Poem: "Cool Digs"
This is the freebie for today, inspired by prompts from ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
mylittleangel and 
rix_scaedu. It also fills the "Iceman" square in my 12-1-20 card for the Winter Fest Bingo. This poem belongs to the series Love Is For Children.
"Cool Digs"
Loki found Avengers Tower
intriguing, even though it
was full of Avengers.
His Hawk and the Spider
shared their quarters, which
were taller than any others
to give them room to climb.
So too, the Man Out of Time
and his brother Winter had
their own quarters, filled with
relics of the past and present.
The Doctor and his Monster
had separate quarters,
despite sharing a body.
Delicious irony, which
even Loki could appreciate.
Their mate, the formidable Dr. Ross,
went between their two places
precisely as she pleased, like a cat.
Thor of course had his Lady Jane
with him, along with Darcy who
seemed to fall somewhere
between servant and Valkyrie.
Anthony had by far the most space --
it had after all been his Tower before
he shared it with the team -- though
the Doctor shared the lab areas.
The Son of Coul had quarters of
his own, done in quiet form.
As for his part, Loki
made himself scarce
as much as possible, in
the interest of not getting
flogged into the floor again.
Alas, it was not so simple.
"Hey Lolo, you give any thought
to where you want to live?"
Anthony said, hopping up
onto the kitchen counter.
"Cause I'm guessing that's
not with Thor and company."
Did he know that lolo meant
'fool' in a quaint island tongue?
Yes, quite probably he did.
"I do well enough where
I am," Loki said shortly.
"Yeah, no, I'm not buying it,"
Anthony said. "Everybody
needs their own space,
and you, my enemy,
are not an extrovert."
Loki sighed. "If you truly
wish to offer me a boon,
I need a place to work
more than one to sleep."
"You mean a lab, craft room,
or something else?" Anthony said.
"A bit of both," Loki said. "I only
need the space. I can stock it
and ward it myself. Though I'm
not sure how to make a cool room
with available supplies. I'll need
a place to relax after hard work."
"Cool like air conditioning or
cool like a freezer?" Anthony said.
"Cause I know about the whole --"
He wiggled a hand. "Frost Giant thing."
Loki resisted the urge to hunch. He
would not cower before this mortal.
He also had no idea how to convert
the figures he knew into local measures.
His Starkphone hummed in his pocket.
JARVIS was the most delightfully subtle
invisible servant that Loki had ever known.
Taking out the phone, Loki found that it had ...
some sort of arcane calculation program
already displayed on the screen. He
worked out how to feed it information
and then extract a translation.
"These are acceptable ranges,"
he said, turning the phone around.
"Oh yeah, no prob," said Anthony.
"Commercial freezers can do that."
"Excellent," said Loki. "Then I
would like that, and enough room
to set up some workspace."
"So you're like Iceman, huh?"
Anthony said, idly kicking his heels
against the kitchen cabinet. "Heat
makes you tired, cold gives you energy."
"Simplistic, but close enough," Loki said.
"May I have the freezer I requested?"
"Sure. Knock yourself out," Tony said.
"Genius billionaire playboy philanthropist.
Get one big enough for an apartment, even.
JARVIS, get us some numbers on size."
"Walk-in freezers are available in
a wide range of sizes," JARVIS said.
"Studio apartments begin around
200 square feet and average 500.
1-bedroom apartments begin
around 600 and average 675."
"Yeah, at those sizes we'll need
to assemble on site," Anthony said.
"Ask JARVIS for technical specs,
he knows what's safe here or not.
Ping me if you need something
that's not on the market and
I'll built whatever you need."
He hopped down from the counter
and bounded out the door without
telling Loki what he couldn't do.
"Shall we discuss your needs
regarding a floor plan for work
and leisure space?" said JARVIS.
"Then I can inform you as to where
in the Tower that would best fit."
"Yes, please," said Loki, and
a glowing frame appeared in
the air for him to manipulate.
It was so nearly like Asgard
that he almost felt homesick,
except that nobody was mocking
him here and he found that he
preferred it considerably.
Soon they had agreed upon
a heavily shielded work room,
a craft room, a supply room,
and a modest apartment.
"There are three locations
currently available that fit
the stipulated parameters,"
JARVIS said. "One among
the labs, one among offices,
and one in the basement."
"Recommendations?"
Loki said. He was
coming to depend on
the servant's wisdom.
"Either the lab area for
company and supplies,
or the basement for
the added security,"
said JARVIS. "I note
that Dr. Banner works in
the lab area, and Hulk has
an apartment in the basement."
"The office area is not preferred
because ...?" Loki wondered.
"It is acceptable but it lacks
some protections that the others
would offer," JARVIS replied.
Loki hesitated. He really
did not want to face
the Monster again.
On the other hand,
the basement would
make it possible for him
to root the wards directly
into the bedrock below.
