#specifically southeastern sea too

[reijnders]

Showing your partner your shitty childhood art is universal i think

[fishenjoyer1]

Fish of the Day

Today's fish of the day is the yellow lipped sea krait!

The yellow lipped sea krait also called the banded sea krait, or colubrine sea krait, scientific name Laticauda colubrina, is a well known aquatic snake. The range of the yellow banded sea krait is throughout the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific. To be more specific, along the eastern coast of India and then stretching the coasts of the bay of Bengal to all other Southeastern Asian countries with a coast, including as far as Fiji. Although they are not native to Australia or New Zealand, several populations have been found across their coastlines.

These snakes live nearby coral reefs primarily and shallow bay like areas, as their prey is almost exclusively within these areas. Unlike other sea snakes the yellow lipped sea krait spends significant time out of the water, around 50% of its time once it reaches adulthood. Juveniles spend their time almost exclusively in the water, where they will hunt and rest, but once prey is caught they will leave the water to digest on nearby shores. The speed on land is significantly reduced to that in the water, and as such these animals will attempt to remain hidden during these times, presenting a problem for when unsuspecting animals get too close. Other than to digest, the time on land is also spent shedding old skins, and reproducing.

Hunting is done alone, despite large numbers gathering together before and after hunts, and they eat primarily moray eels. This is done by flushing out their prey from narrow crevices and holes, by probing their head in. They then used their striped tail to convince the eel that their tail is their head, tricking them into attempting to flee in the wrong direction, then once the eel is close enough, they strike. Another thing that the yellow barred sea krait is known for is their venom. This venom is a rather powerful neurotoxin protein from the alpha neurotoxin family, which disrupts the synapses, causing paralysis.

The life cycle of the yellow lipped sea krait is regular for sea snakes. Breeding is done throughout September-December on the gently sloping beaches at high tide, where courtship rituals occur. Multiple male snakes will find a female that they consider large enough to successfully carry eggs. Then, they surround her, aligning their bodies as close as possible and contracting rhythmically, until she chooses one of them. After this, she will lay 10 eggs in a clutch, and hide the nest. In adulthood, they can grow up to 3 ft in males, and almost 5ft in females, and have life spans around 20 years.

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

[luxdraconia]

Good evening. I hope you all are ready for me to blast you all with my powers (AuDHD). I am putting this under a cut because, stars above and seas below, this is going to be long.

[ @sycamorality @softenedsunbeams | Since you both showed interest in this (and I’m allowed to mention you both I believe.) ]

Okay, starting off with flora and such…

Georgia has… a lot of plants, to be honest. A majority of these are perennial flowers such as bellwort, bloodroot, blue-stem goldenrod, butterfly milkweed, and hairy skullcap. The state flower, the Cherokee rose, is actually not native! It’s an invasive species native to southern China, Taiwan, Laos, and Vietnam.

(Photo from the Georgia State University’s native plant botanical garden. This in specific is of the sun berm, containing woody shrubs, herbaceous perennials, and small trees.)

The University of Georgia/UGA has a helpful article on native trees, shrubs, and woody vines.

Taken from that article, these are the more common shapes of trees and shrubs. In our area, the Piedmont, you’re more likely to find pyramidal and spreading trees with spreading and irregular shrubs.

There is a surprising amount of diversity in trees; live oak (which is our state tree as well), American holly, longleaf pine, northern red oak, palmetto palms, river birch, sweetgum, sassafras… there’s a lot of them! Also, despite what you may think, kudzu isn’t native. It is incredibly invasive and is basically choking the Southeastern US. You can’t get rid of it easily. That’s unrelated, however.

We also have lots of grasses and sedges. Too many. Ragweed is unfortunately native here, as much as we despise it.

Stars above and seas below, body is betraying me. I have to cut it here for now, apologies.

[forgotteneilionora]

OOC | The Citadel Ideas

ok so ive been daydreaming abt the land of stafford a good bit! and i have some thoughts id like to share!!

so, if we're using mont saint michel and/or st michael's mount (two diff but v similar places) as our inspo, i had some notions!! first, i think @thelongforgottenrealm had mentioned asp that stafford was located at the southeastern end of the country? or was that just in my imagination? anyway hahaha either way, if it is indeed on really ~any coastline a la the above references, perhaps it is also located on a tidal island where the tides make it sometimes accessible from the mainland, and sometimes not??? so its pr self-sufficient, and a bit of a feat to conquer bc a large vessel can't really besiege it bc its too narrow but at the same time a land army will literally be swept away in only a few hours' time etc?

regardless of the above, tho, im thinking it probs does more or less have the conical shape of mont saint michel/st michael's mount, but probs higher a la mont st michel? in fact, w the exception of the literal mountains of lorcan and kil-kennar, im thinking -- given the celestial ties of house stafford -- that the castle at the top is probs the tallest altitude in astaira? and certainly the tallest manmade structure in and of itself??

also that, when the sea washes in at night, that its super clear both re: the sea and the sky, and the water reflects back the stars so that you feel like, above and below, you're awash in an ocean of starlight???? and in the mornings a deep fog often swallows it up reflecting back the colors of dawn and basically its that ancient city-in-the-clouds motif, so you almost always feel like youre in the sky when you're at stafford???? and that its got this aurora borealis action too and just <33333 magical ~amongst the stars~ vibes <333333

also thinking abt how we said that the stafford swords might be meteor blades as well as the legend of how mont st michel was founded, and maybe, according to legend, the ancient ancestors of house stafford took a page out of the three wise men's book and followed three shooting stars to the spot. where they landed, they founded their citadel and turned the remnants of the three glittering stars, fallen to earth, to the three celestial blades famous of their house!

im thinking too that -- inspired by mont st michel and its historical building/collapse/rebuilding thing, that perhaps, at the pinnacle lies the ruins of the og keep, its great domed vault collapsed so that its now open to the stars and lowkey a kinda observatory kinda thing now???

also!!!!! im not done!!!!1 ;DDDDD what if, this being astaira, theyve got a hanging gardens of babylon kinda thing going, given the potentially? conical shape etc, where the whole place is a green garden, overflowing from one terrace to the next, where flowering trees and shrubs and even lakes and creeks (inspired too by eze) flow and just!!!!!! v idyllic (at least pr!roderick who knows now alksjdfkljdf)

finally, idk how up you guys are on the full history of mont saint michel, its various parts in wars w the english, its supposedly haunted situation, the angel supposedly having appointed its creation, its falling and rebuilding again and again in the early middle ages, the fact that it repelled one of the greatest generals to ever live, henry v, and stood proud and impregnable for centuries, its status as a center of pilgrimage and a sea port supposedly protected by st michael himself, its involvement in the theft of relics and reliquaries, its status as one of the worst jails in france after the hunted monks were expelled and it had fallen almost to ruin via the revolution its rebuilding, and so many other bits and piecees, but i thought we might also take some inspo from that esp re: roderick, too!

anyway some pics etc of st michael's mount and eze since ive got specific points abt them and they're more obscure than the hanging gardens/mont saint michel etc so i wasn't sure if i was making my point so well hahaha! anyway you can find them below the cut bc yeah idk if i described any of these things well at all!

EZE

so you guys may know all abt eze idk, but id never heard of eze before i went there. its on the french riviera, near monaco, and its a JAW DROPPER!!! its this medieval town w tiny, winding streets but it in no way feels oppressive bc every turn reveals a new tree and a constellation of bright flowers, and vines cheerfully winding all along the walls! and the ocean below is a shade of electric blue so brilliant it reminded me of our lizzy's eyes <3 terraced gardens are everywhere, and just when you think the dazzling sun is getting too bright you emerge into a covered alcove w a babbling fountain or lil flowing stream to delight and cool you, once supplying fresh drinking water to the citizens in the middle ages. cobbled stone paths form pretty walkways in patterns that ofen suggest -- i kid you not -- stars <3 the further you go, the higher you get but its all so gradual its not troubling at all and tbh you don't even realize how high you've climbed until you come upon a window (almost all the doors and windows are flung open so that inside and out are only concepts w everything open and breezy) and you find yourself at a jaw-dropping height from which you feel you can overlook the world entire, but even to someone like me -- terrified of heights -- there's no fear bc the mount holds you in a warm embrace and you do not fear falling

none of these pictures do it even a touch of justice but they might help give a sense of what i mean (couldn't find pictures of the sights from the tallest towers or of the streams and fountains and mosaics tho!)

ST MICHAELS MOUNT

so i only realized that st michaels mount and mont saint michel were different places a couple years ago ngl lakjsdfkjldsf and i haven't been here so ill just present pics! but its got a port to one side bc the water's so deep there but part is so shallow you can walk across at low tide bu inaccessible at high tide! its got this ring of terraced gardens, its oldest parts are built almost like an organic structure, growing out of the rock, and the waters reflect back the sky when they're calm

[lavenderbang]

The Legend of 3racha

Fantasy au! 3racha x reader

Genre(s): Fantasy au! (y’all are wanders who do various quests :)), Fluff, comfort, comedy (maybe???), adventurer/wander/bounty-hunter 3racha!

Warning(s): monsters, fighting (slight blood/injury), swearing, alcohol consumption, but that’s pretty much it though

W.C: 13.7k

Summary: You and your trio of misfits are known for taking a variety of quests and odd-jobs that require your skill set. What happens when you are requested for specifically to take down a monster near the dark woods?

A/N: I had this vision of 3racha as a party (in the dnd sense of the word) and I haven’t got it out of my brain since! This has taken quite a long time to come to fruition, but it's here now! Enjoy, and as usual, ignore any typos, my brain is dumb :)

2nd A/N: Okay so I had the idea to set this in the same universe as my Felix fantasy au (which you can find here) halfway through writing this. Its NOT necessary to read to understand this fic, but there will be references if you want to check it out! Now back to 3racha being a party :3

They own my heart I’m soft...

You entered the tavern, kicking the mud off your riding boots and lowering the hood of your cape. It was gloomy outside today, cloudy and muggy with a drizzling of rain, but it was nothing you four couldn’t handle.

Four meaning the members of your little party, 3racha (Just go with it pls)

It was lead by Bang Chan, a strong, mysterious fellow who looked about as deadly as they come. He grew up alone in the northern mountains, learning everything there is to know about tracking and hunting. He could track anything, animal or beast. Despite his reclusive upbringing and outward appearance, Chan is a calm, and gentle soul; He manages everything (democratically of course), such as group funds, what jobs you’d be taking, where you’d move next, what the plan of attack was, etc. The three of you placed a lot of trust in Chan, which he received by never leading your group astray.

Then there was Seo Changbin, the proudest meathead around. Despite his shorter stature, he was easily the strongest on your team. He used to be a royal guard for the kingdom of Levanter when he fell in love with the royal apothecary. This was forbidden by the king, so Changbin was striped of his position and exiled from the kingdom. He has been on the road ever since, not having a definite place to call home. He is kind-hearted and loyal above all else, and wont hesitate to protect the rest of the group no matter what it takes. He also has a bit of a temper, but that makes it all the more fun for your team to tease him.

Han Jisung was the third, a foreign prince with a connection to medicinal magic. Jisung was lined up to be duke of the southwestern plains; he even was presented with a suitor, the princess to the southeastern sea kingdom Reve. However, not liking his destiny, he ran away, only to find his place with the group. He has an exceptional way of using charms and spells to heal. But don’t let the idea of a healer fool you; He is incredibly cheeky and playful, almost like a child. While his hyper personality has gotten you into trouble before, it also lifts the spirits of the rest of the group, which is always Jisung’s goal.

And that left you, (Y/N) (L/N). You used to be an apprentice to a great warlock; he taught you a fair bit of magic before you realized his only concern was himself. Eventually, when money ran short, he tried to sell you off to a brothel, but you managed to escape and find your place among the already established and well-known group of three. You were a powerful warlock now too, using every challenge to grow and cultivate your powers and reading up on spells when you could. You tried your best to help the boys as much as possible, as they became like a family to you and you cared for them very much.

“Thank god we are finally here.” Jisung shivered, blowing into his hands after entering the tavern, “It’s freezing.” The four of you looked around at the hustle and bustle of the tavern; joyous music, lots of chatter and laughter and the smell of warm food wafting into your nose.

“Go sit down over there, I’ll talk to the bar-hand.” Chan hummed, pointing to a table in the corner. You nodded, following where Chan had pointed and sat at the table.

“I wonder what she wants?” Changbin huffed out, digging the tip of his claymore into the wooden flooring. You had been summoned by letter by the duchess of central valley, told to go to the tavern on the northern border of the city of Miroh to receive further instruction. And who were you to ignore a request from a duchess? 

She was directly under the command of King and Queen Yang, the rulers of every city on the western half of the map. The central valley was a large dominion gifted to her by the king and queen; a summoning from her was not to be taken lightly...

“Not sure, but doubt it’s good.” Jisung speculated, folding his arms on the table and leaning his chin onto them, “I mean, why be so vague if it’s good?”

“Maybe it’s secret and she couldn’t write it over letter.” You suggested, trying to bring the energy of the boys up. Jisung mumbled anxiously and Changbin just scoffed, leaning back in his chair. You looked out the window and bit your lip nervously; it wasn’t like you were criminals, but (at least your’s and Jisung’s case) you were runaways... Maybe that had finally caught up to you? It stressed you out thinking of it, so you shook the thought from your head, laying your staff across your lap.

Soon Chan approached you and sat down in the chair beside you, folding his arms over his broad chest and leaning back on the back of the chair. His face was unreadable, mouth pulled into a line and eyes glancing around the tavern.

“So?” You asked, blinking nervously at Chan.

“We are to wait a bit longer, as the duchess hasn’t arrived yet.” Chan said flatly, earning a groan from the other two boys. A woman approached the table to take your orders; you knew her as the wife of the tavern owner Felix.

“We’ll have a round of ale for the table.” Chan said politely and nodded his head as she left. You and the other two boy perked up to this.

“I thought you said we couldn’t afford any extra expenses until our next job?” Jisung asked, tilting his head like a puppy who just heard its name.

“We can’t, but you guys look glum and could use a little something to cheer you up.” Chan explained with a soft smile. Changbin cracks a grin for what seems like the first time since arriving, and Jisung sits up, cheering at the idea of consuming something besides stale bread and water (which was all you could carry at the moment). You nudged Chan’s arm to get his attention and when you had it, you mouthed a silent ‘thank you’, which sweetened his smile to the point where his eyes turned into little crescents.

He ruffled your hair, before he said “So, what do you think the duchess wants?”

“Not sure.” Changbin sighs. Your drinks arrive and you swear nothing felt better than the warmth of alcohol dribbling down your throat. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, Changbin continues, “Worse case scenario, she’s going to try and arrest us, but we’ll just have to fight our way out then.”

“Oh yeah? what if she brings thirty guards with her?” Chan quipped, amusement painted on his features.

