#but the fact that dream added ant frost
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echidnana · 4 years ago
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oh also i might talk more abt this in depth later but part of the reason i’m not super into the dsmp anymore is a) bc i don’t like a lot of the ccs very much and b) it got kind of hard for me to distinguish rp from them just playing minecraft. maybe it’s just me being autistic but since there wasn’t ever really super clear indications of when a stream shifts from canon to them fucking around, i got confused p easily
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justamixofemoandpunk · 4 years ago
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Ok so i have to publish stuff for one of my classes. and I am publishing it to tumblr dot com
Please don't be mean I'm sorry.
Poetry Portfoilio:
I Come from poem
I come from rainstorms
Softly tapping the windows,
Nourishing the ground
Rainbows are just around the corner,
And yet nobody wants it to end
Soft and comforting
I come from rainstorms
With howling winds,
Beating at the doors,
flooding ponds and
Spattering against the window
Ripping petals off flowers
Violent and merciless
I come from cool mornings,
With fuzzy sweaters and hot tea
Coffee weak to with sugar and cream
Favorite spices stirred in
Trees are turning bright colors in the distance
Rubbing sleep from your eyes
I com from cool mornings,
With harsh wind biting cheeks and noses
Painfully early
Headaches from trying to remember a forgotten dream
And burning fevers
I come from mist and fog
Warm mornings with honeysuckle perfume
Birds in the far distance chirp
Of a new day
Covered in a fluffy white sweater
I come from mist and fog
Shrouding the distance
“Danger, Danger” whispers the trees
A snake slithers unseen on the forest floor
Mystery itself is fearful
I come from power herself
Spring spots poem
flowers peeking through honeysuckle vines
with bowed heads from the weight of the world
and pink stretch marks from holding it up
they do not care, they know they are strong and beautiful
and yet tired all the same from the thankless work
more flowers appear,
this time with anger that they hold the weight of the world
they have bowed heads too, they are also tired
they do not want to clean up thanklessly after others
just like the previous generation
yet they are tired, because they do it too,
and try to explain they they do not have to be the only ones to help
the first flowers fade, wrinkling and fading
tired out, exhausted
they droop to the ground
without mourning save but from the other flowers
just as they fall
more flowers bloom in their place
not picking up the weight of the world,
they have seen the damage it does
they do not want to hurt
they try to convince the other plants and creatures to help,
telling them that the damage won’t be so great
but the others just laugh
After all, why would they pick up, why would they work when they hadn't before?
they wouldn't be hurt either way
it stings, it hurts
so when the last generation dies
there is a frost
everyone suffers
the other plants are mad at the flowers
for not picking up the weight of the world
the flowers are angry, because the other plants will not listen
only cruelly twist their words against them
so when the next flowers appear
the dying second set of flowers tell them not to pick it up
for the other plants will eventually pick up their share
the new flowers won't pick it up,
and they try to explain that everyone needs to help
but the other plants won’t listen
and the cycle repeats, it looks doomed
When will the other plants learn?
Will the flowers ever get a break?
Sonnet
Sonnet to people who won’t wear a mask
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day
For thou art hasn't even a bit of class
You look like an animal that eats hay
Say, thou art even dressed the part,( donkey)
You killed a baboon and stolen it’s face
you're a murderer and uncunning thief
your mother never gave you an embrace
but a mere peek of your face causes grief
You are steadfast to theories of fraud
you use sources from all except science
At logic you have stridently guffawed
doctors receive only your defiance
To the nearest grocery employee
I say: run! covid is a guarantee
4 word poem
444Early thunder webs porch
I woke up early this morning
Packed my bag, took a quick shower,
Stepped onto the webbed porch
Walked down to the nearest train station
The city was already bustling, but in a tired sort of way
I boarded the metro, and dozens of ghostly eyes glanced up,
Haunted by the lack of sleep, decimated by the stresses
Only one pair of them saw me, I knew.
It was myself at a young age
visiting the art museum with my mother and brother
I still remember that trip.
If only my naive self knew what would happen.
What would become of me
What will happen
These Have I Loved
Cars whizzing past my house, blaring the radio, the sharing their snippets of sound
Raindrops dripping down a window,
The smell of baking bread in the oven, and the sizzle of eggs on the stove,
A book by the crackling fire,
Inky calligraphy, a page of scribbles for warming up the ink
Shooting stars speeding by, a gasp and a hundred thousand silent wishes
The stars and the moon, shining bright,
White roses dyed with split stems
Chalk monsters on driveways
Clouds forming and shifting, butterflies flitting between the bushes
Honeysuckle flowers picked and nectar greedily sipped out
Lumps of moss gently placed in potting soil, caringly watered.