"Very well. The basement
it shall be," Loki decided.
"I have reserved the space
in the Tower directory. You
may set privacy as desired.
I have ordered a freezer and
other necessities," JARVIS said.
"Estimated time to completion:
seven business days."
"Thank you," Loki said.
Then he went back to
his bedroom on Thor's floor
to start his magical preparations.
It took two weeks for the workmen
to install everything and then for Loki
to complete warding the space.
Anthony strolled in without knocking
just as Loki was arranging the furniture
in his delightfully icy apartment.
"Cool digs," Anthony said. "Love
what you've done with the place."
Loki backed away from the painting
that Steven had given him. It was
entitled Polar Bear in a Snowstorm
and little could be seen of the beast
but for black nose and eyes and
a faint suggestion of deadly claws.
Loki loved the thing because it
reminded him of Jotunheim's
bracing weather without aping
the execrable Jotunn aesthetics.
He had not thought anyone else
would ever see it, and now
Anthony had barged right in.
"You think so?" Loki challenged.
"Totally," Anthony said without
a hint of prevarication. "It's so you."
Loki glanced around the apartment.
The walls were icy white, the floor
matted with spongy stuff swirled
in deep shades of blue and green.
Crystal clusters of blue quartz
and rare green garnet twinkled
here and there on the shelves.
The furniture was spare and elegant,
padded with cushions that looked like
rich brocade but were, JARVIS had
assured him, made of tough fabric
that could withstand winter weather.
"I suppose it is," Loki said.
"Thank you for the opportunity."
"Any time," Anthony said. "Why
don't you come up some time and
see me? We'll do science to things."
Loki chuckled. "I shall give it
due consideration," he said.
It might be peculiar living space,
but for the first time in his long life,
Loki actually felt at home.
* * *
Notes:
Lolo means "fool" in Hawaiian.
A studio apartment typically starts at 200 square feet, with an average of 500 square feet. A 1-bedroom apartment ranges from around 600-700 square feet, with an average around 678 square feet. Loki's has a 1-bedroom apartment at 600 square feet, and several other rooms in the working area.
Commercial freezers range from the size of a small closet to big enough to park a truck in. For comparison see:
12'8"x 16'9" x 11'1"H Kysor-Needham Walk-in Cooler or Freezer (210 square feet)
17'4" x 26'11" x 10'2"H Bally Walk-in Cooler (466 square feet)
20' x 30' x 10'4"H Drive-In Freezer (600 square feet)
mylittleangel and rix_scaedu. It also fills the "Iceman" square in my 12-1-20 card for the Winter Fest Bingo. This poem belongs to the series Love Is For Children. "Cool Digs"
Loki found Avengers Tower
intriguing, even though it
was full of Avengers.
His Hawk and the Spider
shared their quarters, which
were taller than any others
to give them room to climb.
So too, the Man Out of Time
and his brother Winter had
their own quarters, filled with
relics of the past and present.
The Doctor and his Monster
had separate quarters,
despite sharing a body.
Delicious irony, which
even Loki could appreciate.
Their mate, the formidable Dr. Ross,
went between their two places
precisely as she pleased, like a cat.
Thor of course had his Lady Jane
with him, along with Darcy who
seemed to fall somewhere
between servant and Valkyrie.
Anthony had by far the most space --
it had after all been his Tower before
he shared it with the team -- though
the Doctor shared the lab areas.
The Son of Coul had quarters of
his own, done in quiet form.
As for his part, Loki
made himself scarce
as much as possible, in
the interest of not getting
flogged into the floor again.
Alas, it was not so simple.
"Hey Lolo, you give any thought
to where you want to live?"
Anthony said, hopping up
onto the kitchen counter.
"Cause I'm guessing that's
not with Thor and company."
Did he know that lolo meant
'fool' in a quaint island tongue?
Yes, quite probably he did.
"I do well enough where
I am," Loki said shortly.
"Yeah, no, I'm not buying it,"
Anthony said. "Everybody
needs their own space,
and you, my enemy,
are not an extrovert."
Loki sighed. "If you truly
wish to offer me a boon,
I need a place to work
more than one to sleep."
"You mean a lab, craft room,
or something else?" Anthony said.
"A bit of both," Loki said. "I only
need the space. I can stock it
and ward it myself. Though I'm
not sure how to make a cool room
with available supplies. I'll need
a place to relax after hard work."
"Cool like air conditioning or
cool like a freezer?" Anthony said.
"Cause I know about the whole --"
He wiggled a hand. "Frost Giant thing."
Loki resisted the urge to hunch. He
would not cower before this mortal.
He also had no idea how to convert
the figures he knew into local measures.
His Starkphone hummed in his pocket.
JARVIS was the most delightfully subtle
invisible servant that Loki had ever known.
