Poem: "Hello, Lokitty" (Part 1 of 5)
Dec. 25th, 2013 12:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThis poem is a Marvelverse crossover with Schrodinger's Heroes, and ties in with the Schrodinger's Hulk fiction series listed on the crossover page. It was partly inspired by some prompts from siliconshaman during the October 1, 2013 Poetry Fishbowl. I'm dividing the poem into parts because, yes, it's the size of a story; I do that sometimes.
Skip to Part 3, Part 4, Part 5.
"Hello, Lokitty" Part 1
Loki was bored.
He was stupendously,
epically bored.
He had lost count
of how long he had been
in prison this time,
largely because he was
busy trying to reassemble his magic.
It was urgent that he succeed
in freeing himself
before the Chitauri
managed to track him down.
They would not be happy
about the loss of the Tesseract.
A white cat slipped into his cell,
seeming not to notice
the stone walls and magical wards.
"Now how did you do that?"
Loki wondered aloud,
regarding the possible ally.
Cats were sometimes master
of stranger mysteries.
"I go where I want,"
the cat replied.
"That's quite a gift," said Loki,
who was a sorcerer himself.
"What brings you here?"
"Take my paw, Loki,
and I will bring you to the Tesseract,"
the cat offered.
Loki took his paw.
The cell ceased to contain them.
Loki and the cat
walked the branches of
Yggdrasil the World Tree,
high in the solar winds
where the Bifrost had never gone.
It was terrible and beautiful.
Loki could not help remembering
how he had once fallen
through the empty spaces
that reached all around them.
Yet the branch beneath his feet
remained solid, and the white cat
shone like a beacon ahead of him.
For once in his life, Loki followed willingly.
"Why are you doing this?"
Loki said.
"Let's say I share your interest
in the Tesseract," said the cat.
"There may be some small difficulty
in liberating it from its current location."
"Isn't there always," Loki said,
trying and failing not to think of Thor.
"Let me guess: evil twin?"
"Good twin, actually," said the cat.
"I myself am the evil one of us,
although it's a matter of quantum mechanics
rather than concurrent birth."
"Won't this be fun,"
Loki drawled.
Presently they came to a world,
and within the world, a desert.
After some thought, Loki recognized it
as Midgard, but not the Midgard that he knew.
Somehow they had come to a different one.
"Welcome to Texas, watch your step,"
the cat said to Loki as they settled
into the soft red-gold sand.
The air was hot and dry.
The landscape was full of warm colors --
tawny or chocolate rocks,
yellow and orange wildflowers --
cooled only by green grass and trees.
It looked nothing like the frozen realm of Jotunheim.
Loki liked Texas.
Texas did not like Loki.
Guess who has the bigger bag of cats.
Meanwhile, in a compound not far away,
Bruce Banner was experiencing a probability failure.
This was the only way the poor scientist's brain
could define what seemed to be happening to him.
Specifically, he had turned into a cat:
quite a large and handsome cat,
with shaggy brown fur striped in black,
wide triangular ears with tufts at the tip,
and a magnificent flume of tail.
"Will you look at that," Ash said casually,
"Bruce is a Maine Coon."
Bruce stalked forward,
lashing his long splendid tail.
He placed himself nose-to-nose with Alex,
whose fault this doubtless was,
and leaned into her.
Alex was, at the moment,
not a tall blonde woman
and a very capable fellow scientist
but a cream-furred and rather small cat
who had somehow managed to blow up reality --
again -- without so much as a puff of smoke.
"Alex ... turn me back,"
Bruce said to her. "NOW."
* * *
Notes:
Lolcats are the funny cat pictures with captions on them. LOL_HEROES is a set of such images for Schrodinger's Heroes.
The Chitauri and Loki's imprisonment are motifs from The Avengers, and Loki's home dimension. Alex and the team are native to the local dimension. Bruce has actually come from a third, having diverged from canon just after his lab accident in Hulk and sought refuge with a scientist friend.
Evil Twin is a famous trope, and that's how good!Schrodinger and evil!Schrodinger often refer to each other. Technically they're more of a Doppelganger, along the lines of Mirror Self and Alternate Universe.
The references to Loki's fall, his visit to Midgard, and Jotunheim all come from the movie Thor.
Bruce Banner: "I don't think we should be focusing on Loki. That guy's brain is a bag full of cats. You can smell crazy on him."
-- The Avengers
Maine Coon is a breed of large sturdy cat known for their gentle and intelligent nature.
[To be continued in Part 2 ...]
siliconshaman during the October 1, 2013 Poetry Fishbowl. I'm dividing the poem into parts because, yes, it's the size of a story; I do that sometimes.Skip to Part 3, Part 4, Part 5.
"Hello, Lokitty" Part 1
Loki was bored.
He was stupendously,
epically bored.
He had lost count
of how long he had been
in prison this time,
largely because he was
busy trying to reassemble his magic.