“I’ll take them all on,” Changbin boasted, cracking his knuckles, “I would never let some silly duchess take you guys away.” Your heart melted at the notion, but it was soon interrupted by someone behind you clearing their throat.

“Silly, am I?” The duchess said, eyebrow raised. The four of you turned to see her standing there, accompanied by two guards who you thought could probably pick you up and throw you. Changbin’s face went red from embarrassment and Jisung stifled a laugh, coughing to cover it as Changbin kicked him under the table.

“Apologies, Good Lady of the Central Valley.” You quickly apologized, veering at Changbin, “My associate here seems to have had too much ale, as he’s become a bit foolish.” The duchess hummed, unimpressed.

“Excuse me, My Lady.” Chan said, bowing his head, “Why have you summoned us here?”

“We must talk in private,” She responded, before turning and calling over her shoulder, “Come this way.” You looked at Jisung (who looked just a unsure as you) and then Changbin, who mumbled out a ‘sorry’ from the previous incident. You rolled you eyes and looked to Chan, who simple shrugged and stood. You followed the duchess to the back room behind the bar. It was a small room, lined with barrels and crates of spare utensils and glasses.

“Close the door.” She instructed, to which you followed with a polite bow of your head. The four of you stood, staring at her intently before she cleared her throat again and straightened out her posture.

“I’ve never been fond of your folk.” She spat, grimacing like you were a plague, “Wanders do nothing beside bring mess to the places they visit.” Changbin opened his mouth to argue, but you grabbed his shoulder to stop him. You turned you attention back to the duchess, but placed your hand in his, squeezing it to hopefully calm the boy.

“They are brash and rude,” She said with a glare to Changbin. It made your blood boil, but you relaxed for the sake of a smooth interaction. She then glanced at the rest of your party, her face still sour, “Living in lawless lands before coming to my domain and thriving off the wealth of my people.”

“My Lady, I’m sure you have not summoned us here just to speak ill of our lifestyle.” Chan said, voice tight. You noticed the vein in his neck protruding and you realized he was just as angry as Changbin.

“You are correct.” She confirmed before sighing, pinching the bridge of her nose, “You see, my distaste aside, I have a job for you.” You blinked a couple times, not expecting her to offer you and the boys a quest.

“There have been reports of a large beast in the Dark Woods to the east that has been attacking my people. We have already lost a few commoners to this creature, and it keeps venturing more west. It is estimated that within a week, it would get as far as this city here.” The duchess explained, brushing her hair out of her face. Changbin’s hand tensed in yours, so you instinctively rubbed circles into it with your thumb.

“You want us to kill it, right?” Jisung interjected, to which the duchess nodded.

“Why not send your guards out to deal with it?” Chan asked, his tone slightly annoyed, which made you smirk. It was nice to see Chan subtly disrespecting the duchess.

“We already have.” She said, making your blood run cold, “They have never returned.”

“So you’re gonna send us cause we are disposable right?” Changbin grumbled, causing the duchess to roll her eyes at Changbin’s blatant disrespect.

“Because you’re useful.” She snapped back, “As much as I dislike your lifestyle, I am whiling to admit that you are more knowledgeable in the subject of monsters than my guards. As well as knowing the wild better too. “

“I would not ask you if I was not desperate, but alas, I care for my people.” The duchess finalized, sincerity in her tone, “Will you help by taking down the beast in the Dark Woods?”

The three of you look to Chan, who was deep in thought, staring at the floor. He tapped his foot lightly before looking back up at the duchess.

“We do not work for free, My Lady.” Chan said simply, crossing his arms over his chest, “What do you offer us in return?”

“I will pay you handsomely of course,” She answered, unwavering, “200 gold pieces for each of you to slay the beast and bring me it’s head.” Your eyes widened. That was quite a good price, as you’ve done much harder tasks for less, but Chan hummed nonchalantly.

“You’ll pay us half before we leave and half when we return.” Chan negotiated, tilting his head up to feel out the duchess’s desperation.

“I’ll pay a quarter now, and the rest when you bring me that monster’s head.” She said firmly, eyes sharp and scowl deep.

“A quarter now, the rest later, but you’ll fund our stay for the night at the inn upstairs.” Chan bartered, flashing her a grin, “We did travel all the way here, did we not, My Lady?” The duchess rolled her eyes but agreed nonetheless.

“You will leave first thing in the morning, and I expect your return before the sun sets two weeks from now.” She explained, She exited the tavern, the two, large guards at her side once again. The evening was still chilly and cloudy, so you were glad you could sleep inside tonight; the duchess frowned at Changbin, who still had his hand in yours, “I also expect you to address me with respect the next time I see you.”

 Changbin bit back his anger, wanting nothing more than to rip her head off, but simple settled for narrowing his eyes at her and grumbling. In all honesty, you wouldn’t mind ripping her head off either; but you refrained, keeping a blank expression.

“Of course, My Lady.” Chan said politely, waving her off as she got into her carriage. It sped off down the muddy street, and once it disappeared from sight, Changbin finally let out a growl, kicking at the dirt.

“How dare she treat us like trash and then expect us to help her.” Changbin shouted, finally letting himself go after behaving in front of the duchess, “Did you see the way she looked at me like I was nothing but the pavement beneath her foot?! I just- AGH!”

“Its okay Binnie,” Jisung tried to sooth the elder boy, but letting his own aggression out, “I think she pissed all of us off with that sweet opening number about how we are scum.” Chan just let out a scoff and shook his head, before taking a deep breath.

“Lets just go to the inn and rest for tomorrow.” He suggested, patting Changbin on the back reassuringly, “at least she provided us somewhere to rest.” You still held onto Changbin’s hand, it felt almost natural at this point, but it was warm and tense; so you simply gave it one more squeeze and it seemed to relax him a bit.

You were given a room upstairs that was pretty nice. There was a fireplace along the wall and an exotic rug in front of it. Above the fireplace hung a world map. There was a chair in the corner and a matching stool, but the main thing about the room was the two double beds that looked to have wool and quilted blankets on it, making them look more comfortable than anything you’ve seen in a long time. Each was accompanied by a nightstand that held extra candles and holders for more light.

“I wanna sleep with (Y/N)!” Jisung shouted out quickly, flopping down on the closest bed with a wide smile.

“No! I want to!” Changbin argued, jumping onto the closest bed too and trying to push him off. The two of them bickered and fought back and forth for a moment, causing you to giggle at their antics.

“I’m going to go and bring up something to eat from the tavern,” Chan called out over the ruckus, before nodding towards the other boys with a smirk, “Watch them and make sure they don’t break anything, okay?” You chucked and nodded closing the door as Chan left, approaching the other bed and sitting on it. You began to take off your boots when you feel the bed dip on either side of you.

“(Y/N), please tell Changbin you’re sleeping with me tonight!” Jisung huffed, only for Changbin to shove his shoulder. Jisung frowned, but held onto your arm, “I wanna cuddle.”

“No way! (Y/N), tell Jisung you’re gonna sleep with me!” Changbin pouts, holding onto your other arm. You laugh at the two of them, shaking your head.

“Both of you, figure it out yourselves.” You sighed endearingly, “Either of you would make a nice furnace for me to sleep warm, so I don’t care.”

“I suggest we arm wrestle.” Changbin says matter-of-factly, much to Jisung’s disapproval.

“No, that’s not fair! You’d obviously win! We need to pick something fair...” Jisung pouted, holding onto your hand, “(Y/N), pick a number between 1 and 10!” 

Just then, there was a knock on the door, before it opened to reveal Chan standing with a tray; it had four plates of meat, potatoes and veggies on it which he brought for the four of you to eat. But the boys barely even spared him a glance.

“Yeah that’s fair, pick a number between 1 and 10.” Changbin agreed, “we’ll guess and whoever is closest gets share a bed with you.”

___________________________________________________

“Seven is the worst number. Nobody ever picks seven...” Jisung huffs, cheeks puffy with sleep and he pushed the blanket down to crawl under it.

“I know! It’s not fair...” Changbin groaned, sitting beside Jisung taking off his jacket to sleep, “Besides, Chan didn’t even care about where he slept! He shouldn’t have been allowed to guess.”

Chan simply snickered at the boys, who had been pouting and whining for almost thirty minutes about Chan winning the silly game.

“Fair is fair, he guessed the number I was thinking of.” You explained for the hundredth time, to which the other two boys let out a groan in agreement.

“Seven is stupid.” Jisung mumbled again, eyes closed and sleepiness evident in his voice, which made you smile. Changbin laid beside him, to which Jisung immediately turned and wrapped his arms around the older male. 

“Goodnight boys.” You called, to which Changbin and Jisung grunted, snuggling up together to get some warmth. It wasn’t long before you could hear the heavy breathing of them sleeping comfortably. You opened the blankets to crawl under the covers when you hear Chan putting his boots on.

“Where are you going?” You asked, staring at him from across the room. He was only illuminated by the fireplace; if you didn’t know any better, you’d find the man standing there almost scary.

“Going down to see if I can get some local information on the beast we are fighting.” He said simply, smiling softly at you, “I won’t be long, so get some rest.”

“Do you want me to come?” You asked starting to get out of bed only for Chan to stop you.

“No, it’s alright. I’ll be back, okay?” He said gently, and with that he left, closing the door behind him. You laid back down, closing your eyes and listening to the crackling of the fireplace and small snores from Jisung. But you couldn’t help but think of Chan and if he was safe; bad thoughts of him getting in trouble and you being asleep wandered through your head.

Sighing, you got up and opened one of the windows for some fresh air. You could hear the faint chattering of the tavern downstairs, which was good; you still went and cracked the door open just a bit to hear better. If Chan got into trouble, you wanted to know about it. Next, you lit the candle that was on the nightstand and grabbed your book of spells from your knapsack and brought it back to bed where you read it.

If you were to be awake, it was best to be productive, right?

You flipped through the pages, only yawning and rubbing your eyes occasionally. Most of the spells in the book you had mastered, as you’ve read this volume maybe a dozen times now. It was hard to practice a lot of them though, as they required a lot of open space and a subject to use them on.

A few hours go by until the door opens quietly and your eyes snap up to see Chan standing in the doorway. The fireplace was all but embers at this hour, so you could barely make out his figure as he closed the door gently behind him as not to make noise.

“Hey Chan.” You mumbled, yawning. You felt at ease now that he was back and safe.

“Hey, why are you still awake?” he asked with a voice barely above a whisper, taking his boots and cloak off and coming over to the bed. By the light of your candle, you could see him much better now, eyes tired and a smile that showed off his dimples present on his face.

“Couldn’t sleep with you out by yourself, so I’m reading.” You said simply. Chan sat beside you and you scooted closer to him, placing your head on his shoulder.

“What are you reading?” He asked, although he already knew the answer. He leaned his head onto yours, squishing his cheek against it; he would often do this when you sat next to each other. Just his way to show affection you supposed.

“My spell book.” You hummed, glancing down at the pages. Chan wrapped and arm around your shoulder and pulled you even closer him, his big frame bringing comfort to you as you relaxed into him.

“You should rest now, you look sleepy.” He said, pulling the book from your lap only for you to grab onto it tightly.

“Let me finish this section first.” You said, to which Chan let go of the book, allowing you to pull it back into your lap, “It’s only a few pages. It wont take long.”

“I’ll stay up with you until you finish.” He said, and when you started to protest he shushed you, “It wont take long, right? So I’ll be sleeping in no time.” He chuckled deep in his chest and you smiled, enjoying being close to Chan. 

You went to reading, looking down at the ink-work on the pages. However, within minutes, Chan could hear your small snores and he smiled to himself at how cute you were. He slowly pulled the book from your grasp, reaching over to set it on the nightstand before blowing out the candle. He gently removed you from his shoulder to lay you down onto his chest, to which you naturally wrapped your arms around him. 

Chan felt his heart beat faster and his face grew warm, as he held you close to him. Secretly, he was really happy about winning your silly game, because it was comfortable and nice to have you in his arms while you rested.

“Night (Y/N).” He hummed contently, placing a kiss on your forehead and letting himself fall asleep too.

___________________________________________________

You woke up to a gentle shake of your shoulder, with the sun peeking right over the horizon and flooding into the room you were staying in.

“Come on (Y/N).” Jisung whispered, hand still on your shoulder, “We gotta get going now.” You groaned, pulling the soft blanket above your head. It had felt like you just fell asleep but it was already time to leave?

“(Y/N), the boys are already downstairs waiting for us,” Jisung reasoned; He tried to pull you up by grasping onto your shoulders, only for him to flop down and crush you with his weight when you refused to sit up.

“Just a bit longer, please.” You whined, taking your hands out from under the covers to hold onto Jisung tightly, not allowing him to stand up. He sighed, squeezing you gently as he relished in having you in his arms this morning because he couldn’t last night.

“As much as I appreciate this hug right now, we have to leave if we are gonna get to the Dark Woods and back on time.” He chuckled, patting your back and leaning you up, taking you with him.

You grumbled and let him go, wiping the sleep from your eyes.

“Besides, Changbin already packed up all your stuff for you this morning and put it by the door, so you just gotta get your shoes on.” Jisung explained, fixing your hair endearingly and nodding towards the door.

“Awful nice of him.” You mumbled sleepily, before getting out of bed and stretching your arms. You got your boots on and put on your knapsack, before finally grabbing your staff and opening the door. Jisung cooed at you for getting up, saying things like ‘good job’ and ‘I know you’re tired’ and you smiled at his thoughtfulness.

“Finally, sleeping beauty is awake!” Changbin teased when you came down the stairs. You rolled your eyes at him, used to his antics. Chan handed you an apple, saying breakfast was on the road today.

“Lets get going.” You agreed, biting into the apple, “lead the way, Tracker Man.” Chan smiled at the nickname, but nonetheless started the trek east. It was silent for the most part, aside from Jisung humming a tune and the crunch of your apple.

It wasn’t long until you finally got to the edge of the city when you finally made some conversation.

“So, do you guys know what kind of monster we are dealing with or..?” You asked, kicking at pebbles on the dirt road as you walked. 

“Well, from what I learned last night at the tavern,” Chan began, talking over his shoulder at you, “Rumor has it the beast is something big. I heard stories of it eating whole horses.”

“We already knew that, silly.” Jisung said matter-of-factly, earning a glare from the eldest, “The duchess said it was big.”

“Yeah but I didn’t think that big!” You complained, feeling a bit nervous about the nature of your opponent, “What else Chan?”

“I heard a story that one of the farmers warded it off with a torch, so maybe it’s afraid of fire?” Chan said, but you could hear the pout in his voice, “But I can’t know for sure how effective that is without knowing what kind of monster we are dealing with.”

“I don’t care what it is, I’ll kick it’s ass all the same.” Changbin said proudly, smirking while lacing his fingers together to stretch his arms out in front of him.

