Nope, not chess or Parchisi. And not even global thermonuclear war. (If you get that reference, you might just be as old as we are!) But no, none of those games are where we're headed. This year, we're hosting a good old-fashioned game of bingo!
That's right, since we're almost two weeks into the new year, we thought it might be time to roll out our new creative challenge, which will continue throughout 2024.
As always, we're in the market for any and all fan creations centered on White Collar, and this year, we're providing prompts in the form of mini bingo cards, with new prompt cards coming out quarterly. (Jan, April, July, October) If you want to play, just let us know (comment here, dm, however you want to get in touch), and we'll get you a card so you can get started!
Some details:
When we say "any and all fan creations," we mean it--let your creativity run wild and make whatever you want to make! Draw, write, paint, record a podcast, shoot a video, whatever your creative preference.
We're using a 4x4 card format, and there is a FREE space, so that means a total of 15 prompts for three months. Complete a line of prompts, get a bingo; complete the whole card during the quarter, and that, dear friends, is a blackout!
Much like our drabble prompts, the bingo prompts are pretty broad, and many (maybe most?) are only one word. They run the gamut from theme words to genre to story length and beyond. (Not to worry if you're making art or some other non-written creations; we've got provisions for swapping prompts.)
Prompts were randomized to create the cards, and the card numbers were randomized to create the distribution order, so the prompts you end up with are strictly luck.
Okay, that's probably the most important stuff to know, except, of course, that we hope lots of you will join in and that everyone has tons of fun creating new White Collar stuff, because we're sure going to have fun seeing whatever you make!
So whenever you're ready, shall we play a game?
(We'll put a few more detailed FAQ items below the cut, but if you've got questions we didn't think of, just let us know and we'll make up an answer.😉)
Q: What can my entries be?
A: Any type of creation you choose. fic, art, blog post, essay, cross-stitch, we're not picky. Interpret the prompts any way you like, in any genre, any relationship, any rating, any characters, you get the idea. (Unless, of course, the prompt is more specific.) As long as it's White Collar, it's fair game.
Q: Where do we share our work/how will you know we made something or got a bingo?
A: First, put your creations somewhere we can see them! There'll be a collection on AO3 where most types of work can be shared. (We're debating if it's better to have just one collection for the year or one for each quarter; if you've got any opinions on that, feel free to weigh in.) If you're sharing here or on other socials, be sure to @ us, and use #WhiteCollarBingo. But, while we'll be doing our best to keep up, we're hoping there will be so many entries we'll lose track, so definitely tell us if you completed a bingo!
Q: Can I make one story/picture/video/etc. for the whole card?
A: You may use as many prompts as you like in each entry, but only 2 prompts per line may be counted toward a bingo. (So you will need at least two entries to achieve a single bingo, and though we may have miscounted, we think that means at least ten entries to make a blackout.)
Q: Are crossovers allowed?
A: Yes (and may even be a prompt!), but White Collar should obviously be prevalent in your work.
Q: How long do I have to complete my entries?
A: We'll be issuing new cards each quarter (Jan-March, April-June, July-Sept, Oct-December), and in a perfect world, we'd like to receive entries within that quarter. But you know we've never been sticklers for schedules, and the point is to encourage more White Collar creations, so we'll be glad to get them whenever you finish.
Q: What do I win when I bingo?
A: Bragging rights, and your name on our (soon to be created) bingo accomplishments page.
Q: What if there are some prompts I really don't want to use, but I want to try for blackout?
A: We will provide a max of two alternate prompts. (This max does not apply if you're making non-written creations and somehow ended up with a card full of writing-centric prompts.)
Q: What if I just can't work with the card I receive at all?
A: We'll exchange your card one time. Part of the fun is stretching our creative muscles.
Q: If I exchange my card, will any previous entries count toward bingo on my new card?
A: Nope. It's a fresh slate, so examine your card when you get it to decide if it works for you.
Q: If I complete my card, can I have another?
A: Yep, and we'd be very impressed! (and happy!)
Q: Where did these prompts come from?
