Backstage at Arkham Files

When Diana decided to write fanfiction to help expose Azathoth, a maniacal cybercriminal with a penchant for the world created by H.P. Lovecraft, she didn't know what she was in for.

She and Jones had tossed around ideas for out-of-the-box solutions for someone who defied traditional investigation methods. Azathoth operates globally with seeming impunity and appears to derive particular pleasure in threatening Neal and Peter. Jones offered to write a Lovecraft-oriented blog to provoke a reaction. Diana had done some writing in college. If Jones could write a blog, why couldn't she write stories?

Diana is a big fan of Agent Dana Scully of X-Files so she decided to name her stories Arkham Files in her honor. Diana initially planned to write only a couple of stories to assess what kind of reaction she'd receive. She had no way of judging how likely Azathoth would be to read Lovecraft fanfiction. She was also uncertain about how much flak she'd take from her teammates about her portrayals. It came as quite a surprise when Agent Tricia Wiese, a profiler who has been assisting on the case, gave an enthusiastic endorsement. Tricia believes that Diana's stories may cause Azathoth to experience the Lima syndrome, where a captor develops sympathy for his victims and is less likely to harm them.

Writers are accustomed to having their characters talk to them. Diana is faced with the challenge of having her teammates deluge her with unsolicited advice. Mozzie and Peter have been particularly vocal. Diana is fairly tolerant of their suggestions but she revels in her position of authority. Through her plots, she can influence the actions not only of Azathoth but also of her teammates, all of whom are reading her stories. Diana enjoys teasing her White Collar audience, slipping in references to events that occurred in the world of Caffrey Conversation.

Mozzie, Tricia, June, and El are helping Diana, and you can count on her stories having a strong family element—the polar opposite of the solitary hero in Lovecraft's stories. That's not the only difference. Diana is determined to have a diverse cast with many women in leadership roles.

Readers of Lovecraft's works know that typically the protagonist has to face the horrors and monsters of the Cthulhu Mythos alone. He is weak and vulnerable against forces far beyond his power to control. The endings are usually bleak. The opposite is true for Arkham Files. Diana demonstrates that in the first story. Neal resembles the typical Lovecraft protagonist in the first chapter, he won't remain that way for long.

I'll begin posting the first Arkham Files story, Visions from Beyond, at the conclusion of The Mirror. The story is set in September 1975. A new term has just begun at Miskatonic University. Neal is completing his first week of teaching classes as an assistant professor in linguistics, but all is not well. He is about to make a fateful decision that will transform his life.

The Arkham Files Pinterest board contains pins of the cast and other visuals.

The Mirror on Archive of Our Own     The Mirror on FanFiction