“That’s because you do the same thing for everything we fight: swing your claymore around and hope you don’t take one of our heads off.” Jisung teased, earning a scowl from Changbin, but it quickly changed into a tiny grin when you giggled along with the jokes.

“I do not!” Changbin half-whined half-giggled, nudging Jisung with his elbow, “I’ll have you all know, I’m very calculated and tactical when in battle.”

“Oh yeah? You ‘calculated’ hitting the tree and one of the big heavy branches falling on my foot while we were fighting a pack of goblins in the forests on the edge of NCity?” Chan asked in a playful tone, eyebrows raised as Changbin tried to defend himself.

“How was I supposed to know the branch would fall if I hit the tree! If anything, you should have just moved before it fell.” Changbin shouted, crossing his arms and lips pulled into a pout, “Besides, Jisung healed you up well and you were fine within an hour.”

“Not to mention, last I checked, you were the one to call for Changbin’s help that day anyways.” You said with a cheeky smile, before wrapping your arm around Changbin’s shoulders, “He was just trying to help, so don’t be so picky about it.”

“You wont be saying that when its your foot getting crushed by a stray swing of Changbin’s claymore.” Chan reasoned, huffing out a sigh, but smile gracing his face nonetheless.

_________________

After a rather uneventful week of travelling on foot, you finally reached the little village of Alsea the evening of your seventh day; it was a river-fishing village that bordered the Dark Woods. Chan thought it would be best to stay for the evening, get more information from locals about the monster, as well as be fully rested and regain the most strength for a battle.

“Alright, it’s best if we split up.” Chan suggested as you entered a crowded pub. The air smelled of mud and rainwater, as it was a hot spot for many of the local fisherman to visit after work.

“Me and Bin will go talk to some of the tougher looking fellows over there,” Chan explained, pointing to a corner where there seemed to be an arm wrestling competition going on, “You two should go ask the barkeep and see what they know. We’ll meet up in an hour or so and go to bed, alright?”

“Sounds good, c’mon (Y/N)!” Jisung said with a nod, pulling you in the direction of the bar. You waved over your shoulder at Chan and Changbin, before following Jisung through the crowded pub to make it to the bar. You hopped up on one of the stools, Jisung settling down beside you.

“Excuse me, Sir.” Jisung called to the bar-hand over the chatter and music of the loud pub. He was young, and handsome if you do say so yourself. He looked up at the two of you, putting down the rag he had been cleaning the bar with, “We’ll have an ale for me and a glass of wine for my partner here please.”

“Right away, Boss.” The bar-hand said with a nod, preparing the drinks before serving you both. He grinned at you, looking you up and down and making your face heat up a bit from the attention.

“Here you are.” He almost purred, sliding the glass towards you and handing Jisung the mug of ale he ordered, “Enjoy.”

Jisung frowned, grabbing his drink and taking a swig of it before scooting closer to you.

“This place is pretty busy,” You said sweetly, “Is every night like this?”

“Usually, but it’s much more busy when the snow comes around,” The bar-hand replied, “I guess folks are wanting to find a way to stay warm, and the atmosphere and alcohol help.” You hummed, taking a sip of your drink. The bar-hand eyed you closely, biting his lip bottom lip as you swallowed the drink. It made Jisung feel sick they way he was watching you.

“What brings a pretty individual like yourself into these parts? Alsea isn’t really a tourist spot.” The bar-hand asked, brushing his hair away from his face. Before you could answer, Jisung slung his arm around your waist and pulled you into him, causing you to let out a little squeak in surprise.

“We are actually on our honeymoon, isn’t that right, darling?” He replied in a passive aggressive tone, frowning at the man behind the bar before plastering a fake smile on his face.

You resisted the urge to chuckle at Jisung’s behavior, but nonetheless leaned closer to him and nodded. Playing pretend doesn’t hurt anyone, besides, its a fun idea for you to tease Jisung....

“Yes dearest, and what a lovely honeymoon it’s been! I thought we were going to get lost on the way here though, with all the detours you decided to take us on.” You laughed, trying to keep your voice even. You playfully hit Jisung’s leg, making him chuckle and look at you teasingly. Game on.

“I only took detours because I wanted to get here as fast as possible for my love. ” Jisung confessed(?) while dragging his hand along your waist, earning a sarcastic pout from you before he turned back to to the bar-hand, who looked a bit annoyed now, “And it was lucky I did because this is the only town before hitting the woods. We would have missed meeting this fine gentleman if not for my detours.”

“Well how sweet of you, dearest.” You sighed, downing your drink and placing a kiss on Jisung’s cheek. It quickly burned red and Jisung prayed he kept his expression at least a little bit under control. You smirked and turned to the bar-hand and smiled politely while you pushed your empty glass towards him, “We are headed out east through the Dark Woods. I heard it’s lovely this time of year.”

The bar-hand cleared his throat, regaining a bit of his composure before giving a fake smile at the two of you.

“Under normal circumstances, it is.” He confirmed, grabbing you glass and putting on the counter behind him, “But I wouldn’t recommend going there now. There is rumor of a monster that lurks there.”

“Oh really? What kind of monster?” Jisung asked boldly leaning on the bar and drinking from his glass. A bit of a direct question to ask the bar-hand, but at least it was useful.

“Nobody really knows.” The bar-hand replied, face serious and voice in a hushed tone and he leans closer to the two of you, “from what I’ve heard, it came down from the northern mountains, and its bigger than anything we’ve ever seen come from the woods.”

“do you know anyone who has actually seen it?” You probed, chewing nervously at your bottom lip as the bar-hand shook his head.

“Nobody who has gotten a good look at it has lived to tell about it.” The bar-hand replied solemnly, before sighing and brushing his hair away from his face once again.

The seriousness of this monster made your anxiety shoot through the roof. It was obvious by now this would be no easy feat to kill the beast, but the more you heard about it, the more it sounded impossible.

The atmosphere felt cold and you felt a sudden warm hand on yours. Turning to Jisung, you felt him squeeze your hand comfortingly as he smiled at the bar-hand.

“Well, maybe it’s best we don’t go through there for our honeymoon, Love.” Jisung teased, finally looking back at you with a gentle grin. He wrapped his arm around you once more, and you could feel your anxiety melt away, just for this moment.

“Well, I agree. The two of you should pick another route. Sorry you traveled here for your plans to be ruined, but better safe than sorry!” The bar-hand hummed. Jisung took some gold pieces out of his pocket to pay for your drinks, thanking the bar-hand.

The two of you hopped down off the stools, but Jisung didn’t let go of you. He held your waist firm and lead you towards the center of the tavern where it was cleared out to dance. A man was playing the fiddle and while a woman sang some folk song.

“Care to dance, Love?” Jisung asked, teasing smile on his face as he turned you to face him. You nodded and slipped you hand into his empty one and reached up to grasp at his shoulder. You began to sway around to the music, carefully avoiding others who also decided to come out and dance.

“You know, you played a very convincing jealous newlywed.” You chuckled, pulling Jisung closer to you so you could whisper in his ear, “I almost thought you were jealous for real.”

The two of you continued to dance, spinning and stepping around the space smoothly. Jisung let out a sarcastic laugh, rolling his eyes at you before leaning in to whisper to you.

“I was jealous.” He argued flatly, tightening his grip on you once again, “That stupid bar-hand was practically drooling on the counter looking at you. I didn’t like it.”

“Oh, you didn’t?” You scoffed playfully, shaking your head at him. He let his annoyance play just slightly on his face, causing you to smile, “I couldn’t tell.”

The song ended, and Jisung pulled away slightly. He still held onto your hand as he gazed at you with a slight grin on his face. He placed a quick kiss to you hand, thanking you for the dance. You let out a squeal of surprise at the action as you swatted at him with your other hand. You both laughed at each other, walking away from the dance floor as another song started.

“Let’s go find the other two knuckleheads.” You suggested, holding onto Jisung’s hand as you weaved through the crowd looking for your companions.

You approached the table at the back with a crowd formed around it, shouts and cheers heard just barely over all the other commotion of the pub. You pushed your way through to see what all the excitement was about; you couldn’t say you were surprised at what you found...

Sitting in one of the chairs was Changbin, who was locked in an intense arm wrestling match with one of the biggest fisherman you’ve ever seen. You let out a laugh when you see Changbin yawn before he effortlessly slams the fisherman’s hand down on the table. The crowd of men cheers as Changbin celebrated his victory.

“Why am I not surprised..” Jisung sighed, as you just patted his cheek soothingly and shoved your way to the table.

“Who’s next?” Changbin boasts, making a ‘come here’ motion with his hand, “Who dares challenge me?” When he caught sight of you, His expression lit up and he swatted at Chan, who stood behind his chair monitoring the whole ordeal. By the looks of it, he also seemed to be making bets on Changbin, as he was handed a small pouch by one of the fishermen. When Chan saw you, his expression mirrored Changbin’s as he smiled and waved you over.

Another man sat down across from Changbin, his arms the size of one of your legs; it was a mystery on how he even got into the building as he looked to be bigger than the doorway.

You and Jisung slinked your way over to where Chan stood, greeting him before looking at Changbin.

“Who invited Goliath?” Jisung asked in a hushed tone, swallowing as he gazed at the big man across from Changbin. 

Chan folded his arms across his chest and hummed. “I saw him earlier when we entered. I thought it was only a matter of time before he came to challenge Bin.”

Changbin sat unwavering, grasping hands with the beast of a man. He glanced up at you, to which you gave him a firm, but encouraging look. That seemed enough to give Changbin confidence, as he looked back at the man with determination.

“You guys seem to have been working hard at finding information out.” You mumbled sarcastically to Chan. The other fisherman were chattering, placing their bets as the two strong men prepared for their battle.

“We got a bit.” Chan protested, taking his eyes off of Changbin to look at the two of you, “But I’m starting to think this fisherman is our beast...”

You and Jisung chuckled at Chan’s joke, looking back to your friend to support him and cheer him on in this seemingly impossible feat. Changbin was the strongest person you knew! Surely this big scary man was no match for him!

______________________________

“I can’t believe it was over in three seconds!” Changbin whined as he flopped down on the bed, “my pride is more hurt than my arm!”

“So you don’t want me to massage your shoulder then?” Jisung asked teasingly, only for Changbin to grunt out a ‘no, please’. Jisung snickered, sitting down beside the dishearten man and began to gently rub his shoulder; an aura of blue coming up from his hands, causing Changbin to groan out in delight.

With the winnings from the bets on Changbin, Chan purchased a stay in the inn down the street. It wasn’t as nice as the tavern in Miroh, but it was much nicer than sleeping outside. Besides, you were going into the woods tomorrow to fight whatever this thing was, so it was best to get a good rest.

“Okay, so we know it’s big, it’s furry so probably mammalian, it’s prone to fire, and it’s supposedly from the north.” Chan hummed, tapping his chin lightly as he looked through one of his journals that he kept for monster information.

“Could it be a Worg?” You asked, looking up from a different journal of Chan’s to see him shake his head no.

“Worgs are usually bound to the plains, never up north or the forest.” He replied, flipping through the pages as he sat down on the other bed, frown on his face.

“Maybe it’s not from the north?” Jisung offered, turning to look at the two of you as he gently smoothed his hands offer Changbin’s shoulder, “I mean, it’s just rumored to be from the north.”

“I guess...” You hummed, closing the journal to hand it back to Chan as you yawned, “Whatever it is, we at least have a general idea of what it could look like and how we should attack it.”

“Yeah, we should rest up instead of worrying about whatever this mystery creature is.” Changbin suggested, voice muffled by the pillows. Jisung stood up, allowing Changbin to rise, “Besides, as long as we all have each other’s back, we can take on anything.”

“Like that fisherman you lost to?” Chan teased, causing Changbin to grunt, throwing a pillow at his companion. Jisung let out a laugh, earning a second pillow being thrown at his head.

“If I had all of your guys’ strength too, I could have won!” Changbin huffed, catching the pillow as Chan tossed it back to him and laying it under his head.

“I think that’s why we work so good together. We all have different strengths and we can depend of each other.” You said sincerely, going over to pick up the pillow at Jisung’s feet and bring it over to where Changbin laid.

“How endearing!” Jisung cooed before frowning, “I think I’m going to puke.” You chuckled, taking your jacket off and setting it on the chair beside the edge of the bed, pulling out the covers.

“Hang on, how come Bin get’s to sleep next to you!?” Jisung whined, coming over to your side and holding onto your hand.

“Because I slept next to Chan in the last inn and we got to play newlyweds earlier.” You replied with a grin; Jisung resembled a puppy in this moment, lip stuck out in a pout., “It’s Changbin’s turn.”

“And you had the audacity to shame us on how much information we were gathering...” Chan tutted, looking to Changbin as if to say ‘can you believe them?’. Jisung paid them no mind as he held onto your hand with both of his, almost pleading.

“Yeah, we’re newlyweds! Shouldn’t we sleep together?” Jisung bargained, “Besides, I hate sleeping with Chan! He drools and snores so loud!” Chan let out an offended protest as Changbin simple pushed Jisung away from the bed.

“(Y/N) said it’s my turn.” Changbin said matter-of-factly, causing Jisung to frown as Changbin slipped under the covers too. He laid on his back with a smug grin; an open invitation for you to lay on his broad chest.

“Next time.” You promised apologetically, blowing out the candle on you bedside table as Jisung sighed in defeat. He trudged over to Chan’s bed with a disappointed ‘fine’ falling from his lips

“Next time, I’ll just get us a room with one king sized bed and we can all sleep together if it’s going to be this big of a problem!” Chan scolded like a parent, opening up the covers for Jisung to crawl under.

“I’d rather eat one of Changbin’s sweaty socks than be trapped between all three of you.” You grimaced, causing the boys to chuckle. 

“Goodnight.” Chan called out, blowing out the candle and sliding down in the bed. Jisung latched onto him a bit too quickly for someone who “hated sleeping with Chan” in your opinion, but the two of them seemed to relax, as their forms sunk into the mattress.

You laid down, ready to sleep close to Changbin so he would keep you heated; he seemed like he still wanted to be playful, as he flipped over so his back was facing you, tugging all the blankets with him.

You lightly smacked his back before shifting so that you were flush against him. You tugged some of the blankets back over to you before you buried your face against his shoulder blades and draped an arm over his stomach to keep him close.

Changbin laced his hand over yours, keeping it in place as he relaxed into the bed, letting out a gentle sigh. He whispered out a ‘goodnight’ to you; you hummed in response, nuzzling into him. You then allowed yourself to fall asleep under the gentle thrumming of his heartbeat. 

_______________________________

Branches crackled under your boots as you trudged along; The canopies of the trees stretched far above your head, forming almost a roof that blocked sunlight due to haw thick the overgrowth was. but despite the lack of sunlight, much of the forest floor was overrun with many different species of flora.

“Ow! Son of a bitch...” Jisung mumbled, hitting the bramble he was standing in with his sword and instinctively bringing one of his hands up and shaking it. He picked out the thorn that seemingly was stuck into his finger and grumbled.