A: Many suggestions from our followers, and we've been hunting and gathering, too. But we want to have lots of variety as the year rolls along, so please keep those suggestions rolling in.
Q: Can something I made for another challenge count toward a bingo prompt/Can I submit my work to more than one collection or challenge?
A: As long as it's new work, and if the other challenge doesn't ask for exclusivity, bring it on! And frankly, we'd love to see more White Collar activity in multi-fandom spaces. Also, we'll surely be hosting other events throughout the year (at least Mozzie Mania and Caffrey-Burke Day), and you can certainly use a bingo prompt for any of those challenges as well.
Summary: Peter drags Neal down to the beach for a heart to heart.
Words: 1.5k
Warnings: gunshot wound reference (canon - 4x02 Most Wanted)
Notes: This fulfills two squares on my White Collar bingo card: missing scene and on the run. I wrote this in about a half hour, it's not poetry but it was a lot of dialogue stuck in my head and I needed it in the wild. (You can also read on AO3 here!)
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“Give it to me straight suit – is he gonna be okay in New York?”
“Neal? Yeah.” Peter paused, watching Neal dozing in a lounge chair with a bag of ice draped over his leg. “Yeah. He’ll...I’ll make sure he’s okay.”
“Because you told him to run,” Mozzie continued as if Peter hadn’t spoken a word. “You told him to go.”
“Yeah, I did...and you, Mozzie, you stole the treasure. Don’t forget your hand in all of this.”
Mozzie huffed out something under his breath about pointing fingers while he poured the remainder of a bottle of wine into his not quite empty glass. They’d already been through this once or twice, it was just that time was ticking and Mozzie was getting nervous. He couldn’t let Neal go if he wasn’t absolutely sure that Peter was going to take care of him. If anything happened to Neal, he would never forgive himself and he had to believe without a doubt that Peter felt the same. He’d already been shot on their watch, and he really wanted it to end there.
“You promise you’ll keep him safe?”
“I promise I’ll do everything I can.”
Peter sighed and began cleaning up the mess of bottles still sitting out on top of their makeshift bar. He wasn’t feeling overly confident in this plan, in any part of it, and he couldn’t figure out how to change that. He’d spent the day mixing and pouring drinks until he knew everything by heart and yet still something eluded him – perhaps it was the same thing that was eating at Mozzie.
Neal.
Their plan was going to be a success, they were going to get on that plane and they were going to head back to New York and then what? How did he keep Neal in New York? How did he keep Kramer from turning him into the FBI’s pet for life? The idea of it made him sick to his stomach. He stood on those steps and he made damn sure Neal ran, and then he searched for him like a fool and led them right here. He wasn’t doing a very good job of keeping Neal safe so far and had some doubts as to whether he could at all.
Mozzie settled in with a book and his wine, planning on ignoring Peter probably for the better part of the night by the looks of it. They’d had their fill of one another, Mozzie was a solitary creature and needed time to be alone with his thoughts. He was, after all, about to be alone in the wind. Neal was returning but he was not.
“Neal,” Peter said, approaching the half-asleep man. “Walk with me.”
Without opening his eyes, Neal groaned. “In case you forgot, walking isn’t really my thing at the moment…”
“Come on. I’ll carry you, princess. Let’s go down to the beach.”
“You can’t carry me, you would throw your back out.”
“Then walk. Come on Neal, I want to talk.”
Neal sat himself up and slid his legs carefully off of the lounge chair, reaching for Peter’s outstretched hand when it came time to get upright. His knee was stiff, his entire leg swollen and painful, but Peter ducked under his arm and supported the majority of his weight while they made their way down to the beach with little trouble. Neal couldn’t talk, his concentration so intensely focused on keeping himself moving forward that a sheen of sweat broke out on his brow. It was worse at night, he would argue, but maybe that was just in his head.
“Stupid suit,” Mozzie muttered under his breath as he watched Peter drag Neal down to the beach.