Taking out the phone, Loki found that it had ...
some sort of arcane calculation program
already displayed on the screen. He
worked out how to feed it information
and then extract a translation.
"These are acceptable ranges,"
he said, turning the phone around.
"Oh yeah, no prob," said Anthony.
"Commercial freezers can do that."
"Excellent," said Loki. "Then I
would like that, and enough room
to set up some workspace."
"So you're like Iceman, huh?"
Anthony said, idly kicking his heels
against the kitchen cabinet. "Heat
makes you tired, cold gives you energy."
"Simplistic, but close enough," Loki said.
"May I have the freezer I requested?"
"Sure. Knock yourself out," Tony said.
"Genius billionaire playboy philanthropist.
Get one big enough for an apartment, even.
JARVIS, get us some numbers on size."
"Walk-in freezers are available in
a wide range of sizes," JARVIS said.
"Studio apartments begin around
200 square feet and average 500.
1-bedroom apartments begin
around 600 and average 675."
"Yeah, at those sizes we'll need
to assemble on site," Anthony said.
"Ask JARVIS for technical specs,
he knows what's safe here or not.
Ping me if you need something
that's not on the market and
I'll built whatever you need."
He hopped down from the counter
and bounded out the door without
telling Loki what he couldn't do.
"Shall we discuss your needs
regarding a floor plan for work
and leisure space?" said JARVIS.
"Then I can inform you as to where
in the Tower that would best fit."
"Yes, please," said Loki, and
a glowing frame appeared in
the air for him to manipulate.
It was so nearly like Asgard
that he almost felt homesick,
except that nobody was mocking
him here and he found that he
preferred it considerably.
Soon they had agreed upon
a heavily shielded work room,
a craft room, a supply room,
and a modest apartment.
"There are three locations
currently available that fit
the stipulated parameters,"
JARVIS said. "One among
the labs, one among offices,
and one in the basement."
"Recommendations?"
Loki said. He was
coming to depend on
the servant's wisdom.
"Either the lab area for
company and supplies,
or the basement for
the added security,"
said JARVIS. "I note
that Dr. Banner works in
the lab area, and Hulk has
an apartment in the basement."
"The office area is not preferred
because ...?" Loki wondered.
"It is acceptable but it lacks
some protections that the others
would offer," JARVIS replied.
Loki hesitated. He really
did not want to face
the Monster again.
On the other hand,
the basement would
make it possible for him
to root the wards directly
into the bedrock below.
"Very well. The basement
it shall be," Loki decided.
"I have reserved the space
in the Tower directory. You
may set privacy as desired.
I have ordered a freezer and
other necessities," JARVIS said.
"Estimated time to completion:
seven business days."
"Thank you," Loki said.
Then he went back to
his bedroom on Thor's floor
to start his magical preparations.
It took two weeks for the workmen
to install everything and then for Loki
to complete warding the space.
Anthony strolled in without knocking
just as Loki was arranging the furniture
in his delightfully icy apartment.
"Cool digs," Anthony said. "Love
what you've done with the place."
Loki backed away from the painting
that Steven had given him. It was
entitled Polar Bear in a Snowstorm
and little could be seen of the beast
but for black nose and eyes and
a faint suggestion of deadly claws.
Loki loved the thing because it
reminded him of Jotunheim's
bracing weather without aping
the execrable Jotunn aesthetics.
He had not thought anyone else
would ever see it, and now
Anthony had barged right in.
"You think so?" Loki challenged.
"Totally," Anthony said without
a hint of prevarication. "It's so you."
Loki glanced around the apartment.
The walls were icy white, the floor
matted with spongy stuff swirled
in deep shades of blue and green.
Crystal clusters of blue quartz
and rare green garnet twinkled
here and there on the shelves.
The furniture was spare and elegant,
padded with cushions that looked like
rich brocade but were, JARVIS had
assured him, made of tough fabric
that could withstand winter weather.
"I suppose it is," Loki said.
"Thank you for the opportunity."
"Any time," Anthony said. "Why
don't you come up some time and
see me? We'll do science to things."
Loki chuckled. "I shall give it
due consideration," he said.
It might be peculiar living space,
but for the first time in his long life,
Loki actually felt at home.
* * *
Notes:
Lolo means "fool" in Hawaiian.
A studio apartment typically starts at 200 square feet, with an average of 500 square feet. A 1-bedroom apartment ranges from around 600-700 square feet, with an average around 678 square feet. Loki's has a 1-bedroom apartment at 600 square feet, and several other rooms in the working area.
Commercial freezers range from the size of a small closet to big enough to park a truck in. For comparison see:
12'8"x 16'9" x 11'1"H Kysor-Needham Walk-in Cooler or Freezer (210 square feet)
17'4" x 26'11" x 10'2"H Bally Walk-in Cooler (466 square feet)
20' x 30' x 10'4"H Drive-In Freezer (600 square feet)