#would be such good explanation for all the x-men or fantastic 4 to appear

[leblogreblog]

ok, but imagine a post/mid-credits scene:

We see a dark door to Bucky's apartment from the inside, then hear rattling. Bucky opens the door while on the phone with Sam, ranting about what happened during the movie.

Then, he notices that there's faint light in one of his rooms, abruptly stopping the conversation and saying he'll call back. He cauciously walks up to the room as silently as he can, pulling out some kind of weapon in the meantime. He takes a steading breath and walks in.

Near a lightstand sits a man, one Bucky knows all too well, reading one of his books, his coat folded nearby. He doesn't look at Bucky but acknowledges him, greeting him.

Then he starts to talk.

He talks about power, how it corrupts absolutely. He talks about irony, how somones impulsive want can become their only purpose, the thing that was supposed to kill them the only value keeping them alive. He talks about a mission he was sent for, how it obviously is something he wasn't supposed to return from alive. He says that they can call it paying back for his help from last time, to make them even.

Bucky only raises his eyebrow, visibly unimpressed that so little info was supposed to convince him to do anything, especially for him. He asks for more details.

The man looks at him for a moment in silence, then closes the book he was reading.

"Say James," says Zemo, tilting his head, "What do you know about Latveria?"

[traincat]

I’ve been trying to piece together a few things from your Twitter and Tumblr posts alike and still can’t make heads or tales of things, so would you mind helping out a FF & spideytorch noob? 1) what is currently happening with Johnny in the comics? (I’ve fallen head over heels for this guy, largely all your doing) 2) when’s the last time he and Peter have interacted, canon wise? (And do you think upcoming interactions are likely?) 3) your thoughts on if they’ll have him come out in the near future? (has that ‘biggest change to the fantastic four’ teaser come to pass yet?) Love all your content, thank you!

I'd say no problem but then I started thinking about this current run again and got a headache. But yes, I can do that to save you from reading it, because it is very largely not good.

So I don't think it's unfair to just flat out say the current Fantastic Four run is not very good, largely due to writer Dan Slott's efforts. Slott was previously on Amazing Spider-Man for 10 years, to mixed opinions, but a large portion of Spider-Man fandom, myself included, blames him near singlehandedly for the decline in quality of Spider-Man books over those ten years. I will say, in the interest of fairness, that Slott as a writer has an incredible fondness for the Spider-Man/Human Torch relationship, and that a lot of the recent teamups and interactions between them have been written or co-written by him. So it's all not all negative here. But in general, I personally find Slott's more recent comics (the last seven-ish years especially) to be badly plotted out, messily characterized disasters that feature characters written with all the emotion of a cardboard cutout. That's me putting it nicely.

To explain this fully, you have to understand the position Fantastic Four comics were in from the years 2015 through 2018, both in the fictional 616 universe and in the real publishing world. Following the 2015 Secret Wars event (great if you want some Johnny angst in the background of your plot), the Fantastic Four were disbanded -- Reed, Sue, and their many biological and found family children were presumed dead but in reality were remaking the multiverse, unable, for a reason that was never clearly defined, to reach home. Ben and Johnny were left on Earth. They had an unspecified falling out, likely due to Reed and Sue's absence, and went their separate ways -- Ben joined the Guardians of the Galaxy and went to space. Johnny was featured on both Inhumans and Avengers books. What's notable about this period is that it's the first time since 1961 that there was no Fantastic Four book being published by Marvel. Now the real world reason behind this is both complicated and extremely petty: Marvel really wanted the Fantastic Four film rights. Marvel denied this explanation at the time, stating that the reason was sales motivated, but it was a thoroughly flimsy excuse and Jonathan Hickman, writer of 2015's Secret Wars and overseer of the current X-Men plot, gave an interview saying the decision was film rights motivated. This decision kept the Fantastic Four books off the shelves for three years, up until the Disney-Fox merger, which secured the X-Men and Fantastic Four rights for Disney's Marvel Studios. Marvel then announced that the Fantastic Four book would be returning. So that's a little bit of background as to the precarious place the Fantastic Four currently occupy in the Marvel universe -- it's worth noting that this year is their 60th anniversary, and Marvel has done very little for it. Compare this to the X-Men, whose film rights Marvel also obtained during the Disney-Fox merger, and whose books are currently dominating the publishing lineup. The Fantastic Four definitely occupy an unpopular position, one Marvel themselves is at least partially responsible for forcing them into.

But to move back into the actual content of the book -- the readjustment period Slott wrote reintroducing the Fantastic Four into the Marvel universe can be described as clumsy, at best. It's never fully explained why Reed, Sue, and the kids couldn't return to Earth, something that was explored in Chip Zdarsky's 2017 Marvel Two-in-One, which featured Ben, Johnny, and Doom on a multiversal roadtrip to try and find their family and which I on the whole recommend, despite it having an awkward ending due to being cut short by Slott's announced Fantastic Four main title.

(Marvel Two-in-One 2017 #4)

Instead, the Fantastic Four return to a Marvel universe a little different than how they left it, with the Baxter Building -- formerly the offices of Parker Industries, the company Doc Ock started in Peter's body during Superior Spider-Man that Peter inherited after his defeat and then lost spectacularly when he trashed his own company to fight nazis (good for him) -- occupied by a different fantastic foursome in a plot that goes nowhere and does nothing. This is somewhat emblematic of the early days of Slott's run -- he introduces ideas that fail to go anywhere, including Johnny's rekindled relationship with his other best friend and former college roommate, Wyatt Wingfoot, who he was seen being very cuddly with in the early issues.

(FF 2018 #1) A small group of Fantastic Four fans have argued for a while that if Marvel was to have Johnny come out, a relationship with Wyatt would feel very natural -- they're already close, with Wyatt being an important Fantastic Four supporting character since the '60s. I have some further analysis here on the conspiracy theory that Johnny and Wyatt were supposed to be in relationship at the beginning of this run but that that plot was, for whatever reason, nixed. I don't know that I entirely believe this theory, for the record -- but I do think the pieces line up remarkably well.

Anyway, that didn't/hasn't yet happened, obviously. Slott instead for the most part put Johnny on the back burner for the beginning of his run, up until the Spyre arc, which I have reason to believe is the main story he pitched that he credits with securing him the Fantastic Four title. The Spyre arc suggests that the Fantastic Four's failed space exploration during which they got their powers wasn't just to beat the commies to the moon, as Lee and Kirby envisioned (simpler days), but to reach a specific planet outside of our galaxy. When the team sets out to conquer this mission, they arrive at the planet, but are quickly captured. The planet, they find out, operates like a soulmate AU -- everyone has a fated person that they are matched to via a gold armband. Reed and Sue are soulmates (and Ben is confined to an underground subterranean with the other monsters, because this is a Fantastic Four comic) while it's discovered! Shocker! That Johnny is actually the soulmate of the one the planet's inhabitants, a winged woman named Sky, with the suggestion that this is both why Johnny's previous relationships have never worked and why he loves space exploration -- he was just trying to get to his Soulmate TM.

(FF 2018 #15) "What's going on here? Where are my clothes?" As you can see, this didn't start off super great, with Johnny being separated from his family, stripped naked, and put in Sky's bed with a soulmate armband slapped on him. Did I mention they're only removable if your soulmate takes it off for you? And that Sky has consistently refused despite Johnny asking her to? Yeah. It's bad. (I think it's important to note Johnny's long history as a victim of assault plays into this narrative, whether or not Slott is personally holding that in mind while writing, which I don't believe he is. cw in the linked post for discussions of sexual assault.) There's an additional issue here in that Slott has a history of problematic writing regarding women of color, featuring characters he's created to act as love interests being oversexualized, infantilized, villainized, or some mix of all three, with two examples of this phenomena being Cindy Moon and Lian Tang, both of whom he introduced in quick succession in Amazing Spider-Man. Slott certainly didn't have to write Sky as manipulative or controlling towards Johnny, but that's what he chose to do, and that factors into the bigger picture of unfortunate themes in his writing.

Sky returns to Earth with the Fantastic Four despite Johnny appearing unenthused about the idea and initially generally reluctant to interact with her. Apparently they went on a few dates after this and kind of made up. I don't know because I stopped reading for about ten issues in there but I feel confident I missed very little. It's hard to talk about the Sky plot without referencing Johnny's previous interactions with a character named Lyja, a Skrull whose relationship to Johnny I have a long breakdown of here. It's doubly hard, because Lyja actually showed back up in Fantastic Four during this plot. Lyja's modus operandi has remained consistent throughout almost all of her appearances, which I guess makes sense, because she literally has no storylines that do not involve her being obsessed with Johnny, and this recent story isn't any different: Lyja shows up, Lyja disguises herself as another woman in Johnny's life to get close to Johnny, Lyja gets caught and claims it was all fine because she did it for love. This time she disguised herself as Sky.

(FF 2018 #32) Not gonna lie, kind of proud of him for this one. That's one of my problems with Slott -- very occasionally, he busts out good moments, only to undermine them with the rest of his narrative.

In the same issue, Alicia Masters, the first woman Lyja impersonated in order to get close to Johnny, uses her supervillain stepfather's radioactive clay to control Lyja's mind and send her back to space, and I do think she utilized girl power when she did this. Johnny, left reeling after Lyja's latest attempts to trick him into a relationship, ends this issue by sleeping with Victorious, Dr. Doom's right hand woman.

I know she pegged him. I know it. This scene was a little controversial in Johnny fandom, because a lot of people viewed it as Johnny cheating on Sky and thought that that action was out of character for Johnny. I'm personally of a little different opinion, which is that regardless of whether or not you view Johnny and Sky in a committed enough relationship that Johnny's tryst would count as infidelity when all Johnny and Sky are bound by are magic plot soulmate bracelets, I think Lyja's involvement changes things significantly when it comes to Johnny's characterization. All of Johnny's "playboy" periods, if we can call them that, coincide directly with Lyja having been in and then left his life again, which I think makes a certain amount of sense -- it's Johnny trying to wrest control back after a situation where he had none. None of this is explicitly canon, I have to note, but sometimes in comics you have to do the work yourself. So I think this is a case of something being accidentally extremely in character that Slott accidentally stumbled into because he had these love triangles in mind, not because he put a lot of thought into it.

Speaking of love triangles! Johnny sleeping with Victorious gets more complicated when Dr. Doom announces his intent to marry Victorious -- not because he has any romantic interest in her (this engagement caused a lot of uproar in Fantastic Four because Victorious had been previously referred to as being like Doom's adopted daughter) but in order to install her as Latverian regent in his absence. I'm not going to lie, I love a political wedding. Victorious, for some reason, thinks Doom will be deeply upset that she slept with some closeted blond twink and the member of the Fantastic Four he views least as an enemy and more as an annoyance. Johnny, who Sky is currently not talking to because she "felt" him sleeping with Victorious through their magic plot soulmate bracelets, also feels nervous about Doom finding out about this, which I guess is slightly more valid. Anyway, for some completely ridiculous reason, Victorious decides the best time to tell Doom about this little indiscretion is when they're standing at the altar, which coincidentally the Fantastic Four are also standing at, because Doom asked Reed to be his best man in a not at all homoerotic little setup involving midnight swordfighting and Reed slipping Doom's emerald ring onto his own finger. Sorry to sidetrack into DoomReed territory here but it's just like. It's just a lot.

(FF 2018 #33) Also, Ben walked the bride down the aisle. :,) Look at his gigantic hand.

Anyway then Doom decides he's going to kill everyone in a completely reasonable and not at all overblown reaction to Johnny and Zora having what was most likely both disappointing for Zora and weepy for Johnny sex. And that brings us up to where Fantastic Four comics left us yesterday -- in answer to your "big change" question, that's most likely coming up in the next issue, so it hasn't come to pass yet.

Having gotten all that out of the way -- the last time Johnny and Peter interacted canon-wise was in the recent Empyre Fallout Fantastic Four, at the end of the Empyre event:

It was cute! Slott does right good interactions between them. This is possibly the Stockholm Syndrome talking. I don't know if more interactions are likely imminent -- the Empyre event was fairly recent. On the other hand, Slott does like writing interactions between them. So I'd give it about a 50/50 shot. I was skimming the letter page in the latest issue and someone wrote in asking if Peter was likely to appear in the pages of Fantastic Four again any time soon, so there is definitely a demand.

As for Johnny coming out -- I don't know. It's not a call I feel comfortable making at this moment, which I guess means I wouldn't bet money on it. I'd like to say yes, especially because I think Slott set up, whether that was his intention or more likely not, several good places in his run where Johnny could have come out. The beginning, when he's implied to be living with Wyatt again and where he and Wyatt are paralleled against Ben and Alicia. Ben's bachelor party, where Johnny laments not finding the right person -- specifically person and not woman -- and where Ben tells him to "be brave, Johnny Storm." And the soulmate planet plot, where I think could have had a very different and much better ending if Johnny had told Sky that she couldn't be his romantic soulmate, because he knows he wants to be with a man. But those are just places that I think would have made good opportunities for a coming out story. Instead, Johnny's been involved (dubiously) with three different women over the space of the last 10 issues, which is more heterosexuality at one time than he's been confronted with in the last 60 years. So my thoughts are still that it's going to happen eventually, but quite possibly not anytime soon.

Hope that helps! And that my incredibly long answer about what's currently going on with Johnny in comics sheds some light on things!

[sxfterhearts]

53. [4:07 pm]

➳ pairing: yugyeom x reader

➳ genre/warnings: fluff fluff fluff, baker!au, baker!yugyeom, exchange student!y/n

➳ word count: 2,040 words

➳ summary: “Sit down, I’ll get it.”

➳ author's note: rach-stop-mentioning-food-in-every-single-timestamp-challenge: failed. just the thought of baker!yugs and bread has me feeling all soft and gooey inside. which is why i whipped this one up! it has been a phat minut since i last wrote so yea :”) (also i should mention italicised are korean!!) regardless i hope this will help brighten up your day a little!! sending many warm hugs xx

//

Your phone screeched from its resting place on the other side of your room, signalling the start of your day. It was strategically placed atop your wooden, old-fashioned dresser, with the sole purpose of motivating you to get out of bed and turn the damn thing off.

With a groan, you stretched all four of your limbs, releasing a satisfied yawn as your joints popped after a good nights’ rest.

It was late afternoon. The rays of sunshine splattered deep orange and gold as it sneaked past the cracks the half-open blinds, painting your tiny studio apartment with lazy signs of life.

You dragged your sleep-ridden body to the dresser, still reluctant to start the day after what was an immensely taxing Friday night. Having just arrived in this bustling Korean city a mere two weeks ago, you were somewhat proud of yourself for landing a part-time job to support yourself when you started your semester of exchange. The only problem was, it happened to be a bartending job in a rowdier part of Seoul, commonly patronised by sleazy middle-aged men and their younger lady companions.

It wasn’t like you had much of a choice, anyways. Your Korean was still very much at an elementary level, which didn’t prove to be a hindrance in the bar you worked at. Most of the drinks were named in English, and the owner of the bar, a surprisingly kind, motherly lady in her sixties, paid you well above the minimum wage.

Still, it was your second Friday shift ever, and it clearly took its toll on you. Staring at your reflection in the bathroom mirror, you cringed. The eyebags under your eyes were so dark it could’ve easily been mistaken as a smoky-eye look gone wrong; your lips were awfully chapped and an alarming shade of red, while a few nasty pimples threatened to break through the surface of your skin.

In other words, you looked like a wreck.

Grabbing your phone, you checked the time. Ten minutes past four. Oh no, you winced internally. You were going to be very late if you didn’t leave your house in the next fifteen minutes. As though an internal switch flipped on, you turned the shower to full blast and stepped inside, sucking in your teeth as the cold water splashed against your skin.

In eight minutes flat, you were tugging on your beat-up sneakers and dashing for the elevator in your only pair of clean, non-alcohol-stained jeans and a plain white t-shirt that you conveniently picked off the pile of dry clothes on your sofa. You jammed the down button a couple of times, all while checking the time on your phone.

“Shit,” You cursed under your breath. 4:19. You couldn’t wait any longer.

Throwing all caution to the wind, you sprinted down the fire escape and did not stop for a single breath until you reached the final destination: a charming little bakery across the road from your apartment.

Rushing to the bakery just before closing time had become a habit for you. Amidst the chaos of moving and finding your feet in this new city, the bakery and its never-ending stream of patrons were your source of stability. Not only was it less busy and crowded during the evening, but it was also much easier for you to snag a couple of good bargains in the form of randomly-packaged, discounted breads.

The fact that the cute baker was the last one in store and in charge of closing up was just an added bonus.

//

A high-pitched, annoying chime broke him out of his daze. With a groan, Yugyeom straightened his slumped figure and stretched his arms above his head, releasing a satisfied sigh as his backbone cracked.

It was late afternoon. The rays of sunshine splattered deep orange and gold as it flooded through the drawn, white lacey curtains, painting his grandfather’s bakery with calm and relief; a peaceful conclusion. The end of daylight was drawing near.

He wiped a stray trail of saliva off the corner of his mouth before sucking on a mint. Checking the clock that hang above rack upon empty rack which usually contained baked goods, his palms inexplicably grew clammy.

4:27, Yugyeom mused. He shook his head to clear his spiralling thoughts. Keep it together, dummy. Just because she came the past few days doesn’t mean that she’ll come today too. She has her own life, her own friends, maybe even a boyfri-

Oh?

Just as his mind was about to veer off course and crash into the thorny garden of unrequited love, Yugyeom caught sight of a blurry figure at the corner of his eyes. Intrigued, he stood up straight and watched as you appeared in front of the bakery’s double doors. For a few seconds, you simply clutched your knees and huffed and puffed. Yugyeom could barely stop the shit-eating grin that split across his face and had to bite down hard on his bottom lip to avoid looking like a fool.

Then, you did the unexpected. From the back pocket of your jeans, you pulled out your lip balm and applied it on your lips, using the bakery’s glass window as a mirror. At that, Yugyeom threw his head back in a hysterical fit of laughter.

It was hard for him to explain the feeling in his chest, really. The first time you walked through the doors of the bakery, eyes twinkling with pure wonder and amazement as you browsed the array of baked goods like how a girl would admire a display of diamond rings, he was screwed. You captivated his interest as you fumbled for the right number of coins to pay for your discounted breads, tongue stuck out and head tilted adorably while doing so. He gave you, the damsel in distress, a helping hand, by laying all your coins out on the counter and ordering them from lowest to highest value. Probably not the most helpful of gestures, but Yugyeom liked to tell himself that he was performing his civic duty by welcoming a visitor of Korea through non-verbal currency explanations and an introduction to the locals’ favourite breads, pastries and drinks. That evening, the two of you sat on the high table by the window, slowly savouring melon breads, injeolmi toasts, ang butter or red bean butter breads and an assortment of cream cheese breads. While the breads were wonderfully fluffy and the sweetness was at an acceptable level, Yugyeom instructed you to wash it down with an iced Americano.

Since then, the mere thought of the bakery, going to the bakery, its breads and pastries, its drinks and Yugyeom coated your insides with sweetness. Admittedly, the reason why you kept visiting the bakery was to create more memories with Yugyeom and ride the amazing sugar rush you felt whenever you were around him.

After rearranging your hair for the nth time, you bravely pushed open the doors and walked in at 4:29pm.

“Hello!” You called out in Korean as you waved at him, a wide smile plastered on your lips. There was an obvious language barrier (you with your kindergarten-level Korean and him with his Game of Thrones-standard of English), but it wasn’t obvious. The two of you came up with creative ways to break it down.

“Hi Y/N! Sit down. I’ll get it.” Yugyeom answered in English, emerging from behind the counter with his trusty English-Korean dictionary and a matcha latte he prepared in anticipation of your arrival. He walked towards you with an air of confidence, reminding you of a model in a fashion show despite wearing his typical slacks and white button-up, with sleeves rolled up and cross drop-earrings adorning his ears. Yugyeom quickly set the items down before pulling out a chair, nodding towards it to encourage you to sit.

You muffled a giggle at his gentlemanly actions, but complied, nonetheless. You glanced over to the boy, sipping on the creamy drink as he retrieved two large plates from the cake fridge. Sure, the assortment of cakes should have been the main attraction, but your eyes drifted and settled on the stern look of concentration on his face and his prominent collarbones peeking out of his shirt. Unbuttoned, you assumed, as he was going to be off work soon.

You were halfway through the drink when Yugyeom returned to the table. He noticed this and didn’t pass up the opportunity to tease you about it. “Is it really good?”

“Thirsty. I just woke up.” You admitted, cheeks heating up in slight embarrassment.

Yugyeom’s wholehearted laughter filled the entire bakery.

“H-hey! Bad boy… Mean…”

“No, I…” Yugyeom stifled another round of laughter as he tried to pull himself together. “Cute. You wake up, come to see me in bread house.”

“Not ‘bread house’, ‘bakery’.”

“Ah, thank you. Bakery.” He tested the word on his lips, getting used to the pronunciation. “Bakery…”

“What are these?”

Yugyeom handed you a small cake fork while taking a seat. “Here. This plate is for tarts, and this one is for cakes. The tarts have the same filling – custard. But we use different fruits, like strawberries, berries, grapes and peaches. Whatever’s in season, really. Strawberries and cherry tarts are really popular in winter. Try some!” He reverted back in Korean whenever he was explaining, which was a great opportunity for you to pick up new vocabulary.

It was also a fantastic opportunity to try delicious pastries. You rotated through the entire plate painted in shades of pinks and green, taking a bite of each tart. Yugyeom just sat there, head in his palms, and admired the slight changes in your expression whenever you tried a new flavour. As creepy as it sounds, watching you eat the food he prepared was gradually becoming his favourite pastime.

“Cherry! That one is the best! It’s…” You quickly reached for the dictionary, softly muttering to yourself as you thumbed through the pages. “Here, acid. Acid, not too sweet. The strawberry one too.” Your eyes crinkled at their edges as they met his intrigued orbs, proudly smiling at yourself for learning a new word today.

“The word you’re looking for is ‘acidity’. ‘Acid’ is for chemistry.”

“Acidity?”

“Yes, that’s right.” Yugyeom reached over, his huge palm caressing the top of your head before ruffling your hair. You pouted and feigned annoyance, all while your heart squeezed and pounded away in your chest.

