one hand, and he cocked his head curiously in the way that he had which reminded you of a little puppy. “Everything alright?” he asked.

“I…” you faltered, and now it was your turn to be awkward. “I was just thinking, I guess…”

He snorted, the gesture accompanied by a lopsided smirk, and he said, “You’ll have to share some of those thoughts on our little walk, I suppose. Do you want to go now?”

“You don’t mind eating and walking at the same time?”

“Nope,” he said.

And without really excusing yourself from the milling group of other camp staff, the two of you headed down the beach together.

“So…” he said after a little while of walking in silence while he ate. “What got you so curious?”

“Oh…” you said. “I… I guess… I mean… I’ve lived in the city most of my life and while my two best friends are actually non-human, I… I’ve never actually met a merfolk before this week.”

He looked down at you and shrugged. “Makes sense. And you’ve got questions, right?”

“Yeah…” you muttered. “But I don’t know what’s, like, rude to ask or not.”

To your surprise, he barked a laugh, tossing his head back so that his long red hair fell down his back and caught in the wind. “Ask away. You can’t be more awkward than me, or even some of the kids for that matter. Unless it’s about my junk, I’ve probably heard it before from the kids.”

“Oh my god,” you blushed. “No, it’s not… I mean… I hadn’t thought about…” But you definitely had…

He raised an eyebrow at you, and in that moment you saw a whole new side to him. Mercifully, however, he let it lie.

You began your tirade of questions, and it turned out that his body under the shell was soft. Since his kind used the shells as protection, he had no need for armour plating like he had on his legs. Sometimes he did leave the shell, but mostly he had no need to.

When it came to asking about time spent on land or in the sea, he smiled wistfully. “I love the land,” he said. “Well, I mean, I love the beach. I’ve never actually been into town or anything.”

“Really?”

He grinned. “You try dragging this shell up the cliff path and see how far you get… and I’m not going without it…”

“Naked, you mean,” you laughed, and despite the way the moonlight washed most of the colour away, you could see the blush very clearly.

You paused, nearing a pile of rocks at the furthest end of the crescent shaped beach, and picked up a tiny cockle shell, rinsing the sand out in the water. Leo watched you and when you turned to look up at him, he frowned slightly, curiously.

“Where do you get your shells from?” you asked, turning the tiny shell over in your hand. “I can’t say I’ve ever seen one like yours before…”

He smiled. “There are some big creatures out there,” he said, staring at the blackness of the water, the tips of the waves silvered by moonlight.

“Yours matches your hair and your legs,” you said, eyeing the orange of his armour plating.

Leo’s flush was so deep that you almost felt the heat of it radiating out from his cheeks, and he turned away.

“What?” you said.

“It’s… Nothing…” he mumbled.

“No, go on,” you insisted. “If I said something wrong, you should tell me…”

“You didn’t,” he said, still looking away, the curtain of his hair half hiding his face. “It’s…”

“It’s what? Is it super personal to comment on someone’s shell? Is that it?”

He nodded.

“Ah. Well,” you breezed, “I do like it. I can’t hide that I think it’s beautiful, and it suits you, so… yeah.”

Leo turned back to face you and you saw something glinting in his eyes. “I’ve never met a human quite like you.”

“Is that good or bad?”

He swallowed, throat bobbing. “Good. Well, it’s bad for me because it makes me even more of a klutz, and I… oh dammit,” he hissed as his cheeks continued to blaze.

“Hey,” you said softly, reaching for his hand as it hung limply at his side. “I like that you’re so easy to read. Your reactions are honest, and that’s… refreshing, you know? There’s nothing wrong with it.”

He brought his other hand up to his face and rubbed briefly at his eyes.

“What’s really bothering you?” you asked after a moment.

Again, he chuffed an awkward laugh and dropped his hand and turned to look at you, eyes gleaming. “I don’t… I don’t know how wise this is.”

“‘This’?”

He tilted his head knowingly, and your stomach lurched.

“I like you. A lot,” he said, voice thick. “And I’m scared that it’s not appropriate or something. And… I don’t have a clue what I'm doing. My kind are rare enough, so I hardly see someone of my own species to interact with on this level, let alone a human. I don’t… I don’t know what I’m doing.”

You squeezed the hand that you were still holding and said, “It’s ok.” Plunging guilt and disappointment filled your chest though. You’d not realised quite how much you’d come to like him in this first week until then, and the Summer Camp still went on for another two. “Why don’t we just… hang out over the next couple of weeks? And at the end, if we want to take it somewhere, maybe we can explore that then. But if we decide not to, then we don’t have to. I can go back to the city, and that’ll be that.”