666 this is just to say
This is just to say:
I forgot to text you back
I forgot to write the email
I promise I was thinking of you
I promised I haven’t forgotten
I miss you so much
I promise I love you still
I promise I promise I promise
I am thinking of you
I care, but I can’t write the email
I promise I tried
Forgive me
stretched pantoum( I’m sorry 3 stanzas wasn’t enough)
I’m scared/
Another friend drops/
I do not know their name/
Why does nobody notice everyone is falling//
Another friend drops /
My heart beats faster/
Why does nobody notice everyone is falling/
They’re being murdered by the minute//
My heart beats faster/
Why does nobody else see the blue-grey-green murderer/
They’re being murdered by the minute /
It’s holding a bloody hatchet, //
Why does nobody else see the blue-grey-green murderer/
It’s holding their head under water,/
It’s holding a bloody hatchet/
Why do they answer it’s sick questions //
It’s holding their head underwater,/
I KNEW THAT PERSON/
Why did they answer his sick questions/
They’re gone now, never coming home, never coming home//
I KNEW THAT PERSON/
And they’re gone, gone forever/
They’re gone now, never coming home, never coming home/
They were drowned in the fountain//
And they’re gone, gone forever/
With a hatchet in the back/
They were drowned in the fountain/
They were poisoned//
With a hatchet in the back/
They sank to their knees, eyes up to heaven/
They were poisoned/
They had no choice//
5 different ways of looking at the moon
A one-eyed space cat,
Staring with unwavering attention,
Never bothering to shake the glittering dust off its coat
It keeps a silent sigil
A bitten cookie,
Rudely munched on by ants
They didn’t even notice the silver and gold leaf
In their hunger, it was just more food
The cat is growing sleepy
It has been there for millenia
Ever watching, waiting
Why does it stay? What is going to happen?
A teacup,
Left with only the bitter dregs,
Someone forgot to take the teabag out
The last drops are cold and strong
Maybe the cat drank it
A colourful stamp on paint named ”Satin night”
Spotted and not quite perfect
Maybe from a cork
Slammed so hard the paint spattered
And made stars
I remember poem
I remember sticking my hands and head out the car window as we sped down the highway at sunset, speakers resounding our favorite songs on cassette,
Walking around the city with balloons in hand- we had picked them for the other
I remember laying on the rooftop, and you showed me my star sign, and yours, and your favorite constellations and their stories,
And I remember your face when I gave you a strawberry plant that I grew just for you
I remember making our playlist, with all our favorite songs, and it was fun because you tried to add words to the titles to make them funny because
I remember “It’s Not a Fashion Statement, It’s A Deathwish, Mom” and “Bring Me to Life, Mom”
And I remember your anger when they called me that word.
I had to hold you back to keep you from hurting them.
You flat ironed my hair, and I remember dyeing yours neon green.
I remember slow dancing in our room, with lit scented candles to spotify playlists and McDonald’s ads.
I remember growing ivy on the staircase with you
I remember your smile
4 word sketch poem
Firstborn, whistle, moonlight, strings
The whistle of the first firework,
it screeches up into the dusk.
The strings it releases explode and crackle,
A chorus of gasps and Oohs and Ahs
As the firstborn child sneaks away, unnoticed.
It’s fine, that was their plan anyways.
Fireflies are twinkling, traffic is clogged and congested.
They round the corner, pacing fast but quietly, the way they learned in 5th grade.
The boots make it difficult, so they tiptoe on the narrow strip of grass that lays next to the sidewalk.
They’ve reached their destination: the pharmacy.
It's hard not to attract attention when you’re the only customer in the store.
A few minutes later, they leave, crinkly plastic bag in hand,
Nearly sprinting towards their family.
They’ve only been gone for five minutes, but
The fireworks and the fact that they’re normally quiet has kept their family from alarm.
They sneak back into the circle,
doling out candy to delighted brothers and sisters,
The parents have no idea.
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kieranblackthorn · 5 years ago
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tell me something I don’t already know
A MALEC FANFIC
read it on ao3
Alexander Lightwood is a Law student who thinks he's made all the wrong choices in life. His internship, his major, his relationships... It all seems wrong. Alec definetely doesn't know how much he's worth. And maybe he needs a handsome guy called Magnus to throw out the window everything Alec thinks he knows... And shatter his heart, only to put the pieces back together again.
Chapter One
Alec’s idea of grabbing a quick lunch wasn’t buying a muffin at the bakery two blocks from work, but here he was. The muffin was fluffy and warm, filled with raisins and with a light cinnamon crust. He would never admit it to Simon out loud, but it tasted absolutely amazing.
“You’re a dude of simple tastes,” said Simon, glancing at his muffin “I can get behind that.”
Alec rolled his eyes. Simon definitely was anything but a man of simple tastes: he wore colorful and silly ties to work – today, it was one filled with tiny ice cream cones –, always spoke loudly, and was currently eating a huge slice of confetti cake.
“C'mon, man, you gotta say that I brought you to a great place!” continued Simon, swallowing a mouthful of cake. “I know you suggested that fancy salad bar, but it was my turn to choose.”
Alec took another bite of his muffin, feeling the grease sticking to his lips.
“This isn’t exactly healthy, tho,” answered Alec, frowning.
“Oh yeah, I know you love being all buff and fit, going to the gym five times a week and eating nothing but leaves. I swear your muscles will rip your suit any day now.”
Alec snorted. “Bennett would kill me in a heartbeat if I ever went to the office without a suit…”
“And I’d finally get to see a homicide trial I’ve been wishing for,” added Simon with a smile, licking frosting off his fingers.
“You probably wouldn’t get to see anything. They would bury you in meaningless paperwork about some petty case. I doubt you’d get a second in court to see his conviction,” he replied.
Alec hadn’t expected how boring would an internship at a law firm be. He had hoped he would at least get to watch some trials, maybe actually talk to the clients. But his job was mostly research and paperwork, sitting on his desk all day, hearing Simon talk about his latest gig with his band. He had thought he would feel like he was doing meaningful work at Bennett & Green Law Offices… but he felt small, powerless and useless. An ant buried in paperwork.