“Hey…” You protested weakly.

Yugyeom’s hand retreated. He placed it on the table, right next to your smaller ones. The distance between your hands taunted him; tempted him to close the gap and intertwine your fingers with his. Honestly, Yugyeom wasn’t used to this; wasn’t used to feeling like his insides were going to explode. His mouth opened and closed several times as he pondered his next move, wondering whether it would overstep your boundaries.

But then you stared at him in anticipation with your beautiful brown orbs, innocent and confused, as your lips wrapped around the straw of your matcha latte. Your gaze asked him an unspoken question, urging him on.

Yugyeom dragged your chair closer his, eliciting a high-pitched squeal from you. He rested both of his palms on top of your knees, gaining your full attention. “I like…” Yugyeom paused, catching his bottom lip between his pearly whites as the corners of his mouth tugged upwards. “I like this time with you.”

The soft giggle was purely involuntary, you swore to him afterwards. Yet, as you watched his expression flicker into one of panic, you were quick to cast out his worries. “No, no! Don’t get me wrong. Did you mean, you like spending time with me?”

“Ah, I was trying to be romantic. Stupid English…” Yugyeom cursed under his breath in Korean, unaware that you were familiar with the word ‘romantic’ due to the hours you spent (wasted) binging Korean dramas. “Yes, I do.” He said while squeezing your kneecaps in affirmation.

You had to remind yourself time and time again to keep calm in the presence of this charming man and his magical hands. “Me too, Yugyeom. You’re my favourite time of the day.”

Needless to say, your afternoon ritual continued for weeks and months to come.

[440mxs-wife]

The Hunter’s Princess - Chapter 4: Meeting New People

Pairing: Dean x OFC Kira (eventual), Prince!Dean x OFC Lady Kira. Other Characters: Sam Winchester, Prince!Sam Winchester, Castiel, Rowena, Gabriel, King!John, Queen!Mary, Lucifer and assorted minor characters.

Chapter 4 Word Count: 4020+

Warnings: Character crossover, accident with slight injury, fluff. Each chapter will have individual warnings as needed.

A/N: This is from some material that’s been rattling around in my head from another project that changed direction. Couldn’t let all this content go to waste, though, so here it is. It’s a work-in-progress, and I will try and update as regularly as I can. If you want to be tagged in this series, send me a message!

Thank you and happy reading!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Kira?" he whispered.

Lady Kira lifted her head from resting on top of her knees. "Who are you?" she demanded.

"It's me, Dean. Don't you recognize me?" he asked.

By this time, Sam and Castiel had reached the door and were peering inside. Both of them were stunned to see someone who looked like Kira, but at the same time, wasn't Kira.

Dean could feel the tension radiating from Kira as he glanced between her and the men standing at her door. "Whoa, sweetheart, it's okay. The tall, shaggy-haired man is my brother, Sam. The guy in the trenchcoat is Castiel. He's an.....Angel of the Lord," Dean mumbled.

Lady Kira looked at all three men and unexpectedly burst into laughter. "An angel?? A real, honest-to-goodness angel? Where are your wings then?" she asked.

Castiel tilted his head to the side in confusion at her question. "Only my soulmate can see my wings," he replied in his gravelly voice.

"Oh. I suppose that's convenient. That way, you know for sure who your soulmate is," she reasoned.

Dean breathed a sigh of relief. If Kira couldn't see Cas' wings, then she wasn't his soulmate. "What's the last thing you remember?" he asked.

Lady Kira took a deep breath. "I was in my pub, getting ready to pour a beer for someone. Next thing I know, I'm waking up here. Speaking of which, where exactly is 'here'?" she inquired.

"That, I'm afraid, will take a bit of explanation. We should get some food, then we can fill you in on the situation," Dean replied.

Lady Kira nodded in agreement. "Very well," she said. As foreign as her surroundings and companions were, there was something familiar about the three men. For some reason, they seemed to put her at ease. She had a feeling that they wouldn't let any harm come to her, that they would protect her at all costs. Eventually she realized she would have to put her trust in someone, if she had any kind of hope of returning home.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Prince Samuel and Castiel followed behind Kira, who walked with Prince Dean to the castle's main hall. To say Kira felt a bit self-conscious was an understatement. Here she was, about to compete for the opportunity to become wife to one of the princes and eventually queen. The stakes couldn't be higher, which naturally set her nerves on edge.

From the outside, she wondered if it appeared to others as though she was trying to gain some sort of an advantage. Kira was concerned at the amount of time she had been spending lately with the princes. She didn't have a manipulative bone in her body, but the other competitors might not regard her behavior as innocent. They may view it as the princes showing favoritism towards her, and as such may even lead others to cause trouble for her. For these reasons and to safeguard the locket, she was going to have to be vigilant at all times.

As they entered the main hall, Prince Dean pulled them to a stop, because his mother, Queen Mary was approaching from the opposite direction. He bowed to his mother as Kira gave her a deep curtsy. "Mother? May I present Lady Kira of the Eastern province. Lady Kira, this is my mother, Queen Mary," Dean said.

"It is an honor to meet you, Your Majesty," Kira remarked, resuming a standing position but keeping her head tilted slightly downward.

"Pleased to meet you as well, Lady Kira," Queen Mary replied as a flicker of recognition crossed her face. "Oh! You met my sons recently, I believe? They stopped in your establishment for a drink on their way home?" she asked.

"Yes, Your Majesty. I had the pleasure of meeting your sons almost a week ago. Although, I must confess, I regret that I did not immediately recognize them. It had been a long day, and I deeply apologize if I offended them in any way," she explained.

Queen Mary leaned in and said softly, "On the contrary, my dear. I believe you made quite a favorable impression on them, and on Castiel as well," she grinned. "What brings you here? Are you competing in the Princes' Challenge?" she asked as she stepped back.

"I am, Your Majesty. I appreciate the opportunity, and promise to faithfully represent my province to the best of my ability," Kira replied.

"Well, I'm sure you'll perform admirably, and I'm looking forward to learning more about you, Lady Kira. It was lovely to have met you," she finished.

Kira gave the queen another deep curtsy as she continued on her path. With her free hand, Kira covered her face in embarrassment as she blushed furiously.

Prince Dean turned to look at her. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Kira shook her head, tears threatening. "I feel like I just made a huge fool of myself in front of your mother. Admitting to her I didn't recognize you when you came to my pub. You and your brother are the crown princes, everyone knows who you are, for goodness' sake! Oh, I've really made a grand impression on your mother. Unforgettable, so she'll remember why I should be shown the door. Why can't I just learn to keep my big mouth--" she was stopped by Prince Dean's index finger on her lips.

"You were going to say, 'closed', right?" he said, to which Kira nodded. "First of all, my brother and I didn't announce ourselves as the 'crown princes' for a reason. Probably for the same reason you don't announce yourself as 'Lady Kira'. You want people to know you by your character, not your title." More nodding from Kira.

"Second of all, I know my mother, and you're no closer to being shown the door than I am. She appreciates people who speak their mind and are not afraid to voice an opinion," Prince Dean explained. "Okay? Will I see you at dinner?" he asked.

Kira met his soft green eyes and all she could do at that moment was keep nodding her head. "Thank you for your kind words, Your Highness. I believe I'm in need of some rest before dinner. If I may take my leave from you now, I'll see you at dinner, Your Highness," she replied softly.

"By all means, Lady Kira. Until dinner," he remarked, taking her hand and kissing her knuckles. Kira gave a small curtsy to the prince, a smile and nod to Castiel, then headed upstairs to her room.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

About an hour later, Sarah came in to wake Kira so that she could take a bath and wash her hair. Kira wanted to freshen up from her earlier tour of the gardens and marketplace. She relaxed into the warm water and allowed her concerns about meeting the queen slip below the surface.

Twenty minutes later, sufficiently cleaned and refreshed, Kira stepped out of the tub into a waiting towel held for her by Sarah. Kira asked her if she would please lay out the gown that had been previously chosen to wear at dinner, while she dried off and put on undergarments.

Kira was putting on her jewelry when there was a knock on her door. Sarah opened it, and Rowena entered, looking stunning as always. She had on a purple silk gown with delicate gold thread woven throughout the fabric. Her long red tresses cascaded down her back in waves, pinned up on the sides by clips encrusted with crystals.

"Rowena, you've outdone yourself, you look fantastic!" Kira gushed. She took note of Kira's appearance as well. She had on the pastel green silk gown that Rowena had provided. Kira's light chestnut hair was curled into ringlets and of course, she was wearing her mother's locket.

"Oh darlin', no one will be able to take their eyes off of you. You look beautiful, my dear. Come, let's head down to dinner. Don't want to be late, considering you've already made an impression with the queen," she smirked as Kira groaned. "Oh come now, it couldn't have been that bad. If it was, they would have asked you to leave by now. Let's go, dearie," she insisted.

Dinner was an interesting affair. The rest of the competitors showed up and attended the dinner meal. Kira had already "met" Serena, and learned at dinner that she was from the Northern province. Christina came from the West, while Adriana was from the South.

Kira already knew that Serena was not her biggest fan, and it appeared Christina was joining her camp instead of Kira's. Adriana seemed kind, or at least not outwardly hostile. She and Kira spent most of dinner talking about their respective homelands.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"I'm telling you, Lucifer, I saw it at dinner tonight! That locket you're looking for, that allows you to move throughout multiple dimensions? It's hanging around Lady Kira's stupid neck," Serena insisted.

"Really? How interesting. I believe I also saw a certain witch named Rowena McLeod hanging around with her. I've dealt with her before, and she could present a problem," Lucifer made a tsking sound. "And here I'd hoped we could do this without things becoming complicated," Lucifer pouted.

"It doesn't have to be complicated, Lucifer. Lady Kira is participating in the Princes' Challenge. The events are not exactly for the faint of heart, I mean....accidents can happen," Serena remarked.

"Hmm. I suppose you're right. But for now, we'll bide our time, study Lady Kira a bit more before we strike. For your part, try not to completely alienate her, just keep your distance. Sooner or later, she'll let her guard down. When she does, we shall relieve her of that cumbersome piece of jewelry. Then there'll be no one to stop me," Lucifer finished darkly.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The next morning, Kira decided to go back to the marketplace and take a closer look at what the vendors had to offer. Her previous marketplace outing with Castiel was a little sidetracked by Prince Dean and his brother. By the time the princes had caught up to her and Castiel, she had grown a little tired and asked Prince Dean to continue the tour another time.

For her attire, Kira had chosen a pale blue cotton day dress. As she wandered among the carts, she observed the jewelry makers, food and drink vendors and even glassblowers. She marveled at the variety of offerings in the castle marketplace. She made her way toward the food vendors for some breakfast.

Kira purchased a fruit pastry and went on to the jewelry maker. She found gifts for her pub staff, necklaces with heart-shaped pendants. One was made of turquoise, one of rose quartz and one of black onyx. She found a hat for Alfred at the milliner's cart where yesterday, she and Castiel were trying on her hats. Kira still had other gifts to get for her house staff, but decided to come back another day.

On her way back to the castle, Kira saw a young girl standing next to the apple cart. She looked no more than about seven years old with blond hair and brown eyes. She gazed longingly at the apples, and Kira could only wonder if it had been a while since her last meal. Kira approached the young lady and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. The girl whipped her head around and when her eyes locked on Kira's, she could see they were full of fear.

Kira knelt down until she was at eye level with the child. "My name is Kira," she said gently. "Can you tell me your name, little one?" she asked.

She stared at Kira, bottom lip trembling. Kira could tell she was trying to decide whether to run or whether to stay and talk. "Danielle," she whispered.

Kira stuck out her hand in greeting. "That is a very beautiful name. I am so happy to meet you, Danielle," Kira replied as she shook hands and the young lady giggled.

From the bag in her left hand, Kira took out the pastry she was saving for her breakfast and handed it to Danielle. She looked at Kira in confusion, and she nodded to assure Danielle that it was okay.

In response, Danielle gave a slight curtsy. "Thank you, Lady Kira," she said shyly. Kira must have given her a confused look in return, because she giggled again. "I saw you yesterday with Prince Dean, Prince Samuel and Castiel, your ladyship," Danielle explained.

As the child ate the pastry, Kira bought six apples for Danielle to take home, along with a baguette of bread and a block of cheese. They started on their journey towards Danielle's house, then Kira remembered that she had briefly put down her other packages. The child had stopped in the middle of the street and looked around to see why Kira was no longer at her side.

Kira felt the hairs on her neck stand on end and heard the fast approaching hoofbeats. She shouted at Danielle to get out of the way, but knew Danielle had no time. Kira ran towards the child. Kira wrapped her arms around Danielle and rolled with her out of the way, narrowly missing the galloping horse herself. Danielle's belongings went flying and the sleeve of her dress was torn, but she was alive.

When Kira sat up, a sharp pain hit her on the side of her head. She felt something trickling down the side of her face and used her hand to wipe it away. When Kira looked at her fingers, she saw that it was blood, which caused a wave of dizziness to crash over her. "Danielle? Where are you, sweetie?" Kira croaked.

"Lady Kira! Are you all right?" Danielle exclaimed, tears running down her cheeks. Kira brought her hand up to wipe Danielle's tears away, then it fell limp and all she saw was black. "Oh no!! Somebody help us!!" Danielle cried.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kira awoke to the sound of hushed voices, standing in the corner of the room, deep in conversation. She turned to see an anxious blond-haired, seven-year-old sitting by her bedside. The child was holding Kira's hand while trying to keep her tears at bay. "Hello, Danielle," Kira said, smiling weakly.

She jumped up from her chair and ran towards the people in the corner. "She's all right! She's awake! Lady Kira is awake!" she exclaimed.

At hearing the child's announcement, everyone turned in Kira's direction. Castiel and Rowena came up behind Danielle, with Rowena placing her hands on Danielle's shoulders. "Calm yourself, sweet bairn," she soothed, trying to contain the child's excitement.

"Castiel, would you please take Danielle down to get something to eat?" Kira asked. "She's had quite a morning," she gave Castiel a small smile.

"Absolutely, Lady Kira. Please follow me, little one," Castiel said, smiling and holding out his hand for her. She took his hand and they left the room.

Rowena sat down next to the bed and took Kira's hand. "Are you all right, dearie? Danielle said you were almost hit by a runaway horse!"

Kira explained what happened in the marketplace, from picking up the trinkets, to seeing Danielle, to rolling with her out of the way from the horse.

Rowena's hand flew to cover her mouth. "My goodness, Kira....You saved Danielle's life," she said softly.

Kira closed her eyes. "Rowena, I did what anyone else would've done. I bought a hungry little girl and her family some food, and got her out of the path of that horse," she muttered.

"Och, so modest. You're doing exactly what you would've done at home, protecting the innocent," Rowena observed with a smile. "Your hunter instincts are serving you well here. That's why you'll win at the Princes' Challenge and get home to your Sam and Dean," she remarked with a wink.

"Let's hope so, Rowena," Kira replied as the door opened and Danielle ran in. She smiled as Danielle tried to wedge herself in between Rowena and the bed. Rowena chuckled as she got up from the chair so that the child could sit down next to her rescuer. "Hey there, little one. Are you okay?" Kira asked.

She nodded enthusiastically and looked up at Castiel. "I got to have a cup of hot chocolate, another pastry and I got to meet the queen," she giggled. "She's very pretty and so very nice."

"How did you....? Castiel? How did she get to meet the queen?" Kira wondered.

"I believe I can answer that," a familiar voice answered. Prince Dean said as he and Prince Samuel stepped into Kira's room. "Mother was with us in the dining room. We were having a snack, when Castiel brought this sweet young lady in. She told us what happened in the marketplace, that you saved her life. Are you all right?" Prince Dean asked softly.

Kira struggled to get up to a sitting position, so Prince Dean helped her as Prince Samuel put a pillow behind her back for support. "Thank you. I'm fine, I promise, except a really huge headache. That, and I wish everyone would not make such a fuss about what I did for Danielle," she said. Kira raised her hand to check where earlier she had felt the blood, and instead felt a bandage.

"We asked the royal physician to come and check on you to make sure there were no serious injuries. He said you'll be fine with some rest and a change of bandage now and then. And what you did for Danielle is a big deal, Lady Kira," Prince Dean insisted. "You saved her life." He held her hand in his, with his thumb drawing little circles on the back. As he did this, Kira felt a calming sensation wash over her. She started to feel a bit drowsy as she melted into his touch.

"Good news, as Dean suggested, I spoke to Father, and he agreed to postpone the first challenge for a day or two. That way, all participants will have a chance to compete at full health," Prince Samuel remarked.

"I appreciate that, thank you. Please thank His Majesty for that as well. After a day or two, I should be ready to take my place among the other competitors," Kira affirmed.

"Looking forward to it, Lady Kira," Prince Dean replied, smiling. "Well, we should probably leave you to rest," he said as he stood up from his chair. He gave a lingering kiss to Kira's forehead, winking before he stepped back.

To Rowena, he directed her to keep an eye on Kira and not let her overdo things. She acknowledged his request with a simple curtsy, something which would never have happened in her side of the multiverse. Kira covered her mouth with her hand to keep Rowena from seeing the laughter. Soon after the princes and Castiel departed, Kira felt her eyelids start to drift shut again, so she gave in to her need for sleep.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Lucifer was pinching the bridge of his nose. "I don't understand, Serena. Lady Kira was knocked to the ground, unconscious while saving that little girl. You had the perfect opportunity to get that locket. So why don't I have it?!?" he shouted.

"There were too many people around, helping her. Otherwise, I would've snapped that locket right off her pretty little neck," Serena muttered.

"All anyone in the whole castle is talking about is how she saved that kid's life," he sneered. "That's going to make it 1000 times harder to steal the locket. We'll just have to take our time and plan carefully. When the moment is right, we'll reclaim what should rightfully be ours anyway," Lucifer said ominously.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Everyone took a seat at the map table. "So, you said my situation would take a bit of explanation," Lady Kira started. She waved her hand at Dean as a signal to begin.

He took a moment to collect his thoughts. "Let's start with the basics. You know our names, so how about we get yours?" he asked.

Lady Kira finished chewing her bite of pizza before answering. "I am Lady Kira of the Eastern Province. Although I hold a title, it's pretty much in name only. I'm not a wealthy woman. My father left a mountain of debt when he died, and I've had to sell off parts of my land to survive.

"I own a pub, where I employ three women as servers. The pub provides me with enough of an income to run my household plus a little more. Keeps me from selling off more of my lands unless absolutely necessary. Without the pub, I also wouldn't be able to help take care of my townspeople in the ways that they need," she finished softly.

Dean studied the woman before him. She looked so like his Kira, but at the same time, he knew she was her own person. Lady Kira had the same fire, determination, beauty and generosity that he had loved about his Kira since the day they met.

"I'm sure you do an admirable job of it as well. My brother and I, along with this guy--" Dean gestured with his thumb towards Castiel--"we also help people. We hunt monsters, like werewolves, demons, vampires and vengeful spirits. We try to save as many people as we can, without attracting a lot of attention to ourselves," he replied.

The three men waited for some sort of a reaction from Lady Kira. "Gentlemen, I come from a long line of hunters. My father was a hunter, like you, and already told me about all of this. My mother used to hunt with him, but sort of retired when I came along. When I turned a certain age, she gave me this," she answered. From underneath her tunic, she pulled out a chain, to which was attached a locket.

"That's exactly like the one my--er--the Kira that belongs to this world has," Dean remarked. "It's what sent her to your world and brought you here," he explained.

"Hmm. I was afraid of that. See, this locket's magic works off of a lunar eclipse. There's only one way it can be activated without an eclipse. And that's if the wearer is in the presence of outside magical forces," Lady Kira pondered.

Sam and Dean looked at each other and frowned. Castiel picked up on their exchange and asked, "Rowena?", to which the brothers nodded.

"She was working on some kind of spell from the Book of the Damned. And since we won't let her keep it in her library, she had to come here," Sam explained.

"Cas, can you get word to Gabriel? He seems to be the only one who can move between dimensions without having to wait for a lunar eclipse. And if he can, you can bet that Lucifer can as well. Rowena has to make doubly sure that nothing happens to that locket," Dean said grimly.

"Lucifer? The Lucifer? As in Satan, Prince of Darkness, that Lucifer?" Lady Kira asked incredulously.

"The very same, sweetheart. He's been a major pain in the ass in this world, and I'll bet he's not much better in your world," Dean replied.

"I've obviously heard of him, but haven't had much, if any, occasion to interact with him. Something tells me that I don't want to, either," Lady Kira agreed.

"You're right about that, you don't want to have anything to do with him," Cas remarked. "I'll go see what Gabriel has in the way of information," he promised, then disappeared.

"We'll find out when the next lunar eclipse is. Hopefully it won't be too many days from today," Dean grumbled.

"Excuse me, is there somewhere that I can take a bath, get cleaned up? Perhaps a change of clothes?" Lady Kira asked.

Sam and Dean looked at each other. "Yeah sure, sweetheart. Follow me and I'll show you. We have a bathtub, or you can take a shower. As far as a change of clothes, there are some clean ones in your room. I'm sure my Kira won't mind," Dean replied softly.

Part 5 here!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Tags: @janicho88 @akshi8278 @magssteenkamp @swiftlymoniquesblog @lyarr24 @miss-nerd95 @distefano123 @hobby27 @deanwanddamons @jessica-noel94 @wayward-mikaelson @jawritter @gabrielslittleangel @jensengirl83 @deangirl93 @ellewritesfix05 @supernatural-jackles @babygurltt

The Hunter’s Princess Series tags: @flamencodiva

[softyoongiionly]

Tea and Tourniquets-The Beginning ☕️

(GIF is not mine)

There is something living in the forest beyond your village, something evil, something ancient. The only known survivor of this evil is a reclusive healer by the name of Min Yoongi. Rumor has it though, that the herbalist hermit may, in fact, be the evil himself.

Summary: You were told never to venture into the forest after dark. Stories of people going missing and, an ancient darkness, keep most of your quaint village paralyzed with fear. However, after another disappearance, you decide to do the unthinkable and, search for the answers yourself.

The darkness is real…and it’s alive.