You didn’t miss the way his fingers clenched suddenly at that, but he nodded.

The next two weeks were honestly torture. By the middle of that second week of the three that made up the entirety of the summer camp, you were convinced that you really, really liked him. He kept looking at you after the classes were over; he came to almost every evening meal now; and he found every excuse to touch you - even just the briefest and most chaste of touches - whenever he could.

Dane didn't miss a trick either, and he hauled you off to one side at the end of the second week of camp and gave you what was probably your first ‘Talk’ ever. “Look,” he said. “I don’t mean to be a dick, but Leo is one of my best friends. If you fuck around with him and hurt him, I swear to god, it will not end well for you.”

“Whoa,” you said, taking a step back away from the enormous minotaur. “Dane…”

He stared you down, but seemed to realise he’d overstepped. He let out a puffing breath and sighed. “I’m sorry. I wouldn’t actually, you know, hurt you. It’s just that Leo is… he’s kind of innocent, you know? He’s never had a partner that I know of. This summer camp is literally his whole life, and what he does in the winter months is a mystery. He just disappears and comes back with the spring.”

“Really?”

Dane nodded.

“He must be so lonely.” You looked into the minotaur’s dark eyes and said, “Dane, the last thing I want to do is hurt him. We talked about it on that first Friday actually, and we decided to put our feelings - whatever they are - on hold til the end of camp. Then we’ll see how things are.”

Dane nodded slowly, and the matter seemed closed, though he still kept an eye on the pair of you from a distance.

The celebration of the end of the first of the summer camp sessions - there was a week’s gap in between the first and the second one to let the staff recover, restock on things and prepare for the next session - saw you and Leo seated by the fire, closer than any other folks were.

His shell was huge, and it made for the perfect leaning post. You rested your weight against it, and sighed happily, drinking deeply from the little plastic tumbler in your hand.

“You alright?” he asked, looking down at you. His long, red hair slid over his pale shoulders and he looked even more beautiful than ever as he gazed down at you.

“More than,” you grinned. “You?”

The handsome merman sighed, and you caught a distinct tinge of sadness in his warm eyes.

“Leo?”

He sighed expansively. “I… uh… Do you want to go for a walk?”

You pouted thoughtfully. “Sure,” you said, smiling and began levering yourself upright with the help of his curling shell. “I need to walk some of that amazing food down.”

He smiled in agreement and held his hand out to help you up. His skin was cool and his palm smooth. You tried not to take too much notice.

No one really commented on your leaving together, but Dane cast you a severe look that was definitely a warning shot across the bows, but you smiled and nodded sagely, and he backed off with a shy and apologetic smile. You tried to take it as a good sign that Leo had such good friends looking out for him.

The two of you made your way down the beach, Leo dragging his shell behind him, and eventually you blurted, “Isn’t that heavy?”

“Hmm?”

“Your shell?”

“Oh,” he blushed. “I mean… I actually found a pretty light one…”

“Do you ever leave it?”

“Rarely,” he hedged. “Why?”

“Just curious,” you smiled pointedly, and he blushed. “Have I asked something very personal again?”

With a playful smile, he nodded.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Leo paused, the hiss and breath of the water on the sand beyond forming a quiet backdrop to your conversation. “As I told you before, you can ask me anything at all. I don’t mind.”

“Alright then,” you said, feeling uncharacteristically bold. “Since we’re technically not working tonight, and there are no more activities til next week, can I kiss you now?”

His breath caught and his chest heaved once. He was only wearing the loose-fitting t-shirt of the summer camp uniform, and it hung baggily over his shoulders, revealing the chiselled lines of his pale, freckled collarbones. “Yes,” he breathed, adding hastily, “But not here.”

He took you by the hand and led you towards the rocks that formed a breakwater not far from the retreating tide. Showing his strength in a way he’d not yet done, he put his hands on your waist and heaved you up onto a smooth, dry boulder so that you were at the same height as him. He kissed you then, with all the reverence and hesitation you’d expected from the shy merman.

His hands found their way to your hair, while your own landed at his waist and his body inched closer to yours. After a few moments, he pulled back, breathless, eyes glinting in the dark, and he rested his forehead against yours. “I’ve never… I mean… not for a human… gods…”

“Leo?” you asked, risking a glance down his body.

A moment or two later, he abandoned his shell in one swift movement, revealing a slender, curling tail and a bright red, ridged cock that was already weeping and fully erect. “I want you…” he rasped.