Alec’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted when a strange man, with a grin from ear to ear, sat down on the remaining chair at their table. He wore a refined bright purple suit, his fingers were filled with golden rings, and his eyes carried heavy, yet elegant, eyeliner.
“Can I help you…?” asked Alec, a little startled.
The man’s smile grew larger. God, Alec thought, he has a beautiful smile.
“You could help me by telling me how do you look so gorgeous so early in the morning…” the guy winked. He actually winked, and Alec didn’t know how to respond to this.
“It’s 11:30?” he answered, feeling a little confused. And also a little dazzled. The curve of his lips and the way he looked into Alec’s eyes were enough to make him feel dizzy.
“Precisely what I mean! This isn’t my finest hour, I must say.” Alec couldn’t even imagine how this man would look in his finest hour, if that was his worst shape. “I’m Magnus, by the way.”
“Alexander.” Alec held out his hand, hoping Magnus would shake it. Instead, he gently took it and pressed his lips against Alec’s hand.
Again, dizzy.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Alexander. I was wondering if maybe I could get your number?”
Alec was so surprised he couldn’t get any words out of his mouth. This handsome guy – Magnus –, with his purple suit, wide smile and piercing eyes was trying to get his number? His number, when he had muffin crumbs all over his suit - that couldn’t have been more than 20 bucks –, looked like he hadn’t had a proper night of sleep in two days, and smelled like he had just hit the gym. Ew, Alec was only now realizing he should buy a new deodorant.
“Unless you aren’t interested?” Magnus raised an eyebrow, looking disappointed.
“Oh no, he will definitely give you his number!” Simon barged in, unlocking his cellphone, already with a pen in hand, and began quickly writing something down on a napkin.
“Oh yeah, yeah, sure,” Alec finally managed to say, fighting to stop staring awkwardly at Magnus. He took the napkin out of Simon’s hand, giving it a quick look. Alex noticed that along with his number, Simon wrote down his Instagram username. He sighed inside, not knowing if he would scream at Simon or thank him later.
“Magnus, we are fucking late!” yelled a deep voice across the bakery. It was coming from a tall man, with a crown of curly hair, standing next to the door, his arms crossed. It was almost funny how his black, sober suit contrasted with the pastel tones that decorated the walls and tables. “Let’s go!”
 Magnus took the napkin out of his hand, their fingers brushing for a brief moment.  
“I’m sorry, gorgeous, but I fear our conversation has been cut short by my cranky friend over there. He doesn’t really like to wait. Let’s continue this over text, shall we?” Magnus said, looking at Alec. “Nice meeting you as well,” he added, nodding at Simon.
And with another bright flash of his smile, Magnus walked out of the bakery’s door.
“Wow. He was quite a sight, wasn’t he?” Said Simon after a moment, taking a sip at his Coke.
Alec turned to Simon, a thought forming on his mind.
“How did you know I was gay? I’ve never told you that!” Alec looked accusingly at Simon.
He shrugged. “Lucky guess!” Simon slurped his Coke again. “Besides, if you don’t want to text him, I do! I meant it when I said he was something. He’s pretty damn cute, if you ask me.”
Alec shook his head in confusion. “Wait, are you… Are you gay?”
“Nah, man!” Simon didn’t seem bothered by the question. “I’m pan, actually.”
“I didn’t know that,” replied Alec, feeling a bit warm inside. He had met very few queer guys, mostly back in college. Knowing Simon was pan… It gave him a nice feeling of camaraderie.
“Well, you’ve never asked. And you also haven’t mentioned your sexuality to me before.” Simon grinned lightly “Besides, you haven’t looked  at my desk, because I have a pan flag there.”
“Oh, now you got me,” replied Alec, feeling a little embarrassed. Simon had picked up on the fact that Alec didn’t make a lot of effort to be friendly with him. He found himself feeling a little guilty.
“Your gaydar couldn’t be worse, my dude!” exclaimed Simon, wiping frosting off his mouth. “Should we get back to the office?”
 Alec spent the rest of the day at the office trying not to think of the purple suited guy, but he couldn’t help but check for new messages every twenty minutes or so. His experience with guys was limited, and he would never have the nerve to ask somebody out just like that. In the middle of a bakery, not knowing whether they were into guys. Although he’d had a few hookups, Alec had never thought of himself as attractive, desirable or… hot. God, even the thought of that word made him blush.
When he got home, he was totally spent. His entire body hurt from sitting and typing the whole day, his head hurt from staring at a screen… and also from hearing Simon’s relentless chatter. His suit was itchy, and he took off his jacket when he crossed the door.  
Jace looked up from where he was sitting. His brother was lying sloppily on the sofa with a bowl of cereal balanced on his legs. There was a neat pile of sheet music next to him, along with pens, highlighters and music theory books.
“Hard day at college?” Alec asked, sitting down next to him.
“Hard day at the office?” replied Jace, swinging his legs over Alec’s lap. Lazybones, thought Alec, rolling his eyes.
“You know, same old, same old. I’m growing tired of paperwork… And of my boss. Honestly, this whole Law School thing sucks.”
“Well, you could always get a degree in music with me,” offered Jace, half-joking. He knew Law School wasn’t everything his brother had dreamed of - Alec still wasn’t a knight in shining armor, coming to rescue the less fortunate.