Pairing: Yoongi x Reader

Word Count: 15.5k

Genre: Supernatural au! Supernatural! Yoongi, his true identity will be revealed later on, Fantasy! Au, Tsundere! Yoongi, fluff, angst, smut throughout the story, slightly spooky

Warnings: slight spooky-ness? lmao thats not a word, references to death/dark themes, future smut, moderate angst

A/N okay so hello! I hope you guys are okay with getting this in two parts. I have the plot figured out but, I really felt it was best to release it in separate pieces. The second part may be just as long, or even longer, I’m not totally sure but, I truly truly hope you guys enjoy this! I’ve been working on it for months now. I love you guys <333

“A toast to our great explorers...Namjoon, Seokjin and, Jungkook, your commitment and bravery to our village is unparalleled, thank you for all that you have done and, all that you will do...here here!”   

The booming voice of one of your village’s leader echoes off of the walls of the pub’s cozy interior and, the clinking of glasses soon follows. 

Tonight, the village is celebrating the three men who have made it their mission to answer a question that has loomed over your world for centuries: 

What lurked in the ancient forest? 

Stories had been passed down through countless generations and, although, those stories have yet to be confirmed, the disappearances and deaths surrounding the forest, served as a warning to anyone who dared to breach the trees after sunset. 

“I think we should revisit the Yoongi theory again, he’s our only clear source of information...”  

The celebration had been in full swing for roughly an hour or so before, the men of the hour had made it over to the bar.  

Seokjin smirks knowingly, glancing at Namjoon, “That’s very true Jungkook-ah, so we should go visit him then yes? Perhaps he will have time for an interview?” 

Jungkook sputters on the bitter liquid in his glass, eyes wide and blinking owlishly at his elder brother, “Are you insane? If Yoongi is behind the curse, he is more evil and powerful than any of us could possibly imagine. My swordsmanship, as incredible as it is, would be no match for his powerful...sorcerer...demon...powers.” 

The younger boy trails off as his uncertainty grows, causing the two other men to snicker in amusement. 

“Kook, we have gathered no evidence that supports this theory. Yoongi has always been helpful to our people and, just because he’s figured out how to survive in the forest, doesn’t automatically mean he’s a demon...sorcerer or, whatever it is that you just said.” 

Seokjin continues to snicker through Namjoon’s explanation and, Jungkook huffs, slumping back into his chair, his brown bunny eyes rolling in annoyance. 

“Hyung, he’s got to be ancient by now, our elders remember stories about him as young children. Don’t you think it’s strange that he’s been around for so long? What if he’s...a vampire or something?”  

At his comment, Seokjin and Namjoon burst out in a fit of belly laughter, holding onto each other through their fit. You giggle to yourself as you bend down to place a clean glass onto the shelf, shaking your head at their antics.  

“A benevolent vampire who delivers medicine, free of charge, to a village of humans? Doesn’t sound like the type to senselessly murder by the hundreds...” Jin inquires as their laughter dies down,  Jungkook retreating further into his seat, grumbling to himself. 

“Leave him alone you two...” You admonish, a fond smirk still gracing your features as you continue to straighten up the bar, your three friends directing their gazes toward you.  

“Yeah, leave me alone....” Jungkook mumbles, nudging his foot against Namjoon. 

“We’re just trying to encourage him to be more logical Y/N, he’s new to our profession...it’s very easy to get carried away.” Namjoon smirks, still chuckling as he nudges Jungkook in return.  

“Hyung, with all due respect, it’s hard to be logical when all the evidence points to something...otherworldly. Besides, has anyone in recent times seen Min Yoongi? How do we know it’s him dropping off the remedies, what if it’s one of his familiars or something?” Jungkook urges, eyes going wide once again as he leans towards Namjoon. 

Jin brows raise, “Familiars? So is he a vampire or a witch?” 

“Maybe, he’s a vampire...witch...” Jungkook insists, slitting his eyes toward Jin. 

Namjoon snickers again, taking a sip of his whiskey before nodding to you, “Y/N hasn’t your grandfather encountered Yoongi? Can’t he vouch for his normalcy?” 

Your grandfather had been your caretaker since you were around the age of 7. After the passing of your parents, he had vowed to raise you as his own. Although your grandfather claimed to be a logical man, he often gave in to the mythical side of life or, ‘teahouse tales’ as he fondly referred to it. He encouraged your curiosity but, he always warned you of breaching the trees after dusk. During the day however, the two of you had spent quite a bit of time in the forest. Your grandfather loved researching the flora and fauna of the region and, you often accompanied him on his days out. If you were ever to go on your own, he had a few rules that he urged you to follow. 

1. Stay away from the blue frogs (they’re poisonous) 

2. Remember to pack an extra change of clothes (a swim in the lake is impossible to resist) 

3. Don’t eat ANY of the plants (especially the beautiful ones) 

4. Be home before sunset 

5. DON’T BOTHER YOONGI 

Pretty simple. You rarely ventured into the forest alone and, if you did, there was never a time when you felt compelled to go very far. There was no guarantee you would make it back in time before sundown and, there were plenty of sights to indulge in right at the forest’s entrance. You understood the first four rules without explanation although, one day, your curiosity got the better of you and, you asked your grandfather why he had included Yoongi on the rule list:  

 “Yoongi is a...solitary type. He doesn’t take kindly to strangers and, it’s just...best if you let him be. His cottage is quite difficult to find anyhow but, even on the chance you should see it, you’d be wise not to approach it.”  

“May I ask why?” 

“Yoongi is a medicine man and, a good one at that but, no one really knows how he procures his remedies, especially without connections to the mainland. There are rumors that he may be practicing spellwork...”  

“Spellwork? Is that legal?” 

“Well...our region has always been more forgiving of benevolent spellwork but, still, you can never be too careful...” 

“Have you ever encountered him before?” 

“I have yes, he didn’t do me any harm but, he wasn’t the kindest fellow I’ve ever met...there was something strange about him though. He had a darkness of sorts, something lingering...it’s hard to explain. He didn’t say much, only asked that I keep away from his cottage. Strangely compelling actually, he put me in a bit of a trance but, that could be my old age talking...just promise me, you won’t go looking for him ok?”  

“Ok, I promise.” 

You turn to your friends, pouring Seokjin another drink, “Well, technically he’s only seen him once but, according to him Yoongi was pretty strange...maybe Jungkook is on to something...”   

The responses cause Namjoon to groan whilst Jungkook simultaneously lights up, “See? Pretty strange, we have an eyewitness, from a reliable source, stating that Yoongi was strange...how’s that for evidence hyung?”  

“Lacking, severely lacking.” Namjoon answers immediately, “Yoongi is a man who chooses to live alone, in a forest that is notoriously known for being haunted...of course he’s going to be strange. Not to mention the fact that no one really knows how old he is so, his age could also play a factor in his behavior...” 

Jin nods thoughtfully, smirking at Jungkook as he once again deflates into his seat, “I think we’re dancing around the inevitable here...” 

“Which is?” Namjoon glances in his direction, annoyance starting creep into his features.  

Namjoon is not a fan of the fantastical and, rarely makes time for conversations surrounding these topics. 

“Jungkook may be right...”  

“Hyung…” Namjoon begins as Jungkook perks up, a jovial smile appearing on his face. 

“Right now, he is one of our theories yes?” Jin explains further, amused at the chaos his suggestion caused 

“He is not, I’ve just explained why its highly unlike_” Namjoon dismisses but, Jin cuts him off and continues.  

“Unlikely, Namjoon, not impossible...” Jin sends a pointed look his way and, you’re quite surprised considering the fact that Jin isn’t known for his serious nature.  “Yoongi is the only man who may have some insight into what happens in those trees and, as far as I know, he has been serving our village for years, there is no real threat in paying him a visit. I meant what I said earlier…we need to speak with him.” 

“Hyung, with all due respect, the threat isn’t Yoongi himself but, the journey…we don’t know where he resides, he could live miles and miles into the forest…what if we were unable to make it back before sundown?” Namjoon insists, wise eyes pleading with Jin to see his point of view. 

A pang of fear hits your chest at the thought of your friends being lost to the clutches of the forest, you decide to speak up once again, urging them away from dangerous choices, “You could always wait at the Archway, his remedies appear there every week, my grandfather believes he delivers in the middle of the night, to avoid being seen…” 

The three of them regard one another for a moment before, Namjoon reluctantly nods, his lips pursed in an attempt to release the tension in his face, “That’s…not a bad idea actually…” 

“The Archway is in plain sight at the edge of the forest, it would allow us a safe space for interacting with him…or whoever happens to show up.” Jin points out, nodding to Jungkook, the smirk reappearing on his face, “Maybe the kid should sit this one out…” 

Jungkook’s feathers are thoroughly ruffled as he sits up straighter in his seat, attempting to mask the obvious fear on his face, “What? No, Hyung…I’m ready, I promise, I’ve been training every day, I could take down anyone that comes through that archway…” 

Namjoon chuckles, some of his frustration starting to dissipate, “We don’t want to take down our witness before we’ve spoken to him Kook…” 

“Well, when we need to…I’m ready; I have your backs…” Jungkook vows, determination ringing clear in his innocent tone, his hyungs both smiling fondly in return. 

“That’s good to know, we’ll need a strong man on our side…especially since, you know, Yoongi is an evil vampire witch…” Jin retorts, holding in his laughter 

“Exactly!” Jungkook agrees enthusiastically, smiling at his hyung’s decision to accept his theory. 

His reaction causes the three of you to laugh, gratitude heavy in your hearts for the small bit of innocence still left in your village. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

The following morning you awake just on the crest of sunrise. Washed out light teases the edges of your window, casting a square shadow on the wall opposite you. It was a peaceful night’s rest, a rarity in these times so; you pull the blankets over you to shield yourself against the cold. You are currently resisting the temptation to slip back into the warm embrace of slumber until the shattering of glass jolts your body upright. 

“Grandpa?? Are you ok?” The shaky call of your voice wobbled in your throat and, you nearly slip on the wooden floor as you scramble out of your bedroom. 

“Grandpa!?”  Your tone increases in it’s urgency as you frantically scan the den, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. 

“Back here!” There’s nothing out of order in his tone but, that doesn’t stop you from hastily shoving open the heavy wooden door that lead to your back-garden. 

Your grandfather’s hearty laughter greets you as you stumble onto the patch of grass which was barely hanging on for dear life. 

“Good morning!” He chirps, looking up from the floor that’s currently covered in glass. 

“Are you alright? I heard…a noise and…” You’re slightly out of breath, your chest recovering from the tightness it had just endured. 

Your grandfather snickers and shakes his head at you, reaching for the wooden broom leaning against the side of the house. 

He’s tinkering again. 

“Did I wake you?” He murmurs, amusement coloring his tone as he sweeps up his mess 

“No but, you almost gave me a heart attack, I thought you fell…and, what did I tell you about conducting your experiments without proper lighting? You’re going to get hurt…again.” You grumble, finally feeling yourself calm down as he snickers again. 

“Alchemists get hurt all the time, Y/N, nothing to ruffle your feathers about…” He chuffs, smirking fondly at you as he scoops the glass into his mixing bowl, his brow furrowing in thought as he likely is thinking of ways to use the newly shattered beaker in his concoction. 

Your grandfather practiced alchemy which essentially meant that he spent day after day trying to turn things into gold: a dangerous and wildly unsuccessful hobby. 

“Yes but, you’re archaic and, if anything ever happened to you, I would be a wreck…” You bite back, returning his smirk as you size up the possibly lethal mixture. 

He pulls back in mock offense, eyes widening in playful horror, “Archaic?! I don’t look a day over 25, I’ve never felt better!” 

“That may be so but, you were badly hurt last summer weren’t you? And you couldn’t get out of bed for a month and, since I was the one worried sick about you, I have every reason to get my feathers ruffled…” 

Your grandfather chuckles, nodding in surrender, his fingers stalling on the edge of his mixing bowl “Alright, alright, I concede; I’ll try and be more careful.” 

Eyes narrowing in his direction, you nod, attempting to look firm as you adjust your dressing gown. 

“Thank you.” 

Suddenly, a large horn asserted itself into the atmosphere around you. The sound sends a sinking feeling into your stomach and, your grandfather’s playful gaze turns to one of pure horror. 

“No…not again…” He whispers as you pull a shaky breath through your nose, gesturing for him to come inside. 

----------------------------------------

BANG. 

A gavel near the front of the room slams down onto the cherrywood of the council desk, sending a jolt of panic through your chest. 

“Be silent! We will accomplish nothing with all of you quarreling at once!” 

The council sits at the head of your villages Home Room, the five of them clearly frightened and frazzled. The people of your village had gathered in wake of the horn, most of which were still in their bed clothes. At the sound of the gavel, the room settles but, the thick and unyielding tension still hangs in the air. 

“Tayeon has been taken by the forest.” One of your council members delivers the news with a solemn expression, their face stiffening as the crowd reacts. 

The announcement takes your breath away, your hand clutching Jin’s, who is currently sitting beside you, a solemn look on his face. His long fingers tangle with yours as he pulls a deep breath through his nose, attempting to mask the fear in his heart. 

Tayeon was a young boy, not yet surpassing his 7th birthday. You knew him well, he was a gentle soul, always giving to others, placing freshly baked bread outside of  people’s homes in the morning and tending to the weeds of the elderly. Any good deed he could manage, Tayeon would accomplish. 

And now, he was gone.

Vanished.

Just like that. 

Tears sting at the corners of your eyes but, you manage to hold it together, clutching Jin’s hand tighter as the council members continued to elaborate on the most recent disappearance. 

“His family states that he was sound asleep in his chambers and, when they awoke this morning, he was gone…” 

It was then, that you spot Tayeon’s family; both of his fathers are huddled together on a bench near the front of the room, Tayeon’s older sister, Minerva, consoling them as they wept.  

“How are we to know that it was the forest? What if he wandered off elsewhere?” A young man chimes in, you recognize him as Chanyeol, a young blacksmith from the center of your village. 

“The forest glows this morning does it not? That is your answer.” Namjoon is on the council this year and, his usual sunny disposition is replaced with stoicism, his jaw clenched as he responds to the inquiry. 

The forest was usually clouded in darkness, particularly at night however, following a disappearance, the space between the trees glows a dim ruby color and, occasionally you will see a faint violet light darting through the branches; this phenomena has yet to be understood. The entirety of the forest glows through the day and, the sun never rises high enough to constitute a full sunrise and, your village usually spends the day indoors, the light not sufficient enough to complete its usual routine. Livestock are brought inside, shops close down and, the kitchen serves only porridge for breakfast and, rice for dinner.  It felt appropriate however, the sun shouldn’t shine over a mourning village, it’s too intrusive. 

“I am no longer going to stand idly by as another one of our people vanishes. The answer is obvious, the only person living in that forest is Min Yoongi therefore, he is our prime suspect. Upon the rising of tomorrow’s sun, we must summon him for trial. He must face justice!” 

“But, Yoongi has been an asset to our community for years and, his remedies have saved far more lives than, have been lost.” 

“We have never had extended contact with him, we know nothing of his intentions, don’t you think it’s odd that he drops off his remedies and, refuses to interact with our people? How is he getting knowledge of our ailments?” 

“Exactly, he either has a spy on the inside or he is obtaining his information through unorthodox means…he could be a spellworker” 

“So what if he is? As far as I’m concerned, he is using his talents for good.” 

“Good? Do you suggest that the disappearances of our people are a good thing?” 

The bickering between the council members continue and, you find yourself shrinking into your seat as the volume of their encounter seems to grow. Tension rises in the crowd as well and, as more and more people join the conversation, the room erupts into chaos. Arguments are breaking out left and right regarding whether or not the village should arraign Yoongi and, just before the interactions incite a riot, your grandfather stands, his voice bellowing out into the crowd.  

“I have encountered Min Yoongi…” He announces, causing the storm of chaos to slow to a mere murmur, dozens of eyes darting towards your grandfather. 

“Mr. Y/L/N, with all due respect, several of our senior councilmembers have encountered Min Yoongi. Due to their unpleasant experiences, we only have further reason to believe in his wickedness. Now as we were saying_” 

“He saved my life.” Your grandfather chimes in again, slightly clouded eyes shooting a determined glance towards the council, his chest puffing out slightly. 

Namjoon’s brows furrow at his announcement, deciding to speak up for the first time since the council began arguing, “He…he saved your life? Would mind elaborating Mr. Y/L/N?” 

Your grandfather clears his throat, glancing at you momentarily before continuing. 

“When I was a young boy, I wandered into the trees…” A hushed gasp falls over the crowd as your grandfather tells his story, “I was searching for lavender and, at the time, it grew in tremendous amounts along the river…I wasn’t a great swimmer you see. I fell in and, Yoongi saved me. I’m not sure how he managed, as he was a slight man but, he did. He seemed to conjure the tides of the river to pull me ashore. I’ll admit, he was brash and left very little room for questioning but, he saw to it that I return to the borderline, safe and sound. As we parted ways, he warned me against returning to the forest and, told me to stay away from his cottage, should I ever find it…” 

“And did you…ever find it?” Namjoon inquires again, the entire room completely still as they await the conclusion of your grandfather’s story. 

He sighs then, hesitating a moment before nodding, “Curiosity is an illness I frequently suffer from…I went back the following week in search of his home. I wanted to express my gratitude…the journey took me half a day, I think, if I remember correctly,  but, I finally came across a small cottage nestled inside several massive dead trees. There were no security measures, no gate, no padlock, not even a guard dog. He was completely vulnerable to the outside elements…he came out as soon as I approached his home and, scolded me for disobeying him, he did accept my token of gratitude however…a large bag of coffee beans that I had procured from a merchant near the edge of town. He was strange; there was something…awry about him. I remember feeling very tired as he was speaking to me, he spoke a language I did not recognize and, the next thing I knew, I woke up at the borderline, completely alone.” 

Whispers fall over the room once again and, the people gathered in the home room glance earnestly at one another. One of the council members nod to your grandfather, 

“Would you be willing pay him another visit Mr. Y/L/N? We believe he  …” 

Alarm signals deep within your stomach, your head whipping to the front of the room and, then quickly over to your grandfather, “No, no absolutely not…he cannot make the journey himself…he wouldn’t make it back in time…” 

All eyes turn to you and, your grandfather attempts to placate you, patting your arm gently, “Y/N, it’s ok, please, I’m willing to make the journey if it means our people may finally have peace. I will leave at first light…” 

Namjoon, Jungkook and, Jin share your concern and, Namjoon attempts to reason with his council members, “Y/N is right, he shouldn’t go alone, there is no reason for that…” 

“Yoongi is an unpredictable creature…he knows Mr. Y/L/N and, according to his story, has been quite useful in the past, if we send a search party after him, he may feel threatened.” 

You shake your head again, stepping front of your grandfather, as if to shield him from their judgement, your heart hammering in your chest, “Please, there has to be another way, he can wait for Yoongi near the Archway, he can_” 

“Y/N please...settle down.” Your grandfather admonishes gently and, you feel frustration heating your cheeks whilst a lump forms in your throat. 

“It’s settled then, Mr. Y/L/N will find out where this Min Yoongi dwells and, attempt to gain insight into our cursed land, we thank you for your bravery…” 

The gavel jolts the entirety of the room and, with that; your world comes crumbling down. 

------------------------------------------------------------------

You’d be damned if the cowardly council-members sent your grandfather in the forest alone. No, if anyone was going to go, it would be you. You were willing to lay your life on the line to ensure your grandfather’s safety, he was all you had. After waiting until your village had fallen asleep, you packed yourself a small bag and, left. No looking back, you were capable of surviving; your grandfather had taught you all the necessary skills you would need.

The darkness of the forest however, proved to be much greater than you could have estimated and, half way into your journey, you began to grow increasingly uncomfortable. 

Something didn’t feel right. You felt like you were being watched or, worse, followed. The hair on the back of your neck stood at attention. The lump in your throat continued to grow as you focused all your attention on the path in front of you. You had found a crudely drawn map done by your grandfather that supposedly lead to Yoongi’s cottage and, had taken it when you left hastily in the middle of the night.  

Halfway there. 

A crack sounded behind you. It was subtle but, distinct, sounding very much like the splitting of wood. A step, perhaps. Your heart threw itself continuously against your sternum over and over, louder and louder until you felt your head pounding. You adjusted the bag on your shoulder, your feet picking up subtly underneath you, your eyes zeroing toward your intended direction. 

Suddenly, the rustling of leaves could be heard behind you along with the familiar crack you had heard moments ago. The noise causes your head to whip around in its direction only to be met with the familiar, haunting scene of the forest. 

It’s an animal. Stop being so paranoid. 

The wind had been twirling through the trees for quite some time but, at this moment it began to pick up its dance, causing the trees to ache and groan around you. The chill creeps its way through the thin material of your sweater as your arms curl into your chest, desperately trying to keep warm. You shouldn’t be here. You knew what it meant by making the journey into this part of your world and, you felt foolish that you had ignored the warnings of your people. 

Just focus, don’t lose sight of what’s in front of you. 

The sounds of the forest began to grow around you, like a sinister symphony, the pitch rising higher and higher as you were drawn deeper into its music. You carefully tug the hood of your sweater over your ears, which you were surprised hadn’t succumbed to frost bite. Out of the corner of your eye, you see a movement that stops you in your tracks. Blackness is rising from the forest ground, morphing and twisting into a shape that is twice your height, and half your width. A figure stands still momentarily, long arms like tree branches extending from its body as it seems to regard you from across the forest. All of the blood from your face drains; your heart halts its assault against your sternum as you stand, frozen in horror. 

Your hand moves slowly towards your bag, attempting to retrieve your dagger. Eyes squinted, you keep an eye on the figure, trying to understand its form:  Diamond-shaped body, upright with long spindly legs and arms to match, faceless until you catch a glimpse of something that makes your stomach turn. Insidious and arrogant, the figures blank face splits into a wide, toothy grin, the entirety of it nearly reaching either side of its head. 

