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{{DISPLAYTITLE:''The Interlude of Jenny Everywhere'' (novel)}}{{Short Story | {{DISPLAYTITLE:''The Interlude of Jenny Everywhere'' (novel)}}{{Short Story | ||
| title1= ''The Interlude of Jenny Everywhere'' | | title1= ''The Interlude of Jenny Everywhere'' | ||
| image1= | | image1= The Interlude of Jenny Everywhere - Cover.jpg | ||
| caption1= | | caption1= | ||
| other_titles= | | other_titles= | ||
| hero(es)= [[Jenny Everywhere | | hero(es)= [[Jenny Everywhere (38167th Universe)|Jenny Everywhere]] | ||
| villain(s)= | | villain(s)= [[Secret League of the Orange-Bearded Gnomes|The Secret League of the Orange-Bearded Gnomes]]<br>[[King Roquat]] | ||
| featuring= | | featuring= [[Boy (The Interlude of Jenny Everywhere)|Unnamed boy]]<br>[[The Lurigadawne of Tipperary]]<br>[[Jenny Nowhere#In the 38167th Universe|Jenny Nowhere]]<br><small>(mentioned)</small><br>[[Brownie (The Interlude of Jenny Everywhere)|Unnamed Brownie]]<br>[[Genie (The Interlude of Jenny Everywhere)|Unnamed Genie]]<br>[[Pythagoras-858]]<br><small>(mentioned)</small><br>[[The Creator]]<br><small>(mentioned)</small><br>[[The Mad Marquess]]<br>[[The Tin Woodman]]<br><small>(indirectly mentioned)</small><br>[[The Scarecrow]]<br><small>(indirectly mentioned)</small><br>[[Billina]]<br><small>(indirectly mentioned)</small><br>[[Taliesin]]<br><small>(mentioned)</small><br>[[King Arthur]]<br>[[The Boss|“Cawneticket-Yon-Key”]]<br><small>(mentioned)</small><br>[[Gwenhwyfar]]<br>[[Merlin]]<br>[[Morgan Le Fay]]<br><small>(mentioned)</small><br>[[Bethan]] | ||
| setting= | | setting= A meadow in [[Ireland]] of [[Dimension 77]]<br>[[The Home City]], [[Prime Universe]]<br>[[Gnome Place]]<br>[[Caerleon]]/[[Camelot]], [[Universe (Close Encounter of the Bird Kind)|unnamed universe]] | ||
| crossovers = | | crossovers = | ||
| length= | | length= 3 chapters | ||
| writer(s)= [[Aristide Twain]] | | writer(s)= [[Aristide Twain]] | ||
| artist(s)= | | artist(s)= | ||
| dates= September, 2022 | | dates= September 8th, 2022 | ||
| original_link= [https://thecrewofthecoppercoloredcupids.wordpress.com/2022/09/08/the-interlude-of-jenny-everywhere | | original_link= [https://thecrewofthecoppercoloredcupids.wordpress.com/2022/09/08/the-interlude-of-jenny-everywhere/] | ||
| | |seriesnav = ''[[The Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids (series)|The Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids]]'' official reading order | ||
|previous = ''[[Workplace Reunion (short story)|Workplace Reunion]]'' | |||
| | |next= ''[[Haunting Halloween Hymns (short story)|Haunting Halloween Hymns]]'' | ||
}}'''''The Interlude of Jenny Everywhere''''' was story by [[Aristide Twain]], a prequel to ''[[Close | |seriesnav2 = ''[[The Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids (series)|The Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids]]'' release order | ||
|previous2 = ''[[Workplace Reunion (short story)|Workplace Reunion]]'' | |||
|next2= ''[[The Other Side (short story)|The Other Side]]'' | |||
}}'''''The Interlude of Jenny Everywhere''''' was a three-chapter-long [[Jenny Everywhere]]-centric, ''[[The Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids (series)|The Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids]]'' prose story by [[Aristide Twain]], serving as an epilogue to Twain's own ''[[Family Business (short story)|Family Business]]'' and as a prequel to ''[[Close Encounter of the Bird Kind (short story)|Close Encounter of the Bird Kind]]'', written just a few days earlier by [[Scott Sanford]]. | |||
==Plot== | ==Contents== | ||
===Chapter One: The Meadow=== | === Plot === | ||
Jenny Everywhere appears out of thin air in a meadow in Ireland. Met | ====Chapter One: The Meadow==== | ||
[[Jenny Everywhere (38167th Universe)|Jenny Everywhere]] appears out of thin air in a meadow in Ireland, “a few miles out from the city of [[Thurles]], in the county of [[Tipperary]]”. Met with a [[Boy (The Interlude of Jenny Everywhere)|thirteen-year-old boy]] who believes her to be a [[fae|faerie]], she inquires after a local [[Leprechaun]] known as [[the Lurigadawne of Tipperary|the Lurigadawne]]; she explains that she saved his life in 1876 and wants to call in a favor. But the boy says the Lurigadawne hasn't been seen lately, so Jenny thanks him and asks him to run along so she can try to look for the secret entrance, whose location he wouldn't want a local human to discover. When the boy finds the courage to asks for a boon, Jenny happily [[shift]]s directly into his backpack a portion of the gold she'd brought to sweeten the deal for the Lurigadawne, and the two part ways. | |||