“Yeah, because I’m an amazing singer. Or a piano player. Or a violin player. Maybe I could get into their rattle program,” Alec snorted.
“Seriously, man… You gotta hang on a bit. Getting into Law School was your thing for years. Honor your effort… Even though you’re in an office full of douche bags wearing tuxedos.”
“And Simon.”
“I thought Simon was the master douche?”
“He is actually a pretty decent guy… I think he just wants a friend, you know? I guess I have been a bit rude to him this whole time.” Alec hesitated. Even though he’d been out for years, he still felt uncomfortable talking about his sexuality. “He actually came out to me today. He’s pan. Has a flag at his table too, I just never bothered to look.”
“Do you think he’s cute?” asked Jace, raising an eyebrow.
Alec gave him a light punch on the shoulder. “Jace, I’ve told you that it isn’t because a guy is gay that I’m going to instantly make out with him.”
“I know, man, I’m just trying to be supportive here! God knows that you’ve been on a dry spell lately.”
“Can we please, please, not talk about my sex life?” begged Alec. Not that was much to talk about on that front – or anything, honestly.
“As you wish. But you know I’m always here for boy talk if you need it.” Jace gave him a small pat on the back, chewing his cereal loudly.
They both stared at the TV in silence for a couple of minutes, in absolute silence. Alec thought maybe he could talk about Magnus. Not that there was much to talk about, but still… He kept checking his phone to see if a message would pop up. He was getting anxious.
“Actually… A guy approached me at the bakery today.” Alec glanced at Jace. His brother was staring back, still eating. “And asked for my number.”
“That’s great, man! Did he text you? Let me read it!”
“Well, that’s the thing… It’s been seven hours and nothing. Radio silence.” Alec bit his lip, feeling a bit embarrassed.
“It’s still early. He was probably working, he’ll text you tonight,” Jace reassured him. “And still, if he doesn’t, that doesn’t change the fact that you’re great, alright? You know that, don’t you?”
“Kinda,” replied Alec, half-heartedly.
Jace threw a pillow at him.
“C'mon man, it’s early, I’m telling you he’s going to text! Let me play you something, that’ll cheer you up. Pick something!” said Jace, already standing up to sit at his piano. It was a beautiful, old upright piano, worn out by time. It was one of the few things Jace and Alec had brought all the way from their parents’ house, and its dark wood stood out from the bland decoration of their living room.
“Play me one of your original pieces. You know they are my favorite ones to hear.” Alec slipped into the sofa, closing his eyes. As Jace’s fingers started moving softly, Alec felt his mind drifting far away; listening to his brother play was his personal form of meditating. They had been doing that since they were kids: Alec would lie on their childhood bedroom floor, listening to Jace’s fingers play Chopin, Tchaikovsky, Liszt, Brahms, and eventually Jace’s own original music. Alec had never had any gift for music - his parents realized that soon enough, and left the music lessons for Jace –, but he surely could appreciate a piece that was well-played.
He lied there for what seemed like hours - and it might as well have been. Hos head felt light, like the music had brushed off his worries – work, Simon, Law School, handsome purple-suited guys… Eventually, he got up, made himself a quick omelet, washed the dishes and went to bed – after all, he still had classes the next day. Jace was still in the living room playing, and Alec knew he would be there until his fingers went dormant.
Lying in his bed, almost falling asleep. Alec couldn’t help but notice the light ping of his phone, already after midnight. He picked it up, eyes still half-closed. There, on the screen, was a single line:
“Hey, gorgeous!”
CHAPTER TWO: TO BE POSTED
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arcanalogue · 5 years ago
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The End of Literature
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Woke from a dry sleep, careful not to rustle the pages as I lay there. You slept between 204 and 205 that night. I was between 200 and 201. We meet at the binding while we dream and eat through the paper like mites until our blind mouths sink into each other's. Fresh pages every few days. The spine is cracked from being laid open for so long. I can never remember to pick up my clothes. Literature, dismayed by rumors of new storytellers that feed while sleeping and feel no hunger by day, feels obliged to uninvent itself. History rolls backward, stuffing jewels back into the mouths of our heroes, putting their hats on backwards and reminding them of their worried families and overdue bills. They are dismissed. Kisses run under fingers like Braille and race up the arms, reaching mouths but never eyes or ears; lovers gasp at the mental rockets but exhale nothing, glowing like cast-iron stoves packed hot, so perfectly hot that there is no exhaust ever, just more heat. More and more. Speculation flies through the headlines, reinforced by omens and market trends. Global economies become obsessed with their own thoughts, and explode. Pilots point their planes at the earth for a full two minutes during each flight in an effort to unite people in wordless expiation. Ticket prices soar; people pay them. Certain products are discontinued and not missed: sunscreen, dental floss, vitamins. 