Before you can take your next breath, the figure breaks out into a run, smiling all the while as it races toward you. You fall back, hands desperately trying to rip open your pack, frantically trying to defend yourself. Tears sting your eyes as the terror of your situation overwhelms you, you get ahold of the dagger, handing shaking as you hold it in front of you. The attempt is pointless and, you know it. Whatever this is, isn’t human and, it’s intentions were quite clear. You felt frozen, helpless, you screamed out in desperation but, to no avail. 

You were going to die. 

A flash of brilliant violet light illuminates the forest, blinding you momentarily, your hand coming up to shield your eyes. Everything happens so quickly, the creature that was pursuing you lets out a strangled scream when a wave of energy pulses through the forest. It’s powerful and knocks you completely on your back, haziness beginning to creep into your vision. Dazed, you lay on the forest floor as your eyes grow heavier and heavier, sensations of pain moving throughout your body. You hear a faint sound of leaves crunching as something seems to approach you. The darkness overtaking your vision prevents you from seeing anything beyond a figure, thankfully human, looming over you. 

“Foolish human, what on earth have you done?” 

With that, everything goes black. 

---------------------------------------------------

  The sound of bubbling is the first thing that teases your conscience back to life. As to the source of the sound, you’re still unsure but, it’s not the worst way you’ve ever been woken up. 

Wait…woken up. 

Are you waking up? 

Did you die? 

You don’t remember falling asleep the night before and, you’re beginning to grow restless behind the darkness of your eyelids.  

There is a faint sensation of pain winding around one of your feet and, you feel a very uncomfortable stinging across the right side of your ribs.  

“After all this time, humans are still insufferable creatures Meow, the only species who has managed to stall the evolutionary cycle…such a shame.”  

The voice is unfamiliar, crisp and condescending, it frightens you. 

“Human, your sleep cycle concluded 27 minutes ago…it’s time to wake up…” 

Human? Why is the voice referring to you as human… 

Your eyes pop open, a warm yellow light greets you along with a myriad of other images that you’re too disorientated to discern.  

The surface beneath you is a soft cotton fabric, looking very similar to a cot and, you finally gather that you’re in some sort of cottage. There is a figure standing behind a counter watching you, however you can’t yet make out the specifics of it. 

With your vision slightly blurred you attempt to rise from your horizontal position but, the searing pain in your ribs keeps you from doing so.  

“The venom has yet to take hold of your ribs so, I would advise against sudden movements for the next 17 minutes…” 

Your heart drops, “V..venom? What venom? What did you do to me?” 

The figure scoffs, “I saved your life…” 

The blur in vision begins to lessen and, after a few strong blinks you start to make out the image of the figure behind the counter.  

It was a man. Dressed in a black peasant blouse, his hands are braced against the counter; dark, almost feline eyes regard you earnestly from across the room, a scowl prominent in his features. He wasn’t difficult to look at but, the context of the current situation was preventing you from fully appreciating just how beautiful he was.  

“You saved my life by injecting me with venom? That seems rather counterproductive...” You bite back, nervousness hidden behind your tone as you awkwardly attempt to turn towards him.  

The movements prove to mildly successful as you finally prop yourself up on the side of your ribs that aren’t marred by discomfort.  

“The specifics of the procedure are irrelevant, although I didn’t inject you with anything...” The man corrects, rolling his eyes as he does, as if your statement was ridiculous. 

You’re frustrated with your lack of clarity and, you can’t help the budding panic, forming at the bottom of your throat. 

“Where am I?”  

“Somewhere you’re not meant to be...” He quips, annoyance coloring his pointy features as he scans your face, “your loss of memory isn’t surprising due to your injuries and, the impact from my spell...” He sighs as your confusion doesn’t seem to wane, slowly moving to step around to the front of the counter, “What’s the last thing you remember?” 

A deep breath is drawn through your nose as you frantically search your brain for answers. You remember entering the woods, the trees, the darkness, the fear... 

Oh god. 

You gasp then, eyes darting towards the stranger who was currently scooping, what looked like syrup into a turquoise bowl, “the creature...the smile, it...attacked me.” 

The man snorts, shaking his head, “If it had attacked you, you would be dead right now...” 

“I’m not entirely sure that I’m not...” You counter, wiping a hand over your face. 

You take in more of your surroundings as the fog in your mind begins to lift. A large, shelved apothecary cabinet took up the entirety of wall opposite you. Clear blue bottles of varying sizes lined the shelves, along with a potted plants that seemed to be overflowing down the length of the cabinet. The walls were made of grey and black stone and, stretched into a tall ceiling that seemed to be entirely covered in greenery. The counter the man worked at was littered with evidence of what had happened the night before: various herbs and tonics were uncapped and, a clump of bloody gauze was hanging out of the sink. To your left, another wall, paired with an archway and hundreds of books, led to what you presumed was the rest of the cottage.  

“Maybe this will jog your memory...” The man nearly hisses his declaration, seemingly threatened by your curious gaze. He held up a scrap of paper and, although you had to squint to read it, you could distinctly see that it was your grandfather’s crudely drawn map to Yoongi’s cottage. 

Oh…

“Yoongi?” You venture, feeling slightly threatened yourself. 

Yoongi’s feline like eyes, dark and almost menacing, glare at you from across the room. 

“You are a foolish girl, entering the forest past sundown, journeying into its depths...to find me. Have I not made it clear to your people that I am to be left alone?” Yoongi’s tone grows more and more frustrated and, you could sense what your grandfather meant by his lingering darkness. The wild mass of black hair on his head, his sharp features, his eyes look incredibly dark and, there seem to something peeking out from underneath his top lip, something you hadn’t noticed, they looked like fangs?  

“I’m...I’m sorry…listen, please, I didn’t want to disturb you but, a young boy disappeared from my village and, my people, they...tried to send my grandfather to find you, you’re the only one who can withstand the forest.” You’re not much for groveling but, there’s a pretty sizeable chance that Yoongi isn’t human and, you aren’t trying to press your luck.

His hardened gaze falters slightly, “You went in his place?” 

You nod, wishing desperately that you were able to sit up fully, awkwardly shifting your weight to the side again, “He wouldn’t have made it...they insisted on sending him alone...” 

“And you wouldn’t have made it either, you’re lucky I was out making my deliveries, or you would be enduring a slow, agonizing death...” He admonishes before, he turns to make his way over to you. You tense then, shrinking back into the cot, he notices your hesitation and scoffs, rolling his eyes. 

“If I wanted to hurt you, I would have left you to the creatures...I need to treat your wound, my venom will only heal the superficial cut, and it won’t prevent infection…” His irritation lessens, likely sensing your fear before nodding to your sweater.

My venom?

You hesitate for a moment. There is no reason to trust Yoongi, he is a stranger who, so far, hasn’t been very kind to you however, he did save your life and, you suppose that’s enough to trust him…for now.

A sigh leaves your nose as you move to lift up the white wool which, you could now see was decorated with splotches of your blood.

Yoongi kneels down beside you, collecting the sticky golden substance on the tips of his fingers and, slowly spreading it across the surface of your wound. His movements were surprisingly gently and, for some unknown reason, goosebumps erupted across the back of your arms.

“What happened to my ribs anyway? I only remember falling backwards….”

Yoongi is careful to avoid eye contact with you as his fingers work the honey over your skin, ignoring his own chaotic thoughts.

“The method I used for killing that creature…some of the material hit you and, cut your skin…” He keeps his answer as vague as possible, hurrying with his application before laying down another piece of gauze over the wound.

Your brow furrows, eyes flitting to his fingers, “What method did you use?”

Yoongi sighs, his jaw tightening slightly, “You ask a lot of questions.”

“Well, I came here for answers …” You retort, feeling frustrated by the lack of information he was willing to give.

Yoongi’s eyes darken with annoyance once again, pulling away from you as he finishes up, his expression hardening, “You are not entitled to answers. I saved your life; I don’t believe I owe you or your people anything else…”

His words perturb you and, you have to fight the urge to confront him as anger begins to bubble up inside of you.

“Yoongi, my people are growing restless, this is the 8th disappearance in two years…they won’t stop until they find answers…it’s what lures them back into the forest. “ You plead with him as he turns his back to you, beginning to clean up his work station, screwing the cap onto his bottle of honey.

“Your people have been warned on countless occasions, if they refuse to listen then, that’s not my burden to bear.” Yoongi insists, shrugging his shoulders as he places a few bottles back onto his massive shelf, “I advise you to stay here for a few days to allow for your body to heal but, after that you will be returning to your village. Until then, I ask that you leave me alone unless, you are in need of something…”

Your irritation with him increases as his brash responses continue, “I have to stay here for a few because of a cut?”

Yoongi turns back to you momentarily, “Your foot is injured as well but, if you think you can make the journey back yourself, by all means, be my guest…”

Looking towards your foot, you wiggle your toes, feeling a slight sensation of pain as you do.

“What happened to my foot?”

“You tore your anterior talofibular ligament…it happened when you fell.” His back is to you again as he arranges the bottles in a neater fashion, his tone one of disinterest.

“My anteater tylo what?” You press, shaking your head at his behavior.

He snorts at your pronunciation, a slight smirk threatening his mouth, “Your anterior talofibular ligament is a flat triangular band of fibers, that extends obliquely downward and lateralward between the adjacent margins of the tibia and fibula, on the front aspect of the syndesmosis…”

Your mouth hangs open as he delivers his explanation, frantically looking toward your foot in an attempt to make sense of what he was saying.

“That was wildly unhelpful…”

Yoongi turns back toward you, his sharp features unimpressed by your response.

“My healing of such a ligament should be considered more than helpful…”

“Am I able to walk with this injury?” You inquire, brows rising, mirroring his unamused expression.

He shrugs, “With minor discomfort, yes…”

A hand comes up with your question as Yoongi leans against the countertop, “…then why can’t I leave?”

“You are free to do as you wish however, if you leave now, you will die.” He explains, far too casually given the content of his sentence.

The sunlight shining through the window makes his statement even more perplexing and, you gesture to it as you respond, “What why? It’s the middle of the day?”

Yoongi’s lips quirk up, a smirk still threatening his mouth as he notices the irritation in your tone.

“Death can occur regardless of the time of day.”

You huff, eyes rolling in incredulity, still fighting the urge to raise your voice, “…yes I’m aware of how death works but, I thought your little light show got rid of that thing.”

“Sonum Aquarum.” He corrects you immediately as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“What?”

“It’s not a light show, it’s an aqueous blast of energy and, it requires hundreds of years of training. Also…” He stretches slightly, face turned up with arrogance and, you try to ignore the way his peasant blouse opens up to expose the pale skin of his chest. “…my blast killed that one creature. It did not eradicate their species. There are still thousands of them and, you are more vulnerable than you were last night, there would be no chance of you making it to the border before sundown and, I refuse to tell you the way back until, I’m sure that you’re ready.”

A defeated sigh leaves your lips then, realizing that until Yoongi was willing to take you back, you were stuck with him. The rumors made sense now, he was insufferable.

“Fine.” You surrender, trying to make yourself comfy on the cot, feeling capable of sitting up now that the pain in your ribs had subsided slightly.

Yoongi smirks then, feeling victorious that you had finally halted your questioning.

“You can make yourself comfortable down here. I will prepare meals for you twice a day but, there are fruits and vegetables in the garden should you get hungry, I can show you later. The bathroom is through this archway,” He gestures to the archway beside you that was filled with books, “and around the corner. My bedroom is upstairs; you are not permitted up there under any circumstances. I will be out during a few evenings to…”

He pauses then, cat eyes darting from side to side as he searches for the right word.

You smirk, raising your brows, “To?”

He rolls his eyes at your smirk, looking slightly uncomfortable as he continues, “Nevermind, don’t worry about it, just stay downstairs while you’re here and, touch as little as you can, I don’t want you messing things up…”

“Understood. I’ll stay out of your way…”

He eyes you suspiciously, desiring to question why you weren’t trying to argue but, he decides to drop it as he nods to the archway again, “There is a place for you to sleep through here, there is a fire burning most nights so, please be careful not to fall inside.”

“Is roasted human not your thing?” You quip, leaning back against the wall, already dreading the thought of being trapped in Yoongi’s presence.

There is something dark that flashes over his face for a moment and, for the first time since you spoke with him, you felt yourself growing slightly afraid of him. He smirks as he tilts his head slightly to the right and, when he does; you confirm that he possesses a pair of fangs.

“Human meat is too tough with very little pay off, I prefer the taste of their soul, it’s much sweeter…”

His words send a shiver down your spine, your lips pursing in an attempt to hide your obvious reaction to him. However, he can already pick up on the increase in your heartrate and, the change in your body’s chemistry, the knowledge pleases him. 

“You’re a demon then? Is that what you’re trying to tell me?” You challenge him, not wanting to display any signs of weakness. 

“You asked me a question and, I responded. Now,” He averts his gaze, a satisfied smirk still lingering on his mouth as he looks up towards the ceiling, “…entertaining you has been thoroughly exhausting so, I’ll be retiring to my room for the day, there’s a plate of food in the other room, eat it..”

You roll your eyes, feeling extremely frustrated with his attitude but, the last few moments of conversation have advised you against testing Yoongi’s patience, for the time being at least.

“Sweet dreams.” You force a fake smile onto your face, something Yoongi can clearly sense, his face turning up in disgust.

“Mm.” He hums, unimpressed by your comment before, turning to head out of the apothecary, “…don’t touch anything.”

You shoot a thumbs up his way, wincing slightly as dull pain radiates in your ribs, still sporting your fake smile.

He rolls his eyes for the thousandth time before striding out of the room, leaving you alone with your thoughts.

“Don’t touch anything…” You mutter to yourself, bitterness prominent in your tone.

“What’s that?” Yoongi calls from the other room, his voice halfway up the staircase.

How the hell did he hear you?

“I’m just committing your orders to memory your majesty…” You call back, trying to appear nonchalant.

“Well, do it quietly then…” You can hear the bite in his voice but, given that he is in the other

room; you miss the smirk plastered on his face.

You roll your eyes, leaning against the stone wall, wishing desperately that you were home in your bed, listening to the sounds of your grandfather tinkering in your back garden.

A pang of worry rushes through you; your village likely thinks that you’re gone: taken by the forest, never to be seen again. You shudder at the thought, pleading with the powers that be that none of them come looking for you.

There were a million questions running around your head at the moment. Yoongi wasn’t much help in explaining what had happened to you but, there were two things you knew for sure:

1. There was something evil in the forest, something real and tangible

2. Yoongi wasn’t human.

An uneasy feeling asserts itself into your stomach… 

He said quite a few things that unnerved you: the bit about his venom, the mention of eating human meat, and liking the taste of human souls? Was he just messing with you? Was he serious? Should you wait long enough to find out? 

He did save your life. Why would he save your life if he was planning on harming you? 

Unless, well, he was planning on eating you? 

Fuck...what if he was planning on eating you? 

A shiver runs through your spine and, while the fantastical side of your brain really wants to run with the idea that Yoongi is some sort of monster, the logical side reminds you that not only did he save your life but, he saved your grandfather’s as well. You didn't like the idea of placing your fate into a stranger but, right now, that was your only option.  

With an audible sigh, you decide to hoist yourself up, carefully, because you’re still very sore. You scan the wall full of bookshelves, your brain going fuzzy as it catches a glimpse of a few of the titles, some you recognize but, some appear to be in various other languages. There were so many of them adorning the shelves, you couldn’t imagine anyone finishing all of the titles in their lifetime. Yoongi was known to be solitary however so, maybe all of his free time was divided evenly amongst healing, reading and, being creepy.  

Makes sense.  

Yoongi’s den is quaint and, if you were under different circumstances, you might actually think it was cozy. A sizeable, black, L-shaped sofa takes up most of the space in front of the massive and somewhat intimidating fireplace. Yoongi was right to warn you about falling in, the gray cobblestone structure stretches a third of the way up the extremely high ceiling, the crackling fire doing its job as it warms the entirety of the room. There are very few decorations apart from side tables positioned at either end of the couch both of which are carved from marble. There is a crème colored woven blanket thrown over the sofa as well as a few pieces of art that looked both expensive and imported. You wonder briefly about how Yoongi manages to afford marble and, expensive artwork but, given that he is likely a DEMON you decide that it’s not all that strange.  

You meander around the sofa, taking small careful steps to avoid causing yourself any pain. There is a cozy spot in the corner of the couch that’s calling your name and, although you’re quite sure that you slept a few hours through the night, you could feel your lids growing heavy once more.

The last 24 hours had been exhausting.  

Pulling the throw blanket off of the corner of the sofa, you snuggle against the plush cushions beneath you.  

Demon or not, the man had great taste in furniture.  

It doesn’t take long for the exhaustion to take over and, before you know it, you’re drifting off into a deep sleep.  

------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

  “Meow, move out of my way, I’m going whether you like it or not. Your boredom is not my problem…”  The rasp of Yoongi’s voice is simmering just above your consciousness and, you feel yourself being slowly drawn out of your nap. 

As your eyelids flutter open, vision still hazy from your slumber, you panic slightly as you realize the room is pitch black. 

“Y…Yoongi? Is that you?” The voice that leaves your mouth is shaky and thick, your vocal chords clearly not ready for speaking yet. 

A deep sigh as let out from the figure in question before you hear the sound of snapping. At the conclusion of the sound, the entirety of the room is light up with a least 4 dozen candles lining every bit of free space in Yoongi’s den. 

You spot him near the door of his cottage, dressed in a black hooded cloak, an unamused expression on his face. 

“Obviously it’s me, who else would it be? Why are you awake?” He grumbles, black hair sticking up in all different directions. 

“Wait…how did you?” You whip your head around, amazement obvious in your features, “How did you do that?” 

He rolls his eyes, ignoring your question, “Why are you awake?”  You sit up, wincing slightly at the dull ache all over your body, his words causing your irritation to flare up, “Your voice woke me up and, I took a nap in the middle of the day, how long did you expect me to sleep for?” 

Yoongi’s face turns up, a mixture of shock and, amazement painting his cat-like features, his brows knitted together in scrutiny, “What do you mean, my voice woke you up?” 

“I heard you talking to your cat,” You explain, matter of factly, adjusting the sleeves of your sweater, wishing desperately that you had a different change of clothes, “Or I assumed it was your cat, unless someone else is here…” 

Yoongi’s pale face turns practically translucent, he rushes over to the arm of the couch, peering at you curiously, “I wasn’t…how did you hear me? Who are you? Did someone send you here?” 

Yoongi’s sudden interrogation alarms you and, it causes you shrink away from him slightly, “What? No? I told you why I was here, no one sent me…why are you freaking out?” 

Yoongi’s mouth opens and then closes it, his brain currently in full panic mode. In the midst of his crisis, a fairly sizeable black cat jumps effortlessly onto the arm of the couch. It perches in front of Yoongi, wide golden eyes boring into your very soul, an almost knowing look in its gaze.  

An uneasy feeling stirs in your stomach as you stare back into the cat’s eyes but, you point it out none the less, trying to ease Yoongi’s sudden nervousness, “This is your cat right? I heard you talking to them this morning too, it’s not a big deal, I’m a really light sleeper, I wake up at the drop of a pin…”  

Your words only increase his panic and, his wide eyes glance towards the cat and, then back at you, his body language stiffening, “You…you can see him?”  

You can’t help the laugh that comes from your mouth, “The giant cat sitting in front of you? Of course I can see him, are you feeling ok? Do you need a nap or something?”  

The cat’s eyes seem to glisten with amusement but, you do your best to avoid it’s gaze, something about it or him, as Yoongi had mentioned, was slightly off.  

“Who are you?” There’s acid dripping from his tone and, it frightens you, so much so that, you scoot further into the sofa cushions, your hands coming up in defense. 

“I’m Y/N? Do you not remember me? We spoke this morning? You saved my life?” You venture, the perplexity of the situation increasing your heartbeat. 

“I’m not suffering from memory loss human…tell me who you really are…”  

You hadn’t been close enough to him to really notice the color of his eyes but, you’re fairly certain that if they were as black as they are now, you would have noticed. 

Before Yoongi can speak again, his cat lets out a menacing hiss, its golden eyes narrowed in aggression. You flinch at the sound before you realize that the hiss wasn’t directed towards you, it was directed towards Yoongi.  

His eyes widen at the sound and he steps back, “What? Don’t give me that look, she’s obviously not who she says she is…” 

He’s talking to the cat as if the cat had the ability to understand him and, you wait on bated breath as Meow seems to stare intently into Yoongi’s eyes.  

A wordless exchange is all that’s needed before Yoongi relaxes slightly, his cool demeanor returning once more.  

You’re confusion however, has yet to wane. 

“Yoongi, I’m not here to hurt you, everything I told you is true.” You attempt to find his gaze but, he avoids looking at you, his eyes still black but, fading to a much softer brown, “Might I remind you that, the only reason I’m still here is because, you refuse to tell me the way back….” 

At that Yoongi rolls his eyes, “I’m not refusing because, I enjoy your company human, quite the opposite actually, I’m refusing because, you won’t be able to reach the border until you’re healthy, I think you underestimate how far away from home you are…” 

His words are paired with a snide expression, his eyes flitting in your direction. The information sends uneasiness into your stomach but, you have no choice but to take his word. 

 You won’t be facing the forest alone again. 

“How far are we exactly?  

He smirks, “Far…” 

His response frustrates you beyond belief: WHY WAS HE SO VAGUE? 

A groan leaves your lips as you slump back into the sofa, “Are you ever going to answer my questions properly? I don’t know how you expect me to feel comfortable here if you refuse to tell me anything…” 

Yoongi shrugs, “I don’t expect you to feel anything human, your feelings are not important to me…” 

This offends you, of course it does but, you’re don’t have time to get your feelings hurt. You want answers. 

“My feelings aren’t important but, my life is?” You press, brows knitted in displeasure 

Yoongi ponders this for a moment, pursing his lips and, nodding, “That’s a fair conclusion…are we done now? I have somewhere I need to be.” 

With a defeated sigh, you push yourself off of the sofa, stumbling slightly as you do, “Whatever.” 

You brush past him, ignoring the way he smells: (like fresh pine and, lavender) and, your movement causes him to flinch but, you don’t notice.  

Yoongi smirks again, pleased with your defeat, “Where are you going?” 