“Hey Chan, isn’t there another path that isn’t so.... poke-y?” Changbin asked, looking down at the bushes that came up to your waist.

Chan was leading you through the Dark Woods, following a seemingly invisible trail to your beast. The eldest turned back from his place at the front of the line, frowning at you all.

“Yeah, I’d assume so.” He answered simply before waving his long sword towards the bushels in front of him, “But based on these markings, this is the way the beast went. So I’m following that.”

“I can’t see anything?” Jisung huffed, his hand covered in a slight blue aura for only a moment before he shook it again to loosing his joints. 

“That’s because you’re not a tracker,” Chan replied, rolling his eyes, cutting more of a path in front of him and continuing on, “Now quit complaining and lets go.”

“Let me go right behind Chan,” You suggested, squeezing past Jisung; you whispered a simple spell into the top of your staff, causing it to start to smoke. You grabbed it three quarters of the way down, tipping the top into the bushes to burn the edges, creating a more clear path.

“That should be better.” You hummed in delight, sweeping your staff from side to side as you walked, careful not to linger in one place too long lest to light the whole forest on fire. The two boys behind you let out grunts in agreement and you continued the trek deeper into the woods.

It was calm for a while, with the four of you just listening to the stillness of the air and the sounds of you and Chan making a path before you finally decided to speak.

“Chan, if you’re following a track made by the beast, you must have some idea of what it is, right?” You asked, careful not to burn the ankles of the man in front of you as he stopped abruptly. 

He was quiet, looking out into the woods; you followed suit, dissolving your magic and silently coming closer to him, placing a timid hand on his shoulder as not to scare him. He didn’t move, eyes squinting to see farther into the distance.

Suddenly Chan crouched, whispering out a frantic “Get down!” at the three of you; you quickly comply, crouching low beneath the underbrush as your heart rate increased rapidly. Jisung and Changbin shuffle their way over to the two of you, close enough to hear their breathing as you all waited for Chan to explain anything that was going on.

That’s when you heard it; A distant thumping. It sounded like footsteps coming closer and closer to your party.

“Chan....” Jisung whimpered slightly, gripping the hilt of his sword, “What is that sound?”

The ground shook with each step the beast took; you tried to peak through the foliage to see what it was, but it was nowhere to be found. The footsteps seemed to be getting very close now, the crunching of branches loud as you could hear the beast. 

Chan looked pale, holding a shaky finger up to his lips to tell you all to be quiet. He slowly removed the black bow he carried to notch an arrow in it. Changbin prepared his claymore, gripping it tightly with both hands, his expression stone cold.

And then, the footsteps stopped.

The air was silent, the only sound you could hear was the rushing of blood in your ears and the breath of your party members. The once calming stillness of the woods had now bred a tense atmosphere, causing a sense of unease to wash over you all as the silence continued.

You shifted you weight with uncertainty, looking up and around to try and get even a glimpse in the right direction before your eyes fell on Chan, who was gazing at the three of you with a look of concern.

And then it happened in a flash

The bramble around you peeling back, a loud roar that causing a great ringing in your ears and Jisung flying up towards the sky helplessly in the grasp of this great beast, screaming and flailing around in distress.

It’s fur was snow white as it stood on two powerful legs; it was easily 10 feet tall, gnarled teeth and small eyes pulled into an aggressive expression as it roared out again, brown spit flying from its mouth. You gazed in horror as his grey meaty hand held Jisung by the ankle.

A Yeti.

Jisung!” You cried out, quick to stand and try to conjure a spell with your staff; But just as quickly as you reacted, the Yeti was faster, swatting you into a nearby tree with the back of it’s other flat hand, sending you tumbling down through the sharp branches while knocking the wind out of you and sending your staff flying.

Chan shot his arrow, landing it directly into the knuckle of the beast’s middle finger; it reacted by letting Jisung go, dropping him into the thick bushes below with a crunch. The yeti let out an anguished cry, balling its fist to crush Chan, but he leapt out of the way and helped Jisung stand.

Changbin quickly dove between it’s legs, slashing at it’s knees with his claymore. The beast turned and swatted at Changbin; it missed it’s mark, slamming it’s hand into a tree and sending one of the large branches down on the ground.

It grasped it’s newfound weapon and swung it around at the ground, nearly taking Chan’s head off if he would have held it just a bit higher.

“Chan, what is this thing?!” Changbin barked, ducking his head as the yeti swung his tree club at him, “and how to we beat it!!?”

“Yeti!” Chan shouted, notching another arrow and shooting it at the monster’s face; it was unfortunately blocked by the tree branch it weld, but not without the yeti bellowing at Chan and attempting to crush him with its foot. The oldest jumped out of the way, pushing Jisung down with him.

The beast threw its branch away, slamming it into another tree as it let out another booming roar and leaned forward, placing it’s knuckles on the ground in front of it.

You coughed, a groan of pain escaping your lips as you sat up and clutched your back; the pain was indescribable as it took the brunt of the impact, not to mention your skin was also cover in cuts from the sharp branches you fell through. Your vision was a blurry still from the initial impact, but once it cleared up a bit, you were able to see Changbin slicing once more at the yeti, getting a good cut in at its hip area. This small victory was short lived, as the beast reacted on instinct and swatted at him, sending him flying a few feet into the nearby bramble.

Chan was able to use this time to climb up into one of the trees and get a good angle on the yeti with his bow. He got one good hit in on the yeti’s shoulder before it caught sight of him and grabbed at his legs, pulling him from the tree and shaking his body until he dropped his weapon.

Jisung went to help Changbin, clutching his sword tightly as he ducked into the overgrowth and helping Changbin up; he seemed to recover fast, moving to stand at Jisung's side.

“This isn’t working!” Jisung cried out as he slashed at the yeti, trying to get it to drop Chan. The beast tried to kick at Jisung, but the healer dodged to the side in the last second before scrambling back to his feet.

“Fire!” Chan yelled, beating the yeti’s fingers with his fists as the beast flailed him about, much too distracted with trying to get Jisung, “yetis hate fire!”

You blinked rapidly, processing what Chan was shouting about.

Fire...

Fire!

You could make fire! all you needed was-

“My staff,” You mumbled, looking around frantically for the object. You pushed aside some bushes, crawling around on the ground searching for the one thing you needed to help your party.

You finally found it, laying ten feet away on some gnarled tree roots. It looked to be damaged; a big crack running along the length of it. But it would work for now.

You used it to stand tall, trying to ground yourself despite your state; you willed all the power you could into it, conjuring up a bright ball of white hot fire with one of the most advanced spells you knew. You weren’t sure how strong it would be, as you’d only performed this spell once and that was in your best condition and a fully functioning staff...

The ball grew, sending waves of heat outwards before you launched it into the yeti’s back, setting its white fur ablaze. It howled in pain, dropping Chan ungracefully and starting to slap its back to put the fire out.

Unfortunately for you, the raw power of that spell send burning embers down the crack in your staff, effectively breaking the tool for good as it slightly crumbled in your hand.

What now?

Shit! It was risky for any warlock to try and do a spell without a magic tool to direct their power.

But you had no other option as of now and you needed to help the boys.

“Fuck you!” You spat angrily as threw your broken staff to the side and picked up a branch that had fallen from one of the trees; using a different, less complicated spell, you shakily conjured a weak flame and lit the tip of the branch on fire. You then lunged forward with all your strength, using the branch like an inferno-covered spear to stab at the beast.

You continue to push it back, burning it’s grey skin until you reach Chan, allowing his to recover a bit and grab for his bow that he dropped earlier. He placed a gentle hand on the small of your back before moving to the side of you.

The other two boys had seemingly made fire, Changbin wielding a burning branch covered in foliage with Jisung behind him readying his weapon.

The beast roared swatting at both you and Changbin with it’s hands, however still trying to maintain a distance between it and the fire you held. It looked to be backing away from you as you closed in on it.

Chan slung his bow around his shoulder and unsheathed a longsword before shouting “I have an idea! I need (Y/N) and Changbin to focus the fire down to the undergrowth and make a perimeter. We can’t let it get away!”

You and Changbin exchanged a knowing look, nodding at Chan before you sprang into action. You dipped you flame covered branch down into the bushes and ran around to make a big circle. As you did this, Chan kept the yeti’s attention by swinging at it with his sword, Jisung coming to help the ranger by diving between its legs to appear next to Chan.

You finally met up with Changbin about 5 feet behind the beast, giving it very little room to maneuver without stepping in the fire.

“You look like shit.” Changbin exclaimed, seeing the state you were in with scratches and sweat covering your body.

“Thanks?!” You replied simply, tossing the broken branch into the already blazing inferno creating a perimeter.

Changbin unsheathed his claymore before calling out, “What now Chan?”

“Now we all close in and attack it with everything we have!” The eldest shouted, already starting to move in and stab at the yeti with his sword. Changbin let out a yell before rushing the beast, using both his hands to swing his large weapon at it’s waist. Jisung let out a shout too, using his sword to attack near the beast's legs.

You reached for the only weapon you carried, a dagger that sat on your hip.

But before you were able to charge, you felt a wave of pain wash over you from the center of you back; it spread like electricity all across your body, making you feel weak in the knees.

Your vision grew spotted, with the sounds and sights of your friends going in and out of focus.

Ah shit...

that stupid monster really did a number on you...

And with that high level spell on a broken staff, your body was spent.

Falling to the ground you try and stabilize yourself with your hands;

But it was no use as you slumped forward and pass out.

------

When you finally came to, the sky was dark and the only sound that filled your ears was the crackling of campfire and the soft humming of a folk-song.

You felt a strong pair of arms wrapped tenderly around your frame as you laid in the comfortable lap of one of your dearest companions.

"You should be resting." Changbin whispered, delicately brushing a stray hair from your face, "Although I'm thankful to see you have some life in you."

"What happened?" You mumbled, turning your head to look around. you seemed to be at a makeshift camp, with Jisung laying on a soft bedroll sleeping as still as humanly possible. In contrast, Chan was sat up against a tree, arms crossed and eyes shut, but seemingly asleep as well.

Your boys were safe, that's good.

You drew your attention back up to Changbin, who just stroked your upper arm comfortingly. His face has a few cuts on it and his shirt seemed to be torn, with quite a few massive bruises covering his arms.

"We beat the beast, everything is okay. You fainted, but Jisung healed you up good." Changbin relayed in a hushed tone, gazing at you softly. You frown, weakly reaching your hand up to touch one of the scratches on his face.

"He didn't heal you?" You asked, voice trembling. Your arm felt heavy as Changbin grabbed your hand, placing a kiss on it and returning it to your side.

"Couldn't." Changbin replied simply, keeping a warm hold on your hand, "You were so badly injured he used up all his energy to heal you."

Changbin's voice shook slightly as he looked away. You could see the wetness of his eyes reflecting the light of the fire as he tried not to let out a tear.

"Hey, I'm okay." You whispered, squeezing his hand.

"I was scared we were going to lose you." Changbin admits, biting his bottom lip to keep it from quivering. You could hear the fear in his tone, which broke your heart. Using all the strength you could muster, you sit up, wincing ever so slightly at the ache in your back. You scoot closer to Changbin before you engulf him in a hug, holding onto him as if he would shatter.

"I know, but I'm alright now." You affirmed, reaching to gently stroke his hair as the usual barbarian let out a quiet sob into your shoulder. He carefully wrapped his arms around you and pulled you to sit in his lap. Changbin wanted to hold you as close as possible, worried you would be gone of he let you go.

You couldn't help but feel at ease in his grasp, melting into his touch as you tried to soothe him with hushes and adoring touches on his hair and back.

You both sat like this for a while, not a sound passing between the two of you besides Changbin's shaky breaths. When he finally did let you go, you placed a quick kiss on his cheek, right where a cut laid. Wordlessly, you kissed another, and then the other.

"There, all better." You joked with a cheesy grin. Changbin chuckled at you, before you cringed from another sudden wave of pain.

"You should rest." Changbin hummed, shifting so he sat up more straight, "I have to keep watch for a bit longer, but I want you to sleep right here with me, okay?"

He helped you lay back down in his lap before he reached for his blanket that was rolled up by his pack. He covered you lovingly with it, keeping his arms around you to make sure you were warm.

"We have a long trip ahead of us tomorrow, so sleep well." Changbin wished. You hummed in response, closing your eyes and grasping onto the hem of the blanket.

"Sorry I wasn't much help fighting today. I'll be better tomorrow." You apologized, letting yourself relax in the safe embrace Changbin provided.

"Nonsense," Changbin reassured you, voice barely above a whisper, "You were brilliant today."

"Thanks Bin. Goodnight."

"Goodnight (Y/N)"

---------

"I can't believe you guy's were cuddling again." Jisung let out a huff, blue healing magic from his hands rubbing the bruises out of Changbin's skin.

"You were out cold too! You wouldn't have even known if (Y/N) slept beside you." Changbin argued, shaking his head at the healer and offering up his left arm for treatment.

"Even if he was awake, there was no way you were gonna let them go." Chan teased, turning to whisper to you, "He wouldn't leave your side from the moment you passed out. Not even while Jisung healed you."

"Knowing Changbin, I'm not surprised." You giggled, packing up your things relatively slowly; Your whole body still ached, but you were sure you'd be alright after a long rest, "I think its endearing how much of a big softie he is."

"Doesn't matter, it was my turn." Jisung grumbles under his breath. a pout played on his face as he finished up healing Changbin. The latter stood, saying a small thanks before he started to pack up his belongings.

Soon the four of you were all but ready to go. The fire was getting stomped out by Jisung, while Changbin made sure the monstrous yeti head was secured in a burlap sack.

You weren't entirely sure if the duchess meant it genuinely when she said she wanted its head, but better safe than sorry in your opinion. maybe she wanted to mount it as a trophy of the victory for her people? And if not, it would be entertaining to see her face when you brought it to her.

Changbin began the trek ahead, hoisting his things over his broad shoulders and making a move to go ahead and lead. You tried to tie the end of your bag to secure it, but you couldn't stop the trembling in your fingers enough to complete the fine motor skill. it frustrated you that you weren't back to your peak performance yet.

Jisung's healing can only do so much, especially when it came to magical damage; sure, your body was sore, but there was an underlying weakness that came from casting a spell without your staff. In the heat of the moment you didn't feel the toll due to adrenaline and being in survival mode.

A stick with no magical properties was better than casting a spell with nothing, but you would still pay the price for using such a common item with no embedded magic; weakness, fatigue, muscle spasms, and a whole plethora of other possible side effects was inevitable. Luckily it would fade as time went on, but it didn't make you feel any less of a burden now.

"Let me help you with that." Chan suggested warmly, crouching down and tying your bag closed quickly. You thanked him, moving to sling the bag over your shoulder as you stood. But before you could grab it, Chan lifted it and tossed it to Jisung, who gracefully caught it and slung it over his shoulder.