It was urgent that he succeed
in freeing himself
before the Chitauri
managed to track him down.
They would not be happy
about the loss of the Tesseract.
A white cat slipped into his cell,
seeming not to notice
the stone walls and magical wards.
"Now how did you do that?"
Loki wondered aloud,
regarding the possible ally.
Cats were sometimes master
of stranger mysteries.
"I go where I want,"
the cat replied.
"That's quite a gift," said Loki,
who was a sorcerer himself.
"What brings you here?"
"Take my paw, Loki,
and I will bring you to the Tesseract,"
the cat offered.
Loki took his paw.
The cell ceased to contain them.
Loki and the cat
walked the branches of
Yggdrasil the World Tree,
high in the solar winds
where the Bifrost had never gone.
It was terrible and beautiful.
Loki could not help remembering
how he had once fallen
through the empty spaces
that reached all around them.
Yet the branch beneath his feet
remained solid, and the white cat
shone like a beacon ahead of him.
For once in his life, Loki followed willingly.
"Why are you doing this?"
Loki said.
"Let's say I share your interest
in the Tesseract," said the cat.
"There may be some small difficulty
in liberating it from its current location."
"Isn't there always," Loki said,
trying and failing not to think of Thor.
"Let me guess: evil twin?"
"Good twin, actually," said the cat.
"I myself am the evil one of us,
although it's a matter of quantum mechanics
rather than concurrent birth."
"Won't this be fun,"
Loki drawled.
Presently they came to a world,
and within the world, a desert.
After some thought, Loki recognized it
as Midgard, but not the Midgard that he knew.
Somehow they had come to a different one.
"Welcome to Texas, watch your step,"
the cat said to Loki as they settled
into the soft red-gold sand.
The air was hot and dry.
The landscape was full of warm colors --
tawny or chocolate rocks,
yellow and orange wildflowers --
cooled only by green grass and trees.
It looked nothing like the frozen realm of Jotunheim.
Loki liked Texas.
Texas did not like Loki.
Guess who has the bigger bag of cats.
Meanwhile, in a compound not far away,
Bruce Banner was experiencing a probability failure.
This was the only way the poor scientist's brain
could define what seemed to be happening to him.
Specifically, he had turned into a cat:
quite a large and handsome cat,
with shaggy brown fur striped in black,
wide triangular ears with tufts at the tip,
and a magnificent flume of tail.
"Will you look at that," Ash said casually,
"Bruce is a Maine Coon."
Bruce stalked forward,
lashing his long splendid tail.
He placed himself nose-to-nose with Alex,
whose fault this doubtless was,
and leaned into her.
Alex was, at the moment,
not a tall blonde woman
and a very capable fellow scientist
but a cream-furred and rather small cat
who had somehow managed to blow up reality --
again -- without so much as a puff of smoke.
"Alex ... turn me back,"
Bruce said to her. "NOW."
* * *
Notes:
Lolcats are the funny cat pictures with captions on them. LOL_HEROES is a set of such images for Schrodinger's Heroes.
The Chitauri and Loki's imprisonment are motifs from The Avengers, and Loki's home dimension. Alex and the team are native to the local dimension. Bruce has actually come from a third, having diverged from canon just after his lab accident in Hulk and sought refuge with a scientist friend.
Evil Twin is a famous trope, and that's how good!Schrodinger and evil!Schrodinger often refer to each other. Technically they're more of a Doppelganger, along the lines of Mirror Self and Alternate Universe.
The references to Loki's fall, his visit to Midgard, and Jotunheim all come from the movie Thor.
Bruce Banner: "I don't think we should be focusing on Loki. That guy's brain is a bag full of cats. You can smell crazy on him."
-- The Avengers
Maine Coon is a breed of large sturdy cat known for their gentle and intelligent nature.
[To be continued in Part 2 ...]
(no subject)
Date: 2013-12-25 08:48 am (UTC)Yay!
Date: 2013-12-25 08:59 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-12-25 12:00 pm (UTC)You're welcome!
Date: 2013-12-27 07:01 am (UTC)Thank You!
Date: 2013-12-25 08:24 pm (UTC)Loki could be very catlike, I think. Plus the whole "bag of cats" quotation from the Avengers movie; I am glad you put that in your notes.
I loved this. That's my own part of the world and Texas/Oklahoma sometimes get a bad rap from others in the US.
I think I have said, but I am another one that found your Avengers work on A03 and followed to Dreamwidth so I could read all the comments/discussion, too. I have read all the Love series several times now, and with Hide and Seek I re-read often as you posted. Now I look forward to another read-through.
I am also someone who came upon your original work through your fanfic. I really enjoy your Love Is for Children Series and hope for a lot more there. I also appreciate your consistency in posting three times a week. I watch for the new material and have worked out what time it appears. :-)
I would love to see you write Sherlock; do you enjoy the new BBC Sherlock or are you familiar with it? I think I remember you saying you don't have television reception though. What about Firefly/Serenity? The 2005 movie Serenity is one you might have seen. Have you ever considered writing in that Fandom? The crew of Serenity are another created family much like the Avengers and I think you would be brilliant with it.