“Oh, you know, a place…”  

Yoongi’s smirk grows, feeding off of your annoyance, “You are permitted to look around downstairs but, I would advise you to keep clear of the leeches, they’re very eager, particularly when your blood is sweet…” 

A shiver runs down your spine and, you whip towards him, “Leeches? What are you talking about?” 

Yoongi has already disappeared through the doorway and, if you aren’t mistaken, you could swear you hear him chuckling as he does. 

Disgusting.  

The night ended up dragging on for quite some time. You busied yourself with looking through Yoongi’s collection of books, well trying to at least; the man has a least 8 billion of them. After the 12th or 13th you ended up falling asleep against the shelves in the apothecary room and, you’re pretty sure you had 4 or 5 nightmares involving leeches. 

Thanks to Yoongi… 

He had been out all night, doing god knows what and, didn’t return until sunrise.  

He walks into the door, sore and defeated, shrugging his cloak off and, placing it onto the rack beside his door. His brow is furrowed as he looks around for you, feeling slightly uneasy as he scans the cottage. 

“Human?” He calls out, trying to sense you, hoping that you hadn’t run off. 

Most people do… 

He rounds the corner into his apothecary before, his eyes narrow at his “cat” who is sleeping soundly in your lap.  

Leaning against the wall, he smirks down at your sleeping expression, lips pouted, brow furrowed slightly, (kind of cute). Meow wakes up then, sensing his presence, yawning and extending his chubby black paws, golden eyes peering up at Yoongi. 

“Don’t look at me like that…” He mutters before knocking his knuckles on the wall, “Human, it’s time to wake up, you must eat…”  

The sound startles you awake, your eyes popping open, bleary and confused. With a still furrowed brow, you look up towards Yoongi, unamused by his actions. 

“You could have chosen a nicer way to wake me up…” 

Yoongi rolls his eyes, “This is my home, not a bed and breakfast and, you were meant to be asleep in the den. Sleeping in such a position is going to prolong your healing process…” 

Upon rubbing your eyes, you notice that Yoongi’s cat is resting comfortably in your lap and, rather than bickering with Yoongi, you smile softly, fingers stroking against the cat’s obsidian fur. 

“Sorry…I fell asleep reading…” You are distracted by the creature in your lap, who is now purring and, nudging your hand, trying to garner more of your attention. “You cat is really cute…” 

Yoongi feels uneasy as he watches you interact with Meow, his confusion at an all-time high, “He’s not a cat,” He grumbles before extending a hand to you, “Come, you need to eat…” 

You’re perplexed by his response and, regard his hand warily, “What do you mean, he’s not a cat? Do you call him something different?” 

Yoongi ignores your question and, merely jerks his hand towards you again, “It’s been 15 hours since you’ve eaten your last meal…we don’t have time for questions…” 

You look up at him, grimacing at his outstretched hand before, a thought pops into your head, “If I eat, will you answer one question??” 

Yoongi’s mouth twitches, fighting a smile at your ridiculous request, “What do you mean IF you eat? You have to eat to survive so_” He cuts himself off, face wrinkled in confusion, “I don’t negotiate with mortals, now let’s go, I have things to do…” 

You’re whining at this point, your curiosity rising to an agonizing level, “Yoongi, please? I don’t know where I am, or who you are and, you keep calling me mortal or human, and, you talked about consuming my soul and, apparently there’s leeches in your house?? I was almost killed by a monster in the forest, my village probably thinks I’m dead and, I’m going to go insane if you don’t tell me SOMETHING…” You can feel the tears beginning to form in the corner of your eyes and, Yoongi looks as though he’s cringing in discomfort. You aren’t sure if your mini tantrum is just annoying or if he can actually sense your pain but, either way, he sighs, peeved that your emotions are even affecting him the first place. 

“Ok, fine, I’ll answer a few questions,” At his words, you perk up and he jerks his hand towards you again with a pointed look, “AFTER you eat.”  

“Eat? No problem, I’ll eat as much as you want…” You rejoice, a smile on your face as you take his hand, using it to rise to your feet. Meow scurries off of your lap as you do so, standing beside Yoongi, regarding you with a wise gaze. 

“Follow me…” He commands, leaving the room, insuring that he doesn’t move to quickly. 

Yoongi leads you through the den and, out through the backdoor. You’re expecting to feel the cool crisp air of the morning but, instead you enter another room, entirely enclosed by glass windows. Sunlight streams through the trees and, cast leaf-shaped shadows on marble countertops. The room is beautiful and, like the other parts of Yoongi’s cottage, the perimeter of the room is also covered in greenery. It seemed to grow out of the walls.  

“Sit…” He nods to the stool in front of the counter, before stepping around it and, retrieving a few things from his ice box. 

You don’t comment about his bossiness, although at some point, you definitely plan on mentioning it. You’re not a fan of being told what to do but, you decide that the nicer you are to Yoongi, the more he will be willing to tell you. 

“Your cottage is beautiful…” You murmur softly, eyes scanning the ceiling once again, feeling very much like you are in some sort of fairy tale. 

Yoongi is getting to work on some sort of pastry, long, nimble fingers beginning to kneed and, stretch at some dough. He doesn’t look up from his current task but, you can see his lips twitch again, “Flattery will get you nowhere with me human…” 

At this you roll your eyes, propping your chin against your hand, “I’m being serious. I’ve never seen anything like this before; we don’t have plants growing out of our ceilings back in the village…” 

“Eat…” He commands, pushing a plate towards you, complete with some sort of puff pastry along with freshly cut berries and, a dusting of powdered sugar. 

How the… 

“Wait, how did you_”  

He cuts you off, brows rising to challenge you, “Are you going back on our agreement?”  

“N-No I just…” You defend, completely bewildered at how quickly he just made your breakfast 

“Then do as you promised. I will hear your questions after you’re finished…”  

His tone never leaves much room for discussion and, you have to consciously remind yourself not to retaliate.  

He is starting to infuriate you… 

You merely nod though, saving all your quips for later as you dig into the food he prepared. 

The breakfast is delicious and, you don’t realize how hungry you are until you take your first bite.  

“Where am I right now?” You ask as Yoongi dumps your dirty dishes in the sink, your burning curiosity becoming too much to handle. 

Yoongi sighs through his nose, wiping his hands on a linen towel before turning to you, “That’s a very complicated question…”   

He regards you with a sage gaze and, you note that despite him looking around your age, you couldn’t help but feel that he was centuries older than you. 

“I’m listening…” 

“Let me ask a question first…” He wages and as you begin to protest, he silences you with his raised hand, “It’s important…” 

“Fine…” 

“Who gave you the map?” He inquires, pulling the scrap of paper out of his pants pocket, which is odd considering you know for a fact that’s he’s changed clothes since yesterday morning.  

“My grandfather…he says he’s been here before…” You explain, eyeing the map between his fingers, “He says you saved his life…” 

At your second comment, Yoongi cocks his head, “Did he give you any further details?” 

“You still haven’t answered my question…” You point out, growing frustrated once again.  

He sighs, lowering his hand to place the map on the counter, his dark eyes flitting around the room, “My house cannot be found by just anyone, I have it hidden underneath a veil, a protection spell. If you’re grandfather found my cottage, it would be because he possessed certain…abilities.” 

Yoongi’s answer surprises you, your brow furrows, “What kind of abilities?” 

He shrugs, not looking directly at you, his fingers picking at the edges of the map, “It can be any number of things but, regardless, if he did in fact, find my cottage, he must have done so using a spell…” 

“Would the map have been useless to me then?” You press, your curiosity overflowing, the eagerness to ask another question hot on your tongue. 

Yoongi nods, a smirk playing on his lips, “This map is nonsense, if you would have continued to follow it, you would have ended up back in your village.”  You lean back, confusion painting your features, “What? That’s impossible, he was planning on following it himself to come and find you…” 

“Well, either your grandfather never found my cottage in the first place or,” He regards you with a satisfied expression, delighting in your confusion, “…he left out the wrong map.” 

It hits you then; your grandfather fooled you. He knew you wouldn’t sit idly by whilst he essentially walked to his death. He knew that you were just the right amount of stubborn to enter the forest in his place, he knew… 

“Bastard,” You curse him but, you have to admit, you’re hurt by this conclusion. Why would he knowingly lead you in the wrong direction? Why wouldn’t he stop you if he knew you were going in his place? “Why would he do that?” 

Yoongi’s smirk has grown significantly and, you’re starting to grow uneasy at the thought of Yoongi actually being evil.  

“What is your grandfather’s name?” 

A deep breath is pulled through your nose, “Y/GF/N…he said you saved him as a boy, when he almost drowned in the river. He told my village that he came back to find you, to thank you…” 

Yoongi seems to perk up at your response, “I remember him…clever boy.” 

The man before you looked as though he was your age but, given the fact that he knew your grandfather when he was just a child, something isn’t adding up. This leads you to your next question, “How old are you?” 

His mouth twitches, “It’s impolite to ask someone their age Y/N…” 

Your brows rise in defiance, your patience paper thin, “My grandfather is 71, you should have aged significantly since then but, you haven’t, you look as though your my age.” A pointed look is sent his way, “You said you would answer my questions...” 

Yoongi chuckles at your eagerness, fangs peeking out from under his top lip, his eyes darkening as they finally look into yours, “Seven hundred and twenty seven…” 

Your eyes widen your heart dropping into your stomach as you try to respond calmly, “So, you’re a vampire?” 

Yoongi snorts, face wrinkled in disgust, “Heavens no. Vampires are awful creatures, dreadfully unrefined…” 

“Then, what are you?”  

A scowl is beginning to make its way onto Yoongi’s face as he is beginning to grow irritated by your tone, “I am beyond your scope of understanding…human.” 

He spits the last word, as if it’s meant to insult you and, you can sense the tension in the room. You know you have to dial it back if you want answers so you nod, conceding with his answer. 

“Fair enough. What attacked me in the forest?” 

He seems to relax slightly at your change in subject, “The creatures in the forest, the ones that are responsible for the disappearances of your people…they are the remains of an unaligned spell gone wrong. They feed off of organic energy and, slowly drain the life of their victims. Humans are their primary prey but, they feed off of larger animals as well…when the pickings are slim.” 

You rest your chin on your hand, intrigued, “How powerful are they?” 

“They are powerful enough to compel your people into the forest but, they don’t stand a chance against light, whether that be sunlight or aligned magic…” 

“Aligned magic?” 

“Magic that aligns with basic morals, magic that doesn’t seek to harm others or exploit the natural order of the world…” Yoongi explains, the timbre in his voice almost soothing as he continues, “The creatures are known as The Nahbbun, or the vicious but, they have been called many names over the course of history…” 

“Do they exist outside of our forest?���  

He shakes his head, “Not in this magnitude. A tainted space may contain a few of them but, this forest in particular, contains thousands of them…” 

A shiver runs down your spine then but, you can’t help your desire to learn more, “Because of the spell that was performed here?” 

He nods sagely, “The person responsible was exceedingly powerful; this level of darkness cannot be contained…” 

Attempting to take in all of the new information, you pause for a moment, collecting your thoughts. You notice that Yoongi looks, almost, defeated, as if the information he shared burdened him somehow. 

“What happened to the others? My people have never returned once they are lost.” You shift your tone to a gentler one, trying to ease into touchier subjects. 

Yoongi stiffens, “Your people are typically conjured away from my cottage and, I can only sense them if they breach my perimeter. Even if I have managed to intervene, they often slip out in the middle of the night…there have been very few I have been able to save…” 

“You saved me…” You point, eyes much softer as you sense his genuine regret. 

“Yes, well,” He coughs, looking away from you momentarily, “I suppose I did…that is unless you plan on sneaking out in the middle of the night.” 

Smiling, you reach out towards him and, resist the urge to giggle as he flinches slightly, “Thank you…for saving me and, for saving my grandfather all those years ago.” 

His expression shifts again and, if you’re not mistaken, you can see a bit of softness in his eyes but, he quickly composes himself as he waves you off, “Has your curiosity been sated for now? You have kept me held up for quite some time…” 

It’s only been ten minutes or so since this conversation began but, you don’t want to risk Yoongi shutting you off all together so you nod and offer one last sentiment, “I wouldn’t have come here…if I didn’t think it was my only option. I’m sorry for all the trouble…” 

A smile threatens Yoongi’s mouth, “You’re the least of my burdens human, don’t worry yourself on my behalf. Focus on healing so, you may return home, I can imagine your grandfather is very worried…” 

You nod, making your way off of the stool, “Thank you for breakfast…” 

He nods back at you, his lips pursed in an odd sort of smile, “I’ll prepare dinner for you at sunset…” 

You smirk to yourself as you head out of the kitchen, “Sounds romantic…” 

At your comment, Yoongi rolls his eyes, a minor sense of dread overcoming him as he feels his cheeks heating up at your comment “Don’t be ridiculous…” 

He hears your giggle right before the door swings shut behind you and, he does his best to ignore the way the sound warms his heart. 

“Humans are dreadful…” He grumbles to himself as he attempts to soothe the redness of his cheeks. At his comment, Meow, who had been listening in, meows at his feet, gold eyes looking up at him knowingly. 

“Quiet…” He hushes down at him before heading out of the kitchen and, quickly making his way upstairs to his room. 

Yoongi leaves the cottage that night after you fall asleep. The two of you had a relatively pleasant dinner which consisted of an exquisite plate of pasta Yoongi made, or uh, conjured from scratch and, cinnamon teacake for dessert. The conversation was scarce as Yoongi really doesn’t enjoy talking but, he responded when necessary and, kept his sarcastic comments to a minimum. 

Which is honestly all you can ask for.  

The evening ended as soon as it began as Yoongi was very eager to get you to fall asleep so, he could do whatever it was that he did after the sun set. However, you had yet to sleep a full night in Yoongi’s house.

Something always seems to wake you in the middle of the night. 

You are currently huddled up on his sofa bed underneath a thick woolen blanket when you hear the faint sound of meowing that seemed to be coming from above you. Yoongi’s cat is clearly not pleased with the fact that he’s disappeared.  

The cottage isn’t as inviting when you’re in it alone, in fact, the howling wind just outside of the walls, makes an uneasy feeling settle in your stomach. The scraping of the tree branches against the cottage’s exterior startles you momentarily before, you take a deep breath in an attempt to calm yourself. Meow continues uh meowing upstairs, the sound growing louder and louder. You’re beginning to wonder if something is wrong with him.  

Maybe Yoongi forgot to feed him?  

Another howl from the top of the stairs sends you stumbling off of the sofa and towards the noise. The floorboards creak beneath you as you approach the seemingly never-ending spiral staircase.  

“Kitty? Are you ok?” You call your voice unstable. 

Silence. 

With a furrowed brow, you place a foot on the bottom step, your eyes squinting as they peer upwards into darkness, “Meow? Come here kitty…it’s ok, Yoongi will be home soon…” 

The silence is deafening and, you feel that familiar sinking feeling in your stomach. The wind beyond the cottage walls seems to halt as the hair on the back of your neck stands up.  

“You…uh you don’t have to be scared ok? I don’t want to hurt you…I just want to make sure you’re ok…” 

You hear it then, the sound that makes your blood run cold: an insidious almost childlike giggle sounds from the top of the stairs and, you step back immediately, feeling threatened by the sound.  

“Oh, little human…it’s not me who should be scared…” The angelic cadence of the voice contrasts against the clear threat in its words.  

You feel the need to run but, you’re frozen stiff with fear, “Wh-who’s there? Who are you?” 

Another burst of giggles echoes throughout the cottage and, you desperately wish that the floor would swallow you whole.  

“You know my name…” 

“I..I don’t know your name, I…” You pause then, realization washing over you, “Wait. Meow? Is that you?” 

The giggle you hear now is much less threatening but, the movement in the darkness still keeps you on guard, “Yoongi gave me that name out of spite. Personally, I would have chosen something much more endearing…” 

Your hand is placed on the bannister as you desperately try to spot him, “I don’t understand…aren’t you his cat? How are you able to speak?” 

Meow snickers, tickled by your lack of knowledge, “Don’t you remember Yoongi warning you that I wasn’t a cat. Silly human, you really should pay better attention…” 

You do remember Yoongi saying something of the sort but, you had dismissed it as him choosing to be difficult.  

“Then, what are you?” 

Footsteps echo at the top of the stairs, light and delicate, as if someone is tip-toeing their way towards you. It makes your heart pound in anticipation.  

A man appears halfway down the stairs, causing a gasp to leave your mouth. He’s roughly the same size as Yoongi, with the same raven-colored hair atop his head, except there is a bit of orange peeking through. He, like Yoongi, possesses a quality that you can’t quite pin point along with an otherworldly amount of beauty. His features are much softer however, his pink lips plump and turned up in a playful smirk, his eyes heavy with mischief, his body sporting a minimum amount of clothing.  

“I am beyond your scope of understanding human…” The man deepens his voice, clearly mimicking Yoongi’s words before he bursts into another fit of giggles, “What a ridiculous thing to say…” 

Your words seem to stop in the base of your throat, unable to comprehend what exactly is going on.  

“You’re…uh, you’re…” You’re truly making an attempt to speak but, nothing seems to be coming out. The man notices and takes pleasure in your flustered state, another giggle leaving his lips. 

“What’s the matter Y/N? Cat got your tongue?” He winks and, you swear you feel like you’re going to faint. 

You thought Yoongi had managed to balance being both beautiful and threatening but, this man seems to take the cake as far as duality is concerned.  

“If you’re not Yoongi’s cat, then who are you?”  

Meow cocks his head, the moonlight streaming in through the window illuminating his naked top half as his hand comes up to push his hair back. It’s almost as if he is intentionally trying to distract you.  

“I am…a friend of Yoongi’s…” He begins, turning his gaze towards yours as he slowly starts to descend down the staircase, “We’ve known each other for quite some time…” 

You step back, still on guard, already growing impatient with a lack of answers, “A friend of Yoongi’s, who just so happens to shape shift into a cat…” 

Another giggle, a few more steps, Meow is getting closer to you, “Mhm. You’re growing frustrated aren’t you? I can taste it…” 

“I’m growing tired of a lack of answers…” You counter, trying to hold your ground as he approaches you. 

Meow smirks, his pupils dilating to the point of vertical slits and, you can’t decide if he looks more like a cat or a snake.   

“Ooh she wants answers does she? You’re quite nosy Y/N…I like that about you.” His tone is shifting to a slightly more sultry tone as he leans against the bannister. “However…I don’t give away anything for free…answers come with a price.” 

You don’t back down and instead, stand up straighter, “Name your price then.” 

His cat like grin grows, his eyes scanning over you slowly, drinking you in, “It’s nothing major…just a taste…” 

“A taste of what…” 

Meow’s eyes darken, “Of you…” 

You back away, all of the alarms signaling in your body, preparing to run.  

The man before bursts into another round of giggling, his head falling back as he braces against the bannister, “I’m only kidding. Goodness, you’re so wound up, if Yoongi had any sense in him, he’d be requesting to heal you in other ways, to ease your tension. It’s certainly the route I would take…” 

A shaky breath leaves you as you glare at him, “What are you?” 

Meow’s laughter dies down, however, his smirk remains, “Your people have many names for me…”  

Your brows rise, conveying that you are searching for a concrete answer and, Meow concedes, turning to the side to reveal his bare ribs to you. Squinting, you can see that he has a several black marks adorning his skin. You don’t recognize the language but, just before you inquire about them, Meow speaks up again. 

“Siren…” He practically whispers the word, a delighted grin on his face, “Do you know the meaning of the word?” 

Siren.  

You’ve heard the term from many of the sailors who reside in your village, they told stories of beautiful women luring their men to the ocean with their song before, devouring them whole. It was easy to dismiss their stories as drunken banter so; you never paid too much attention. However, you nod at Meow’s question, “Yes, sailors from my village have told stories containing that word…you don’t exactly match their description.” 

Another twinkling giggle, “We take whatever form we need to…human men are the easiest targets.” 

“Is that…” You pause, biting your lip, “Is that why you’re here with Yoongi? To prey on him?” 

“Mm I wish. He would be a delicious meal,” Meow muses, “but no, I am bound to Yoongi until I have paid my karmic toll…” 

“Karmic toll? What do you mean? 

 “I was a very naughty boy when I was alive Y/N…” Meow giggles, biting his puffy bottom lip, “ and an accumulation of bad karma is keeping me from entering Paradise. My soul was assigned to Yoongi for…correction.” 

Your stomach sinks, “You’re dead? Wait, if you’re dead then how can I-“ 

He cuts you off, “Ah yes, Yoongi and I were wondering the same thing…it seems as though you possess ‘the sight’.”  

“The sight?” You breathe, growing rather eager as you finally receive some answers to your burning questions.   

“Yes, it is believed that there are a select group of humans who have inherited the ability to see things beyond their mortal world. It’s a rather uncommon occurrence; personally, I’ve never encountered a human who could see me in my true form.” Meow stretches his arms high above his head, not unlike a cat, making a small noise at the back of his throat.  

“Is this,” You gesture to him, “your true form?” 

He chuckles, nodding, a sense of pride washing over him, “It is, lucky me right? Although, I often take the form of what my prey desires the most. However, with you, my true form seems to align quite well with your desires…” 

Your cheeks grow hot at his comment, your heart rate increasing slightly, “Can you still harm me when you’re dead?” 

A wide grin presents himself on Meow’s mouth, “What makes you think I’d be interested in harming you?” 

“Well referring to me as prey is quite a big tell Meow, what else would you have me think?” 

The grin never falters as he steps towards you, hungry gaze drinking in the sight of you, “I only kill when I have to feed and, I only play with those who come willingly…I’m not completely deranged.” 

“You…eat people?”  

He snickers, “No, silly girl, I consume their soul…”  

His response doesn’t shock you but, as your brain connects his statement with a familiar statement from Yoongi, you begin to grow nervous. 

“I prefer the taste of their soul…it’s much sweeter…” 

You pull at the sleeves of your sweater in an attempt to comfort yourself, feeling rather faint, “Yoongi mentioned consuming human souls…is he a siren too?” 

Meow pouts his lips, “Hmph no, he’d be much less of a bore if he was…he is something else entirely. My people have no name for him but…” Meow trails off cat-like eyes scanning the perimeter of the room, as if he were afraid of someone overhearing him, “I can tell you this, he is one of the very few creatures we sirens fear and, if I were you, I would watch my neck around him…” 

Meow’s words strike fear into your heart but, before you can respond, the sound of a familiar voice sounds throughout the room. 

