Arctic Light

This is a direct follow-up to frith_in_thorns's Jack-of-Smiles. (Content warning for darkness and graphic violence in the original; not so much in this one, but they're dealing with the aftermath of that.)

After sending this part to Frith a couple of weeks ago, I'd planned to write more, but since that's not really happening, I figured this could stand on its own as a complete story anyway. As always, the Fallen London masterpost is here.

Title: Hunting Jack in Polythreme
Word Count: 1800
Summary: Peter's not dealing well with the Jack-of-Smiles incident. And so Neal finds himself stowed away on a ship in the middle of the vast black zee.



( Hunting Jack in Polythreme )

Fallen London AU master list at Frith-in-Thorns' LJ.

Another installment in the sprawling fusion between White Collar and Fallen London that frith_in_thorns and I are inexplicably writing!

Story context for those not playing Fallen London: At the start of the game, you choose an "Ambition", which is basically a long storyline that you play throughout the course of the game, in between all of the minor storylines. One of the Ambitions involves hunting a mysterious monster called the Vake. We both thought this would be the perfect Ambition for Peter. :D What happens in this story is basically what happens during one section of the Vake-hunting storyline, more or less, except of course you're playing solo in the game; you don't have friends to help out. (So, some game spoilers here, but only for one storyline.)

Title: Into the Wastes
Word Count: 4000
Summary: Elizabeth didn't normally come around the Flit ...



( Into the Wastes )

Another installment in the slightly chaotic crossover/fusion between White Collar and the web game Fallen London (aka Echo Bazaar) that frith_in_thorns and I are batting back and forth. The early installments contain a basic explanation of the game for people unfamiliar with it.

Stories by frith_in_thorns: A Boat Trip | A Game of Croquet | Jack-of-Smiles | The Taste of Lacre
Stories by me: The Search for Sleep | An Unusual Pail of So-Called Snow

Title: An Infernal Contract
Word Count: 2000
Summary: This is what comes of flirting with devils. Comes sometime after A Game of Croquet.



( An Infernal Contract )

Ever since Fandom Stocking, frith_in_thorns and I have been writing this fusion between the Flash game Fallen London (formerly Echo Bazaar) and White Collar. Mostly it's been taking the form of bits of fic tossed back and forth in email and LJ comments. Every once in a while they go ahead and develop into actual stories. :D She's posted a few of hers so far: A Boat Trip and A Game of Croquet.

Fallen London (the game) is set in a Victorian-era alternate-history London sunk beneath the surface of the ground. The game is bizarre and dark and funny and disturbing and very fun to play ... as well as fun to inflict on the White Collar characters. Frith explains some of the game mechanics in A Boat Trip; that particular story deals with the fact that, within the game, if your Wounds quality gets high enough, you die. However, it's established game canon that you only die temporarily and all the residents of the city are aware of this (which we both think is hilarious when applied to Neal and his canonical risk-taking abilities).

The ficlet below the cut deals with a different aspect of Fallen London game mechanics, Nightmares. Nightmares is another quality that rises as you play the game, and when it gets too high, you go temporarily insane (which is highly entertaining to play). However, you can reduce your Nightmares in various ways -- everything mentioned in this story (walking in the park, buying goldfish, etc) is actually a canonical way of bringing your Nightmares down from dangerous levels. Naturally Neal goes for the most self-destructive option. *g*

I've been slightly reluctant to post this because, even aside from the fact that I'm hardly online at all due to factors beyond my control ... I'm not entirely sure how much sense this will make if you haven't played the game. The whole AU is basically one long extended series of in-jokes. But it's also White Collar! There's Peter! And Neal! And h/c! (Because we're us.) So, here you go. :D

Title: The Search for Sleep
Word Count: 1200
Characters/Pairing: Peter, Neal, gen
Summary: Sleeping down here isn't easy. It helps to have a friend to look out for you.



( Fallen London AU: The Search for Sleep )