You nodded, and he exhaled in relief, shuddering violently as your nails raked eager, red lines down his pale torso. He gently removed your clothes, reverence still in every touch, until you were lying naked on the smooth boulder, and he parted his lips and stared hungrily at your bare, beautiful body. His hands traced the contours of your sides and hips, working their way up your torso, pinching your pebbling nipples until you arched your back and groaned with pleasure.

A sudden pressure around your ankles made you gasp, and you opened your eyes to find his crab’s claws closing around the ankle joint, locking you in place as he reared up and brought his cock between your thighs. The slick heat of it made you buck wildly, and he moaned as he began to fuck the space between your legs. His head bowed forwards, his long red hair trailing along your torso in tantalisingly soft tendrils, and his breath began to come in ragged draws the faster he worked his hips.

He lost himself in the feel of your body against his own.

“You’re perfect,” he gasped, grabbing you by the shoulders and hoisting you into the air.

He supported you all the while he continued to thrust upwards between your thighs, thick and hot and slick, and you gasped and cried out at the sensation. His claws were still clamped like cuffs around your ankles, keeping your legs tightly together as he rutted into you, thrust after thrust, gaining momentum until he began to shiver and pant wildly.

“I’m…” he warned before suddenly his whole body tensed and he began to spasm, thick ropes of come spilling between your thighs, slicking your skin with hot release as he came over you, his body rearing up with pleasure and his arms holding you tightly to his chest.

“Leo…” you gasped as his wild, clenching orgasm began to recede and he lowered you down onto the rock with shaky arms.

You leaned back and he followed you as if drawn by a magnet, draping himself along your aching body as the aftershocks of his release shook him to the core. His cock wept and drooled still across your thighs, twitching and spasming, and your legs were covered in him.

Eventually he looked up at you and pressed his hands against your hips to push himself unsteadily upright. “Are you ok?” he rasped, his legs spreading wide, struggling to hold himself upright.

“Yeah…” you said, looking ostentatiously between your legs. “But you’re now one ahead of me…”

Catching his breath, Leo smiled. “Can’t have that,” he said, and he licked his lips before lowering his face between your legs. “Here…”

And the moment the heat of his mouth closed over you, you were lost to the sensations of him; the sounds, the feel, the pleasure of him.

It wasn’t long before you too were howling your release to the empty night sky above.

---

I really hope you enjoyed this one! I’m working really hard on finishing the rest of my Mermay stories. Don’t forget to let me know if you did enjoy it by leaving a reblogging it!

And definitely don’t forget to check out some incredibly gorgeous artwork of Leo by the immensely talented @ilustrariane

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For all early releases, character art and bios, upcoming story info, and much, much more, join me over on Patreon!

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#merman #exophilia #mermay #hermit crab mer #merman x reader #gender neutral reader

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iheartvintage1 · 1 year

Link

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: Tonka Burntwood Fire Dept unit 3 Snorkel 17" Bucket Metal Truck vintage 1980s.

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jace-the-writer-guy · 4 years

Text

Military Grade

///Buckle down for a long story! This is something fun I decided to do for the Karmine family, which includes some new toys for three of the members and a post-huntsman job possibility for Auron. A bit more info will be at the end. Also, I couldn't put it under a "read more" thing because it kept messing up on me because of the pictures I included in it.///

Word count: 3,379

It had been a year since the group of bandits known as Grimmhammer had been destroyed and their remaining members scattered around the world, and since their leader had stabbed Ebony in the back. The leader, the man known as Locke, was dead and their efforts in creating abominations of Grimm for their own personal gain were stomped into the dirt. Since then, the Rangers had worked on destroying the last remaining bases and labs of the bandit group one by one and were close to wiping them all out.

A loud gunshot was heard as Auron aimed down the sights of Last Call, taking down the last of the bandits that were in the base he and two of his Ranger friends had assaulted. It was a base deep in one of Anima's snowy, northern forests. The snow lightly fell on the base the bandits had set up around what looked to be an old garage they had fixed up to house their supplies and most likely weapons. "I think that's the last bastard," Auron said into his earpiece to his friends, "Let's regroup near the garage."

"Sounds good." A feminine voice replied.

"I'm going to scout around the area a bit more for any stragglers," Another, male voice said, "I'll meet up with you both soon."