The sand was so bright that Peter couldn’t help feeling like he was walking on the surface of the moon with every hard fought step. He wanted to get closer to the water. It called him as it crashed against the shore and lapped at the sand like it was thirsty. “We can stop here,” Peter said finally, panting and tired from the short trek. Neal wasn’t able to bear much weight on his leg, perhaps the trip down to the beach wasn’t his brightest decision but it was so serene down here he thought it might be worth it in the end.
Slowly he helped Neal ease himself down into the soft sand and took a seat beside him.
“It’s been years since I’ve been on vacation,” he started, staring out at the horizon painted in inky black and stardust.
“This is a vacation?”
Peter laughed. “No. Vacations don’t usually involve my friends getting shot. I’m really sorry about that, by the way.”
“Why? You didn’t shoot me.”
A seagull landed in front of them, stark white and glowing in the moonlight, hunting through the sand for something to eat. They watched the bird for a moment as if in a trance, neither wanting to speak, to disturb it in its hunt, but the conversation picked up where it left off as soon as the bird flew away satisfied with its coverage of their small plot of land. As if they too were birds huddled around some treasure instead of two men trying to mend something that was broken. Peter spoke as if there had been no interruption.
“No, I didn’t shoot you, but we spent the night waiting for you, and there you were...we should have known something was wrong.”
Neal shrugged and rubbed mindlessly at his stiff knee joint. The pain from the wound itself was minimal, it was the angry swelling that radiated out from the wound that was causing the most trouble. An irritation, more or less. He couldn’t walk but he wasn’t going to die...unless Dobbs caught on to him and he couldn’t get away. As it stood, he was going to have to find a way to climb a tree which, at the moment, seemed about as impossible as sprouting wings and flying.
“Is that why you brought me down here? Because you wanted to tell me you felt guilty? You could have done that up there.”
“No. No, I just...wanted a few minutes alone. To talk to you. I’m the reason you’re in this mess, I never should have told you to run. It was a mistake.”
“So you think the right thing was for me to have my commutation denied so I could be Kramer’s pet criminal for the rest of my life? Because that’s where he wanted me, Peter.”
“No, of course I don’t...Neal I don’t know what the right answers are anymore. The lines are so blurry. Everything used to be so easy, so black and white, and then you came and you splashed gray on everything.”
“The world is gray, Peter. Nothing is black and white. Your rules aren’t always right, they’re just a way for people to try to control the chaos of life. Kramer thinks he’s righteous, he thinks he’s right because he’s upholding the law but he wants to keep me on a leash for life to make him look good. How can that be right?”
“That’s a little dramatic…”
“Is it?”
“He thinks he can have what we have, but he can’t Peter. He can’t because he’s not you. I do what I do for you because I…” Neal stopped, sucking in a quick breath. His chest had grown tight. “I do it because I love you Peter. You’re family. I don’t do it because I believe in the FBI, I do it because I believe in you.”
“You could believe in Kramer too.”
“No, I couldn’t, because he doesn’t treat me like I’m a person. You’re the only one at the FBI who doesn’t treat me like I’m a commodity or a criminal. You’re the only one who believes I can change.”
“And look where that got me.”
“Peter, I didn’t take the treasure. I had no intention of taking it. Sure, when I saw it I was tempted but wouldn’t you be? Just a little? Don’t tell me I’m the only one who sees beautiful things of high value and thinks...why them and not me?”
“Alright, you’re not wrong...there have been times. But I’ve never acted on it and you have.”
“So I’m always going to be defined by my past? Is there no hope for me?”
“I’m not saying that.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m just saying that once you cross that line, it’s harder to come back. Not impossible, I believe you are coming back, but I also believe that the temptation is always going to be there. It’s going to be a battle until the end of your days.”
Neal nodded and turned away before Peter could see the tears in his eyes, even in the dark he knew they would be pretty damn obvious.
“Neal,” Peter said, scooting closer and putting his arm around the man. “I know you’re trying, and this setback is my fault. I’m going to fix it.”
“Best case scenario, I get my anklet back.”
