#*character: wendy

[reinvent--yourself]

femslash february is here!!

i don't know how great i'll be at consistently making graphics and/or writing things for femslash february but at least i'm only a day late in starting it, right? right? 

[like-aheartgrenade]

once upon a time, there was a princess and a pirate.

[reinvent--yourself]

anattemptwasmade.jpeg

this is the first time i've ever tried colouring on my laptop and i used the touchpad so it's pretty awful eheh. also i don't think i've properly attempted drawing anything in about... three years?

i am just full of excuses.

[reinvent--yourself]

And truth be told, I never was yours x.

[reinvent--yourself]

“Can you see me!? …You can, can’t you? Please! Don’t let them take out the plugs! Tell them I’m still here!”

Alice has always seen things, things that most people would scoff at in disbelief. And even she can scarcely believe it herself when one day, in the middle of working a shift at the Royal London Hospital, she stumbles upon a girl screaming in the middle of a crowded hallway while being completely ignored. The girl (Wendy, she learns) leads Alice back to a room, and Alice is astonished to discover that there is a second Wendy, only she is clad in a hospital gown and lying motionless in a bed.

Wendy has just been declared brain-dead, on account of a freak accident involving her best friend, a double dog dare, far too much underage drinking, and the insane desire to fly above the rooftops of London. Mr Darling, her father, is silent as he stares down at his daughter, while Mrs Darling quietly asks whether there really isn’t any hope.

Six months. The hospital is willing to give the Darlings six months to wait and pray and inevitably come to terms with their daughter’s passing before they pull the girl off life support. Wendy sobs as she stands in front of her two younger brothers, willing them to see her.

The next six months are the hardest, but funnily enough, also the happiest of Alice’s life. She sees Wendy at the hospital every day, and the girl quickly becomes Alice’s shadow at work. She has a knack for telling stories, Alice learns, and though the ward for coma patients is as silent as the grave to everyone else, to Alice’s ears it is filled with chatter.

Ironically enough, through befriending someone dead Alice begins to feel more alive than she ever has before. She doesn’t know whether it is a blessing or a curse to have met Wendy, although, as it nears the end, it feels very much like the latter.

During one of the final days, she asks Wendy if she is scared.

“You know, Alice, I think if you had asked me that question six months ago, I most definitely would have said yes. But, you see, the waiting’s the worst part of it all. Hovering between life and death, watching as everyone else moves on. …Besides, I have a friend already waiting for me on the other side, and he once told me that Death is the next greatest adventure.”

[reinvent--yourself]

nine in the afternoon | wendalice

i.

Wendy was in the attic helping her mother tidy up when she happened across the dress. She’d flung open a chest in order to put away a pile of old records lying around, and there it was. Lacy, slightly off-white. She recognised it instantly from the large photo hanging in the stairwell, her mother beautiful and radiant as she smiled at the camera. She pulled it out gently before holding it up to her body. It was far too big for her, of course, at the age of nine years old. Mrs Darling, seeing this, walked over to address her.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it? Your grandmother made it for me. She was such a talented seamstress; look at the detail in the bodice and the hemming.” Wendy brushed her hand gently and reverentially along the length of the dress, letting the fabric slip and slide between her fingers. “It is beautiful.”

“You might wear this on your own wedding day, Wendy. Only if you wanted to, of course.” The girl looked up at her mother, a little startled, before looking away. She tried to imagine what her wedding ceremony would look like; lots of flowers, certainly. Perhaps they’d even hold it outdoors. Not too big a gathering; Father tearing up as he passed her arm to another. But when she tried to conjure up an image of her future spouse, nothing but a fuzzy outline came to mind.

ii.

A few days later found Wendy still pondering the idea of marriage. She found it hard to concentrate on the book before her, instead thinking of bridesmaids’ dresses and dancing. As she read the line on the page before her for the sixth time, something collided with the side of her head and sent her reeling.

“…Oops. Wendy, you really shouldn’t sit there. That was bound to happen sooner or later.” Wendy gave John a light scowl before standing up, tucking the book underneath her arm, and walking away without a word. The boy turned to shrug at Thomas, before picking the ball up and continuing the game. Boys were so insensitive.