Auron took the magazine out of Last Call and reloaded a few shells into it to top it off, and then he put it back in the gun. Soon after, as if out of thin air, one of the Rangers appeared next to him. She stood at five feet and seven inches tall with a lithe and athletic body, lightly tanned skin, medium-length dark red hair, and a pair of red fox ears on her head that were in two custom pockets in her hood. She took her hood off and revealed her striking violet eyes, and the grey strands in her hair that showed her age along with the very shallow crow's feet at the corner's of her eyes.

"Any injuries, Auron?" She asked the gunslinger.

Auron smirked. "Now Emowyn, you know these people can't do shit to us."

The faunus called Emowyn chuckled at that. "True enough. And you know I have to make sure because Shyla would kill me and Erron if you got hurt."

Auron couldn't help but laugh and he nodded. "That's fair too."

"Want to search around before we gather up their weapons?"

"Sounds good to me. I'm curious on what's in their garage there."

Auron and Emowyn walked forward toward the garage as Auron put Last Call on his back, and pulled Smoke & Preacher from their holsters. He stepped up to the large metal door and aimed his revolvers, and then he used his semblance to raise multiple dust metal poles from the ground under the door to raise it up and open it. Emowyn had her longbow, named Firefly, out now and had an arrow drawn back as the door raised in case there was any opposition from any surviving bandits, but they found none initially. In their place however were three militarized vehicles. One was a medium-sized humvee that was painted matte black with deep-treaded tires, and flat-faced, square windshields. And along with that, the humvee had light doors with canvas covering them on the outsides with multiple pouches for different means, along with a black canvas roof that could be removed and stored. Next to it on its left side was another humvee but it looked more like a truck and was the same color as the other. It only had two doors while the back had been modified to have a transport bed for both small bits of cargo and people as well with sideboards included. It had the same type of doors as the other humvee did, and on the back of the cab there looked to be a rack for a gun to be sat over the top half of the rear window. Both humvees each had a winch in the front bumper.

///The first humvee is modeled mainly after a standard, classic US military humvee like in the first picture, and the other is modeled mainly like the one in the second picture. The overall design on the outsides of the two are like in the third picture, especially around the hood and the frame around the windshields. The doors for both are like the jeep's in the fourth picture. The interior of the first humvee looks like in the fifth picture, and the interior of the other looks like in the sixth picture except with a wall behind the seats. Lastly, both humvees have a winch in the front bumper like in the last picture.///

The second vehicle was much larger and looked to be more of a transport vehicle for both more of the bandits themselves and cargo as evidenced by the eight foot wide frame and body, and the ten foot long, eight and a half foot wide bed. It was matte black as well with tinted windows, and two-foot-high sideboards consisting of multiple thick, dark wooden planks, on the sides of the bed but they were let down to cover the two rear wheels. The truck had a snorkel that reached the height of the cab on the side of the engine bay above the front-right wheel, and it had the exhaust situated just behind the snorkel. It was a huge six-by-six truck, and Auron was surprised to see that Grimmhammer still had a vehicle like that after their forces had been scattered and destroyed. It was definitely a modified version of one of the trucks that transported the miners from place to place up in Mantle. Like the humvees, the truck had a winch on the front bumper but it was larger than the others. On its other side was a fairly large, dual-axle trailer that was the same side as the bed of the truck as well.

///And this is what the larger truck looks like. It's based and basically is just like the truck in the first picture here, a Military M923A2 6x6 Crew Cab truck and has the same sideboards for the bed as well. The snorkel exhaust, and winch are like in the second picture and situated in the same way. The interior in the front is like in the third picture, but with a video screen in the console to the right of the steering wheel. The trailer is like in the fourth picture.///

Auron whistled a bit and walked around the vehicles toward their backs, still ready for any bandit to jump out at him from the shadows the lights had casted in the garage. After searching around for several moments, neither Auron nor Emowyn could find any hiding bandits, so they began to relax as Auron holstered his revolvers. Emowyn could see that Auron was immensely interested in the three vehicles as he was walking around them and checking them out very closely. First, he looked around and inside the first humvee and inspected every small detail of it, and found the key was in the ignition.

"Hmm, this one's got a comms radio. If I could hazard a guess with the fancy dashboard an' shit in here, I'd say this was more of a scout vehicle," Auron remarked, "Probably what they used to find this place so deep in a snowy forest."

"And this one is definitely more for transport," Erron said at the other humvee, "It's very simple on the inside."

Auron jolted at the sound of his voice and hit his head on the roof of the one he was inspecting. "Ow, dammit!"

