To Help Spread The Blessing

The hilarious thing about Midsomer Murders is that if you described it to someone who didn’t watch it and mentioned the running joke of ‘the detective inspector hates it whenever his wife starts a new hobby’ you’d think he was a raging misogynist or it was an unhappy marriage played for laughs or whatever

But no no no, Barnaby absolutely adores his wife, it’s just that her hobbies always seem to result in dead bodies and it’s been eleven seasons and Barnaby is very very tired by this point

Happy birthday, women!! 🎉🎉🎉

Maybe we’ll get to see the first American pope in history be the first pope to excommunicate the US vice president

He is such a softy with a big heart, I don't know why humans fear him and hate him, like just leave him alone 😭 adult Caesar deserved nothing but happiness with his family 🫡 it's so sad how little we've seen him smile and be happy as an adult

You Sacrifice Your Life for Your Family: Steve, Bucky, Peter.

(Inspired by^)

You stared at Thanos, shivering from the icy wind billowing around the mountain top. Blood dripped from your lip, and splattered over your side where your arm was tucked to give some semblance of support.

His eyes were like nothing you ever saw - soulless, determined, and utterly focused on this one goal. Another shiver ran through you. This time, it had nothing to do with the wind.

"You choose one to die," he said, speaking softly, "the others live."

Your eyes drifted over their faces. Steve, Bucky and Peter. The three most important people in your life; a brother, a partner, and an adopted son. Thanos chose well, you thought bitterly.

They were scattered in the snow, beaten and bloodied, held in place by the power of the stones. Their eyes searched for you, wide, panicked, fearful. You smiled, but it faded too quickly to be genuine.

"If..." you turned back to Thanos, determinedly avoiding the others, "what if I die? Do they all live?

Thanos cocked his head, curiosity glinting in his eyes. A chorus of protest rose immediately from her left, pleading and desperate struggling.

"Yes," Thanos said, and triumph burned in his voice; this was the outcome he wanted.

"Y/N, no!" Steve hissed, "don't you dare. I'll die, pick me!"

You finally faced them properly, smiling softly at your brother, answering him with a slight shake of the head. "No, Steve...this is how it has to be."

He opened his mouth to object again, but your arms wrapping around his torso cut him off. You almost laughed, still expecting to embrace a thinner frame, even after all this time. "Look after them, Stevie. Look after yourself."

His face was wet as you pulled away, but he forcefully nodded his head. You sighed, content in knowing he would honour that.

Bucky's whole body strained to free itself, fury slowly falling away to fear as he looked at you. "Doll, please...Y/N, don't leave us."

"Mo cridhe, this is the only way for you all to live," you said, stumbling forward to gently cup his face, "how can I choose between the three I love more than anything in this universe?"

He choked back a sob. "But, Y/N..."

You pressed a kiss to his lips, holding back tears of your own as thoughts and memories raced through your mind. Discreetly, you slipped your dogtags and the locket you kept with the precious pictures from the 30s, updated with a few from the present, into his pocket. You knew he would need them more than anyone.

Pulling back, you smiled. "What a life we've led, James, what a life..."

"Y/N...mum..." Peter whimpered, sniffing.

Quickly going to him, you enveloped him in a warm embrace. He nuzzled his head into the crook of your neck, tearings flowing freely.

"My brave, brave boy. I'm so proud of you, Pete. So proud. You remember that, alright? I love you, I did this for all of you."

You kissed his forehead, accidentally smearing your blood over his cheek. He sobbed, head dropping.

"Be a good boy for Bucky, yeah? Listen to him and uncle Steve. Promise me?"

He nodded slowly, voice shaking. "I promise..."

"Good boy, you're a good kid," you said, pressing a hard, final goodbye kiss to his hair.

Drawing away from him took more energy than expected, and you staggered slightly, breathing heavily. You had stopped stemming the blood flow from your side, now the clock was reaching its end.

Thanos waited, patiently expectant, on the cliff edge. You huffed, rolling your shoulders, and walked steadily forward. But you paused, one last time, and looked back at your family.

"Remember how much I love you, all the good days we spent together, our glorious life..." you met Bucky's eyes, the man you called husband, and grinned the most radiantly he ever saw, "because it was glorious, wasn't it?"

You stepped off, and the clouds cradled you on your way to the end of your line. The smile you wore never wavered, neither did your resolve falter, thinking of golden days of youth and love, the laughter of the family you built ringing in your ears.

Their screams followed you all the way down, your name in their mouths the last thing you ever heard.

I had a name but they took it from me

lord huron - the world ender

Even the Raven King - who was not a fairy but an Englishman - had a somewhat regrettable habit of abducting men and women and taking them to live with him in his castle in the Other Lands.

I am Obsessed with this sentence.

- this is one of the first real pieces of information that we are given about the Raven King. Before this, we know 1) he's a magician who lived centuries ago and 2) he's associated with Newcastle. You know, basic stuff. And now we get 'Oh yeah and he used to kidnap people sometimes.'

- it's incredibly creepy, actually. And I think it's quite significant that we get this so early on, that as you go through the book and learn more about the Raven King you've always got the knowledge in the back of your head that this is a man who randomly abducts folks when he fancies it.

- 'who was not a fairy, but an Englishman'. I mean, yeah. Nothing so far to suggest that he might be. All the magicians we've seen and heard of have been human. But the very fact that the author makes a point of telling us this plants the idea that there might *be* reason to mistake the Raven King for a fairy, that maybe he *isn't* quite human.

- he takes them not to his home in Newcastle but to Faerie (or possibly Agrace? I think that also counts as the Other Lands). That's very... well, *fairy* of him. And also ensures that it will be extremely difficult for them to escape and get home (do they want to get home?)

- the fact that we still know so little. Why does he take these people? Is it a romantic thing? Is it for their skill in magic? Something completely different? How willing are they? Does he ever let them go? The footnote ballad gives suggestions but I feel like there's still an awful lot left up to interpretation.

- 'A somewhat regrettable habit' like he tracks mud through the house or something. I'm dying this is so funny 'ah yes this is john uskglass. nice guy. Shame about the whole abduction thing, but hey, nobody's perfect.'

I am begging conspiracy theorists to do what they do best this one time.