Bunnyball is the term Penna and I use for bouncing ideas off each other. One of us will start with a concept and toss it to the other for her thoughts. When that bunny comes back, more often than not. other bunnies have hitched a ride. The initial bunny grows and grows, spinning off baby bunnies as it develops, until sometimes it's difficult to remember what we started with. And because we're writing a series that takes place over several years, we have the luxury of continuing the same bunnyball game over multiple stories. A case in point is Aidan's video, Yellowface the Masked Avenger.
Warning for spoilers for the Caffrey Conversation series
Penna started the game when she mentioned that she'd like to have Noelle and Joe hold their wedding in Hawaii (Caffrey Aloha). Little did we anticipate what that would lead to!!
As we discussed the idea, it became apparent we had a hurdle to overcome. If Mozzie were to be included in the story, we needed a plausible reason for him to be in Hawaii. When I tossed the bunny to Mozzie, he suggested bees, pointing out that he'd already demonstrated an interest in bees and honey in the Season 5 episode "Master Plan."
When I caught Mozzie's bunny, I realized I could also use honey to give Mozzie a legitimate income source. No longer would he be so dependent on illegal activities. That idea turned into the Aloha Emporium, a Hawaiian shop just south of Columbia University. In An Evening with Genji, Mozzie goes into partnership with the emporium's owner Billy Feng to market organic Hawaiian honey and also develop a line of honey wines.
The next person to toss the bunnyball around was Neal. He was dismayed that Mozzie had decided to serve as Neal's love advisor. Mozzie was becoming very tiresome with his lectures on the birds and the bees. Neal's return toss was to suggest that Mozzie himself be smitten by the love bee. The costume designer Janet Dodson had already been introduced into the series. Neal suggested that she be a nature enthusiast who drew inspiration for her fashions from nature, particularly insects. That bunny toss developed into Mozzie's adoption of the cause of the Hawaiian yellow-faced bee, an endangered species. In championing their plight he won Janet's heart. His preoccupation with Janet and bees allowed Neal to have the desired breathing space.
At that point, I tossed the yellow-faced bee bunnyball high up into the air for anyone who felt so inclined to catch. To my surprise, Aidan, one of Neal's Columbia friends, snatched it. In The Dreamer, he was looking for the subject for an animated short he needed to prepare for his art class. Mozzie encouraged him to take up the cause of the yellow-faced bee. Aidan then persuaded band members Neal, Richard, Angela, Fiona, Michael, and Keiko to help out with the video. Mozzie not only volunteered but co-opted the role of scriptwriter.
The video bunny had no sooner formed than it began breeding baby bunnies. One of them was the Cupid bunny. For several of the couples—Aidan & Keiko, Neal & Fiona, Mozzie & Janet, Angela & Michael—the video became a facilitator to their blossoming romances.
At the next jump toss, Mozzie caught the bunny. He saw potential as a scriptwriter beyond Aidan's video. After all, in canon, he'd shown his flair for writing when he faked an FBI file in "Point Blank." Now Mozzie dreams of a new outlet for his considerable talents. His new career as a scriptwriter is gathering momentum.
But could this bunny have a more ominous side? MoonFaith, a FanFiction reviewer, tossed me an idea for using virtual reality after she read about the events in the house where Neal and Peter were held prisoner in The Woman in Blue. Azathoth snagged that plot bunny and tossed it back to me as the driving force behind Comic-Con. Azathoth saw Aidan's video as the reason for Neal and his friends to go to the sci-fi convention, Tac-Con, which would in turn lead to the Comic-Con convention in San Diego. I'll write more about virtual reality in my next post.
Who will catch the video bunny next? A Japanese anime company is interested in Aidan's video. Neal has several connections to Japan. He speaks Japanese. As a child, his first fencing instructor was Japanese. Mozzie is writing scripts. Could a story set in Japan be on the horizon? That bunny is already practicing his Japanese.
Nocturne in Black and Gold on Archive of Our Own
Nocturne in Black and Gold on FanFiction
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