Erron laughed and shook his head. "There were no more bandits around." He was six feet in height and had an athletic body, along with short, jet-black hair with small bits of grey throughout. His eyes were a deep red color, and his skin was slightly tanned from his time out under the sun for the majority of his life as a Ranger. Strapped across his back was a rather simple, silenced combat rifle he called Frostbite.

"You couldn't have warned me you was comin' in?" Auron asked him, looking at the ranger as he sat down in the humble's driver's seat.

"Rangers hardly ever announce their presence, you know that."

"Oh for fuck's sake," Auron shook his head at that, rubbing his head a bit, "One o' these days, I'm shootin' you. You're gettin' to be about like Preacher."

"Now that's going a bit far, Auron."

Auron ignored hum and began to look around the interior of the humvee some more, and saw the release for the hood and he pulled it, and the hood popped up a bit near the windshield. He got out of the humvee and opened the hood up fully to check it out, and he noticed a large cap near the battery. He lifted the cap off and revealed a large, cylindrical fire dust crystal with a handle on the top of it, and he took it out to inspect it. "Huh, this one's been modified to take crystals instead o' fuel. I'm assumin' the other humvee has the same."

Erron checked the engine of the transport humvee soon after and saw different. "This one has two. I think that's probably to let it last longer on cargo runs."

"I'm noticing the same here," Emowyn replied as she herself was looking over the cargo truck's engine, "This one's engine is almost twice the size of your truck's, Auron. It takes three crystals."

Auron put the crystal back in the slot and put the cap back on, and he hummed. "Hell, that thing's fuckin' powerful then. Mine takes two. Hmmm…"

"Seems like it. And I checked the back too and it looks like the bed can tip back like your truck's can."

Auron went from the humvee over to the truck, and he climbed up onto the steps on the side, opened the door, and looked inside to see what the interior held. "A rear view camera, air conditionin', a radio, a comms radio, an' a lever for the bed I'm guessin'…" He climbed further in and looked in the back seats to see a long bench that could easily fit three people. He then sat himself in the driver's seat and let himself relax in its surprising comfort, "Hey guys…"

Emowyn slammed the hood of the truck shut and looked at him. She could see a certain look in his eyes and it made her smirk a bit. "What is it?"

Auron gave her a grin. "I'm keepin' this stuff."

The veteran Ranger gave a laugh. "Of course. This truck has some rolled up canvas in the back to cover cargo too. Some poles can be pulled out of the sideboards for it."

"Same for this one over here." Erron remarked from the one he was checking out.

"This keeps gettin' better an' better," Auron said, his grin widening, "I'm gettin' something like that set up for mine too. I just gotta get some canvas for it. I think I know just what to do with all o' these. That trailer's mine too now. Em, you wanna drive one o' the humvees out when we go?"

"Sure," Emowyn replied, "How are we getting them all out?"

"I'm gonna winch the other humvee to my truck," Auron laughed a bit, "This ain't somethin' I expected today."

X x X x X x X

Two months passed by after the raid on the Grimmhammer base. Auron and the two Rangers had recovered a very good amount of weapons, dust, and ammunition from the base that Auron was able to sell to S&S Munitions for a profit, and of course kept the humvees and the truck for himself. He had titles drawn up for them all and put the truck under his name, and the four-door humvee under Shyla's, and he had the humvee be repainted to a dark, olive green color. He had driven the cargo truck around a good amount in since the raid, and he loved it. It was a huge truck but easy to drive even if it takes up a lot of space. He had gotten used to changing gears for it fairly quickly and had decided to always keep the bed uncovered and the sideboards down as well until he needed them up.

"Oh, I love it!" Shyla exclaimed when she first laid eyes on the humvee when Auron had uncovered it from a large tarp in front of the house. He had towed it back to the house with his new truck with the tarp covering it so she wouldn't know exactly what it was until it was uncovered.

"I'm glad to hear it," Auron said with a grin, his arm around her shoulders as he led her around it, "I got a holster for a rifle on the side here, right outside the driver's side door an' I had a rack put inside between the front seats goin' all the way back for a shotgun too. I figured you might need somethin' like this in case you needed to go out if I'm not here. I think it's perfect for my weapon designin' queen."

"Is it automatic or manual?" Shyla asked curiously.

"It's automatic. I had it changed to be easier on you. Wanna take it for a spin?"

"Ummm, of course I do!" Shyla replied, and Auron handed her the key. She jumped into him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and she gave him a kiss on the lips, "Thank you, Aure!"

Auron gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Have fun, dear. I love you too."