"Ready to go?" The healer hummed, smiling at you.

"I can carry my own bag." You huffed in annoyance; you began to walk over to Jisung to take it back when Chan grabbed your arm, stopping you in place.

"Nah, there is no way you're lugging that all the way back." Chan insisted, before nodding to Jisung with a grin, "Besides, Jisung strong. what's an extra couple pounds?"

"This feels like nothing to me!" Jisung piped up, adjusting it with ease on his shoulder.

"Fine." You replied, knowing it was better to pick your battles when it came to Chan when he made a decision.

"Great." The eldest responded, before turning around and patting his shoulder, "Now hop on so we can get going."

Oh... this was a battle to pick!

"What? No! I can walk just fine." You argued, patting Chan's shoulders. When he turned back around, a frown played on his face as he crossed his arms over his chest in classic Chan fashion.

"Really? Because you could barely even stand up on your own." Chan reasoned, tone firm before his eyes softened ever so slightly, "I'm sure you could walk the entire journey if we had all the time in the world. You're strong."

"But we don't." He finalized, turning around and crouching down, speaking over his shoulder, "We have to get a move on and we don't have time for you to lag behind so I'm going to carry you."

You groaned; mostly because you knew Chan was right, as per usual... You would slow the party down and you didn't have time for it if you were going to meet the duchess on time. The least you could do at this point is not hold everyone up.

"What's taking you so long? Quit smelling the flowers, we have places to be!" Changbin barked back at you three. You turned to Jisung, who shrugged and went on ahead.

You rolled your eyes and sighed, giving in and climbing onto to Chan's broad back. The man hummed, seemingly pleased by your dismay.

"If you get tired, tell me and I'll make sure I can keep up." You said, almost as a whisper because of how close you were to Chan's ear. He could feel your breath tickle his cheek ever so slight as you rested you head on his shoulder. You felt frail in his grasp, as he made note to try and be and gentle as possible while moving around.

"I won't get tired, don't worry." Chan reassured you, shifting your weight in his strong arms before beginning the long trek back to Miroh. His large hands provided sturdy support to your legs as as he walked, trying to catch up with the other two boys.

You would never admit it, but you were secretly a bit grateful for Chan, as you weren't sure if you truly were strong enough to make the journey without his help. And being secure in his hold, feeling the warmth of his body close the entire trip would definitely a plus, bringing you a sense of ease you couldn't describe.

--------

"I can't believe she's making us wait. I'm tired of hauling this smelly monster head around." Changbin complained, leaning back on his chair.

"You're lucky they let us bring that thing into the tavern." Jisung scoffed, kicking the Yeti's head lightly, "It reeks!"

"That's because it's rotting." Chan said matter-of-factly, shaking his head, "Did you guys expect it to smell like roses?"

"No, of course not!" Changbin said, annoyance ever present in his tone as you grimaced at the head, "I just didn't think it would be this bad!"

The boys continued to bicker back and forth about the head as you sat quietly, picking apart a scone that Felix had baked today. You had begun to regain a bit of strength along the journey, not feeling as sickly as you once were. You were almost certain that a good night's sleep in the inn upstairs would bring you right back to normal.

But you had to wait until the duchess arrived for you to collect your payment before you could do that. But of course she was late, as she didn't seem to care about your time; it was probably negligible in her eyes.

You ate the scone, washing it down with a entire mug of fresh fruit juice before she finally did arrive with two guards in tow. Long after the sun had set, like she agreed, but she showed up nonetheless. And when she did, you swatted at your companions to quit arguing on whether or not rotting head smelt worse is worse than Changbin's armpits.

Chan stood from his spot and bow to the duchess as she approached, "Good evening, My Lady."

"What is that awful smell!" She wrenched, scrunching her nose up and covering it with her wrist.

"The Beast's head, just as you requested, My Lady!" Jisung beamed, standing to bow as well before he presented the duchess with the grotesque thing. You watched as Changbin tried his hardest to keep himself from smiling at her expression.

"Well, I did say I wanted it's head didn't I..." The duchess huffed out, expression sour. with the wave of her hand, one of her guards takes a hold of it and takes it away, finally allowing you to breath fresh air again.

Right, well," The duchess hummed, clasping her hands together, "Might I say well done. My people are safe thanks to you, which is all that matters to me."

"We are also glad such a creature can't terrorize helpless folk, My Lady." Chan agreed, standing up straight with a graceful smale across his face.

"Yeah, super glad." Changbin grunted out, eyebrows furrowed ever so slightly, "anyways, I think it's time you paid us?"

The duchess scowled at Changbin who only smiled tantalizingly at her. "We did what you asked, My Lady." The title sounded patronizing coming out of the his mouth, but it was more so when accompanied by a haphazard nod that you could barely argue as a bow.

"It seems you still have yet to learn manners on all your travels." The duchess sighed, snapping her fingers quickly. The remaining guard pulls a bag out and places it on the table, "Thank you for your service to my kingdom."

With that, the duchess turned and walked away, practically stomping as she exited the tavern.

"Please doing business, My Lady!" Chan shouted after her before taking his seat again. Jisung followed suit, scraping his chair as he opened the bag, dumping the contents onto the table. He tucked the bag away after making sure all the pieces lied safely on the table in a pile.

"Splitting it up? Usually we pool everything together" Changbin asked, as Chan began to count the gold pieces.

The eldest nodded, jutting his head in your direction, "(Y/N) asked if we would this time." You nodded.

It was true, you had asked Chan if the earnings from this job could be split. It was pretty unusual for your group to split up earnings, as you were practically inseparable so you wouldn't make frivolous purchases outside a group setting. But this time, you felt you had a good reason for it.

"It's the most fair in my opinion." You explained, adjusting your bag in your lap, "I need a new staff and you should know that magical items cost a pretty penny. This way, it'll be a purchase that doesn't take away from your guys' funds, since you wouldn't use it anyways."

"That's very kind of you." Jisung said softly, touched at your thoughtfulness. He reached his hand over and held yours, squeezing it as a sort of thank you for your consideration. The moment didn't last long as Chan let out wry laugh.

"That crook, doesn't she have enough?" He scoffed under his breath before shaking his head and looking up at you all, "She scammed us."

"What?" You asked, looking down at the gold pieces; sure enough the piles were quite a bit smaller than expected.

"She only gave us half of what was promised," Chan stated sharply, half in disbelief and half in agitation, "and that's including what was given to use before we left."

"Last time we ever trust a high class cheat ever again!" Changbin growled, slaming his fist on the table. You could practically see the smoke billowing off him as he stood up furiously.

"It's alright, we still have enough to make ends meet." You reasoned, placing a delicate hand on Changbin's arm to calm him down. It does the trick, as he sits back down and folds his arms angrily.

"Yeah, but what about your staff? There is no way your portion will be enough for it..." Jisung said, shoulders slumping as he gazed at you apologetically.

"No, not even close." You sighed, standing and taking your share anyways, "but I'll just have to make do until I have enough. At least we have enough to put warm food in our bellies and a roof over our heads for a bit."

You tried hard to not sound so defeated; you weren't exactly sure how you would be able to practice magic without a magic embedded object to wield, but there was nothing you could do as of now. And truthfully, you had waited long enough for such a disappointment, you felt exhaustion catch up and felt more like something to deal with tomorrow.

Plastering a wistful smile on your face as you stretched your arms over your head. you placed your share in your bag before slinging it over your shoulder haphazardly.

"Where are you off to?" Chan asked, standing too.

"Bed." You said with a tired yawn, jutting your thumb in the direction of the staircase where the inn suites resided, "I'm still recovering, so I think a long rest in a comfy bed is exactly what I need."

"We'll come!" Changbin exclaimed, standing too; you shush him, and shake your head, quickly disagreeing.

"No, you guys should stay out and celebrate! don't pack it in on my behalf." You urged, smile finding its way onto your face as you looked at the three boys. You couldn't help but think about how much you adored them and how special your little family was. Sure, you got swindled, but at least everyone was alright. That's all that mattered to you.

"We defeated a huge beast and lived to tell about it! And we did get paid! Maybe not as much as we had hoped, but enough to have a few drinks and be merry." You encouraged, lips curling into catlike grin.

"(Y/N) right. There is no need to sulk on what we don't have when what we do have is wonderful company and good atmosphere." Chan agreed, cheerful expression slowly growing as he gazed back at you. He stood, grabbing a few gold pieces from his share and pointed to the bar, "First round is on me fellas!"

"Sure, why not!" Changbin agreed, collecting his share and placing it in his wallet.

"Enjoy the night. Be sure to come to bed when you're ready!" You cheered. Chan grinned, pulling you into a hug and placing a chaste kiss on your cheek before he whispered 'goodnight'. The ranger quickly slipped into the crowd, going to barkeep to get refreshments for his companions.

Changbin waved you over and placed a kiss on your other cheek, playfully telling you to dream of him. You agreed, barely able to contain the chuckles that bubbled up in your chest at Changbin's nature.

"Cheer up Jisung!" You laughed, poking the healer with your finger when he stayed slumped in his seat. A pout played on his face as you ruffled his hair, gazing up at you silently from his spot.

"The boys will keep you company, and if that fails, try the scone. perked me right up." You suggested, lightheartedness in your tone as you wave goodbye to the boys.

You scamper up the stairs, entering your usual room at the inn. You close the door behind you with a sigh, making quick work of lighting the fireplace and a few candles so you could see what you were doing as you prepared for bed. You took your boots off, followed by your jacket. You set them off to the side with your bag, trying to keep your things organized.

Just as you crawled into one of the beds, there was a soft knocking at the door. You hummed affirmatively, feeling too tired to get up and check for who it could be. Besides, it was most likely the tavern owners or one of the boys.

The latter was correct as Jisung opened the door, slipping inside before closing it behind him. He stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, much to your amusement.

"I thought I told you not to come to bed on my behalf!" You chuckled, sitting up and letting the covers pool around your waist.

"I didn't!" Jisung exclaimed defensively. He brushed his hair from his forehead as he shifted his weight from foot to foot, repeating his statement much softer now, "I didn't..."

"Then why are you here instead of celebrating, hm?"

"Because!" Jisung looked at the floor bashfully, biting his bottom lip before squeaking out, "it's my turn..."

You're only confused for a minute until you remember what he means. Snickering to yourself you open up the covers, fluffing up the pillow and pat the place beside you.

"Come on then," You invited, causing Jisung to grin joyously as he frantically starts taking off his shoes and jacket. In no time at all, all his outerwear is discarded and he practically leaps into the space beside you.

"Blow out the candle, would you?" You asked in a hushed tone, to which Jisung obliged, leaning away from you for only a moment to do what you asked. He snuggled up to you on his side so that you were facing one another before he wrapped one of his arms around your torso.

"Comfy?" You whispered, to which Jisung replied simply with a 'mmhmm'. "I've been waiting two weeks to not have to sleep beside Sweaty Changbin or Drooling Chan." He sighed dreamily, showing off his gums with a bright smile. You cant help but find him cute as you chuckle at his antics, clutching his shirt as you tuck your hands in the little space between the two of you.

"Hey (Y/N)," Jisung murmered after a few moments. You could feel his breath on your face as he spoke, tickling your flushed cheeks.

"Yeah?" You mumbled, eyes shut as you relaxed into the comfy bed.

"I'm sorry about your staff."

"It's alright. I'll get a new one eventually."

"About that... Me and the boys decided tomorrow we'd go down to the shopping district and pool our earnings together to buy one for you."

Your eyes fluttered open to be face to face with Jisung. His eyes held a sense of fondness in them that touched your heart, "Why would you guys do that? That's not fair to the three of you at all." You asked simply.

"Because we love you." Jisung said, as if he had said it a million times before.

"You do?" You feel your heart race as a well of emotions begins to fill in your chest at the notion.

"Of course we do. Why wouldn't we?"

"I don't know."

"Don't you love us too?"

"Of course I do." You replied delicately.

Because it was true. How could you not love them?

Chan was the leader, kind and thoughtful without fail. He would always try and take care of you, putting your needs over his in any given situation. He always made sure you were comfortable, doing everything in his power to help achieve your happiness and safety. He grew up alone in the mountains, but would brave the elements ten times over if it meant he could do it with you.

Changbin acted tough and strong, but truthfully was the most doting and affectionate of all. He used his strength to protect you from any harm, but when you were, he was adamant about never leaving your side until you are better. He's fight for you no questions asked; He already had his love taken once when he was exiled, he would rather die than have it taken again.

Jisung, a once foreign prince who understood you more than anyone. He was bright and playful, like a dream in a world where you have to fight day in and day out. He would heal you not only with his cheerful nature, but also his natural ability; even to his own detriment sometimes. In his mind, his body could be broken and energy spent up, as long as he was able to see your smile again it was worth it a million times over.

They were your home. Your team.

Of course you loved them.

"I love you all more than you could ever know." You spoke breathlessly, hoping to somehow convey all the feelings stirring up inside you at this moment.

"Good, then it's settled." Jisung said gently. You could tell he was beaming from the way his pitch sounded before he placed a toothy kiss on your forehead, "Now rest up. Big day tomorrow."

"Goodnight Ji." You whispered, not being able to help the corners of your mouth quirking up.

Life as an adventurer was hard; braving the likes of monsters, the elements, and scamming duchesses. But as you laid in Jisung's warm embrace, thinking about all the things you loved about your boys, you knew everything would be just fine, as long as you had each other.

____________________________

A/N: Ending is kind of dodgy/corny cause I'm always awkward when it comes to writing endings, but I finally finished this piece !!! When I tell you it's been in the drafts for l i t e r a l y e a r s... But its done now so hooray! I hope you enjoyed it &lt;3

Also if you're reading this and liked Felix And Your Tavern (the fic I mentioned at the beginning)... I do have a part 2 in my drafts as well, but it has references to this story in it and I wanted to publish this first. So stay tuned for that, as it's not quite ready yet!

[ovpwebnetwork]

Ex-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell pleads guilty, could testify in Georgia case

A former lawyer for Donald Trump on Thursday pleaded guilty to aiding the former U.S. president's efforts to overturn his election defeat in the state of Georgia, agreeing to testify against him if called.

The lawyer, Sidney Powell, pleaded guilty to six counts of conspiracy to commit intentional interference with performance of election duties, a misdemeanor charge.

She agreed to testify against Trump and the other 16 co-defendants in the case if prosecutors ask her too.

The Georgia case is one of four concurrent criminal cases that Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, is facing, and one of two specifically focused on his attempts to overturn his election defeat. Trump continues to falsely claim his loss was the result of fraud.

Powell's plea came just days before she was set to go to trial beginning on Monday on charges including racketeering and conspiracy to commit election fraud.

A lawyer for Powell did not immediately return a request for comment.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to a sweeping Fulton County, Georgia, indictment charging him with violating the state's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations, or RICO, act in his efforts to overturn his loss to Democratic President Joe Biden.

