The Mélange of the Mauve Muskrat (short story)
Cupid Fact File #192: The Mélange of the Mauve Muskrat was a Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids short story written by Lupan Evezan, andillustrated by Aristide Twain.
Contents
Subjects
The uploading of the Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids' Files goes on. Fact File #192 gives an overview of the Mélange of the Mauve Muskrat and summarises the Crew's first meeting with them as part of the “Great Arrow Crisis”.
The incident begins with the suppliers of the wood from which the Cupids make their Cupid Arrows suddenly raising their prices. When the Crew's stockpile of Arrows finally runs low, the Scarlet Wings are sent to the Prime Earth to investigate this state of affairs, which is all the more surprising for the fact that the Crew had previously romanticised the owners of the lumber mill they bought the wood from to ensure they'd always get a discount rate.
After cursory investigation, the Scarlet Wings operatives discover that the lumber mill has been sold to a wider corporation, MuskCo, which turns out to be a front for a Strangely-Colored Secret Society the Cupids had not previously encountered: the muskrat-mask-wearing Mélange of the Mauve Muskrat, who have been accumulating business resources to resume their quest for Atlantis. Unable to romanticise the Muskrats since they have no arrows, the Scarlet Wings are forced to flee the scene.
Returning to the Cupid Homeworld, the Scarlet Wings report to the Cupid Parliament, who discuss the situation and come to the conclusion that the only thing to do is to subdue the Muskrats once and for all, lest they take control of any other factory the Cupids try to switch over to. Preparing to attack the Muskrat's headquarters, the Scarlet Wings are surprised to find that the Gang of the Green Gorilla, who have their own grudge against the Muskrats for cornering the market on the chemicals that power the Gorillas' brainwashing rays. With the Gorillas outnumbering them, the Muskrats surrender and agree to cede ownership of the brainwashing-chemical factories to the Gorillas. The Cupids seize their chance and romanticise a few Gorillas by throwing bottles of Love Potion at them, and then get the newly-Cupid-friendly Gorillas to intimidate the Muskrats into also surrendering the lumber mill.
Subsequently, the Muskrats take every chance to inconvenience the Cupids short of trying to cut off their supplies, with the Fact File ending with an admonishment not to “sign any contracts they give you”, lest “you find that they've tricked you into signing all of your belongings over to them rather than getting you a great deal on airline tickets as they claimed (it’s happened before, and it’s not pleasant)”.
Worldbuilding
Universes
- The Mélange of the Mauve Muskrat are from the Prime Universe.
- Parts of the story also take place in the Cupid Homeworld.
Other
- The Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids considers itself a non-profit and does not have much money in stock.
Continuity
- The Gang of the Green Gorilla's nature as the Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids' “oldest enemies”, established in PROSE: The Green Gorillas, is referenced.
Behind the scenes
Read online
The story can be read on the Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids website.