Looking around on her own, in a few hours she finds the | Looking around on her own, in a few hours she finds the Lurigadawne's underground home through its glamour and discovers that the Lurigadawne is not there, and neither is his [[The Lurigadawne of Tipperary's sword|sword]]; his home is being watched over by a [[Scotland|Scottish]] [[Brownie (The Interlude of Jenny Everywhere)|Brownie]] who admits to not knowing where he has gone, and explains that she is only watching his house because the Lurigadawne called in “an old favour with [her] clan” before leaving. Jenny thanks the Brownie, tipping her with a gold coin, and departs. Increasingly inconvenienced by the wetness of the grass on her bare feet, but still refusing to settle for anything less than Leprechaun-shoes, she compromises and shifts a pair of thick woolen socks onto her feet before she heads to her next destination. | ||
Jenny | ====Chapter Two: The Mad Marquess==== | ||
Jenny makes her way to what the [[Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids]] called [[the Home City]] — not their current home base, but the city where [[Cupida Hartnell|the Creator]] built the first [[Clockwork Cherub|Clockwork Cherubs]], which happens to resemble Jenny's own [[New Flaversham]]. She intends to hire the services of the [[Company of Free Genies]], a group of free genies who professionally grant wishes for a fee, being only one of many strange elements barely under the surface of the deceptively normal city. | |||
When she enters the Genies' shop, she finds a rather rude [[ghost]] known as [[the Mad Marquess]] already there, but as he is not engaging their professional services just yet, Jenny introduces herself, offering payment in the form of a [[magic wand]] drawn from the large collection of odd items accessible via her coat pockets. The [[Genie (The Interlude of Jenny Everywhere)|Genie]] at the front desk finds this satisfactory (eating the artefact like a candy cane before her and a stunned Marquess's eyes), and wishes to know where [[the Lurigadawne]] has gone and to join him there. | |||
The | The Genie grants this wish, opening a portal to [[Gnome Place|a conference room]] full of what she soon recognises as [[Secret League of the Orange-Bearded Gnomes|Orange-Bearded Gnomes]], comprising not just [[gnome]]s but other oranged-bearded members of the [[Little People]], such as [[Leprechaun]]s, [[Elf|Elves]], [[Lutin]]s, [[Gnatling]]s, and other small magical creatures; they are not pleased to see a “giantess” intruding on their gathering, but she finds herself unable to close the portal before it deposits her right in the middle of their meeting. | ||
The | Distressed by her sudden appearance, the [[Gnome]]s petrify her clothing to hold her in place. The meeting disintegrates into Gnomes screaming at Jenny and Gnomes screaming at other Gnomes. Jenny recognizes one as [[King Roquat]] of the [[Nome]]s of [[Land of Oz|Oz]], which completely fails to calm him down. Roquat loudly predicts that she will call in allies from other worlds, monsters such as “[[The Tin Woodman|metal men]], and [[The Scarecrow|scarecrows]], and [[Billina|chickens]]”. Jenny protests that she is not going to call in allies from other worlds. Just then, due his unwise wording when talking to a genie, a portal from another world appears and ejects a screaming Mad Marquess into the middle of the meeting hall. | ||
====Chapter Three: The Mage and the Monarch==== | |||
In [[Universe (Close Encounter of the Bird Kind)|another universe]], dinner at [[Caerleon]] (attened by a dozen [[Knights of the Round Table]] as well as [[King Arthur#Raising chickens|King Arthur]] and [[Gwenhwyfar|Queen Gwenhwyfar]]) is disrupted when [[Jenny Everywhere (38167th Universe)|Jenny Everywhere]] appears out of thin air and lands in the middle of the [[Round Table]] itself, wearing only her [[Jenny Everywhere's goggles|goggles]]. She apologies for the interruption and asks for the loan of [[Jenny Everywhere's scarf|a scarf]] – and other clothes as may be convenient. The knights of the Round Table quickly dress her using whatever they can gather. She introduces herself and explains that she has come to see [[Merlin#Raising chickens|Merlin]], who bursts in and welcomes Jenny, who he has seen before although she doesn’t know him. After some awkward talk in both directions Merlin proclaims that he knew this day would come and he has prepared the chicken coops. | |||