“Jimin!” Yoongi barks, his tone sharp and unrelenting with a glare to match. 

Jimin?  

Meow giggles before you before disappearing with a light thud, shifting back into his cat form and, scurrying up the staircase.  

“Vile creature! Have you learned nothing???” Yoongi shouts at the ceiling, fists clenching at his sides, anger radiating off of him. 

Meow or Jimin’s laughter echoes against the walls of Yoongi’s cottage and you shrink away from the volume of his voice.  

Yoongi’s glare flits over to you, scanning your figure, “Did he hurt you?”  

You shake your head, backing away from him, “No…he…” 

He cuts you off with a raise of his hand, irritation heavy in his voice, “What did I tell about proper sleep? What are you doing awake? The remedy I gave you should have been enough to keep you asleep until sunrise…” 

Why was he laying into you? You did nothing wrong, in fact, it’s you who should be laying into him, demanding answers yet again. 

“Well I’m sorry but, your demon cat woke me up….” You spit the words, feeling furious at all of the ambiguity, “And then, proceeded to tell me that he was dead and paying for his sins, that included CONSUMING HUMAN SOULS! WHY ON EARTH WOULD YOU LEAVE ME ALONE WITH HIM?” 

Yoongi stiffens at the tone of your voice, his anger at an all-time high, “Watch your tone mortal, I won’t be disrespected in my own home…” 

“Tell me who you are…” You seethe your fight or flight response clearly ready to do the former. 

Yoongi steps towards you, the power within him ebbing and flowing against his body, his black pupils slowly taking over the entirety of his eyes, “I don’t owe you an explanation…”  

You back away slightly but, stand your ground, eyes narrowed in his direction, “Jimin said you were something to fear, he said to watch my neck around you. You owe me enough to ensure that you aren’t going to kill me…” 

He smirks, his eyes entirely vacant of color, “Jimin was correct. I suggest you heed his warning.” 

Despite the raging tempo of your heartbeat, you puff your chest out, taking a step in Yoongi’s direction. 

“I’m not afraid of you.” 

Yoongi’s breath can be felt against your face, his lips, wet and almost lingering against yours, “Really? Then why is your heart sputtering in your chest hm? Why does your body tremble in my presence?” 

There is something stirring within the pit of your stomach that you don’t recognize but, your anger overshadows it. 

“What. Are. You?” You press again, ignoring his other questions.  

His eyes seem to glimmer momentarily, a color flashing across the surface, his sizeable hands bracing against the wall behind you, trapping your body. Yoongi leans in and, for a moment you think he’s going to kiss you but, his lips make a detour over to your ear instead. Your heart is practically in your throat and, the odd sensation grows stronger and stronger within you. Yoongi’s lips brush over the shell of your ear, whispering a language you don’t recognize, 

“Sleep now human, before your mouth gets you in trouble…” 

Darkness envelops you and your body goes limp, causing Yoongi’s arms to come out and catch you.  

------------------------------------------------------

“Human…” A low voice rumbles beside you, slowly pulling you from your unconscious state.  

You know the voice but, the fog in your brain can’t quite place it, the only thing you can feel is a dull throbbing your temples.  

“Y/N…”  

It was Yoongi. 

Your eyes pop open, immediately on guard, your hazy vision noting that Yoongi was sitting on the arm chair beside the sofa. 

A white blouse adorned his top half, the ties loosened, exposing his chest, his hair damp, suggesting that he had just bathed.  

You sit up slowly, back away from his figure, “What did you do to me?” 

He rolls his eyes, “I subdued you. You were getting out of control…” 

“You drugged me? What the hell is wrong with you?” 

Yoongi scoffs, a smirk playing on his lips, “I didn’t use any drugs, don’t be ridiculous. You were being unreasonable; I merely helped you fall back asleep...” 

The frustration you’ve been feeling returns quickly but, the way Yoongi spoke to you, always dismissing you, made defeat spark in your heart.  

His brows rise, challenging you, “Are you going to behave now?” 

However, this comment ignites the fire within you once more and, your eyes shoot up to lock onto his. 

“Are you going to tell me who you are?” 

Yoongi can’t help but chuckle, your frustration beginning to amuse him. 

“No.” 

The fire is hotter now and, you have to resist the urge to reinstate your argument.  

“Then no,” You smirk, ensuring that the venom is present in your voice, “I’m not going to behave.” 

Yoongi feels something brewing in his body but, he does his best to ignore it. Although, there is something about the authority in your voice that gets to him.  

“You are peculiar you know that? Provoking me, disregarding my boundaries, do you not value your life at all?” He leans back against the back of the chair, dark eyes scanning your face.   

“I don’t value my life over another. Finding the truth could ensure the safety of my people…” You retort, the two of you locking eyes, palpable tension beginning to rise.   

“I’ve told you the truth human…” 

“You’ve told me part of the story,” You counter, nodding to him, your confidence growing slightly as Yoongi’s resolve tends to break. 

“Why are you so curious? The part that I told you is the only part that pertains to your people, the rest is-”  

He pauses, breathing out through his nose, breaking the gaze between the two of you. 

Emotion flutters in your heart, your eyes turning their attention towards the tree branches that brush against the window pane. 

“Yoongi…” Your voice is gentler now, trying to reason with him, “ …my parents died in this forest. They were explorers and, made it their life’s work to unlock its secrets. I don’t want their work to be in vain, please…maybe I can help you, maybe if more people knew the truth, we’d be able to stop the darkness...”   

As you revert your eyes back to his, you notice he’s sporting a disgusted expression, an expression that doesn’t reach his eyes.  

“You are naïve human, naïve and foolish. Just like your parents…” Yoongi’s words cut like knives, slicing through your exterior and, tearing you to pieces. “I have searched for centuries and, have yet to find a solution; you would be useless to me, knowing the rest of the story wouldn’t change that…” 

That’s it then.  

Your heart sinks, your face flushes and, the tightening in your throat is unbearable. 

Standing shakily to your feet, you sniffle, trying to keep the tears at bay before looking up at Yoongi, “Maybe you should have left me in the forest Yoongi, since I’m so useless…” 

He watches you rush out of the den, his chest aching at the sight of your sadness and, he suddenly regrets every word he said.

His defense was too strong this time, he took it too far. 

Yoongi’s words are caught in his throat as he ignores his desire to run after you and, he curses himself for being so hard-headed sometimes. “Wow Min that was harsh, even for you…” Jimin appears at the bottom of the stairs, smirking, his tongue licking over his pointy teeth.  

Yoongi sends a glare his way, “Do not refer to me so casually, Siren or I will ensure you never enter Paradise...”  

Jimin falters slightly but, presses him further, snickering quietly, “Apologies, my lord. I am merely confused; if you hate this human so much, why not consume her? I imagine her soul would be...divine...”   

Yoongi feels his blood boil over, “Because, unlike you, I’m not a degenerate...”   

Jimin chuckles darkly, stepping off the final step, “Why do you hate her so much? She is one of the better humans I’ve encountered…quite beautiful too…” 

Yoongi feels a pull in his stomach as he mentions your beauty, something about the way Jimin was speaking of you made him uncomfortable.  

Although Jimin, in general, often made him uncomfortable. 

“I don’t hate her…” Yoongi mutters, pushing himself off of the couch, wishing to retire to his room, alone. 

Jimin steps in front of him, mischief in his eyes, “You’re attracted to her aren’t you?” 

Another tug in Yoongi’s stomach puts him further on the defensive and, pushes past Jimin to get to the staircase. 

“Siren, I won’t tell you again…” Yoongi warns, venom in his tone, “…stay in line, or I will eternalize your sentence…” 

This threat does a number on Jimin’s desire to pester and, rather than risk feeling Yoongi’s wrath, he shuts his mouth and, disappears into a thin mist.  

As Yoongi reaches his chamber, he strips himself down to his undergarments and crawls under his duvet. He pulls the fabric completely over his head in a futile attempt to drown out his chaotic thinking, beyond frustrated with himself. 

He shouldn’t have spoken to you that way, he knows that. 

He knows that Jimin, however infuriating, wasn’t completely wrong in his assumptions.  

You do…intrigue him. 

He knows that you have good intentions; he can sense your purity.  

He knows that you possess something you don’t quite understand; the fact that you could see Jimin proves that.  

He knows that you have a strong moral code, one that isn’t easily manipulated, despite his best efforts. 

He knows that you’re argumentative, impatient and, passionate. 

However, he doesn’t understand you completely; he doesn’t understand how you manage to rattle his carefully crafted resolve. 

He doesn’t understand why he wants to protect you. 

Or why he finds you so endearing… 

So enchanting… 

Despite spending his life being feared, Yoongi finds himself completely and utterly terrified for the first time.

Terror aside, he knows what he has to do.

He has to tell you that your grandfather lied to you.

He has to tell you that not everything is as it seems.

He has to tell you the truth.

[sebeth]

Fantastic Four # 9 - 12

Warning, Spoilers Ahead…

 A Brief Summary: Doctor Doom suffers another embarrassing defeat

Debuts:

·         The Ovoids

·         Impossible Man from the planet Poppup in the Tenth Galaxy

·         Willie Lumpkin

Favorite Cover: #12 – The Fantastic Four Meet the Hulk!

Invisible Girl Hostage Count: 5 out of 9 issues

Points of Interest:

·         The issue opens with Reed using his “electronic x-ray camera” with “radioactive film” in an attempt to learn more about Sue’s invisibility power.  Sue urges Reed to hurry as it’s “hot and stuffy” while “Torch keeps his flame on”.  Said Torch is acting as Reed’s lab assistant. Johnny is taking notes while engulfed in flames – except for his hands.  Between the causal use of “radioactive film” and Johnny walking around in flames, it’s a wonder the group lives long enough to battle Doom later on.

·         The FF’s signal flare appears in the sky. The trio attempts to exit the lab but the door is locked. Johnny decides to burn through the door but is stopped by Reed: “Trying to stop you from blowing us up, kid! Did you forget how sensitive that nuclear device is to heat?!” Johnny was completely engulfed in flames only four panels earlier and Reed didn’t seem to care but now it’s a no-go.

·         Is it safe to keep a nuclear device in the middle of New York City? Especially with Johnny and Ben living in the building. The duo engages in destructive rough-housing on a near-daily basis!

·         Reed attempts to stretch his arm to reach the Fantasti-Car so the trio can leave via the window but the strain proves too much. No worries, as Johnny has learned something new: “I can concentrate my flame so much that it burns without heat!” What?!

·         The trio escapes the lab. Reed decides “Let’s forget the Fantastic-Car. We can make better time without it!” Again, what? Johnny, maybe, but not the other two. And this is the era where Johnny randomly loses power due to “exhaustion”. Wouldn’t it make more sense for Johnny not to use his powers until the group has reached the scene of crisis? Especially when you have an awesome car-plane just waiting to be used?

·         The three head to the source of the flare. Sue causes a car crash with her “now you see me, now you don’t” routine. I never understood how Spider-Man was a “public menace” and the X-Men were “hated and feared” by the general public in comparison to the Fantastic Four in the early days of the Marvel Universe. Spider-Man mostly stopped criminals and the X-Men were isolated in Westchester County minding their own business…meanwhile the Four, in the heart of NYC, can barely go an issue without causing a mass panic or massive property damage…many times caused by Ben having a tantrum!

·         The source of the “emergency” is Ben wanting to show off the new statues Alicia has made of the team’s enemies. Sue protests the inclusion of Namor. Reed questions Sue over her feelings for Namor: “I thought we had an understanding.” Sue admits she’s not sure of her own feelings.

·         Johnny’s glad he’s “not old enough to have all those kinds of mushy problems”.  Karl Kessel’s “Human Torch” series contains pre-transformation flashbacks of Johnny flirting with girls. And he’s flirting with Valeria, Princess Pearla, and soon to be dating Dorrie Evans in the “Strange Tales” series. Perhaps Johnny’s referring to “serious” relationships?

·         Doctor Doom has returned to earth! And decides to storm Marvel Comics and terrorize Stan Lee & Jack Kirby with the sight of his unmasked face?!

·         Doom proclaims: “I do no blame you for shrinking from the sight of me! I still cannot bear to gaze upon my face myself! But I must remove my mask at times else I feel it will strangle me!”

·         Reed has the nerve to question Ben: “What makes you so bad tempered all the time?” Seriously, Reed?!

·         We have a fun moment of Johnny & Ben uniting to prank Reed by stretching his clothes.

·         Doom ambushes Reed. Victor explains he was rescued by the Ovoids, an alien race whose “science and culture were a million years ahead of ours”.  Doom learned many abilities from the Ovoids including the ability to switch bodies with another person. Victor promptly switches bodies with Reed.

·         The rest of the team arrives and subdues Doom (Reed). Ben and Johnny are very excited to have captured Doom (Reed) and devise ludicrous ways to imprison him. Not to worry, Reed (Doom) had devised a cell to contain him.

·         Kirby draws some extremely creepy “Evil Reed” facial expressions.

·         Back at the Baxter Building, the rest of the team is overrun by a herd of miniaturized animals: horses, bears, kangaroos, moose, elephants, cows, camels, zebras, birds, etc. The trio scramble to contain the animals and return them to Reed’s lab: “You know how angry he gets if anyone interferes with his work!”  

·         Reed (Doom) returns and the trio questions him – 1) Are these the animals stolen from the zoo and 2) Why are you shrinking animals?

·         Victor spins a story that this “reducing ray” will expand the team’s powers and allow Ben to transform at will. I know Reed is the scientist of the story but that explanation makes no sense. The team chooses not to press the matter of the animal theft and forced experimentation.

·         Doom (Reed) escapes from his cell and seeks the aid of Alicia Masters. Unfortunately for Reed, an invisible Sue was visiting Alicia and knocks him out.

·         Alicia is confused: “How can that be Doctor Doom? There’s an aura of goodness about him…of nobility!” Really, Alicia? You can sense that from an unconscious man in a suit of armor? I wish someone would establish Alicia had minor empathic abilities – otherwise, her “sensing” is ridiculous.

·         Johnny & Ben arrive to defeat “Doom”. Ben is furious that Alicia was threatened: “You tried to scare Alicia, did ya? Nothing can save ya from me now, ya miserable ghoul…I ain’t kidding now! He threatened Alicia! Do ya hear me? He dared to threaten Alicia!”

·         There’s a cute scene where the team takes Doom to the parked Fantasti-car only to discover a group of neighborhood kids palying in it.

·         Johnny and Ben suspect something is off with Reed & Doom so Johnny uses his powers to create a mirage to test their suspicions. I love Silver Age powers – always used in ways that make no sense with actual science.

·         Doom is found out, re-switches bodies with Reed, and shrunk to nothingness by his own reducing ray. The next time Doom achieves god-like powers he should erase everyone’s memories of his ridiculous Silver Age-shenanigans.

·         Issue #11 opens with a cute scene of the team encountering a group of children playing “Fantastic Four”. The team shows off their powers for the children. Johnny wisely reminds the kids “Throwing fireballs is easy for me, fella, but don’t you ever play with fire. It’s too dangerous for little kids.”

·         We meet Willie Lumpkin, the team’s mailman. He volunteers for the team: “I haven’t exactly got any super powers, but I can wiggle my ears real good.”

·         The team goes through their fan mail: Johnny receives love letters; Ben gets pranks from the Yancy Street Gang.

·         Reed has yet another cure for Ben who is understandably wary: “I’m sick of being a guinea pig for you! None of these things ever work right!” Ben takes the cure and transforms back into his human form. Ben, Reed, and Sue are ecstatic. A more cautious Johnny muses to himself: “Poor Ben! If he changes back to the Thing again, I don’t wanna be around to see it!”. Johnny decides to head to the garage to “fool around with my new TR-4!”

·         Reed and Ben recap their meeting in college. Ben was “State U’s football hot-shot”. Despite being polar opposites, “I was a millionaire’ son and he was from the wrong side of the tracks”, the duo quickly became best friends. Their friendship persisted throughout World War II. Ben was “a Marine fighter ace over Okinawa and Guadalcanal” and Reed was “behind the lines, working with the underground for the O.S.S.” The timeline of these events would put Reed and Ben in their late thirties at the time of their transformation into the Fantastic Four.

·         Due to the sliding timescale, the World War II bit has been retconned from Reed and Ben’s past. I think Ben’s time in the military is still part of his background – the era has simply changed. I’m not sure about Reed.

·         Sue had begun dating Reed before he left for the war: “It’s always been you, since we were kids together living next door to each other”. This would be retconned later – Sue and Reed wouldn’t meet until Reed was entering college.

·         Sue brushes off Reed’s devotion as the “shadow of the Sub-Mariner” lies between them. The whole Namor storyline could have been resolved much sooner if it was acceptable for comic book women, or women in general, were allowed to have lustful thoughts about men. Sue hasn’t spent enough time with Namor that didn’t involve threats to her, her family, or the human race in general. Poor Sue isn’t allowed to admit she appreciates Namor’s fabulous body in a tight, small speedo so the audience is left with her swooning over his “gentle”, “conflicted” nature. I love Namor but there has been nothing gentle or conflicted in his FF appearances. Execpt for the time he swam with the dolphins but Sue wasn’t there to witness it.

·         We get yet another recap of the infamous rocket flight. I understand the “every issue could be someone’s first” principle but were at issue #11 and it’s been recapped in half of the books.

·         Sue’s upset because a few pieces of mail state she “doesn’t contribute enough to the team”.

·         Reed defends Sue by saying Abraham Lincoln’s mother didn’t fight but she still contributed?! Kick him, Sue! Kick him!

·         Ben becomes overly excited and turns back into the Thing.

·         The boys surprise Sue with a birthday cake.

·         Impossible Man arrives on Earth, causing confusion and chaos in his wake. The Four battle Impossible Man in the Flamingo restaurant. He eventually becomes bored and leaves the planet. If you’ve seen the Impossible Man of the 2000s Fantastic Four cartoon, you’ve basically read this issue.

·         Johnny uses his powers to create “hypnotic rings” during the fight with the Impossible Man. You’ve got to love Silver Age powers!

·         Issue 12 begins a classic rivalry of the Marvel Universe: the Thing vs the Hulk.

·         Alicia and Ben are leaving a performance of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. Ben comments “I get my kicks from low-down New Orleans Jazz”.

·         The army pours into town and mistakes Thing for the Hulk, prompting a mistaken identity fight.

·         Ben is quite irate over being mistaken for the Hulk.

·         General Ross arrives at the Baxter Building. He wants the Four to locate the Hulk.

·         Ross shows a picture of the Hulk. Sue fades from sight: “The sight of that monster unnerved me so that I lost control of my visibility power!” Really? I don’t buy it. First, it’s only a picture and secondly, she lives with Ben and has battled Skrulls and monsters from Monster Island. It’s not like large creatures are a foreign concept to Sue.

·         Even Ben thinks its bull!

·         The boys show off, proudly proclaiming how he – and he personally – will capture the Hulk. Unfortunately for Johnny, flying around the small room a few times exhausts him flame. I appreciate the time it takes Johnny to master his abilities – it’s more realistic as opposed to the “instant mastery” route but two laps around the living room shouldn’t wipe him out as this point. He’s been the “Human Torch” for months as this point.

·         Reed praises Johnny’s skills as a mechanic: “That flame of his is one of our most potent weapons as well as his mechanical skill.  In fact, I’ll give you a little demonstration! Johnny has just finished modifying our Fantastic-Car!”

·         Johnny encourages Reed: “You tell him, Big Daddy!” In an alternate universe, Johnny married Reed Richards – was that his pet name for him?

·         The Four and the General head to the Southwest to search for the Hulk. The Four meet Bruce Banner and Rick Jones.

·         Reed has “long been an admirer” of Banner’s atomic research. Banner returns the praise: “I’m highly flattered that the most brilliant scientific brain of our time should say that to me”.

·         Johnny both shows-off for and pranks Rick. Neither are impressed with the other. Johnny: “Look at him green with envy! Trying hard not to admit he’s overwhelmed by me!” Rick: “He wouldn’t be so swell-headed if he knew I was the Hulk’s partner!”

·         Johnny tends to dial up the obnoxiousness and showboating when he’s with another teen hero: Spider-Man, Rick Jones, and later, Iceman. Possibly a combination of eagerness to impress/work with someone of his age group and a desire to be the best of said age group.

·         The army base’s saboteur “the Wrecker”, but not the Wrecker, kidnaps Rick Jones causing Bruce Banner to unleash the Hulk.

·         The Four and the Hulk meet up in a “deserted Western ghost town” and fight. Ben finds and frees Rick. Hulk flees the scene.

·         The Four prepare to leave the base. Reed hints to Bruce: “I’ve got a feeling there’s a lot we have to talk about – like you, and Rick, and the Hulk, for instance!”

