Mozzie the Master Storyteller

One of the many delights that writing in an AU provides is the ability to develop aspects of a character that may have only been hinted about in canon. The seeds for Neal's life as a grad student at Columbia can be found in "Upper West Side Story" when Neal had a fling at teaching in a prep school. During that episode, we learned all his diplomas were forgeries, and that he'd never graduated from high school. Neal told Peter that if his sentence was commuted, he might go back to school and get a master's. Fast forward to Caffrey Conversation where Neal is in the doctorate program at Columbia University. Neal's partner in crime, Mozzie, is experiencing a similar transformation in Caffrey Conversation.

Mozzie's interests are so broad, he's evolving in many different directions. His interest in bees and honey originated in the season 5 episode "Master Plan." Mozzie's commitment to SETI and explorations into extraterrestrial slime are outgrowths of his obsession with conspiracy theories. Lately, he's focused on another talent—writing.

He displayed his creativity in the canon episode "Point Blank" where he invented a history for a file. In Caffrey Conversation, he first showed signs of storytelling greatness when he undertook to write the script for Aidan's short feature, Yellowface the Masked Avenger. The Japanese anime company Hotaru was so impressed, they hired him to write additional scripts. It was a natural fit. Mozzie's fluency in Japanese was already established in canon.

Mozzie polished his writing chops with Arkham Files. After deluging Diana with volumes of notes, she recognized he could ease the writing burden she's been under. She's gradually letting him write scenes for the stories. He's been able to match her writing style. The only way readers can tell is by the views expressed. After some initial hesitation, Diana is encouraging his efforts. No dummy, she senses that should she ever wish to retire from Arkham Files, Mozzie is the natural candidate to continue the tales.

In Harlequin's Shadow, Mozzie teamed up with Aidan once more to write the script for a short feature starring Henry. Part of Pirates from Beyond was used in the U-boat con. Neal is now scheming to make it part of a new con. Is it fair to us a film featuring Henry to trick him? Neal assures me it's for a good cause, and Mozzie is delighted to go along.

In Night Howls on the Hudson, Mozzie the master storyteller becomes Scheherazade for Neal, keeping the monsters away with the charm of his tales. Such a gift needs to be shared with a broader audience. Sara has taken careful note of Mozzie's ability. She has ideas for the next chapter in Mozzie's saga. There will be more on that in the next Caffrey Conversation story, The Musicians.

Night Howls on the Hudson on Archive of Our Own
Night Howls on the Hudson on FanFiction