“No, Neal, best case scenario I get my partner back. Best case scenario my friend comes home. ”
this is my first piece for the @operationmorewhitecollar White Collar Bingo!
this for the prompt “artist Neal”, which for me inspired thoughts of an au where Neal is less of a criminal and much more settled down. He owns one of those cute art shops where he runs painting classes and paint n’ sips and things, where Peter and Elizabeth go for a date night. maybe Peter gets convinced that this cute painter is actually a master forger, and whether or not it’s true, Peter gets a tad obsessed and Neal is just enjoying the attention. no I haven’t overthought this what are you talking about.
Almost a brand new quarter, that's what, and that means it's time for a brand round of White Collar Bingo!
Each round is full of simple prompts for any White Collar project you'd like to create, so just let us know when you're ready to claim a card and see what prompts wait for you. And, as before, we give a huge shout-out of thanks to @whatsagirltoblogabout for the snazzy, summery card design.
Summary: Neal hurts himself gathering intel for a case while Peter is out of town. Peter is, predictably, not thrilled with the situation when he gets home.
Words: 3.5k
Pairing: None
Warnings: see AO3 tags
Notes: This is just a fun little thing. 3k words of banter, because I'm a sucker for them bickering and slinging zingers at one another. Shenanigans. This show makes me talk like I'm 90 years old and I'm here for it. This story fulfills a few boxes on some bingo cards I've got going, too!
White Collar Bingo: curiosity & teasing (I'll get a link to my bingo card up soon...I've been lazy.)
Hurt/Comfort bingo: "You always know what to say."
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“You’re limping,” Peter said. It was the first thing out of his mouth as he walked through the door. No hi, hello, it’s good to be home. Just “you’re limping”, an accusation and an observation. Neal isn’t even walking, he’s leaning a little too casually against the dining room table, putting almost no weight on his obviously injured leg but looking light as a feather, really. At least he’s pretty sure he looks light. Airy. Very casual. Not like he's about in tears when he puts weight on his foot.
Peter’s been away for three days, a long weekend in Atlantic City with El courtesy of one of her clients as a thank you for a job well done. Peter hates gambling, and Atlantic City makes him far too on edge...he’s working when he’s not, it’s so hard to turn it off in a room full of slot machines and poker tables, but El has good memories from staying in a little hotel off the shore and he figured he could find something to do for a couple of days that didn’t involve throwing his money away and lighting the trash can on fire. He works too damn hard for his money, and the proof of that is standing in his dining room...standing like he’s trying to convince Peter of something.
It doesn’t help that he can see Mozzie sitting with his back to the house out on the back patio, sitting and examining something so thoroughly that he doesn’t even notice that they’ve come inside.
“Excellent deduction, Sherlock,” Neal replies, pushing off of the table and moving toward El to give her a hug. He walks with a pronounced limp that makes Peter almost feel bad for him except he knows damn well that limp didn’t come from anything good. It wasn’t like Neal was out at the park playing a pick up game of basketball with buddies, he was doing something that Peter wouldn’t approve of. Probably something illegal, but he’s willing to entertain the idea that it wasn’t. Sort of.
Peter rolls his eyes at Neal’s flippant response. “Let me rephrase that. Neal, why are you limping?”
This is our complete mea culpa. We know we're two weeks behind on releasing Q2 bingo cards. There are reasons, but they're unimportant; it's just life being life. We'll have them out no later than the end of the month. In the meantime, if you haven't finished your Q1 card, keep creating!
Also, if you've got more prompts to include in the cards, keep sending them our way.
Why, yes, we are finally ready to move into Q2, and only a month late! But, better late than never, right?
So, if you're looking for a few prompts to get your creativity popping again, claim your bingo card now! And don't forget, you can use these prompts for any kind of creation you want--art, fic, videos, gifsets, haiku, cross-stitch, woodworking . . . you get the idea; we want any kind of White Collar creation you're willing to make!
Also, we're sending very special thanks to @whatsagirltoblogabout for snazzing things up for us and adding some springtime to our cards this time around. 💖