[eddycurrents]

For the week of 19 November 2018

Quick Bits:

Aquaman #42 is a tie-in to the “Drowned Earth” event, following on his skewering at the hands of Poseidon in Justice League #11. Navigating his way through a dead realm is kind of a weird way for Dan Abnett to close out his run on the series, but it’s still a satisfying issue. Great art from Lan Medina, Vicente Cifuentes, and Gabe Eltaeb.

| Published by DC Comics

Batman #59 continues the “Tyrant Wing” arc with Batman acting a little unhinged on Penguin’s tip that Bane is running Arkham from the shadows, continuing his criminal empire to kill throughout Gotham. It’s interesting to see Batman alienate his allies again in his pursuit for vengeance.

| Published by DC Comics

Bettie Page #1 begins a new volume setting up an alien adventure in Britain, building upon the previous series but not requiring it as reading, from David Avallone, Julius Ohta, Ellie Wright, and Taylor Esposito. Bettie Page, paranormal investigator, is still a weird but entertaining remit and this opening issue does a good job of continuing in that vein as Bettie travels to England to investigate the Queen having been abducted by aliens. Ohta’s art also just keeps getting better and better.

| Published by Dynamite

Black Badge #4 employs a unique approach to flashbacks, with a solid spot colour in otherwise black and white image from Tyler and Hilary Jenkins. It’s a neat technique that really makes the scenes stand out.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Bloodborne #7 continues to question the realities and relationship of religion and science, even as the city’s fate becomes bleaker and the disease threatens more and more citizens. While I think I preferred the existential terror of the first arc more, this is still highly enjoyable.

| Published by Titan

Cold Spots #4 delivers a little bit of explanation as to what Grace has been brought to the island to do. I say a little bit, since there’s still a lot left unanswered in this penultimate issue. Gorgeous artwork from Mark Torres. You can almost feel the coldness coming off the pages.

| Published by Image

Cover #3 is some amazing storytelling. Somehow Brian Michael Bendis, David Mack, Zu Orzu, and Carlos M. Mangual are layering more and more into the narrative with each subsequent issue in such a brilliant way that you barely notice how many disparate pieces are being presented. It’s like an intricate tapestry being woven before us. This issue even has a special sequence illustrated by Bill Sienkiewicz of a fantasy story I desperately want to read the rest of.

| Published by DC Comics / Jinxworld

Crimson Lotus #1 begins a new series from John Arcudi, Mindy Lee, Michelle Madsen, and Clem Robins giving an origin story to Yumiko Daimio, one of Lobster Johnson’s enemies and grandmother to the BPRD’s favourite jaguar. It’s good, and an appearance early on from Rasputin just further shows some of the intricacies of the Hellboy universe.

| Published by Dark Horse

Devil Within #2 keeps the creepy factor up as Samantha and Michelle try to get help for Michelle’s possible possession. Excellent moody atmosphere provided by the art from Maan House and Dee Cunniffe.

| Published by Black Mask

Doctor Strange #8 begins “The Price” but it’s really just a continuation of the “Two Doctors” arc, building off the corruption of Strange’s former student. Mark Waid gives us some very interesting developments here regarding who is targeting him, along with Kamma finding out something Stephen wishes she wouldn’t, and the revelation of the location of one of the other gems from Cyttorak that were revealed to exist in X-Men Black.

| Published by Marvel

Evolution #12 ends the second arc with some lies, half-truths, and compelling confessions. The theme of change and mutation that has been evident since the first issue really comes to the fore this issue as some huge changes occur for the cast.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Exorsisters #2 gives more background to how the sisters came about through a deal with infernal powers by their mother. The art from Gisèle Lagacé and Pete Pantazis really is a huge draw.

| Published by Image

High Heaven #3 spends some time with Heather as she deals, kind of, with the loss of both David and Ben. Very weird things continue to go on in heaven with the usual great art from Greg Scott and Andy Troy. The Hashtag: Danger back-up remains funny with the lengths that the team goes to in order to save one of their own, only to have her kill herself again. And the prose pieces nicely round out the entire package.

| Published by Ahoy

Hot Lunch Special #4 delivers the penultimate chapter to not just one of the best crime stories I’ve read in years, but also just one of the best stories I’ve read in years period. Eliot Rahal, Jorge Fornés, and Taylor Esposito have really got something special here, with intriguing characters, an ever twisting plot, and some incredible visual. The layouts for this issue, breaking down the pacing, are just wonderful.

| Published by AfterShock

Immortal Hulk #9 is another staggeringly good issue, with a change for the Absorbing Man as he’s tapped to go up against the Hulk. While I am a little sad he didn’t stay legitimate following his redemption arc in Black Bolt, his development here from Al Ewing is pretty intriguing. Also love the art as the regular team of Joe Bennett, Ruy José, and Paul Mounts trade off pages with guest artist Martin Simmonds. The former illustrating the Hulk and the latter Creel before alternating in the battle between the two.

| Published by Marvel

Infinity 8 #7 begins the third loop “The Gospel According to Emma” from Lewis Trondheim, Fabien Vehlmann, and Olivier Balez. This reboot of the timeline starts off incredibly wrong as the Marshal approached to assist this time turns on the crew and effectively strands them in this timeline. There’s some interesting bits of grave robbers stealing treasure and overtones of the Marshal’s religion.

| Published by Lion Forge / Magnetic Collection

Infinity Wars: Ghost Panther #1 begins the final of these two-issue “Infinity Warps” mash-ups. Like the rest, it is incredibly well done. Jed MacKay, Jefte Palo, Jim Campbell, and Joe Sabino craft a tale merging Ghost Rider and Black Panther, seamlessly blending the two into something magical. The art from Palo and Campbell may well be the best of any of these minis and the art on all of them has been very impressive. Love the design for Zarathos.

| Published by Marvel

Judge Dredd: Toxic #2 has the violence and toxicity spillover as the explosion at one of the waste facilities causes increased fear and tension amongst the scrubbers hired to keep Mega-City One functioning. Paul Jenkins is crafting a tale full of the problems that come with xenophobia and the art from Marco Castiello, Vincenzo Acunzo, and Jason Millet just makes it visceral.

| Published by IDW

Justice League #12 has some really nice art from Frazer Irving for this penultimate chapter of the “Drowned Earth” event. Also, a very interesting revelation from Poseidon when it comes to the invading sea gods.

| Published by DC Comics

Justice League Dark #5 kicks off a new arc dealing with the ramifications of the first one, “The Witching Hour” crossover, and previous unrevealed tales of what happened with Detective Chimp after inheriting the Oblivion Bar. James Tynion IV gives some nice nods to the original Shadowpact series aided by beautiful art from Daniel Sampere, Juan Albarran, and Adriano Lucas.

| Published by DC Comics

The Last Space Race #2 introduces us to another member of the team, giving us a bit of his backstory, and largely making us want to drop him into a deep dark hole and forget that he’s there. Peter Calloway does a wonderful job of making Roger Freeman thoroughly unlikable, it’s kind of astonishing.

| Published by AfterShock

Lightstep #1 is a very different kind of sci-fi tale, mixing almost the feel of the decadence of Rome under Nero or Caligula and the high concept science fiction of a society that measures the class of its citizens by genetic similarity to their progenitor, and thereby assigns how “fast” they live. As I say, different from Miloš Slavković, Mirko Topalski, and Andrej Bunjac. Slavković’s art reminds me a bit Pasqual Ferry mixed with John Watkiss. The story itself somewhat reminds me of Watkiss’ work on John Jakes’ Mulkon Empire. On top of that, it’s part of a broader video game/media franchise from Eipix Entertainment, of which this looks like only the first volley (a novel and video game are forthcoming).

| Published by Dark Horse

The Lollipop Kids #2 continues to be a fantastic and fabulous comic from Adam & Aidan Glass, Diego Yapur, DC Alonso, and Sal Cipriano. The art alone from Yapur and Alonso would be worth the price of admission, but the characters, setting, and overall plot just elevate this beyond a typical kids fantasy type deal.

| Published by AfterShock

Low Road West #3 gets significantly stranger and much more surreal as reality seems to be growing thinner. We’re still not any closer to really understanding what’s truly going on, but it doesn’t really matter. Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Flaviano, Miquel Muerto, and Jim Campbell are telling one hell of a compelling story.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Mae #10 has Mae deal with some stuff in our world before stocking up and returning back to Cimrterén to resume her search for her father. Gorgeous artwork as always from Gene Ha and Wes Hartman.

| Published by Lion Forge / Roar

Marvel Knights #2 sees Matthew Rosenberg and Nico Henrichon join Donny Cates for this chapter, giving a bit of back story on how Banner roped in Castle into searching out the various heroes and leads to a confrontation with Elektra. Still no closer to understanding what happened here, but it does get weirder with a hallucinatory Karen Page. Henrichon’s art is just perfect for telling this story.

| Published by Marvel

Middlewest #1 is a magical debut of this new series from Skottie Young, Jorge Corona, Jean-Francois Beaulieu, and Nate Piekos. It’s a fantasy grounded in the reality of growing up hard in Middle America, with Abel dealing with an abusive father, while just trying to be a kid. But there’s a talking fox and devastating sentient storms. Rather inventive stuff all around. I’m also getting the impression that Jorge Corona should really be a household name. Between No. 1 with a Bullet, Old Man Jack, and now this, he’s been killing it recently.

| Published by Image

Night Moves #1 is a pretty great debut from VJ Boyd, Jordan Boyd, Clay McCormack, Mike Spicer, and Shawn DePasquale. It’s a gritty crime drama with occult overtones, but most of the weirdness is just simmering under the surface so far as the protagonists work to find out what kind of mess they’re in. McCormack and Spicer’s art really capture the feel of the seediness of the story well.

| Published by IDW

Optimus Prime #25 brings it all to a close, with a flashback through Optimus’ life and little vignettes of the various Transformers from John Barber, Kei Zama, Josh Burcham, and Tom B. Long. I’m really going to miss this world. 

| Published by IDW

Pearl #4 is probably the most stereotypical Bendis issue to date, but the dialogue doesn’t tip over into the ridiculous territory. Most of this issue is a conversation between Pearl and tattoo boy, but at least it’s interesting conversation and not random pop culture references repeated as questions.

| Published by DC Comics / Jinxworld

Pestilence: A Story of Satan #5 gives a bittersweet end to this story, filled with loss and sacrifice. It’s kind of fitting considering how bleak both this and the first series have been. Wonderful art from Oleg Okunev, Guy Major, Michael Garland, and Marko Lesko.

| Published by AfterShock

The Punisher #4 may well be one of the bloodiest, most violent mainline 616 Marvel Universe Punisher issues yet as Jigsaw and an assortment of Hydra goons attempt to kidnap Frank from prison. Matthew Rosenberg and Szymon Kudranski are continuing to keep this book moving at a breakneck pace, like an action movie that barely takes any moments to breathe.

| Published by Marvel

Quantum & Woody! #12 brings this volume to a close, with an interesting character study of the brothers at the hands of GATE and X-O Manowar.

| Published by Valiant

Rumble #9 brings “Things Remote” to an end with an epic battle between the Esu and Rathraq’s friends, leading to an interesting realization for Rathraq and what he wants out of life. Stunningly beautiful art from David Rubín and Dave Stewart.

| Published by Image

Shadowman #9 continues the “Rag and Bone” arc as Alyssa and Jack confront Sandria Darque. Gorgeous artwork from Renato Guedes, Eric Battle, and Ulises Arreola. 

| Published by Valiant

Shuri #2 continues the search for Black Panther, while back on Earth the women of Wakanda form a council to figure out how to maintain and administer the nation while he’s missing. Definitely some interesting concepts and character points from Nnedi Okorafor. Phenomenal artwork and layouts from Leonardo Romero and Jordie Bellaire.

| Published by Marvel

Spider-Force #2 is probably one of the bleakest, mean-spirited stories I’ve read in a while. This isn’t a bad thing, but the story’s a bit of a downer as the nature of an irradiated world without hope seems to permeate everything, including characters like Jessica Drew who are normally at least a bit more level-headed. Priest is writing a very dark story, with some complicated characters like Peter’s granddaughter who grew up in the Old Man Logan universe and a Peter Parker who looks like he was abused by Uncle Ben.

| Published by Marvel

Spider-Geddon #4 kind of spoils the need to read Spider-Force #3 out in three weeks, which just kind of adds to the downer feel of that series. This issue turns darker itself with a bevy of betrayals. Christos Gage has kind of stacked the deck against the spiders, I wonder how they’re going to get out of it in the finale.

| Published by Marvel

Stellar #6 concludes the series and it is incredibly messed up. The conflict between Zenith and Stellar is bizarre and perverse, but I don’t really want to go into it more because spoilers would ruin its impact. Joe Keatinge, Bret Blevins, and Rus Wooton have done an amazing job with this series. Highly recommended.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Sukeban Turbo #1 is another series originally published by Glénat Editions in France, translated into English for North American markets. It’s a mix of teenage rebellion, crime, and following a boy band from Sylvain Runberg, Victor Santos, and Shawn Lee. The art from Santos is worth it on its own, very impressive layouts and storytelling.

| Published by IDW

Summit #10 kicks off the third arc for the series and like most of the Catalyst Prime series recently it undergoes a bit of a change in status quo. Val finds out that she hasn’t been hallucinating, but hearing the voice of another of her team that was essentially vaporized during the event, before having her life turned upside down as the government starts hunting her. Amy Chu continues writing the series, while she’s joined by Marika Cresta fully for the art here.

| Published by Lion Forge / Catalyst Prime

Tony Stark: Iron Man #6 begins “Stark Realities” and the launch of Tony’s eScape virtual reality game. Dan Slott, with a script assist from Jeremy Whitley, does a great job of making it feel chaotic at launch, with some ordinary and extraordinary problems occurring. The pissed off griefer is hilarious.

| Published by Marvel

Web of Venom: Carnage Born #1 is an interesting reinterpretation of Carnage’s origin to fit within the new mythology being crafted in the current Venom series, also building off the recent two-part arc there with the Maker, from Donny Cates, Danilo S. Beyruth, Cris Peter, and Clayton Cowles. This is more very entertaining outgrowth of the Marvel Universe from Cates and gives us a quite possibly deadlier Carnage.

| Published by Marvel

West Coast Avengers #4 concludes the first arc in fairly straightforward fashion as the team deals with BRODOK and the women transformed into giant monsters. Some nice little character moments from Kelly Thompson and great art from Stefano Caselli and Tríona Farrell.

| Published by Marvel

The Whispering Dark #2 continues its existential and moral crisis as the squad commits war crimes as they struggle to survive. There’s something off about how everything is happening, in how Christofer Emgård is writing the narration, but I’m not sure if it’s just the in-story reason of the go-pills. It feels like the squad is already in Hell and being judged.  

| Published by Dark Horse

Other Highlights: American Carnage #1, Archie #700, Black AF: Widows & Orphans #4, Black Hammer: Age of Doom #7, Burnouts #3, Days of Hate #10, Dejah Thoris #10, Dick Tracy: Dead or Alive #2, East of West #40, Encounter #8, GI Joe: A Real American Hero - Silent Option #2, Go-Bots #1, Jughead: The Hunger #10, The Long Con #5, Love & Rockets #6, Lucifer #2, Lumberjanes #56, Mars Attacks #2, The New World #5, Olivia Twist #3, Project Superpowers #4, Rick & Morty Presents Pickle Rick #1, Smooth Criminals #1, Star Wars #57, Star Wars: Solo #2, TMNT: Urban Legends #7, Underwinter: Queen of Spirits, Xena: Warrior Princess #10

Recommended Collections: 24 Panels, Accell - Volume 3: Turf Battles, Amazing Spider-Man: Renew Your Vows - Volume 4: Are You Okay, Annie?, Crude - Volume 1, Dark Souls Omnibus, Delta 13, Dungeons & Dragons: Evil at Baldur’s Gate, Flavor, Immortal Hulk - Volume 1: Or is he Both?, Justice League - Volume 1: The Totality, Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man - Volume 4: Coming Home, Resident Alien - Volume 5: An Alien in New York, Spidey: School’s Out, Stray Bullets: Sunshine & Roses - Volume 3, Unnatural - Volume 1: Awakening, Venom - Volume 1: Rex, The X-Files: Case Files - Volume 1

d. emerson eddy wonders if there’s going to be any light in our real darkest hour.

[natsubeatsrock]

10 Marvel Heroes Who I’d Like to See Get a Movie in the MCU

NOT Fairy Tail Month - Post #4 (Marvel Cinematic Universe)

I’ve had a lot of fun getting into the MCU with my siblings. In the process, I’ve fallen down the rabbit hole of the Marvel universe and am learning about its weird inner workings: the good, the bad, and the ugly. While there are two movies left in Phase 3, (I haven’t seen Ant-Man and the Wasp yet) I figured that it’s about time that I talk about some of the characters I’d like to see Marvel Studios tackle next.

There’s no particular order to this list, except for a definite #1. The only qualifier is that my picks can’t already be in the MCU either in film or TV. You’d be shocked how much of a blow that was to this list. Between confirmed easter eggs in films, cameos on the Netflix-verse, and appearances on other television shows, both airing or planned, there are a lot of heroes already in the MCU. Still, here are some I’m hoping will get their chance in the next few phases.

#10. Miss Marvel

Before someone mentions how Kevin Feige has already confirmed that Kamala Khan is coming to the MCU, consider two things. First, that her arrival is dependent on the establishment of Carol Danvers as Captain Marvel, a character whom we haven’t actually seen on screen as of yet, as a part of the universe. If you know anything about Kamala, that’s kind of a big deal. Though, with apparent plans to make Captain Marvel the new center of the MCU, that might not be much of an issue.

Second, and most importantly, he never actually said that she was getting her own movie. She may only end up sharing the screen with another major hero. Who knows, she might even only be on TV as many of my other hopefuls have. Here’s hoping things all work out.

#9. Spider-Woman

I want to see if Marvel will be able to work their magic with Sony and get at least one character to have their own live-action movie in the MCU. The obvious issue with this is that their contract to “share” Spiderman runs out after next year’s films. Still, a guy can dream, huh? 

Miles would be an interesting pick. However, he’s getting his own treatment in animation and it was hinted that he’s in the universe already in deleted scenes. (Does that still count?) Originally, I was hoping that we could get a Silk movie. But her alter-ego Cindy Moon already is a part of the MCU. Yes, this is a thing I looked up. Here’s hoping Marvel can give Jessica Drew a chance.

#8. The Mutants

This won’t be the last time I kind of cheat on this list. 

With the Fox-Disney merger becoming all but a reality, the obvious next step for the MCU is to bring on the idea of mutated humans into their universe. I’ve always loved the Mutants growing up across at least three different animated series. While I haven’t exactly gotten into their recent live-action film endeavors, I've heard that’s mostly a good thing.

Of course, there’s also the matter of logistics when it comes to bringing in established franchises into the MCU. Does this deal mean we’ll get the X-Men or New Mutants in the fold? How much of the previous movies will matter in the MCU? What about stuff like Legion and the Runaways? Who will take up the mantle as the next Wolverine? Considering this company made adding Spiderman into this narrative work well after two different live action runs, I’m not too worried. As long as Ryan Reynolds gets to stay as an R-rated Deadpool, things will probably be fine.

#7. She-Hulk

And speaking of breaking the Fourth Wall, She-Hulk has made a name for herself by jumping through the panels of her own comics. It would be cool to see her come to life. Who knows, we could actually get some payoff to loose ends from The Incredible Hulk, which has been around for 10 years. 

There’s a bit of an issue with her though. Technically, the rights for her and the rest of the Hulk Universe belong to Universal Pictures. Of course, that’s not as much of an issue as with the Spiderverse, considering we already have the Hulk. But it still is kind of a hurdle. But it’s not like walls should mean too much to her.

#6. Devil Dinosaur

This is a bit of an interesting pick. Current fans of Marvel comics might know about his partner Moon Girl, a young African American girl. Older fans may know of the partner Moon-Boy, the alien who stopped him from dying out with the rest of his kind. The difference between the two feels more jarring typing it out.

If Kevin Feige decides to go with this pick, I’m sure that either side of the fandom would probably be disappointed in the event that they decide to do one over the other. Still, I think it should be obvious that the most important character in this equation has to be Devil Dinosaur as the original namesake for the comic. Though, I’d like to see Star-Lord find out about Devil Dinosaur for obvious reasons.

# 5. Power Pack

Look. I talked about the Fox deal and the idea of Mutants in the MCU is really exciting to me. And I guess it would be cool to see the Fantastic Four join in as well. But I’ve never been all that hype over them, to begin with. Like, part of it is that they haven’t had good movies. But I’ve never been all too interested in the group past the concept of astronauts becoming superheroes.

While I’m interested in seeing their potential movie in the MCU, I’d also like some attention go to other groups in the Marvel Universe. My pick is one of the other sets of families in Marvel. The Power Pack is a group of four siblings with superpowers- two brothers and two sisters. Incidentally, I’ve heard that there was some talk about them getting a movie soon. Here’s hope we get to see it happen.

#4. Hawkeye

What? You didn’t think I would add Hawkeye? For those of you who think I’m breaking my rules here, obviously, Clint Barton has been in the MCU for a while now. The new Hawkeye, Kate Bishop, has yet to make an appearance in the MCU.  I feel like this would be a good time to introduce her. Not to mention, we could finally get some explanation for Clint’s past if he decides to stick along in order to be Kate’s mentor.

There have been a lot of shake-ups in Marvel comics. The Spider-verse gave us a ton of new versions of Spiderman. Kamala took up the mantle as Ms. Marvel from Carol. And Carol took it up after the original Captain Marvel died. That’s in addition to a bunch other things. While there are a lot of legacy characters in Marvel nowadays, with Iron Heart, Jane Foster’s Thor, and even a new Wasp, I’d like to see what Kate can do for the Hawkeye mantle.

#3. Nova

This may feel like a bit of a lame pick if your only exposure with him is the Ultimate Spiderman cartoon with Drake Bell as Peter Parker’s voice. (A concept which has forever ruined my own readings of Spidey) Still, this one actually has some weight behind it. After the events of Infinity War, Nova Prime has a great alternate reason to actually build Nova. (Originally, the reason for building him was the work of Helmut Zemo. You can see why this is a problem for the MCU.)

Not to mention that Kevin Feige has actually stated that he’s high on a hypothetical board of characters who could get a movie. If anything, this might be one of the more likely picks on this list. Who knows? He might be a part of that mythical easter egg in the Guardians films James Gunn has mentioned a few times.

#2. Namor

First, let’s get something straight. The Sub-Mariner came out a few years before Aquaman. I’m not saying that DC ripped off of Marvel (in this case). After all, the opposite is also true. Still, it’s crazy to think how unkind time has been to Marvel’s King of Atlantis. While Aquaman is getting a new film pretty soon, Namor hasn’t seen too much time to shine. It would be great to see what he can do.

Unfortunately, it’s not clear where his film rights lie. Marvel Studios thought they had control over him, but they don’t seem to anymore. And that’s if they ever did in the first place. So it’s not that they necessarily don’t want to rather than they technically can’t. With the new merger, hopefully, the other original members of the Illuminati will be able to pull something to bring their final ally into canon.

#1. A Surprise

Don’t judge me on this pick as my number one, okay? I can’t be the only one who hopes that we get something special and out of the blue as a hit. Could anyone honestly have thought Black Panther was going to end up being anywhere close to as huge as it’s become ten, or even five years ago? And I don’t just mean that it would be a really well-liked hero movie for Black people. This movie is one of the highest grossing films ever made and the only superhero films to make more than it is two of the Avengers films.