Shyla took the key and smiled happily at Auron, and she got in the humvee. She turned the key and the engine fired right up, and she couldn't help but giggle in excitement before she slowly drove off. For Shyla, it felt a bit bumpy for her as she drove the humvee slowly across the field in front of their home. She didn't mind any bumpiness at all though. It actually made it more enjoyable and satisfying in a way. Plus, she had always kind of wanted a military vehicle like this but was never able to buy one for herself past other things and now she had one and she really did love it.

Back near the house, April slowly walked around her father's new truck with him. "Damn, dad. This thing looks like a beast."

"Definitely feels like it too," Auron remarked, a grin still on his face, "You definitely feel pretty powerful drivin' it. People are less inclined to honk at ya."

April laughed at that. "I'd imagine so."

Auron reached into his pocket and pulled out the key to the other humvee he had hidden in the garage. "Come to the garage. I got somethin' to show ya."

April looked at him curiously for a moment. "Alright, sure."

Auron led his youngest daughter past the cargo truck and around the house toward the garage he had built next to the workshops. "Y'know, after I retire from bein' a Huntsman, I might start a little job an' haul stuff for people."

"Oh dang, seriously?" April replied as they walked past the graves of Auron's parents, and April's grandparents, "That sounds like it would be fun."

"Yup. I got dad's truck an' trailer for general stuff, an' my new one for the bigger stuff," Auron said and stroked his beard a bit, "I think that'd be great to do."

"I say go for it. Maybe that could be a side job for me an' Holly too."

"Now that's a good idea too," They reached the garage fairly quickly and Auron began to grin once more, "I think what's in here is gonna help out a lot with that for you."

Auron handed April the key he had gotten out of his pocket, and she took it in her fingers and stared at it. "Huh?"

"I know ya love Blazer an' everything, but…" Auron slid one of the doors open, and then he did the same with the other door and the lights came on inside automatically, "I think that this is perfect for you."

April's eyes laid upon the sight of the other humvee that Auron had taken from the bandits, except it had been changed a bit. The humvee itself was a metallic dark red color instead of matte black, and the sideboards had been changed to be made of a wood that had been stained a red color to match the humvee. Over the rear wheels were armor plates much like the ones on Holly's truck to protect them. Strapped to the left side of the bed was a roll of canvas that would go over the bed of the humvee to protect its cargo from the elements. On the outside of the driver's side door was a sheath near the front of it that was obviously for Jacknife.

"Oh, here's this too," Auron said and took a piece of paper from his pocket and he handed it to her, "It's the title for it. All yours, Red."

April looked between the key, the title, and the humvee over and over for several moments before she could even think of anything to say. "So… this is mine?"

Auron grinned and patted her on the shoulder. "It's yours. I got it from that raid too. What do ya think?"

"I think I'm gonna need to drive this thing!" April exclaimed and walked over to the driver's side, "Holy fuck… Automatic or manual?"

"I had that get an automatic transmission too. I figure you'd appreciate that since you're used to Blazer bein' automatic. It takes two big fire dust crystals for power like dad's an' Holly's does."

"Sweet! I wouldn't mind learnin' a manual thing, but I'm glad you did that with this."

Auron laughed at that. "You can drive my new truck around an' learn sometime if you want. Hell, my original plan was to give that thing to ya."

"That woulda been badass, but I don't think that thing would fit in a parkin' spot at Beacon," April remarked, and she started to grin widely as it set in her mind that she had a new vehicle, "Blazer can fit in the back, right?"

Auron nodded in response. "It can. It's got ramps you can pull out from the back. I also got you a trailer for it that can have a canvas cover on it like the humvee. You can do what you want with it. It can carry Blazer too."

"Thanks, dad!" April said and went over to hug her father, "This is awesome! I can't wait to see the look on Star's face when I pick her up later!"

Auron laughed and patted her back. "That'll be great. You can even put Jacknife in the sheath on the door, an' you can put Jackhammer on the rack inside."

"And I saw a holster for Bear Claw under the dash behind the steerin' wheel," April said, her grin just growing across her face, "I think I'm gonna love this."

"I don't expect you to ignore Blazer though, especially after you put so much work into it."

"Oh hell no, that's still my baby. I'm just givin' it some breaks now."

"I thought so."

///Alright, so Humvees are still a thing for this universe in my eyes! In the real world, Humvees are "High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV)" , which is called Humvee by pretty much anyone. They just have a bit of a different look in this universe.

I hope you all enjoyed this story, because it's canon that the Karmine family now have these trucks! Have a nice day/night!///

#oc #auron karmine #shyla karmine #april karmine #new toys #new vehicles

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