When I decided to write a crossover series that blends the worlds of the Caffrey Conversation AU with Supernatural, my original intent was to make all the stories road trips with no involvement of the other White Collar team members or Caffrey relatives. That didn't last very long. One character after another began tapping me on the shoulder with ideas on how they should be included. First it was Travis who, as a good friend to Mozzie and a fellow astronomy enthusiast, made a strong case to be part of Fireflies at Midnight. Next up were Diana and Jones. They argued that their investigative skills would make it impossible for Peter and Neal to keep the supernatural events a secret. Dark Rabbit is just the beginning of what they'd like to see happen. Now Angela Caffrey and her boyfriend Michael have entered the mix. Her cousin Henry Winslow, however, has yet to make an appearance. Henry is one of the most popular characters in Caffrey Conversation. How could he possibly be excluded? The answer is it's complicated.
Neal took up Henry's cause. He pointed out that he and Henry thrive on complicated scenarios. Didn't I name my first story Complications? He then quoted another of his favorite expressions—there's always a way.
If you don't visit our Pinterest boards, you may not grasp the inherent difficulty. You may not realize that Penna picked Jensen Ackles to be cast as Henry. Jensen also portrays Dean Winchester on Supernatural. Needless to say, neither one of us was thinking of writing a crossover series of the two shows when Henry was cast.
And it's not only Henry and Dean who are an issue. Neal and Henry are supposed to look sufficiently alike that, with the help of a different hairstyle and a little makeup, they can swap places.
What to make of this casting dilemma? A few weeks ago, when Mozzie stopped by the writer's cave to collect slime samples, he overheard my whimpers and scrawled one of his favorite expressions on the wall: Difficulties mastered are opportunities won.
It's taken much head-scratching and a few revisions, but a solution appears to have been reached that is amenable to all parties. Henry is currently off sailing, but he will eventually appear in a story. The plot threads will begin to swirl around him later in Dark Rabbit. As for the resemblance between Henry and Neal, that is now less a problem. As Henry ages, the similarity is much less noticeable. While Neal appears to have discovered the fountain of eternal youth, Henry is maturing to look remarkably like Dean.
Thanks to fanfic author KeJae for providing helpful advice on how she handles the doppelganger dilemma in her stories. KeJae writes crossovers of White Collar and Chuck. Matt Bomer appears in both series, and she's written many creative stories to take advantage of his dual roles. What will the future hold for Dean and Henry? It's safe to say, it will be complicated.
Dark Rabbit on Archive of Our Own
Dark Rabbit on FanFiction
I think this is brilliant. I was wondering exactly this after reading about the appearance of Henry after Chapter 4 of 'The Dark Rabbit'. How could Henry look so much like Neal and like Dean at the same time? I enjoyed the storylines in which Neal and Henry occasionally impersonated one another. So then how could Henry look like Dean? You have answered it wonderfully. Thanks so much. The credibility and consistency of these stories - did penna say over a million words - is superior to most other fiction I have read, published and otherwise. Going back to the Chapter later today to review.
ReplyDeleteYou and I both were puzzling over this. Neal and Henry can still imitate each other's voices, but it will take more makeup than it used to for them to look alike. So glad the solution makes sense to you! What was a stumbling block will hopefully be a fun plot element in the future.
DeleteSuch high praise -- thank you! That million words is now over 1.5 million and growing because of readers like you :)