And books. Books are still made but they have evolved. Not into flickering words on electronic paperscreens, but into something between a wedding cake and a letter-bomb. Thickly frosted, with pockets of dye or liqueur that will occasionally rupture and run down the wrists, staining clothes. Fold-out panels of spun sugar printed with India ink, the creases laden with pollen and freeze-dried berries ground into a fine powder that stops up the throat in a spasm of wet thunder. Compressed air that suddenly sprays from a concealed jet in the binding and cools the brow so that one can smell the frakincense and cholera that's rubbed off onto one's fingertips. Unexplained flashes of heat or creamy smoke as tripwires taped between pages are pulled loose. Bindings of all shapes, with textures and grooves made to be coveted between the breasts or taken into or against oneself, figurines embedded into illustrations, radium alloy airbrushed onto their marzipan shells. A concerto within a witch's gingerbread house within an epic novel within a Fabergé egg. Each new volume practically oozes out of its box when delivered, like fresh fish in a newspaper. Its pages akimbo and its letters marching like ants, running like mercury, the cover sticking to fingers and its innards recondite with impossible flavors illustrating facts mined from the collective heart of living — or from the void — it promises a digital transfer of information to the brain, by way of heart, by way of stomach. The first books made exclusively of edible components inspire unrest and a sort of audible sighing above the cities as the waiting begins. We weren't satisfied anymore, you see. We needed to be able to take in all of it. The importance of words was eclipsed by the need for communion, for intercourse and physical transmutation, over and over again. We wanted to tattoo our organs with the things we knew, and sought creative ways to swallow the needle. The new books have come, and we, the ruminant, can feel our clockwork hitching and galloping to accommodate the strange mass, our mechanisms busting their teeth on the indigestible and incandescent compost seeded with suprahuman utterances and spongiform manifestos scattering through the body like dandelion parachutes. We excrete the paint and lithium battery-cases while our cells feed and our faces shine, but there is no name for it, and nothing to discuss. 
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One book at a time per person, no sharing, so that we cannot continue life's illusion that anything is actually shared, nor tell if we are awake or asleep together, or whether we are making love. The world is something that happens inside each of us. Each person, every man and woman, is a star. Together you and I broke apart our furniture to make room for the new hardware. The latest models were bound in leather and velvet, with scallops sawn into their edges so that one could grip them for leverage while turning the heavy pages. The words printed in these stiff, oversize texts were not meant to comfort or inspire — we are inflated from within to the limit of our seams, finding we have no further use for alphabetic overtures typed by the spidery fingers of machines. 
Having embedded whole libraries into ourselves, however, the appeal of becoming, ourselves, embedded becomes almost unbearable. The larger models are unfathomably expensive, but the ads ignite the public's imagination and with our post-human eyes, we all seek to build our castles in miniature, slim volumes of Blake-ean verse writ large — perhaps just large enough to house a couple or two. The immense pages curl over us like a shell at night, the smell is hermetic and clean. 
We squander in sleep what our ancestors spent their lives searching for: a feast, an idea, an other. There is no such thing anymore as together, or alone. We have survived the death of clever. The death of ability. We have survived the death of magic by building a house from its bones. In the morning, when the sun shines through the heavy paper over my face (in transparent gold coins where my sweat has bled into it) I can see the letters from both its sides inked above me, forward and backward. 
I hear someone, maybe you, turn over between other pages, in another chapter, and I smile at the words overhead. They are meaningless. They are embellishments that cannot describe the themes in my life or universalize my experience. They can not arouse me or read the future in my entrails. 
I brush the pulp from my papercut lips and sit up in bed, waiting for you to wake up.
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Images from William Blake’s ‘The Book of Urizen,’ 1794
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amandajoyce118 · 6 years ago
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Avengers: Endgame Easter Eggs And References
Okay, Avengers: Endgame has been out for over a week now, so I’m actually getting my Easter eggs up on time this time around instead of waiting nearly a month. That being said, if you haven’t seen the movie, there are spoilers here. So. Many. Spoilers. Do not read this if you haven’t seen the movie.
Got it? Good.
I did not include general pop culture references or, “hey, we last saw this character in this movie,” moments. Easter eggs, comic book references, and things you might have missed are what you’ll find below.
Again, SPOILERS!
The Opening Credits
When MCU movies roll their opening Marvel logo, they’ve slowly been adding the characters they’ve added to the franchise. You see images of Black Panther, Doctor Strange, and Captain Marvel in the last few flips, for example. This one devotes most of the images to the core six of the Infinity Saga. Most of the images you see belong to Black Widow, Hawkeye, Hulk, Iron Man Captain America, and Thor.
Tony And Nebula
A lot of people like the opening dynamic between Tony and Nebula because it’s something different for us to watch, but there are a couple of callbacks there. While Nebula getting to win a game of “football” is cute, it’s also important because, growing up, Thanos always pit Nebula and Gamora against one another. He made them compete for everything, and despite all of her “enhancements,” Nebula always lost. In fact, those “enhancements” are a result of each time she lost at a competition, prompting Thanos to find a way to “improve” her. Also, the last of the food they have? Tony tries to share it with Nebula, but she lets him have it. Tony sharing his food is a THING in the MCU. In the first Avengers movie, Robert Downey Jr. would actually tuck bags of candy, chips, nuts, etc. into drawers on set so that he could eat between takes. Eventually, Tony just started eating snacks on camera as well. This scene is a callback to him offering food to Chris Evans on camera and it staying in the movie as Tony offering Steve a snack.
The Garden
The planet where Thanos decides to retire is called 0259-S, but Nebula calls it The Garden. That alpha numeric sequence doesn’t appear as a designation in the comics, but The Garden does exist. In the comics, a Celestial known only as The Gardener lives in the blue area of the moon where he literally tends The Garden. That’s what he’s chosen to do with his life. The power of the Time Gem is what keeps his garden thriving while he’s meant to care for it. Thanos, of course, is the one to take it from him in the Infinity Gauntlet storyline. The name for the movie is likely a nod to that aspect of the comic book story, while him “retiring” to a farm is also right out of the comics. So is the scarecrow made from his armor.