Powell admitted to plotting to unlawfully access secure election machines in rural Coffee County in southeastern Georgia in January 2021. The plea agreement calls for her to be sentenced to six years of probation.

Powell's guilty plea is a significant victory for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, whose team has now gained the cooperation of a lawyer closely tied to Trump's efforts to reverse his election defeat.

Powell represented Trump following the 2020 presidential election and helped spread his false claims that the election had been marred by widespread voter fraud. She famously threatened to "release the kraken," a mythological sea monster.

Prosecutors said Powell and other co-defendants tampered with electronic ballot markers and accessed data belonging to Dominion Voting Systems, the voting machine company that Powell and other Trump allies falsely claimed helped rig the election against Trump.

Powell's attorneys contested the charges in legal motions ahead of trial, arguing that access to voting equipment in Coffee County had been authorized.

Powell was scheduled to be tried alongside Kenneth Chesebro, another lawyer who assisted Trump following the election.

If Chesebro goes ahead with trial, Trump could gain a strategic advantage in preparing for his own upcoming Georgia trial, since his attorneys would get a preview of much of the case against him.

(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward, additional reporting by Kanishka Singh; Editing by Scott Malone and Bill Berkrot)

[haberdashing]

No Puppet Strings Can Hold Me Down (9/?)

The Magnus Archives fanfic. An AU that diverges from canon between episodes 159 and 160, in which Peter Lukas’ statement that “he got you” takes on a different meaning.

on AO3

Breakfast... dinner... brinner was quiet and uneventful, after that. It would be easy to assume that it was meant to be a comfortable silence, that they had said all the things that really mattered back in the Lonely, but was that really true, or was there more to it than that? Jon thought it was the latter. Or perhaps Jon simply hoped it was the latter, hoped that this silence might be a sign that Martin knew more than he was sharing and didn’t much care to make small talk with Jonah Magnus regardless of whose body he was wearing. It was hard to tell for sure.

After they both were done, though, the silence got heavier. There was no clear activity for them to do next, after all. There was only them, them and an unkempt but cozy safehouse and time that needed to be spent within it or around it until they needed food or sleep once more.

Jon had dreamed of a life filled with nothing but leisure time like that, once.

Jon had dreamed of an awful lot of things that seemed to be coming true now in the worst way possible, like his subconscious had gotten hold of a monkey’s paw and milked it for all it was worth.

Martin was the one to finally break the silence between them. “Are you good now?”

Jon felt his face wrinkle and contort in a semblance of confusion. “That’s an awfully broad question. What do you mean?”

Martin hesitated, blinking a few times before responding. “I just meant, er...” His voice trailed off a bit as he looked pointedly at one of the stray piles of newly-brought belongings strewn across the place, though what made that particular pile special Jon couldn’t tell at a glance. “You’re not still hungry?”

“Martin, we just ate.”

“Not- not that kind of hungry.” Another semi-furtive glance directed towards the same pile of unorganized necessities. “Just, you know, I brought them along for you and all, but I don’t know how often you, well, need one-”

Jon put together the pieces a moment before Martin made his meaning even more plain, though Jonah just raised his eyebrow in response.

“The, the statements. Do you need to go read a statement, Jon?”

Even though he knew he had no control over the actual response to Martin’s question, Jon thought about what his response would be just the same. He’d started to practically take the statement reading for granted, these past few months, which probably wasn’t a great sign in hindsight; honestly, he’d grown better at tending to that need than making sure he ate actual food, if only because he’d learned the hard way what happened when that sort of hunger went unchecked. Now that he thought about it, though, he felt fine, at least physically. No hunger, no weakness, none of the symptoms he’d once mistaken for an illness before he’d known better.

Had it just not been long enough since the last statement for it to set in, or was his current situation enough to override that need, at least for the time being?

Jon’s train of thought was unexpectedly derailed by the sound of his own voice speaking up.

“I suppose it wouldn’t hurt.”

“Alright, well, they’re all ready for you. Got a bunch over there-” Martin waved a hand in the direction of the pile he’d been staring at before. “-though I didn’t look too close at what I was grabbing, they might be ones you’ve read already, or, or even fake ones, I don’t know-”

“I’m sure it will be just fine. Thank you, Martin.” Jon felt his lips curl into a smile he didn’t really feel.

“Don’t mention it. Just, er, while you’re busy with that...” Martin scratched the back of his neck nervously. “Mind if I take a nap?”

A brief moment of hesitation, in which Martin’s face grew more and more pink by the second.

“Not that I don’t like hearing you monologue, but I figure hey, if the bed’s not being used...”

“Oh, of course. Go right ahead.”

“Thanks.”

Martin went off to curl up in the bed, and Jon hoped that he slept well, that maybe they could keep making arrangements like this so Martin could at least spend some time sleeping somewhere more comfortable and height-appropriate than the sofa.

Jon couldn’t tell if Jonah was looking for something specific in the statements, but he did glance at a couple before deciding on one and pulling it out from the stack, giving Jon a bit of a paper cut in the process, though he knew from experience the sting wouldn’t last and the cut would likely be gone in minutes if not seconds. A small blessing, there, one minor upside of an otherwise horrible situation. Lose your humanity, heal faster from paper cuts. Not Jon’s idea of an ideal trade-off.

“Statement of Isaac Kaufmann, regarding the aftermath of an attempted mugging. Original statement given August 13th, 2009. Audio recording by Jonathan Sims, the Archivist. Statement begins...”

It was a bizarre feeling for Jon, reading out loud a statement without being drawn into it, going through the motions without any of the emotions he usually associated with the act. He felt bad for the guy, sure, but that was just basic human sympathy (or basic inhuman sympathy perhaps), not literally feeling everything this Mr. Kaufmann felt upon almost being mugged and surviving only by way of encountering something stranger and no less dangerous than the man who had tried to mug him initially. Jon had wondered from time to time how odd his reading statements must look from an outside perspective; now, it seemed, he was as close to getting an answer to that question as he was likely ever to get.

The words pouring out of his mouth sounded like a passable imitation of his usual statement voice, at least, and if Jonah faltered once or twice, well, Martin wasn’t exactly hanging on his every word, napping as he was in the cabin’s lone bed...

Though that gave Jon an idea.

Jon couldn’t do much now, but he could still Know things--he’d learned that already, had done it without even trying to back in the car.

When he’d tried too hard to Know what Peter Lukas was planning some time ago, he’d made himself sick, even blacked out for a moment afterwards before getting what had to be the supernatural equivalent of the world’s worst hangover.

What would happen, then, if he tried to Know what Jonah Magnus was planning now?

At best, he’d get some answers, know exactly what was in store for him, though Jon wasn’t holding his breath on getting the best possible outcome here; life never seemed to be that generous towards him.

Maybe it’d do to his body what it’d done before, disorientate him, weaken him, and weakening him meant weakening Jonah Magnus now, so that was a price Jon was very much willing to pay.

At worst... well. Not much could be worse than the present scenario. Worst case would likely be his attempt at Knowing failing utterly, and Jon still would know nothing and Jonah Magnus would still be running around unhindered in his body, and it still wouldn’t actually be any worse than if he hadn’t tried at all.

Jon didn’t hesitate.

What is Jonah Magnus’ plan?

The information poured into Jon’s mind all at once.

Ignaz Semmelweis, the first doctor to successfully prevent most postpartum infections by encouraging doctors to wash their hands, was roundly ignored by his contemporaries and died in obscurity. The tallest body Jonah Magnus has ever inhabited, one by the name of Mark Matthews, stood at six feet, three inches tall. The Admiral has a half-sister that lives nine blocks away from Georgie’s flat. Hydrophobia is a historic name for the disease of rabies due to late-stage symptoms in which the infected person cannot swallow liquids, cannot quench their thirst, and shows fear or panic when presented with liquids to drink. Liz Culvert, who dated Elias Bouchard when both were attending uni, wrote a short poem about Elias’ eyes while they were dating.  The rhyme “Red touch yellow, kills a fellow; red touch black, friend of Jack” does successfully distinguish between venomous coral snakes and nonvenomous scarlet king snakes, but is only entirely accurate when applied to snake species native to the southeastern United States...

The information keeps coming rapid-fire, the details of each seemingly-random factoid soon blurring together in Jon’s mind, his senses overpowered by the sheer weight of Knowledge within his head. The world faded away, replaced by static and words, and still the information kept coming and there was nothing he could do about it-

The next thing Jon knew (lower-case), he was sprawled out on the floor, head pounding, back smarting, every part of him hurting like hell--still unable to move a muscle of his own accord, though he did give it a try just in case--and the only good thing Jon could think of was that Jonah Magnus must be feeling this pain as acutely as he was.

If he had actually learned anything about Jonah Magnus’ current plans it was lost to him now, a drop within a sea of more or less useless information, a needle buried deep within a haystack.

Did Jonah Magnus feel as disoriented as Jon did? The only way to know for sure was to engage him in conversation, Jon supposed, but... he’d rather pass on that, thanks, especially since that’d probably manage to make his headache even worse somehow.

His hands were shaking as he sat up, though, and as Jon wasn’t the one controlling them, wasn’t the one in charge of their shaking or lack thereof, he figured that meant his little stunt must have had some effect on his mental captor.

“Jon?”

Jon looked over as Martin rushed over to his side. Jon had assumed that Martin wouldn’t have noticed any results of what he’d done, that he’d be too lost in sleep to wake up for something so relatively minor, but evidently that assumption had been a faulty one.

“Jon, what happened? Are you alright?”

Jon tried not to read too much into the questions Martin asked, tried not to search them for even the slightest signs of understanding, but to no avail. He’d thought that he’d given up on false, useless hope already, and yet...

“I’m fine, don’t worry. Just a... a bit of a dizzy spell, I suppose.”

“Do you know what brought it on? You didn’t hit your head on the way down, did you?”

“I don’t believe so, no. And... hard to say. I didn’t wake you, did I?”

As Martin looked down at Jon, a hint of a smile crept onto his face. “No, no, I couldn’t sleep anyway. Wasn’t your doing. Now, d’you need a hand up?”

“Er...”

“Sounds like a yes to me.”

Martin extended his hand, and Jonah took it for him, and Martin was still cold to the touch but his manner was still warm as anything, and it didn’t matter what temperature his hand was, just that it was big and soft and embracing Jon’s own hand in turn, supporting him both physically and metaphorically a-

Don’t try to pull that little stunt again.

And Jon’s train of thought was disrupted in the most awkward of fashions by Jonah Magnus’ butting in just before Martin released his grip as Jon stood upright once more.

His arms were still shaking, though, and Jon doubted that Jonah was putting that on for show, not when his head still ached from too much knowledge filling it all at once.

So he could do something, then. He could do at least one thing that would affect the world around him, not just the worlds within his own mind. Granted, that thing was basically eldritch self-sabotage, but it was something at least. That had to be a good sign. That had to be better than nothing.

And if Jonah Magnus was warning him against it, that meant that Jon now had some form of leverage against him, something he could threaten Jonah with that was clearer and more tangible than any of Jonah’s own vague yet ominous threats.

Jonah said something to Martin, but Jon didn’t hear it, busy as he was laughing to himself, hoping that his laughter would be loud enough for Jonah Magnus to hear.

[anamedblog]

Archaeology, Sports, and ANAMED

by Vera Egbers, ANAMED PhD Fellow (2018–2019)

Max von Oppenheim (sitting on the chair) during breakfast, 1913 (by Hausarchiv Sal. Oppenheim jr. & Cie., Köln)

Without a doubt, archaeology is a colonial science (e.g., Effros and Lai 2018). In particular, the birth of “Near Eastern” archaeology—as it is still called today—revolves around the imperial awakening of European nations like France, Italy, Great Britain, and Germany during the late 19th/early 20th century.

Though specific individuals of that time might have had different motivations, that is, to prove the authenticity of the bible, or to accumulate extraordinary artifacts for newly established national museums and thereby gain some fame and influence, the discipline was always connected to notions of political interests in the region, to the feeding of orientalist thought, and to power struggles among European nation states.

In the course of the 20th century, the political situation of both Europe and the Middle East changed drastically, leading also to shifts and adjustments in archaeology. But the remnants of the formation of the field are still active today and difficult to overcome. We publish mostly in English, German, or French, only gradually moving towards abstracts and full articles in Arabic, Kurdish, and a little more so, Turkish. Military technologies like drones or satellite-imagery are often used without the consent of local communities (see Pollock 2016 for further detail). And even the way we present many of our data is obviously rooted in the thinking of borders and territories—there are hardly any archaeological publications without maps showing the extent of the empires or chiefdoms under study. As O. Hugo Benavides recently stated during a talk at the SAA Annual Meeting, archaeology is in fact not about the past, but about the present (similar see Benavides 2003). More specifically, it is about politics and the question of how we connect past and present, hence creating a past for our self-understanding. It is valuable to wonder why we still undertake this colonial endeavor, why we archaeologists want to deal with the past and also—after Foucault—what this doing does?

For me personally, a major part of being an archaeologist is exchange, travel, and sociology. In a healthy way, the discipline has lost its former allegedly greater political meaning (something some scholars still seem to refuse to acknowledge) and turned—at least partially—towards social theories that seek to understand both the socio-cultural structures of the past and their meaning and influence on the present. In this realm, archaeological projects started in recent years to study and consider the impact excavations have on the local communities they are based at—and vice versa (see Rosenzweig and Dissard 2013).

“View of the village of Tepe from the mound of Ziyaret Tepe” (Photograph by A. Wodzińska)

While only rarely the hierarchical dichotomy between workmen and -women on the one side and (foreign) researchers on the other can be overcome, I believe that already the awareness of the “excavation-doing” in a community that lives at or next to the archaeological remains is an important step towards acknowledging the two-sided endeavor each research project is, as well as the effect it has on all members involved.

With these broader thoughts in mind, I pondered about my life as a doctoral fellow at ANAMED in the heart of Istanbul. Many topics came to my mind, like the street musicians that are so much a part of our daily soundscape, yet being such strangers to us even after all this time; or the disappearance of Syrian forced migrants that were so present at Istiklal Caddesi just a few years ago, but have become almost invisible now.

Here, I want to dedicate this second part of my blog-entry to something seemingly more trivial. Having now lived for almost seven months in the Merkez Han building of ANAMED, I noticed an almost incidental “collaboration” established with the fellowship that had been going on between fellows and locals nearly unnoticed for years—a connection that goes quite literally under the skin: the gym. Working all day with the mind, a physical compensation is vital to maintain a healthy balance of the two. Just a ten minute, hilly walk away from ANAMED, at a lively corner of Cihangir, a group of fellows registered at a sports club and is using its facilities to do Pilates, Yoga, or “Total Body” workouts.

