Auteur and the Homeworld (poem): Difference between revisions

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The poem was also an official [[crossover]] between the [[Doctor Who universe|''Doctor Who'' universe]] and the continuity of ''[[The Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids (series)|The Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids]]'', on whose official website it was released as part of the series' [[2022 Copper-Colored Cupids Calendar|2022 Advent Calendar]]. It served as a sequel to an earlier crossover, Black's own ''[[Auteur's Abecedarium (short story)|Auteur's Abecedarium]]''.

For two years now, [[Auteur's Abecedarium]] has lain in the [[Cupid Archives]] unopened. Eventually, the dark whispers emanating from it attract the attention of the [[Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids]]' head archivist, [[Herodotus-724]], who was never told about the book by [[Bibliophile-962]] and thus guilelessly opens it. As soon as he opens it and reads it aloud, [[Auteur]] himself is summoned to the Homeworld from the [[Sanctum of the Heretic|"crumbling little oxbow"]] in which he'd been imprisoned.

After monologuing awhile about his circumstances, during which he is amused to note that he appears to be in a rhyming story for once, Auteur declares his intention to steal one of the Crew's [[Void Ship]]s to return to his home universe. He snaps his fingers and seems to have disappeared until Herodotus realises that the stranger has transferred himself into Herodotus's own [[shadow]]. Attacked by the [[Clockwork Sphinx]], he jumps into ''its'' shadow, and then, making his way out of of the archive building, into that of another, passing Cupid.

Hopping from shadow to shadow, he makes his way unseen; the only Cupid to notice their shadow having temporarily sprouted a [[skull]] is [[Larrikin-1029]], who is predictably enthused instead of alarmed. However, when Auteur drops by the post office in [[Philatel-426]]'s shadow, he is noticed by [[Lord]] [[Thymon]], who reaches out and grabs him out from the shadow-space. Thymon recognises him as one of the "[[Sun Builder|parasites]] who hail from [[Third Universe|Third]]" and claims to be something much greater than them, being an actual [[Embodiment]] of [[Time]], but Auteur dismisses Thymon as having lost his metaphysical power when he became a part of the Cupids' story, and now being nothing more than "[[comic relief]]". He knocks Thymon's hat off his head and takes advantage of the distraction to run out of the post office, headed for the hangar where the [[Fog Ship]]s are kept.

Instead, as his final throw of the dice, he writes a set of glyphs and interlocking circles which cause all the [[fiction]] contained in the Cupid Archives to come to life, inspired by Herodotus's earlier mistaken assumption that Auteur was a fictional character come to life from within the Abecedarium. As all the stories' essences are released from the book, pandemonium ensues, with the Cupids merging with an endless carnival of fictional characters. However, before Auteur can leave aboard the last unaltered Fog Ship, Herodotus realises that he can use Auteur's spell for his own ends by stamping the Abecedarium with his official "''REJECTED from collection''" stamp. As this, too, is realised in three dimensions, Auteur himself is expelled from the Cupid Homeworld to match, sent back to his oxbow.

* [[Toad (Auteur and the Homeworld)|Mr Toad]]

* Among the flurry of fiction come to life, the [[Clockwork Sphinx]] merges with the sphinx who menaced [[Thebes]], and [[Tracker-764]] briefly finds [[Aladdin]]'s [[Magic lamp|lamp]].

* Two years ago, [[Auteur]] left [[Auteur's Abecedarium|a cursed book]] in the [[Cupid Homeworld]], but it was placed by [[Bibliophile-962]] in the [[Cupid Archives]] before anyone could read it. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Auteur's Abecedarium (short story)|Auteur's Abecedarium]]'')

* Auteur is now trapped in [[Sanctum of the Heretic|an oxbow reality]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Resurrection of the Author (short story)|Resurrection of the Author]]'')

* Auteur describes [[Thymon]] as a "jumped-up [[swimmer (species)|swimmer]]". ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Taking of Planet 5 (novel)|The Taking of Planet 5]]'', ''[[Spinning Jenny (novel)|Spinning Jenny]]'', etc.)