“I went for the head.”
Thor says this as a nod to Thanos telling him what he should have done when he didn’t defeat him in Infinity War. There’s also another callback to their fight later in the movie. During the huge battle sequence at the end of the movie, Thanos presses Stormbreaker into Thor’s chest just as Thor did to him in Infinity War.
Creator Cameos
During the sequence for Cap leading the support group (a nod to a piece of advice Falcon gave him in Captain America: The Winter Soldier), there are a couple of cameos. Joe Russo, one of the writers and directors, appears as the member of the group talking about his date. The man who asks him about it? That’s comic book heavyweight Jim Starlin. Starlin also gets a special thank you in the credits at the end of the film. He’s the man who created Thanos. (Sidenote: Joe Russo’s kids all have roles in the film as well. His daughter Ava even plays Hawkeye’s daughter Lila.)
5 Years Later
Not an Easter egg, but some timeline clarification here. With the five year time jump, the big confrontation takes place in 2023 as the start of the movie is very close to the events of Avengers: Infinity War, which started in 2018.
An Underwater Earthquake
When Natasha has her conference call with Rocket, Rhoadey, Carol, and Okoye, they briefly discuss an underwater earthquake near Wakanda. Okoye brushes it off, but there is an underwater nation that doesn’t particularly get along with Wakanda in the comics. Atlantis. Their leader, Namor, is not T’Challa’s biggest fan. I like to think this is a hint that he’s coming. (When Steve visits following this scene, you can also spot Natasha’s ballet slippers on a chair. Looks like she was feeling nostalgic in more ways than one.)
New Hair
Steve and Tony go back to their trimmed looks for this movie, but someone else gets a new haircut. After the five year time jump, Carol’s haircut is closer to her modern comic book look than what we’ve seen in the movies before.
616
The storage unit where all of Scott Lang’s belongings are, including the van and the rat that helps him escape the Quantum Realm, is marked as unit 616. That’s a nod to the 616 universe in the comics, the one that features the main continuity.
“...Only to make conversation.”
So, when Scott asks Steve and Natasha is they known anything about physics, Natasha gives this response, which on first blush, might sound like her being a smartass. It’s not. As a spy, she literally learned enough about subjects to sound like she understood them when meeting a target. The first target she took on in the comics? Iron Man, whom she needed a working knowledge of physics to banter with.
“...regular size man.”
Rhoadey calls Scott this as a reference to the last time they saw each other in Captain America: Civil War. Rhoadey was the one to proclaim, “tiny man is giant now.” It’s a nice call back
The Necklace
If you look closely at Natasha’s neck when they start recruiting Avengers for the time travel idea, you’ll notice she’s wearing a familiar necklace. It’s the same arrow she wore in Captain America: The Winter Soldier as a nod to Hawkeye.
Howard Stark
Tony gets to see his father in the flesh during the time travel segment of the movie, but we get a teaser for him earlier in the movie. When Tony picks up the photo of himself and Peter in his kitchen? There’s a photo of his father on the shelf as well. (Side note: when Tony asks how far along Howard’s wife is in the 70s? It’s because he’s born in May and they arrive in April.)
Morgan
Looks like Tony went ahead and named his kid Morgan just like the dream he had in Infinity War. Morgan was also Tony’s cousin in the comics. (Also, how great is Morgan playing with what becomes Pepper’s helmet? Pepper’s armor, though it isn’t named, is a recreation of her Rescue look from the comics.)
Ronin
Though the name isn’t used in the movies, the name Hawkeye goes by in the comics when he decides to start cutting down all the bad guys in his path, is Ronin. The name comes from the word to describe a samurai without a master. It literally means “wandering man,” and is portrayed in artwork by the bones of a warrior inside their samurai gear. That depiction is exactly what you’ll find in Hawkeye’s tattoo sleeve, and it’s why Black Widow finally tracks him down in Japan. It’s also fitting that his sword doesn’t look like a traditional samurai sword to me. It looks more like a bow fashioned into a sword.
Akihiko
The guy that Clint fights in Japan is based on a comic book character of the same name. In the comics, he worked for a SHIELD rival that was also a branch of the Yakuza.
Recruiting Thor
Thor only comes out once a month for supplies? Sounds like Aquaman only coming in on the King Tide to provide for the people, but I’m hoping that’s just a coincidence and not them poking fun at one of DC’s good on screen characters. The whole thing with Thor yelling at the mean kid Korg is gaming with though? Did that feel like them shouting at the guy’s living in their mom’s basement who claim to be comic book purists to anyone else? Just me?
Also, I appreciate that New Asgard is supposed to be in a Scandinavian country. I do. Tonsberg is supposedly where Odin led his people to war against the Frost Giants thousands of years ago. And it’s where the Red Skull found the Tesseract. However, this is clearly the part of the movie filmed in Scotland. Why? There’s a half empty bottle of Irn Bru (Scotland’s national soft drink, and my personal favorite) sitting on a table behind Thor through most of that sequence. I’m glad someone on set has good taste in soda.
New Asgard also existed in the comics, but as a merging of New York and Asgard when realities collided, and also as Asgard floating above Oklahoma when it fell from the sky.