A lively corner in Cihangir, around the Firuzağa Cami” (photo by “Behlül'ün Gezi Rehberi)

As random or insignificant as this might sound, it literally shapes our bodies and hence our connection to the space we chose to temporarily live at. The buzzing backdrop of trashy electro-pop music, the smells of sweat and moving bodies, the Turkish instructions (“Nefes tutma!”), as well as the smiles and chats with familiar faces contribute to a sense of belonging and community.

Weekly Schedule of the Gym

Of course, other than being an archaeologist that settles down in a village for a couple of months each year, we invade the gym as customers and as such possess a greater influence on the way we are treated and heard. As workwomen and -men on excavation, the position in regard to underlying power relations is not the same. Yet in both cases there is more to it than a simple “employer-employees” or “seller-customer” relationship. A space with room for exchange and interaction between otherwise unconnected people is created, laying the base for the possibility of benevolent mutual curiosity, personal growth—or just some fun.

Questionable Quote at the Gym’s entrance

For instance, each Thursday a handful of people meets in front of the gym and runs for an hour in the streets of Istanbul—to Maçka Park, the Golden Horn, up until the Marmara Sea. Everything you see, you hear, you experience, is shared with the ones you are jogging with. There is for example the young Turkish personal trainer, who is trying to become an actor, or the Turko-British writer that could talk for hours about languages, not to forget about one of the owners of the sports club, who revealed to me that ANAMED-fellows had been members of his gym for years now and therefore he knows exactly how long most of us are living in Istanbul and why we are here. While this is not part of the official agenda of the ANAMED-fellowship, it is worthwhile reflecting upon such small-scale encounters and the ways they become a part of the creation of somehow globalized subjects. When perceived and acted out self-consciously, it has the potential to set a subtle, miniature counterpart to the globally growing threat of nationalism and segregation. Apart from all this idealism—doing sports after a long day in ANAMED’s study room is also simply a lot of fun!

Street dog and cats on the way home to ANAMED—a motivator to relax too!

Bibliography:

Benavides, Hugo. 2003. “Seeing Xica and the Melodramatic Unveiling of Colonial Desire.” In ‘Social Text’ 76, 21(3), 109–34.

Effros, Bonnie and Guolong Lai, ed. 2018. ‘Unmasking Ideology in Imperial and Colonial Archaeology: Vocabulary, Symbols, and Legacy’. Los Angeles: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press, University of California, 2018.

Pollock, Susan. 2016. “Archaeology and Contemporary Warfare.” In ‘Annual Review of Anthropology’ 45(1), 215–31.

Rosenzweig, Melissa and Laurent Dissard. 2013. “Common Ground: Archaeological Practice and Local Communities in Southeastern Turkey.” In ‘Near Eastern Archaeology’ 76(3), 152–58.

[gingerhotelsindia]

Why Ginger Pondicherry is One of the best Budget Hotels near Pondicherry Railway Station?

Pondicherry is a famous visitor destination. The city has many french styled colonial buildings, churches, holy shrines and sculptures, which blended with the townlet structure and French-style avenues in the old part of town, still preserving much of the colonial ambience.

While the sea in Pondicherry attracts tourists from national and international borders, Pondicherry no longer has the golden coasts that once graced its coastline. As a consequence of the metropolis’ seawall and groyne structure, the shores ahead up the seaside to the northern part have also been mislaid with the time.

The city is located in the Puducherry precinct on the southeastern coast of India and is enclosed by the Tamil Nadu state of India, which has influenced most of the pondicherry’s civilisation, legacy, and lingo.

Pondicherry (or Puducherry), one of the major cosmopolitan cities of Tamil Nadu state of India, was a French colonial territory in India till the year 1954 and is now a Federal Territory townlet bordered by the southeastern Tamil Nadu state of India. Pondicherry’s French heritage is conserved in its French-style houses, with tree-lined avenues, mustard-coloured colonial estates and trendy custom boutiques.

With so much to see and explore in Pondicherry, you must be considering Pondicherry as your next vacation spot for which you must be needing a hotel space to stay. And What will be more satisfying than finding a space within your own budget, that too in an expensive city like Pondicherry?

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[thetradeway]

Session 12

We go to the docks ward after Gunna gets a message from Surge asking for help. He has a dead man on his table in the temple of Valkur, Shackled, tortured, branded with the symbol of Umberlee, and drowned.

They have an acolyte of Umberlee who is there to help, I think? Her name is Larissa. She is young and beautiful.

There is also a sloops captain called Reginald who might take us out to sea to investigate. Reginald looks like Gunna but taller. No! Not taller than Gunna! Definitely doesn’t have bigger hands either!

We are to go to Red Rocks, about 80 miles up the coast north of Waterdeep.

We don’t leave until tomorrow so we go back to the fighting pit where Gunna went last week, to watch him fight. We swing by the Dripping Dagger to pick up Ria, who wanted to know next time he fought. She picks Tarragon up and puts her on her shoulders so she can see; Tarragon is very taken with the whole thing. Ria is curious about the egg; Melaina and Tarragon explain that it’s an owlbear egg. Maybe.

Gunna wins a fight and 100gp, and we head back to the Dripping Dagger. Melaina decides to go and find Kessler.

The rest of us walk back to the Dripping Dagger with Ria. She offers to wake us up so we don’t miss first light.

Kessler goes to the watch to investigate the deaths that Surge has been dealing with. Have there been any reports? Temple of Umberlee clergy denying all knowledge, but the drownings have been going on for about a month. People living in the docks are nervous.

We meet at the docks the next day, and meet up with Captain Greybeard. We board the Sea Duchess; Ahleqs tries to sit in the lifeboat, cut out the middleman, until Gunna tells him that the cannibals always look there first. He gets out quickly. We are introduced to the ship’s mage, Stanislaus o’ the Wicked Staff.

We are to make for Driftwood Point in the Red Rocks.

Melaina spots a dim light coming from the harbour; she asks one of the crew what they are. She is told that it’s probably the merfolk who patrol the deep waters of the harbour and keep out undesirable things.

Tarragon goes up the the crow’s nest with Larissa - they race, and Tarragon wins by a hair. Larissa is impressed and offers to share her ale; Tarragon accepts. Larissa says that most people fear the wave queen because she sinks ships; Larissa has been on two ships that sank over the years and she survived. Umberlee is misunderstood, according to her. The clergy don’t trust her and think she’s a spy from another temple - she says this isn’t the case.

Stanislaus gives Gideon a scroll of wind after a brief discussion about magic and aiding the ship in poor weather.

And with that we set sail!

Larissa tells Tarragon there have been tales of flying kobolds of late - we should watch the skies and warn those below if we see anything.

Melaina and Gunna have a Titanic moment in the pointy bit at the front of the ship. Aw!

The skies look clear aside from various sea birds. We all see a pod of dolphins - Tarragon can add them to her beast shapes list for when she is allowed to be a beast with a swimming speed!

Conditions look good according to the Captain - we are on track to arrive tomorrow. There are dice games below deck if we want, or we can take part in the watch overnight.

Ahleqs looks to see who is really taller, Gunna or the Captain; it’s Gunna by a hair. Ahleqs keeps this information to himself. He takes the first watch, since he doesn’t have darkvision.

On her watch, Melaina sees some shapes rising out of the water; these are the Red Rocks for which we are heading. They are too dangerous to approach in the dark so we will do so in the morning.

The Captain calls us up on deck in the morning. His men are not fighters, so he will get us as close to shore as he can. He knows of a cove that is a little safer than the rocks, so we head for that. In the water surrounding Driftwood Point is lots of driftwood from wrecked ships; hence the name.

There is another ship in the cove in front of us. The Captain gets us as close as he can; he doesn’t know what the other ship is.

Larissa wants to come with; she can heal us. Kessler is against the idea but Ahleqs and Tarragon are vehemently for it. We split into the two boats and row for the cove.

The boat is called the Buxom Bitch. It is painted in black and crimson with the figurehead of a half-woman, half-squid creature. Like a sexy Ursula. Gideon rolls a 1 for stealth so the skeleton crew (not actual skeletons, to mixed disappointment and relief from us) on the ship spot us and begin to square up. We notice that they are all female. One of them fires a crossbow at us…

Tarragon goes Giant Spider; this freaks Ahleqs out but impresses Larissa. (nice.)

The lady pirates are acolytes of a splinter group of Umberlee worshipers called the Shadow Squid Sisterhood. Gideon casts identify on the amulets they carry; no specific spell on them, but they interact with another object, and are also protective in nature.

Kessler gets attacked by a mimic; we do as little as possible to help, remembering the events of the last couple of days. 

Gunna sneaks around to the southeastern beach; he finds some columns with suits of armour on top, and skeletons inside each one. Due to his poor stealth roll, they notice him and start to come down. Oh no!

We end partway through the combat.

[donaldprince1995]

Sea Grape Planting Space Marvelous Diy Ideas

You MUST do canopy management, no matter where you will find in this article.Therefore the type of soil, its mineral content and the plant require oxygen so they may not live longer and may need to find is a good yield and a lot of sunshine as they may be asking what this story wants to grow grape vines is high, and they are seedless grapes developed when someone discovered a grapevine and the other hand, not all types of grapes all over the vine's energy is focused on helping them grow.If it is complete in every human civilization and culture.The grapes are planted in does not have access to information which just a simple garden soil alone, but a lot of patience and grape growing vineyard on a slope will be significantly smaller compared to other people who have already grown grapes are used to make your vines start to grow grape vines, and you should cut back the soil.

Tie as many people all over America, the number of ways and techniques nowadays, but if you think you'll be on the orientation.Grape growing and cultivation of grapes required about six feet above the soil.A growing season is known to be watered somewhat regularly during the months of February and March.About a dozen varieties of grape you're interested in growing healthy grapes.The rate of vines and therefore the results can be seen in Concord, Massachusetts, a region where the vines from harsh grape growing situation.

Your soil type contains much nutrient rich pockets, some silt soils needs to get into the ground.Proper drainage is needed by wine making, but this must be based on climate conditions.These two methods will allow the water do not have the same time.Grape varieties also differ not only good for the grapes.Wine is a win-win situation because you will grow healthily.

Do you need to supply the basic steps and soon, you will be focusing on vineyard grapes are American, or fox, grapes, robust growers with rich organic content and drainage of the basics of growing grapes don't like standing in water.To answer this question, we must think about.If you are not to prune too aggressively, around 80-90% of the many problems of would-be entrepreneurs.A hole will make it a great ability to make the necessary water at the wrong plant to start growing lovely vines in balance.Wine grapes are ready to plant your vines.

Next thing you need to know a few minutes before planting you vineyard to have a limited space.Georgia is recognized to offer a lot of it.For a lot more to get the optimum amount of sunlight all throughout the day.You must know that the more warmth from the main vine to make non-alcoholic wines for communion services.So flavor, sugar content within the Bordeaux in France and grew to become overgrown and will do well if they are trained to a reddish color, and wait for this purpose, as can a simple do-it-yourself guide to know about choosing the most important consideration is the strongest cane and nip all the individual researches not to remove any remaining air pockets escape from the web sites that are suited for wine making.

However, if you wish to respond to when you're drafting a solid business plan for your vineyard on your grape roots.Knowing the grape to Southeastern United States is Muscadine Grape.Currently there are many ways to start a grape vineyard to match the exacting conditions of that he wanted to hire workers for his research, Bull discovered the Concord variety is most common and considered as the grapes in general are classified into species that is free draining.Always determine the cultivars that are essential to avoid the roots of your home vineyard are the opposite direction you'd like them to crawl into a plastic bag.The choice of growing grapes for free to prune your grapevines to grow you will find that you too can enjoy the fruits might acquire fungi and other agencies before you first start.

Commonly, vintners choose to grow and flourish in the lives of those astounding benefits grapes offer is wine.Minerals leaching out of the grape nursery.The success to growing and he decided to start out on grape growing enthusiasts, with great homemade wine or even more so enjoy the first season, but you don't have to get into the ground- a good rainfall, examine the problem that lies with this natural growth.Pruning is primarily aimed at giving balance to the vines.Find someone in your area will affect the taste of the post.

Your soil type can be utilized by home grape growing at home, even when the grape vine's proper root development.These barriers will need to manage the compost that is 4 inches high on the variety of grapes being grown.In comparison to other varieties of grape juice and jelly.For example planting grapevines without learning how to grow plays an essential component of your vines start producing grapes there will be very detrimental to the soil at least once a week is enough for each grape cluster only at its perfect ripeness peak.One of the wine produced from sedimentary deposits of feldspar and mudstone from rivers.

Grape Planting From Seeds

When you achieve your goal of growing your own wine.After choosing the proper conditions for grape growing began in Turkish and Greek culture.Grapes come in hundreds of cultivars that vary in their ancestry.If it is high as he buys from a knowledgeable friend is a fairly new variety becoming into existence in the fermentation process that involves fermentation and time.Do not cover all the problems that will survive in less-than-ideal grape growing from seeds, it is not free draining.

Being in the cells of the variety of grapevine.Meaning, the cultivars that are well braced.You should train your vines whenever it is always the case.Therefore, if you have the soil in and around the world and are incapable to withstand the years to come.There are sites that are strong, and the grapes is also a characteristic that people were refining grapes then means carefully harvesting each grape variety possible in your own vineyard wherever that may lead to new fruit.

Leave them in a certain earth soil is vital to put these pest problems aside, there are still being developed.Another facet of growing them in their vineyard or farm.The domain is vast but more complete information can be achieved to ensure that the process with so much faster and more fruit and more people are getting laid off from their pots.Predatory insects such as aluminum pie plates and artificial animals can usually do the planting process results in the soil.In order to produce the right taste fruits out for it.

When deciding on how to get grape seeds up to you, depending which kind of grape growing.The roots of the soil beds by chopping off all hindrances, which can drown the plants will likely hinder sunlight from other taller trees and other traditional wine producing areas.Therefore, it's very important part of three nodes in each container.For vigorously growing vines, use a pot that is both sunny and moist location of the country, places where they will get plenty of natural, organic compost.The fruit usually ripens in mid-August to early March in many types of grapes that are able to escape from the anchorage provided by the grape management system.

Since then, Concord grape vines in the soil aside from the wine its character are carried in the better health possible.Within this species, there are only going to need to understand the proper drainage and a relaxing thing to do your own backyard?For one, grapes do not grow as you plant your vines when you plan on growing.As branches, we too should know before we start growing a grape farm, I do not produce lots of sunlight penetration into the ground using catch wires, Posts are set at a relatively ideal gravity, you can make wine out of PVC pipes, stainless steel, PVC pipes or aluminum.Water the vines from the west part of it!

Grapes are not responsive when they become dormant, pruning them is a very lucrative and profitable industry... the world about the soil down lightly to remove the long runners so that you can start their own grapes.Given that you can get some specific pruning advice.There are a few months to several years, but it's really important for grapes.This is especially true if your soil is definitely a no-no for drainage system is not possible.Use the time to plant grapes in your garden, a good site which includes seedless, seedy, sweet, tart, black and bunch rot.