Similarly, Guardians of the Galaxy, Ant-Man, and Doctor Strange went from relative obscurity to household names after only a few movies. Heck, Iron Man wasn’t all too popular before his first movie more than a decade ago. Who’s to say that Marvel Studios won’t give us a movie none of us asked for but won’t end up being able to live without? Whether that be making a name from an obscure set of heroes we haven’t seen or gaining success from heroes with less than stellar comics, who can tell what will happen next in the MCU?

And that’s my list. Any heroes you’d want to see? 

[mushroomhedgehog]

GAME REVIEW: Marvel VS Capcom: Infinite (2017) The latest entry in the iconic Marvel VS Capcom series has finally arrived, and since at least the past summer, the game has been notably bashed by a large number of gamers. But the question remains of whether this hate is justified. Without further ado, let's dive into the other major superhero fighter of 2017, Marvel VS Capcom: Infinite. Marvel VS Capcom: Infinite is the sixth crossover between the characters of Capcom and the Marvel Comics universe, originally beginning with X-Men VS Street Fighter in 1996. In this entry, we return to the original format of two-man teams, but like the aforementioned first game, returns to sidekick characters no longer being able to provide assist attacks. This is a bit of a shame compared to previous games, but it at least shows that Capcom knows how the series got started. What is also worth noting is that due to Marvel's recent policy on certain characters whose film rights are currently controlled by Fox, all characters associated with the X-Men and Fantastic Four have been excluded, leading to multiple mainstay characters such as Wolverine, Doctor Doom, and Magneto not returning for this game. This marks the first time in the history of the MvC series that Wolverine does not appear as a playable character. In addition to changes made by Marvel, this game marks a major change to the series, as Capcom has altered the gameplay to allow newcomers to not get overwhelmed by its mechanics. This has resulted in many special move motions being altered from previous games. For instance, my usual character, Spider-Man (no surprise there) has a different motion for his Spider-Sting attack. Originally this was a reversed motion of the same input used to perform Ryu's Shoryuken, a very similar uppercut move that Spider Sting is likely based off of. Now, the input requires you to press down twice before pressing the attack button. Other characters such as Captain America have also been affected by this. Ironically, Ryu's Shoryuken was not affected by this. In addition, Capcom has scrapped the previous game's format in which four attack buttons could all be used for special attacks, aside from the uppercut that launched opponents into the air. The game now has two punch and two kick buttons, allowing for new special moves such as Spider-Man's Spider-Cannon attack, Ryu able to charge his Hadouken to create a short beam-like version, and Captain America able to throw his shield in different ways, as well as reflect projectiles with it. This is important to know, for everyone claiming the game was just like UMvC3, when in actuality, the characters play nearly nothing like they do in that game due to various aspects like new moves and button layouts. While I appreciate that Capcom recognized that learning how to play this series is difficult, I was hoping they'd offer more detailed tutorials split into sections like NetherRealm Studios has done. The game is still a bit difficult to learn, and an easy combo mode isn't a good way to learn how the game works, since it teaches nothing. There is an area of mission mode that does focus on the basics of gameplay, but the character-specific missions focus more on doing nearly impossible combos instead of certain special moves or basic combos. Injustice was much better at teaching new players how to play as certain characters in its mission mode. Putting that aside, the combat has greatly improved. It's much easier for players to perform combos, and while it won't help them for previous entries in the series, it will be a nice introduction to fighting games, particularly if you've gotten comfortable with Super Smash Bros, which doesn't require much effort in its special move inputs. Next up are the graphics. Contrary to what most are claiming, the graphics aren't nearly as bad as they are made out to be. The characters have had a major facelift since the last entry in the game. One of the biggest issues with Ultimate Marvel VS Capcom 3's graphics was hair on certain characters. Not only does character hair look magnificent this time around, but plenty of details are visible that weren't on past incarnations of the series. For instance, incredibly strong characters like Mike Haggar and Hulk have visible veins on their bodies. Characters with metal suits such as Iron Man, Thanos, X, and Arthur, also have detailed shining on their metal suits, making them look better than ever. A lot of people have even gone as far as comparing Captain America's appearance to that infamous drawing by Rob Liefeld, which, even for exaggerations, is ludicrous. If there is one complaint I have about the graphics, it's definitely that the alternate costumes for most of the characters in the game are massive disappointments. Unlike the previous game, which featured full recolors with new patterns, many of which were based on actual alternate costumes, this game merely recolors the characters, texture patterns and all. This makes for some notably sloppy edits of costumes that would otherwise be something like Spider-Man's symbiote suit. So far, only Hulk has been the one to feature skins that match the quality of his UMvC3 skins, particularly the skins of his original grey appearance, and of his enemy, Red Hulk. Finally, with this being the first game in the series to feature a cinematic story mode akin to Mortal Kombat and Injustice, the cinematics and voice acting need to be taken into question. Many actors from UMvC3 have returned to voice their respective characters, but the most notable characters that feature new actors include Spider-Man, Chun-Li, and Ghost Rider, to name a few. The replacement actors for these three arguably gave these characters better voices, especially Robbie Daymond as Spider-Man, who now has a more fitting voice of the geeky kid that doesn't just sound like a generic teenager like Josh Keaton does. Ghost Rider also sounds a bit more demonic, though some might consider it corny compared to his previous voice actor. Other characters that have new actors such as Doctor Strange, Rocket Raccoon, and Dormammu, aren't bad either. Frank West of the Dead Rising series, also sees the return of his original voice actor after the disappointing portrayal by a new actor in Dead Rising 4. Other characters who see the return of their actors, such as Morrigan and Arthur, now feature a lot more emotion behind their lines, rather than all of their lines sounding like fitting their personality instead of emotion. It's also nice to see that Capcom wants to pursue a bigger story in their games, considering the character interaction in previous games like Street Fighter IV and UMvC3. But it should definitely be noted that there's likely a reason why Capcom and Marvel have been such a significant match in the past. The story is being criticized for various aspects, and it seems people were expecting something of Injustice or Mortal Kombat quality. Even when Capcom was featuring story cutscenes through arcade mode, it was clear that they aren't nearly as dark as NetherRealm is. Just as it would be ridiculous to compare certain aspects of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to those of the DC Extended Universe, it's not a good idea to compare certain aspects of Injustice to those of Marvel VS Capcom. As a matter of fact, the storyline to this game is significantly similar to Mortal Kombat VS DC Universe, but done much better, as unlike Darkseid and Shao Kahn, who have next to nothing in common, Ultron and Sigma are both robots focused on destroying all of humanity, among other issues that are addressed such as the better combinations that have resulted from the worlds of Marvel and Capcom colliding. The only real issue with the story mode is that there is not much of an explanation as to how Ultron and Sigma were able to merge the Marvel and Capcom universes, and that the game isn't played in chapters focusing on certain characters to allow us to familiarize ourselves with them. If you do wish to play the story mode, I would definitely recommend you do some reading on the history of these characters in the various media they originally came from, as the game seems to expect you to already understand the backstories and original works of the characters. Despite the inclusion of more single player modes and the roster featuring more starter characters than Injustice 2 at launch, there's a lot of complaints that Capcom hasn't learned from Street Fighter V. This is not the case. The game feels like a full game this time around with what there is to do. Now this doesn't mean there's not room for improvement, like featuring endings for arcade mode other than a simple "Congratulations", and there could have been more characters since many like Black Panther and MODOK appear in the story mode, but also because unlike Injustice, MvC has more than one player character per match, so the argument of having more playable characters is somewhat obsolete when this is considered. Another issue regarding characters that should be pointed out is that several characters who have deserved a spot in this series for a long time like Demitri Maximoff, The Punisher, M. Bison, and Daredevil, are still nowhere to be found. Hopefully somewhere down the line, Marvel VS Capcom: Infinite will be updated similarly to Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition, which will be available at no cost to players who had already purchased the original version of the game and on a separate disc for new players this January. Until then, Marvel VS Capcom: Infinite gets a grade of a solid B from me. It's not as exciting as Ultimate Marvel VS Capcom 3 was, but it's a welcome title to the MvC series that surprisingly does well despite its shortcomings. It's just a shame that Marvel was too picky with film rights to allow series mainstays like Wolverine, Magneto, and Doctor Doom, to return.

[insane-comics-reading]

UM006 - Ultimate Marvel Team-Up 1-16, Ultimate Spider-Man Super Special

Next up for the Ultimate Universe is Ultimate Marvel Team-Up, a weird and short lived book that has a lot of ups and downs and is very optional.

Should I read it?

While Ultimate Spider-Man and Ultimate X-Men are ongoing titles about a hero/team with (relatively) stable artists, this is an anthology series designed to expand the Ultimate universe. This series is written by Brian Michael Bendis (the same writer from Ultimate Spider-Man), but each story is drawn by a different artist and basically teams up Spider-Man with another hero, to varying degrees of success.

Besides the unevenness of the stories, none of these are really important for the ongoing universe, and in fact, a lot of stories here are non-canon and directly conflict with stuff we’ll see later (in particular, ignore any mention of the Fantastic Four). So, treat these as completely optional and feel free to read only the ones that appeal to you.

Given the nature of this series, I’ll review it story by story:

Issue 1: Spider-Man and Wolverine. Spider-Man meets up with Wolverine and Sabretooth. There’s some discussion about mutants (and whether SM is a mutant), but nothing here is particularly relevant, and the story feels overly simple. For continuity purposes, this happens after the first Spider-Man arc (with Peter already patrolling the streets as SM), but (I think) before Ultimate X-Men starts (Wolverine is not in the X-Men. His characterization here feels off though, so I find it hard to reconcile this with Ultimate X-Men..). Feel free to skip this one.

Issues 2-3: Spider-Man and Hulk. The story is very simple (as are the rest of the ones here), but I liked this one, and it’s probably the most canon of these (not that it means that much), with this incident being cited in issue 2 of The Ultimates in the future. Then again, it’s not required reading at all. Spider-Man finds the Hulk attacking New York, sees it transform back to Bruce Banner who, before being detained by the army, hints there’s something that unites all the weird things and super-powers happening around the world. Continuity-wise, Peter is already working at the Daily Bugle, so this is after USM vol. 2, and obviously before the start of The Ultimates. It’s also the first mention that the superpowers in this universe are mostly connected. 

Issues 4-5: Spider-Man and Iron Man. While the previous two stories only showed a new character with no explanation, this actually contains a complete origin for Iron Man. However, this is not canon. Not only are all early ultimate mentions of Reed Richards and the FF later contradicted by Ultimate Fantastic Four, but Ultimate Iron-Man would years later get a completely different origin story (which would later also be considered not canon. Welcome to the comics world). Still, kinda fun story. Develops Peter’s values, which are an important theme.

Issues 6-8: (Spider-Man and) Punisher and Daredevil. Spider-Man is barely in this, and it’s a very different mood. Punisher origin is shown, while Daredevil is just there, already a vigilante (he’ll get a proper origin story soon). Art is beautifully drawn, but it’s the type of art that makes the reading a bit hard.. For those following USM (and I don’t see a reason to read UMTU if you’re not), there’s a quick mention to the Shocker leaving jail, after being defeated by Spider-Man in USM8. Overall, a good “gritty” story about two new characters, with a couple cameos from Spider-Man.

Issue 9: Spider-Man and Fantastic Four. This is very non-canon. Not only it proeminently shows a Fantastic Four that will be completely contradicted by Ultimate Fantastic Four in a couple of years, it’s also a meta issue where people that worked at Marvel at the time appear, and it’s full of silliness. As a person that loves fourth-wall breaking and laughs easily at silly stuff, let me tell you that I hated this issue. It just felt weird to me, the jokes didn’t land well and seemed mostly inside jokes with the writers, artists and editors of the time, along with silly stuff happening to SM and the FF that wasn’t at the proper level to be funny. Besides that, the only ‘ultimate’ thing here is Spider Man, and even then, it doesn’t really make any reference to anything particular of USM, so this could be a one-off story from probably any random marvel universe. I wouldn’t bother with this one.

Issue 10: Spider-Man (and Man-Thing). This is a cool story, except for the fact that the Man Thing is barely in it.. The “previously” blurb has WAY more story about the Man Thing than the story itself, where he basically just appears for two panels, and his backstory is completely irrelevant to the plot. On the other hand, this shows the Lizard’s origin, and gives a slight follow up on the questions from Peter’s encounter with the Hulk about events in the Ultimate universe being connected. This could easily have been an one-off story in Ultimate Spider-Man. Continuity-wise, this happens very soon after USM 13. Read it.

Issue 11: Peter Parker and the X-Men. Both the X-Men and the teen cast from Spider-Man skip school to go to the mall and meet. No big conflict, just teenagers talking about their lives and being a mutant, I really like the idea of this issue. However, I didn’t think it landed well.. Some of the dialogue felt weird, and, just like with Wolverine in issue 1 (this story is a kind of sequel to it), the characters feel very different from Mark Millar’s writing in Ultimate X-Men.. It seems hard for me to think of the two happening in the same universe. Even Peter skipping school right after Aunt May tells him how proud she is feels a bit weird.

Issues 12-13: Spider-Man and Doctor Strange. Spider-Man is mind controlled to attack Doctor Strange (Jr.). After he regains conscience they team up and defeat the villain. Spider-Man is very freaked out by all the magic stuff and decides to pretend like this never happened. The art is very different in this one and might put some people off. I particularly think it kind of worked for this type of story. Ultimate Doctor Strange is actually the young child of Doctor Strange, which is a decision I liked and would like to see more of. Don’t expect that though.. He’ll later appear a couple times in USM, but will never be much explored.

Issue 14: Spider-Man and Black Widow. Spider-Man “rescues” Black Widow as she escapes from the Latverian embassy, and she meets with Shield. Kind of a forgettable issue IMO. Continuity-wise, this actually happens after the second X-Men arc (so if you want, hold these last ones off a bit more), and before the Ultimates start.

Issues 15-16: Spider-Man and Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu. Ninjas attack Shang-Chi, but when Spider-Man tries to help, they have already been defeated. Peter tries to learn some martial arts moves from Shang-Chi, and he leaves New York. Again, another forgettable story IMO.

Ultimate Spider-Man Super Special 1. Despite the name, this is actually a Ultimate Marvel Team Up Super Special, and was created to wrap the series up as it was being cancelled. Every couple of pages are drawn by a different artist, and they bring most of the characters from UMTU back, and also some new ones in a story of Peter trying to find his place in the Ultimate Universe. Due to the presence of the Ultimate Fantastic Four, this is not canon, but I really liked this issue, particularly the conversation with the Human Torch and the ending, where Peter’s school assignment about heroes (referrenced in a couple of issues of USM and UMTU) is shown. I recommend this one (note that, though it’s a wrap up of all that has happened in this series, you can also read it on its own, so feel free to give it a try even if you want to skip some of the above).

[snoringhq]

Feature Comparison of Mandibular Advancement Devices

Feature Comparison of Mandibular Advancement Devices

The market for anti-snoring devices is substantial and sometimes difficult to navigate. Moreover, many devices claim to have similar, if not the same features, making it hard for you to find a product that suits your needs. Therefore, to help you narrow your options, we compiled, tested, compared, and ranked eight exceptional anti-snoring devices. If you would like in-depth explanations about the features and advantages of each device, please refer to the product reviews on our site.

Our Methods

To limit the number of prospective products, we only considered Mandibular Advancement Devices (MADs) or intraoral inserts used to treat sleep-related breathing problems. One of the MADs has a built-in tongue restraining device (TRD), but we did not test any standalone TRD products.

There are three significant factors to consider before buying an anti-snoring device: technical features, value, and comfort. The best device should maximize its value and user’s comfort without reducing the effectiveness of its technical elements.

Technical Features

The most important characteristics to look for in an anti-snoring device are the features that help it eliminate snoring. In this guide, we examine jaw alignment, custom impressions, fixed positioning, and tongue restraint capabilities.

Measuring Value

A device’s value encompasses more than just its price. When we mention value, we’re referring to the initial cost of the item, the ease of the ordering process, shipping options and rates, the quality of customer service, and lastly, the device’s return policy. Each component affects how valuable the device would be to a potential customer. Quality customer care is essential. A device isn’t worth buying if the overall ordering process and client services are poor. Even if you find a product that fits your needs, it may not be the perfect match for you. Clear and lenient return policies are necessary so you can try various products without worrying when something goes wrong or if you need to return your device.

Anti-Snoring Device Effectiveness

Studies regarding sleep and sleep-related health issues show that anti-snoring devices are 93% effective in reducing snoring. Since manufacturers construct Mandibular Advancement Devices according to similar concepts of functionality, most will reduce your snoring to some extent. Results will vary by each user’s individual receptiveness to the products, so we didn’t use a recording device in our lab tests. Instead, we’ll show you which devices have the highest chances of eliminating your problem based on their technical attributes. Comparison Chart The following chart ranks Mandibular Advancement Devices by features.

Features (ordered by importance)SnoreRxZyppahSnoreMedicTherasnoreSleep TightAirSnoreVitalSleep Tray Calibrationxxx +TRDx Custom Impression Moldxxxxxxx Fixed Positioningxxxxxx Made in USAxxx Torsion-Freexxxxxx Multi-Sizex Refunds30-Days90-Days30-Days30-Days30-Days60-Days30-Days Price$99.00$99.95$39.99$74.12$79.90$49.95$79.95 CS+Value1031021 Final Point Total13119126811

Our Point Rating System

Tray Calibration (+5 points)

Tray calibration allows you to adjust your lower jaw forward or backward to maximize anti-snoring success.

TRD (+4 points)

Tongue restraining devices hold your tongue in place while you sleep, reducing the risk of blockages to your airways.

Custom Impression (+3 points)

Custom impressions are vital to the success of an anti-snoring product because they keep your jaw from collapsing backward during sleep.

Fixed Position (+2 points)

For comfort, being able to open and close your mouth is a better feature. However, we rated fixed position as a positive characteristic because it’s more effective in eliminating snoring. For assessments about the comfort of these devices please read the product reviews on our site.

Made in the USA (+1 point)

For safety, and patriotic, reasons, it’s better if the device is made in the United States.

Torsion-Free (+1 point)

This rating notes whether a device has any materials, screws, or adjustments that hinder the placement of the device in the mouth, or could cause gum soreness.

Multi-Size (+1 point)

MADs with multiple sizes give users the option to choose a small or large device based on their gum line and jaw size.

Value, Customer Service, Refunds (+1)

For this category, we consider the quality of customer service, refund, and return policy availability, shipping cost and delivery times, and the product’s price.

Mandibular Advancement Devices with the Most Features

1. SnoreRx

SnoreRx placed highest on our comparison chart with 13 points. This device comes from a company with a history of designing exceptional sleep-related products. Although SnoreRx is pricier than most on the list, its unique features and expert construction make it a worthwhile purchase. What sets this device apart from its peers is the level of customization it offers. SnoreRx has a calibrator on its side that allows users to adjust the position of their lower jaw. The calibrator has ten settings and a reset mechanism so you can maximize your comfort. This device doesn’t contain allergy-inducing irritants such as latex, acrylics, and alloys and is BPA-free. SnoreRx’s manufacturers construct it from medical-grade materials, making it a fantastic choice for individuals with allergies or sensitivities. SnoreRx has an average lifespan of 12 to 15 months, which is significantly longer than most Mandibular Advancement Devices.

2. Zyppah, Therasnore, and VitalSleep

Second place is a three-way tie between Zyppah, Therasnore, and VitalSleep at 11 points. While not as extensive as SnoreRx, these devices offer multiple features that combine to reduce snoring symptoms. Zyppah is a favorite MAD that sets the lower jaw in a forward position to decrease the occurrence of partial airway obstructions. Zyppah combines the basic functionality of MADs and tongue restraining devices (TRD), keeping both your tongue and jaw stationary while you sleep. Zyppah is comfortable to wear and made from BPA-free materials. Unfortunately, the product may cause jaw soreness as you adjust to wearing it. Zyppah’s largest con is their poorly rated customer service. Most users who try the product claim to have poor experiences dealing with the customer service representatives.

Therasnore is a UK company, so the return costs are higher than that of the US-made products. However, it’s mid-range pricing and effective features are a good trade-off. Like other MADs, this anti-snoring device positions the jaw forward to reduce the risk of airway obstacles. Therasnore lives up to its international acclaim. It is extremely comfortable to wear and its custom-fit properties are easier to maneuver than those of devices like Zyppah.

VitalSleep offers many features other MADs have such as custom impressions and tray calibration. VitalSleep is also the only multi-size device on our product list. This MAD comes in two sizes: regular and small, which the company recommends for men and women respectively. VitalSleep offers decent functionality and comfort, making it an all-around suitable product.

3. AirSnore, SnoreMedic

AirSnore and SnoreMedic are the most affordable of the MADs listed, rank in third place for acceptable features, reasonable pricing, and excellent customer service. AirSnore, with its standard design, doesn’t have unique functions like other MADs, and the UK-based product can take weeks to reach the United States. However, if the price is attractive to you, it may be worth trying. AirSnore has a 60-day return policy, so you can take your time before deciding whether to send it back. SnoreMedic is a new company, and while their anti-snoring devices have fewer features, they are very affordable (we gave it value 3 points for its low price). Both appliances include custom impression molds but don’t have TRDs. Customers who have purchased these devices speak highly of their client care services.

4. Sleep Tight

Sleep Tight is the lowest ranking devices on our comparison chart at 6 points respectively. Despite missing many key features like custom impressions, Sleep Tight is a commendable anti-snoring device that was designed by a dentist and ships from the UK. Sleep Tight has a plain design, but it makes up for it with longevity and custom fitting. You can refit this device up to five times, and it has an average lifespan of six months to two years.

Conclusion

Regardless of how we rank them, you may have vastly different experiences with the product you choose. Our personal favorite is SnoreRx. We suggest using SnoreLab or SnoreReport apps on your mobile phone to test the effectiveness of your device. Try multiple products and return them if they don’t work for you. Remember to be patient, try each device for several weeks, and don’t give up if you don’t find your perfect product right away.

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