Ben And Jerry’s
Does anyone remember Dr. Strange and Wong discussing the Avengers ice cream flavors in Infinity War? Looks like Bruce finally got to try some as he’s eating a Hulk-sized container of Ben and Jerry’s during the brainstorming sessions.
Budapest
Just what was the mission in Budapest? Will we ever know? It clearly made an impression on Natasha and Clint since it’s been referenced by them twice before. We also know Fury spent time there thanks to his listing of the B countries in Captain Marvel.
“That’s America’s ass.”
Someone on set knows the internet has an appreciation for Chris Evans’ ass. Who? Who knows? But someone has clearly seen the gif sets.
The Elevator
When we see Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk, and Ant-Man return to 2012, not only do we get to see another point of view for The Avengers, but we get some nice callbacks. Cap in the elevator with a bunch of menacing SHIELD agents (hey, Sitwell and Rumlow who are off to give the scepter to Liszt, the same guy that got Wanda her powers!) who are actually Hydra evoked that amazing fight scene in Captain America: Winter Soldier. This time, he doesn’t knock them all out though. Instead, he gives a “hail hydra” to avoid the fight. That in itself also evokes the recent comic book storyline that featured a rewritten reality where Captain America was hydra all along.
“Lunch, then Asgard.”
Back in 2012, Thor tells Secretary Pierce they’re going to lunch before he goes home.That lunch is the Avengers shawarma post credit scene.
“I can do this all day.”
As the most iconic Captain America line at this point, I don’t have to tell you how often he’s said it. I’m sure there’s a gif set on tumblr for it.
Stan Lee
Stan gets a posthumous cameo driving a muscle car with a license plate that includes the numbers 420 while he spouts on about making love, not war. He’s clearly a hippie, and it’s not a subtle cameo. You’d only miss it if you left the theater to run to the bathroom here. You might have missed his “Nuff said” bumper sticker, which was a phrase he often used in his responses to letters to the editor.
Community Cameos
The Russo brothers like to feature actors from their other projects. In the MCU, they’ve included at least one actor from Community in all of the movies they’ve been involved in. This time, there’s two. Ken Jeong plays a security guard at the storage facility while Yvette Nicole Brown plays a SHIELD agent in the 70s.
The Terminal Beach
When Ken Jeong’s security guard pops up early in the movie, he’s reading a book instead of watching the cameras. The book he’s reading is The Terminal Beach. It’s a collection of short stories. One of those in the book had a familiar title. It’s called “End-Game.” It’s not about superheroes, but instead about a man waiting his execution.
The 70s Eggs
Speaking of the 70s, let’s get a few of the Easter eggs and references in this sequence out of the way. The military base is the same one where Steve initially trained and was chosen for the super soldier program. The name on Steve’s uniform? That’s Roscoe for Roscoe Simons, a man who took over for him in the comics, and then was promptly defeated by the Red Skull. When Steve calls Hank about a package? We see the original Ant-Man helmet on his table. It’s pretty impossible to miss. The photo of Steve on Peggy’s desk is one of the images used for the first Captain America movie, and I believe one from the file she had in Agent Carter, if I’m not mistaken. When Tony encounters his father, he’s looking for Arnim Zola, the man who programs his mind into the computers at that same military base and appears in Captain America: The Winter Soldier there. When Howard leaves, that’s James D’Arcy still playing Jarvis and acting as his driver. Jarvis appearing in the movie is the first time a character originated on an MCU TV show to cross over to the movies. It’s a small step, but one in the right direction that might mean characters from Agents of SHIELD, Runaways, or Cloak And Dagger could eventually do the same.
“Get the rabbit.”
The Asgardian guards share Thor’s belief that Rocket is a rabbit because they say this while following him when he gets the aether.
“Daughter of Ivan, son of Edith”
Edith was in fact Hawkeye’s mother in the comics. She died when he was young, leaving Clint and his brother as orphans. Ivan, on the other hand, was not exactly Natasha’s father in the comics. Instead, one story sees Ivan Petrovich as a benevolent stranger who raises Natasha as his own when a woman gives him baby Natalia Romanova from a burning building. Retconning sees that as a fabrication as Ivan was actually a soldier and agent of the Red Room who got Natasha into the program. Still another sees him as her “uncle Ivan” whom she cared for so much that she gave up her freedom, joined the Red Room, and got them both the super soldier serum to save his life. Just how that will play into the MCU remains to be seen in the upcoming Black Widow movie.
The Big Three
When Thanos lets his weapons loose on the Avengers compound, the three that go out to meet him while everyone else is scrambling are Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor. These are the three tentpole franchises of the MCU. While Hulk had a solo movie, it was distributed though Universal and starred another actor. It’s a nice full circle moment for the MCU.
Captain America Is Worthy
When it seems like Thor is headed for certain doom, his hammer finds a new target - and a new person to wield it. Cap is one of the many heroes who wielded it in the comics, but the moment he catches Mjolnir is a callback to Avengers: Age of Ultron. In the movie, the Avengers take turns trying to lift the hammer, but only Cap seems to shift it, though he’s still unable to pick it up. The implication, of course, is that by the time this movie rolled around, the things he’d been through made him worthy.
Also? That shot of him all alone, ready to take on everyone? That’s an homage to the Avengers taking on Thanos in the comics. At one point, everyone else was down and out, and Cap was the only one left standing.