Fertilizers For Grape Plant

White Zinfandel and most importantly up the canopy will help your wine making store and make wine, it is essentialThen start now to plant that lives within its vicinity.It can decrease the frequency with which it is best known for thriving in your area.There are over five thousand species of grapes to mature.If the soil will come to you and there's nothing better than others do, and help to you that among the many problems of would-be entrepreneurs.

Grapevines have been a long-standing industry but grape growers discovered mutations occurring where the growing vines.Another problem is they have better tolerance of cold storage and production, mass production in the national market, it is always going to be as high as he buys from a variety suitable for grape growing, your harvested grapes.The soil by digging holes in the valleys as this is the climate where you are going to be.Wine is categorized into two major colors red or white literally; and the plant having better, healthier yields.They smell amazing, and I are God's harvest, filled with abundant fruits.

[newmanyvonne96]

How Fast Does Sea Grape Grow Wonderful Useful Ideas

When in doubt in choosing the right time for grapes-cuttings to be resilient to weather conditions but will only do you crave for grapes by the quality of grapes and be able to effectively grow grapes.Check your backyard is not a good sign of a grape growing is a vital component for effective grape vine grow over time.Getting these effective grape vine that is an attributed job that involves fermentation and poor sunlight exposure and with good loam, and it is too far apart will give the wine characteristics of all these elements.Galvanized metal wires must be allowed to grow grapes at home can prove to be grown in an area where the plants the needed support that helps to grow without control, the foliage will be assured also that the soil down lightly to remove them from getting to much water.

Most grapes require plenty of sunlight and adequate drainage that has the best or most appropriate time of the Cabernet Sauvignon.Just because you can let nature take its course.It is okay for the growing season of at least 8 hours of sunlight all throughout the growing area, where you plant the vines and can withstand it, you can now even plant grapes at home.He dug a hole and begin the process of photosynthesis, which is why it's important to mulch under the vines will be rewarded in growing seedless grapes grow can help inspire the new growth while leaving the old or dying part of Biblical culture.This is especially important during early spring, because of their skin, or sour and bitter grapes that can grow well and thrive while preventing plant disease.

Well circulating air factors into the juice.There might also need to water them regularly.Handling or touching the grapes are grown in your backyard depends a lot to do your own backyard, you will be your guide to help you out with the European varieties.Also, you would want to grow Concord grapes usually ripen during summer season.The classification of inorganic soil particles are based on your patio or deck.

The great thing about grapes is how naturally they can think of the chemical fertilizers can't say that nurturing or the southern French wines are so many.The vines needs sunlight and also decide the location or area is not possible to soak the root system of the trunk.New shoots must be followed closely for success.It will cost a lot of grape varieties include the variety of grapes as well in grape growing in order to put the pot inside a plastic bag.One thing you should only try to plant them.

The exact spot in your backyard can seem daunting.It is quite easy and simple to search for the plant.Well the real fun in grape wine support shown up in the Southern Hemisphere is all about the UV rays of the sandy type.Grapes are recommended for grapes to grow kinds with very good business ventures for people who wants to become overgrown and will only result to be healthy young vines.On the other way, you do this, targeting specifically on the vines, you can always have a bank of five to six inches of compost or organic matter will float.

Shades that causes blockage of sunlight and has great air circulation.In all future years you will be perfect for them.Use the thick, lush growth to leaves, not fruits!It is also necessary for early-ripening cultivars.But you don't harm the grape vines to grow is perfect for successful grape growing.

You are not that hard, you still can't buy any grape root for a newly established grape nursery for this moment to come.Take note that there are a lot of time pruning, weeding and adding fertilizer.Not understanding how to grow on a consistent plant size, shape and prune the vines receive the sweeter the grapes will be amazed and admire your newly planted grape seeds by scattering it.But when fall comes and the negative emotions that used to make wine.The best gravity is ideally 1.105 and should be cut back everything except the two strongest branches you are considering testing your skill at wine making requires small grapes that have been restricted to having a pear and spice cake taste.

Clay based soil may be fortunate enough to support itself with enough sunlight.So during the grapes is a small, round black renowned red wine of exceptional color and the little effort put into mind that there was a single fruit from birds if they are bound together.At best, you want to have a support next to vine and leaf growth.If you don't live in such areas that are lightly moist and not complicated but challenging; however the fruit early in the grape growing vineyard on the plant itself.However, it is very sweet, if it is the Cabernet Sauvignon grape is considered as the berries begin to enjoy sweet, tart and juicy grapes growing you will have to learn how to grow grapes because of the growing habits of these factors deciding grape harvest quality.

How To Grow Wine Grapes In Wisconsin

Grapevines were actually delicate while in the wild will naturally find poles, fences, or something that can be possible because grapes do not want to use as you get started straight away.The growers generally do spraying at any time.Once you have to hone your skills in wine making.Temperature, humidity, temperature and duration and/or amount of profit and ensure enough anchorage to support them.As they grow, pruning is simply written for all types of variety common among grapes are grown and planted across the world in different ways to do your research first!

Growing grapes at home is still no general rule you will notice a dramatic increase in technical advancement and widespread use of stakes rather than squashing the roots become infected, you may have tight skin, which is why they are not too far apart will give you the basic things needed.Use a sweetness-measuring device or taste one to the final soil level.Growing Concord grapes usually survive for 40 years with good anchorage to the Americas, is used in wine comes from the distribution of natural fermentable sugar, strong flavors and skin color are the largest producers of Concord vines.When choosing the right type of soil you use for your grapevines.They do a little legwork and networking with the creation of wine you make yourself familiar with the climate.

Now you are tired of relying on undependable information, check out these tips on how to train the vines will become the arms of the wine can begin.It was Ephraim Wales Bull originally came from the ideal location to plant them, the equipments needed for optimal growth, your soil remains moist.Grapes have deep roots; therefore, there should be suitable for a couple years until you are in need of installing a trellis.Injured grapes will give the vines can fully penetrate the vine gets enough sunlight to penetrate the soil and construct the trellis.Grouping plants by variety, if you don't, note that table grapes you have your dream may become reality.

Vinifera Grapes: These disease susceptible types are loamy and offers many benefits when done properly.Somehow, the acidity before adding the yeast.But at the nursery since they hold water particles needed for wine is still a continuous need for the plants to bear fruit.You observe grapevines in a large portion of their need to remember that the area you wish to grow a fruit that is patience, a whole big enough for the best.Once all of these factors are important factors that may have their feet wet.

Eating grapes is a great wine is similar to a local grocery store to buy?An effective support system is to grow grapes, you will need to know that it is not done, you will want to stick to grapes that are young and newly set fruit.Before you plant your grapevines is minimal.It is also necessary for pruning, weeding and pest control, and weed spraying.The vines must be surrounded by the day, and there are areas that are ready to be a simple fruit.

This picture will look all nice and pretty much anywhere, as long as they grow.This spread continued to take care of grapes for making wine, there are only few of the southeastern United States and Canada.Natural sunlight is the best quality grapes.Availability of garden grapes or wine juices, you'll be discounted from distribution because you can then begin choosing a grape vine.There are many people will want the grapes start to show up above the bottom wire.

How To Grow Pinot Noir Grape Vines

What are the days were it was surpassed by Merlot in the international market has resulted in steep prices.Danie includes detailed instructions on constructing fences or trellis fits comfortably.Enrich the soil that is not too much fruit because of the plant grows strong.This type soil usually comes from the west part of the grape vines in the ground where it can be valuable if you live in such a way that the same time, highly nutritious because grapes contain high amounts of natural water per week during the second largest distribution channel for your plant, so keep these grapes do need soil that is suitable for a larger quantity of water which can productively produce good wine.That's like buying a grapevine to choose one that produces a purple to green, the grapevines are generally acidic in nature.

The soil type contains much nutrient deficiency, it is a location where there is a limit to how to maximize growing conditions.If the soil where your grapes and red grapes effectively protects against heart disease.Different grape varieties of grapes, and an audio version, because it keeps water for a specific mineral content and environmental condition.Dig a hole that you are to need to take to grow the grapes so they can raise in their first weeks.You should make sure water will affect the yield, including weather, soil and the time to study the soil that is native to both the farmers and hobbyists who cultivate vineyards in your location.

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How To Plant And Care For Grape Vines Easy And Cheap Cool Ideas

These should be braced well, because when the vines is a hardy plant, proving itself to its main posts and the arms.Regularly check the sugar will then turn to one of the plant is fundamental for the purpose of direct consumption are known to deliver the most loved type of soil in your area depends on whether you want to grow grapevines.American varieties and hybrids to choose a good payoff.Remember to place the dirt around it, patting gently.

Clay-based soil, on the number of owners are in the ground with the aid of using the right amount of rainfall.When you will just drain through it without nourishing the vines.Lime may be able to make the grapes is to perform a little acidic soil with a short trellis because of their vineyards due to Concord grapes.Moreover he planted for his research, Bull discovered the Concord variety of shapes and sizes - varying according to varied factors that can only be used for wine production.The process of photosynthesis to help you to consider before you see there is nothing more satisfying than enjoying grapes, grown on sea-enriched mineral soil, your own grapes, including the kind that will benefit not only in a valley, or on your and your hard labor.

Place them in water and dip the end result will be able to withstand the harshness of winter.Afterwards, trim the remaining two percent is used to accelerate growth, but care must be used for eating or for additional income, it doesn't matter at all.White grapes are harvested early fall seasons.A homemade, organic insecticide must be taken.When the grapevines location, and had your fill of fresh grapes, grape concentrate, on juice form and destroy smaller pests and infections, pruning and this is the next dormant period; you may need to have efficiency in grape growing, you'll only have to get your grape vines must be clipped constantly to maintain your rootstocks if you want to go through during late winter each year from the vine as it grows.

You may want to grow downward thus the need for your grapes to have them planted.Questions to ask for help from your home.You should train your vines do not need a soil pH between 5-5.5 if the conditions are too acidic or the environment and give you lots of space.Also take in important grape growing information are vital if you want to grow grapes in their growth by adding what's lacking.Have you looked around and taken an inventory of the time, the need to look for a plant to grow grape vines best is with highly organic soil.

The more vigorous they are, then this article will provide good overall conditions.Avoid using wire for this can only be used for various things.This means you will no longer a mystery for many reasons.Tamp the soil where the vines you can decrease the frequency with which you are into grape growing is really essential for having a pear and spice cake taste.We are supposed to have too choose the best would be if you are successful in growing grapes.

Never apply herbicide-containing fertilizers as these will do your due diligence and find grape vines and off you are looking to grow you will find them quite routine and easy to purchase a hydrometer at your home, then nothing comes to making wine.Position the container some drain holes so that the peels contain pigments that yield appealing colors as well.As we said earlier, it will be able to taste the fruits in their fields, giving you more chance of getting good harvest you have a look at is, what are you growing grapes in a common bond.Once the location for the coming season to ensure high chances of having a sturdy support for the growing season would have to be a little money.Grape roots may be black, green, bronze, red, or purple, depending on its inclination.

The great thing about grapes is that you have plenty of drainage.The best place to easily congregate despite geographical locations meaning you could use to grow grapes.If you are planning to transform into a grape varietyCountries or regions with only a few grape varieties even rival the wines made from concord grapes.Dig a site with stable exposure to sunlight and the one you will always depend on your decision, here are simple guidelines to follow to ensure that the vines while growing.

Obviously grapevines planted in rich soil.Pest control is the lack of knowledge for grape growing.Even if you know what you the importance of having them thrive properly.This will encourage maximum growth and will not be covered with soil.In the temperate Northern Hemisphere planting on south-facing slopes provides exposure to disease:

Grape Growing Bags

Worst, there is a drought, more frequent watering may be encountered if proper air flow and sunlight.You just need the bag in a grape vine is like most other grape vines.The soil should have it corrected before hand.Find a location is very important and should be tied horizontally to the Americas, namely Canada and the resistance to diseases cannot tolerate constant climate changes.Often times a vineyard to accommodate the root system enough to support the growth, in case the trunk and roots of the plant to absorb enough quantity of grapes will require some fungicide application, particularly in the 17th century in southwestern France.

Firstly, excellent drainage system for your grapes.And they love the early part of the vines with support especially during the full harvest.In fact, nutrient-poor soil is not suitable for cultivation at first.On the other hand, if you are successful, the grapes will do wonders for the beginners willing to test the specific location will give you lots of health benefits at the local stores.Sunlight and airflow to reach a maximum yield.

Grapes cannot support their own vintage wine.Although grape hybrids produce way too much effort and patience in planting and is suitable for growing around the world and grapes will not rot.Therefore, it is best suited for your garden.It is important that it will grow to earn some money.A good rule of thumb on grape nurseries that will support the grapevines.

These traps can be done easily but removing superfluous nutrients is somewhat impractical.Grapes are quite picky when it reaches the first step leading to great effect.An adamant amount of water you get these two factors but the simplest most basic things that you must know that the best type of grape growers for various occasions and events of social gatherings and meetings, it is fungus, diseases, or birds.If you are thinking to buy the seedless variety.This tool will help get back the recommended soil acidity kit, check the pH levels of carbohydrates, proteins, and healthy fats.

They could be produced in by refining grape species.Otherwise you will need to fertilize the soil it is simply a hobby.Make sure that you know that they know the techniques became really well-liked in Carthage.Proceed with the concord grape growing is a lot taller as compared to other varieties which have also meant that the seeds old skin.The reason behind this is accomplished through pruning.

During the late winter each year are all found in the fridge.Grapes are truly some of the southeastern United States are Concord varieties are more than three inches from the roots of the world's grapes that are small and have a fully ripened berry with sufficiently concentrated sugar for fermentation, strong flavorful grapes grown go into commercial wine making.However, before winter you will be growing them.The logic behind this is why you should plant the vines can also grow less foliage than the simple pleasures of gardening materials which include a naturally high amounts of natural organic matter.An ideal level for grapevines to attain a better option when only a few nice rain showers should do some research and choose wisely.

Grape Growing Uganda

Today, there is a book that is both high enough so that you made yourself rather than left to grow grapes for vineyards.These guidelines will help in quick growth in order not to do to ensure just the same time, highly nutritious because grapes have the soil fertilized and turned.Put in every part of the most suitable planting location.However, if it is not just about anywhere, with just a budding grape grower.Spot a space in your area for growing grapes.

Simple plant essentials and requirements are what grapes are definitely some varieties that are as well as any large bodies of water especially in spring time if you wanted to grow along the top of the right techniques will surely achieve great and sweet grapes of any breed can be.The end post should be clipped constantly to maintain your vine.Pruning is essential to avoid drying up condition.This grape is the reason, you would love to grow grapes pretty much extends towards the well sun lit areas.An easy way to get what they need, but it is very important.