Hope this post isn't too long, I just wanted to tell you how much I am enjoying all you do.
Re: Thank You!
Date: 2013-12-25 08:46 pm (UTC)Alex's black cat Schrodinger is one of the main characters. A fanfic trope features the other characters turning into cats. You definitely want to check out the LOL_HEROES page.
>> I am very excited to read it now. I love cats. =^^= My own little one is snoozing in my lap right now. <<
Yay!
>> Loki could be very catlike, I think. Plus the whole "bag of cats" quotation from the Avengers movie; I am glad you put that in your notes. <<
Loki is a shapeshifter, so there are hints of other animals in his bearing -- horse and wolf and cat and snake, etc. I think his sense of humor is primarily feline, and his temper too.
>> Loki liked Texas.
I loved this. That's my own part of the world and Texas/Oklahoma sometimes get a bad rap from others in the US. <<
I have been to Texas a few times. Most of it is brown. Waxahachie territory is surprisingly green and wet, as I discovered when I started researching the area around the supercollider. So I try to write it that way.
Oklahoma now, that I loved. Best night sky I ever saw was a star walk with an Oglalla guide in the Badlands. He was stunned that I knew a bunch of the Native American star myths, so we spent the night swapping stories. It was awesome.
>> I think I have said, but I am another one that found your Avengers work on A03 and followed to Dreamwidth so I could read all the comments/discussion, too. I have read all the Love series several times now, and with Hide and Seek I re-read often as you posted. Now I look forward to another read-through. <<
That is wonderful to hear.
>> I am also someone who came upon your original work through your fanfic. <<
Yay, it's working!
>> I really enjoy your Love Is for Children Series and hope for a lot more there. I also appreciate your consistency in posting three times a week. I watch for the new material and have worked out what time it appears. :-) <<
That's why I only post from completed works, so I can be consistent. I've learned from observing other projects that sporadic posting tends to drive readers nuts. Or away.
I would like to write more in Love Is For Children. Eventually I want to bring in Thor and Loki, but they're so big, I need to wrap up other major storylines first.
>> I would love to see you write Sherlock; do you enjoy the new BBC Sherlock or are you familiar with it? <<
I have seen it. I love it. Look up Herolock. There are some unrelated Sherlock pieces on my AO3 page too.
>> I think I remember you saying you don't have television reception though. <<
Yes, that's true. We watch things on DVD though.
>> What about Firefly/Serenity? The 2005 movie Serenity is one you might have seen. <<
Also favorites.
>> Have you ever considered writing in that Fandom? The crew of Serenity are another created family much like the Avengers and I think you would be brilliant with it. <<
Just a dab. See "Boil the Sea," and while "Saving the Heroes" is a Schrodinger riff it was inspired by the loss of Firefly.
>> Hope this post isn't too long, I just wanted to tell you how much I am enjoying all you do. <<
It's fine! I enjoy the interaction. Feedback is candy.
(no subject)
Date: 2013-12-25 08:45 pm (UTC)No...
Date: 2013-12-27 07:00 am (UTC)Re: No...
Date: 2013-12-27 09:04 pm (UTC)Cat!Bruce
Date: 2013-12-25 10:59 pm (UTC)Re: Cat!Bruce
Date: 2013-12-27 06:58 am (UTC)They are very handsome cats.
>> I also love the way you portray Bruce. IMHO combining the two is a win/win. <<
Yay! I'm glad that works so well for you.
>> This is draggon_flye from Lj, just traveling and can't log in. <<
*hugs* Happy holidays.
(no subject)
Date: 2013-12-27 01:15 pm (UTC)Err. Saving more coherent commentary for the next installation.
Kitty!!!
(no subject)
Date: 2013-12-27 01:16 pm (UTC)Yay!
Date: 2013-12-27 07:51 pm (UTC)Maine Coons are delightful. I've never had one, but the description seemed apt for Bruce.
*laugh*
Date: 2013-12-27 07:52 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2013-12-28 05:58 am (UTC)I may have sent you this link before: Leslie Fish describes work in cat breeding, together with TALES OF MRRRP THE MAGNIFICENT, the bold and brilliant top tom of the household:
As seen by Leslie Fish
As recounted by Leslie Fish, who had to clean up the mess.
As reported by Leslie Fish
Wow!
Date: 2013-12-29 06:46 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2019-07-30 09:30 pm (UTC)You're welcome!
Date: 2019-07-30 10:03 pm (UTC)Those very tales were, in fact, some of the inspiration for various supercats and for Norma Jean's barn cats.
Re: You're welcome!
Date: 2019-07-30 10:30 pm (UTC)Re: You're welcome!
Date: 2019-07-30 11:09 pm (UTC)