Captain America’s Shield
As Thanos shatters Cap’s shield during the fight, it echoes Tony’s talk of his vision earlier in the movie. There’s talk about how Tony wanted to build a suit of armor around the world, and that wish was a result of the vision Scarlet Witch put in his head in Age of Ultron. That same vision showed Cap’s shield broken in the same way it ends up broken here.
“On your left.”
We all know that this is one of the first things Sam said to Steve in The Winter Soldier, right? It’s a cute callback.
“Is that everyone?” “You wanted more?”
Dr. Strange and Wong have this exchange as the wizards stop opening portals all over the battlefield. Not only is this a nod to the sheer number of characters in the battle sequence, but likely a nod to their being more heroes out there that aren’t in the scene. After all, none of the TV heroes are visibly present.
“Avengers, assemble!”
Is this the first time Steve actually gets to say this on the big screen? He’s been cut off while saying it in the past, so I think it is, even if he gets to say it all the time in comic books.
Pegasus
Where exactly did Valkyrie get her flying horse? We saw it in the story of her past in Thor: Ragnarok, but we’ve not seen one used in the MCU lately, so while it’s a nice callback to her past, it’s an odd one.
“We’re on it, Cap.”
Wasp gets this line when Steve needs a new quantum tunnel up and running. After, she and Ant-Man share a look because he once told her only Steve’s friends call him Cap.
Instant Kill Mode
When Peter learned his suit had this in Spider-Man: Homecoming, it freaked him out, but here? Not so much. He uses it when he gets desperate.
The Ladies Of Marvel
There is a moment during the fight with Thanos where all of the female heroes on the ground manage to congregate around Peter Parker and Captain Marvel. Their aim? Protect Carol from Thanos’ army. Some cynics have called it pandering, but it makes sense. The woman, half of whom have the power to fly, have been following the glove around the field, trying to keep it out of Thanos’ hands. While the guys are still fighting, they form a team. It looks an awful lot like an A-Force team up in the comics, but it also echoes a moment in Infinity War. When Wanda is told she’s going to die alone in battle, Natasha and Okoye step up to protect her, with Natasha saying, “but she’s not alone.” At this point in the movie, Natasha is gone, but Wanda is still following her lead, protecting the other women on their team.
“If I tell you what happens, it won’t happen.”
The first time I saw the movie, I saw this as the opposite of a self fulfilling prophecy. But seeing it again, I actually think Dr. Strange was unsure if Tony would do what needed to be done if he told him the truth about their one shot. He knew to end the Thanos problem, Tony would have to snap his fingers. It makes me think Dr. Strange underestimated Tony’s commitment to saving the planet.
“I am Iron Man.”
This is Tony’s big response to Thanos, but it’s also the most iconic movie from the first Iron Man film. Why? It wasn’t even scripted. The original script had Tony keeping his Iron Man identity under wraps. During filming, Robert Downey Jr. ad libbed the admission that he was Iron Man and it stayed, changing the route of the films.
Also, Tony wielding the gauntlet he made is a nice homage to the comics, where he was actually the first human to successfully create and use one.
Captain America’s Suits
So, we see Steve wear his first Avengers suit. But, at the beginning of the movie, he’s also wearing his Winter Soldier suit. Later, he gets a brand new suit, probably courtesy of Tony. That one combines the look of his Civil War and Winter Soldier suits. But, it also adds the chain mail look that’s prevalent in the comics. So, he gets the chance to be pretty much every version of Cap we’ve seen on screen in this movie.
Harley Keener
The Avengers, their family, and Tony’s family are all present at his memorial, but so is someone else who wasn’t in the movie. The tall teenager at the back? That’s Harley from Iron Man 3, and he’s still played by Ty Simpkins. The kid had a real growth spurt that fits the timeline.
Proof That Tony Stark Has A Heart
We all remember this was a gift set on display for the Iron Man movies, yes?
Morgan Wants A Cheeseburger
Like father, like daughter. When Tony got away from the Ten Rings, he had Happy stop at Burger King on the way to his press conference because he wanted “American cheeseburgers.”
Asgardians Of The Galaxy
I know this is just Thor being Thor, but… there is a comic book team called the Asgardians of the Galaxy. Like the guardians, they travel around in a spaceship and do good deeds, but they’re all from Asgard.
“You’re taking all the stupid with you.”
In the first Captain America movie, Bucky Barnes went to war without his best friend. He told Steve not to do anything stupid until he got back. The above line was Steve’s response. Their roles (and lines) are reversed when Steve travels through time to return some Infinity Stones and Mjolnir to their rightful points in history.
Captain Sam
When the elder Steve Rogers returns to his departure point in the timeline, he does it with a new shield, and passes it on to Sam Wilson. In the comics, an older Captain America who had the super soldier serum removed from his blood did the same thing. Sam even had his own Captain America comic series for a while. (Other heroes who have been Captain America in the comics include Bucky Barnes, Sharon Carter, and Peggy Carter, in case you’re wondering.)
“It’s been a long, long time.”
Could the song title be more fitting for Steve and Peggy? And yes, this is a branched timeline. And yes, the song has been used in the MCU before, in The Winter Soldier.
The Clang
Post credit scenes are an MCU tradition, but this movie doesn’t have one. Instead, it has a clang. That noise is the sound of hammer hitting metal. Specifically, the sound of Tony’s hammer hitting metal when he created his very first Iron Man suit in the 2008 film, signalling the end of an era here instead of the beginning of one.
That’s it. That’s all I’ve got! Tell me if I managed to miss anything.
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