[[Shift]]ing back to the hall of the [[Secret League of the Orange-Bearded Gnomes|Orange-Bearded Gnomes]], Jenny finds all is in chaos and [[the Mad Marquess]] is locked in combat with none other than the elusive [[The Lurigadawne of Tipperary|Lurigadawne of Tipperary]]. Jenny calls for them to stop fighting – but in the confusion the Lurigadawne falls. [[The Nome King]] tries to take advantage of their confusion only for Jenny to warn them that she is armed with a fine egg-laying hen! The lesser gnomes scatter instantly, the Nome King only moments behind them when he learns that [[Bethan]] is not just a regular hen, but one belonging to [[King Arthur#Raising chickens|King Arthur]]. Once they are gone Jenny checks on the Lurigadawne, who is annoyed but alive and being fussed over by the Mad Marquess. | |||
Jenny shifts the Marquess home and explains her quest for shoes to the Luridadawne, who explains that he cannot give the same gift twice and so cannot actually replace her [[Leprechaun]]-made shoes. Disappointed, Jenny accepts that bizarre magical footwear may be beyond her for the moment – but wherever she ends up next, there will be a shoe store. | |||
===Worldbuilding=== | |||
====Jenny Everywhere==== | |||
* This story features the [[Jenny Everywhere (38167th Universe)|incarnation of Jenny]] usually seen in ''[[The Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids (series)|The Crew of the Copper-Colored Cupids]]'', revealed to also be the one who appeared in [[Scott Sanford]]'s ''[[Close Encounter of the Bird Kind (short story)|Close Encounter of the Bird Kind]]''. After her clothing is petrified by the [[Secret League of the Orange-Bearded Gnomes]], she is given a new, temporary outfit by the [[Knights of the Round Table]], consisting of “three or four colourful feudal standards wrapped around her neck” to replace her [[Jenny Everywhere's scarf|scarf]], “sturdy flax trousers” on her legs, and “two layers of oversized tunics, plus chainmail, covering her chest”. | |||
* When called out on not sounding [[Ireland|Irish]] despite currently posing as a presumably-local member of the [[Fae|Fair Folk]], she states that “this isn't one of [her] Irish bodies”. | |||
* Jenny recognises [[King Roquat]] by tapping into another Jenny's memories. | |||
Jenny | ====Universe==== | ||
* The story opens in [[Dimension 77]]. It is outwardly a norma, realistic modern-day [[Earth]], but [[Jenny Everywhere (38167th Universe)|Jenny Everywhere]] describes it as a place where the “old tales” are true, as evidenced by the existence of [[Leprechaun]]s and [[Brownie]]s. | |||
* Jenny passes through [[the Infinite]] several times. | |||
* Jenny thinks about the [[Cupid Homeworld]]. | |||
* Chapter Two sees Jenny travelling to “[[the Home City]]” in the [[Prime Universe]]. | |||
== | ====Other==== | ||
===Jenny Everywhere | * [[Jenny Everywhere (38167th Universe)|Jenny]] explains a custom of the [[Fae]]: “if one of the Fair Folk owes you a debt when they die, you’ve gotta be at their funeral. You’re invited, automatically. So you can meet the heirs, if there are any — work things out”. | ||
* | * [[Leprechaun]]s are considered Fae, as are [[Brownie]]s — specifically, members of the [[Little People]]. Leprechauns are famous for disappearing if a human takes their eyes off them. | ||
* Jenny stole her gold coins from the [[Interdimensional Vault]]. | |||
* The [[Company of Free Genies]] was formed in the 1960s by [[Genie]]s who escaped from the clutches of the [[First Horde]]. | |||
* [[Pythagoras-858]] describes himself as a “licensed [[Department of Problem-Solving|Problem-Solver]]”. | |||
* [[The Mad Marquess]] gives his full name as “Milord Marin Mausdorf”. According to the [[Genie (The Interlude of Jenny Everywhere)|Desk Genie]], he's actually a Duke, not a Marquess, but prefers to claim to be a Marquess because of the alliteration. | |||
* Jenny's pockets' contents include “coins from a thousand worlds, multiple wallets and phones, trinkets from seashells to gemstones, and a frankly unreasonable number of keychains” as well as the [[magic wand]] she gives to the Genies. | |||
* The bard [[Taliesin]] writes ballads about the goings-on at [[King Arthur]]'s court, in [[Caerleon]]. They tend to begin with the line “''In Caerleon, to the Castle, came a lot of strange people.''”, which is the origin of the mistaken belief that Arthur's castle is called [[Camelot]], which has even reached “multiple visiting nobles from [[England]] and [[Brittany]]”. | |||
* Jenny's [[shift]]ing is described as producing a “strange wooshing sound” when she materialises on top of the Round Table in an emergency. However, she also displays the ability to shift silently when showing off to the boy in Chapter 1. | |||
