in reply to Re^4: How do I pretend a reference isn't a reference
in thread How do I pretend a reference isn't a reference

No it doesnt.
sub _ { 'compile time '.@_}; local *_ = sub { 'run time '.@_}; # the above is what your module/init code does my $c = _(1); die $c; __END__ run time 1 at - line 6.
You were saying that $c is one thing at runtime, another at compile time. Its only something at runtime.