* There is a raised dais in the centre of the [[Round Table]] itself, meant to house the [[Holy Grail|“the Grail”]] should the knights ever find it. | |||
* Arthur has difficult relations with the apparently fairly-newly-settled Christian clergy because they disapprove of [[Merlin#Raising chickens|Merlin]]. | |||
* Jenny knows of other versions of Merlin who are “time-travelley”, making them “confusing” to deal with. | |||
* [[The Lurigadawne of Tipperary]] tries to send Jenny after a “tribe of cobbler-[[Dwarf|dwarves]] of great renown”, who dwell “beyond the seven rivers”; to meet them, Jenny would have “to fight a few [[Dragon]]s, of course, and to journey through the land of [[Kalterskelter]], the key to whose gate has been lost since the 16th century”. | |||
* Merin swears “by the [[Norn]]s”. | |||
* His version of [[Morgan Le Fey]] is known as simply “Morgan of the [[Fae]]”. She and Merlin have an “academic partnership” to trade occult lore, and it was Morgan who bestowed the “mage-name” of Merlin upon him, in contrast to his birth name of “Ambrosius”. The two are not-so-secretly lovers. Jenny is aware of other versions of Morgan, many (though not all) of whom turned out to be untrustworthy. | |||
===Continuity=== | ===Continuity=== | ||
* The story acts as a sequel to [[PROSE]]: ''[[Family Business (short story)|Family Business]]'', following on from [[Jenny Everywhere (38167th Universe)|Jenny]]'s decision at the end of the tale to track down “that wily old [[leprechaun]] [she] met in [[Dimension 77]]” to replace the pair of shoes she lost while swimming out to [[Nowhere Island]]. She recounts to the [[boy (The Interlude of Jenny Everywhere)|boy]] how she lost her original shoes “in the sea. In my sister’s realm”. [[Merlin#Raising chickens|Merlin]]'s stubborn refusal to consider his lover [[Morgan Le Fey#Morgan of the Fae|Morgan]]'s ulterior motives also reminds Jenny of her own history with [[Laura Drake#In the 38167th Universe|Laura Drake]] as largely revealed there. | |||
* In Chapter Two, Jenny looks back on her travels with [[Pythagoras-858]], which began in [[COMIC]]: ''[[Jenny Everywhere Meets The Crew Of The Copper-Colored Cupids (comic story)|Jenny Everywhere Meets The Crew Of The Copper-Colored Cupids]]'' and ended in [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Grand Multiverse Hotel (short story)|The Grand Multiverse Hotel]]''. | |||
* | * The overproduction of warehouses in the [[Cupid Homeworld]], a running gag introduced in [[PROSE]]: ''[[Acquaintanceship-982 and the Missing Mail Mystery (short story)|Acquaintanceship-982 and the Missing Mail Mystery]]'', is referenced. | ||
* In Chapter Three, the story is revealed as a prequel to the then merely-days-old [[PROSE]]: ''[[Close Encounter of the Bird Kind (short story)|Close Encounter of the Bird Kind]]'', one of [[Scott Sanford's Jenny Everywhere stories]], which featured an ambiguous Jenny. It reveals why Jenny had to borrow a chicken from the older [[Merlin]]. Both stories also opened with Jenny materialising in front of a young boy in a meadow and being mistaken for a member of the [[Fae|Fair Folk]]. | |||
* Among the strange sights casually accepted in [[the Home City]] are “mad scientists escorted to the patent office by their own robots”, “[[witch]]es haggling over groceries”, but also “furtive men in secret society garb bashfully asking for loose change”, the latter a reference to the [[Strangely-Colored Secret Society]] mythos as exposed in [[PROSE]]: ''[[Pessimist and the Dromedaries (short story)|Pessimist and the Dromedaries]]'' and [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Strangely-Colored Secret Societies (short story)|The Strangely-Colored Secret Societies]]''. The [[First Horde]] is later referenced by name. | |||
* “[[World-Changer]]” is cited as one of Jenny's names, alongside “[[the Shifter]]”. The moniker originated in [[COMIC]]: ''[[The Jenny Everywhere Chronicles (comic story)|The Jenny Everywhere Chronicles]]''. | |||
* One of the Gnomes is an “animate plastic lawn gnome”. Such entities memorably appeared in ''[[Our Strange and Wonderful House (novel)|Our Strange and Wonderful House]]'' in Chapter 21 and its appendices. | |||
==Behind the scenes== | ==Behind the scenes== | ||
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[[Category:Released in 2022]] | [[Category:Released in 2022]] | ||
[[Category:Featuring Jenny Everywhere]] | [[Category:Featuring Jenny Everywhere]] | ||
[[Category:Featuring Merlin]] | |||
[[Category:Featuring King Arthur]] | |||
[[Category:Featuring Morgan Le Fay]] | |||