After running into her house quickly to put away her book, Wendy contemplated what she should do for the rest of her afternoon. Calling on Peter was, sadly, out of the question; they’d had a row the other day over Peter spending far more time lately with Lily (nicknamed Tiger by the Lost Boys) than Wendy. Wendy knew she was being foolish, but she couldn’t help it; jealousy was definitely her worst trait. After coming to a decision, she headed out into the garden and straight for a neatly trimmed row of hedges that posed as the boundary between the Darlings’ property and that of their neighbours’. Locating a small gap close to the ground, Wendy lowered herself before shimmying through. Dirt caked itself onto the knees of her stockings, and once on the other side she reached down to brush the worst of it away.

Casting her gaze around, she found who she was looking for lying in a patch of daisies, facing up to the sky. One of Alice’s legs was hooked over the other, and she bobbed her foot in time to the tune she was humming. A pair of shoes and stockings lay in a muddle off to the side; it really was a rather hot day, and Wendy hastened to take her own off before sitting down beside her friend.

“What do you think happens to a flame when it’s blown out? Does it go somewhere, or simply flicker in and out of existence?” was the greeting, and Wendy smiled.

Two hours later, and Alice and Wendy had almost exhausted every detail there was to discuss on the topic of unicorns. Alice had fallen silent, which left Wendy to her own thoughts. A thought hit her, quite out of the blue.

“I think I’d like to get married to you.” Wendy’s eyes widened as she realised what she’d said, but fortunately, Alice didn’t seem as though she was paying much attention. She seemed entirely engrossed in her conversation with the poppies.

It made sense though. Out of all the people Wendy knew, Alice was her favourite. She would spend all of her time with her if it was possible. And isn’t that what marriage was about? Promising to someone that you wanted to spend the rest of your life with them?

iii.

“Mother, does it have to be a boy and a girl? Can’t two girls get married?”

Mrs Darling, startled at the unexpected question, fumbled with the earring she had been putting in. She picked it up from where it landed on top of her vanity table before addressing Wendy’s reflection in the mirror. “Wendy dear, you’re a bit too young to be worrying about that sort of thing, I think. Wherever did that question come from?”

The girl bit her lip and looked down at her shoes, not sure how to answer. Mrs Darling, noting the nervousness radiating off of her daughter, turned and bent down to look Wendy in the eyes. “I believe that you should marry whomever you love. As long as they’re the right person, it doesn’t matter if they’re a man or a woman.” She grasped Wendy’s shoulders to give her a reassuring squeeze.

Wendy brightened immediately. She gave Mrs Darling a quick hug before rushing out of the room. Mrs Darling straightened, and sighed. It wasn’t that she’d lied to Wendy, per se. She really did believe that people should be allowed to marry whoever they liked. The problem was that not everybody agreed with her. But it didn’t sit well with her to expose Wendy to that sort of injustice. Not yet.

iv.

It was decided then. She would ask for Alice’s hand in marriage and they’d live happily ever after for the rest of their days.

Wendy crawled through the hedges the next day with great purpose and determination. This time, she spotted Alice sitting in the boughs of her favourite tree, having made no attempt to open the history book lying upon her stomach.

As Wendy walked over to her, she was suddenly struck by a wave of anxiety. She knew she wanted to marry Alice, that was all well and good, but what if Alice didn’t feel the same about her? Or what if Alice thought two girls getting married would be too odd? When she reached the bottom of the tree, Wendy found that the words were stuck in her throat. It’d be devastating to hear a “no” from Alice, but she was already here, she had already made her mind up.

“Alice, could you come down for a bit? I have something to ask you.” Alice obligingly swung round and leapt off, landing with all the grace of a small cat. “What is it, Wendy?”

Wendy opened and closed her mouth for several seconds, nerves completely frayed. “I… you… w-would you like t-to marry me, Alice?” She closed her eyes in apprehension, afraid of the response.

“We can’t.”

At those words, it seemed as though a black hole suddenly formed beneath her; she felt herself falling in, her fingers scrabbling at clumps of grass and dirt which provided absolutely no purchase. She looked at Alice, a look of pure dismay on her face. “But… why?”

Alice crossed her arms and replied in a matter-of-fact tone. “You haven’t got a ring, Wendy. If you’re to propose to me, the proper thing to do is to present me with a ring.” That was her objection? Wendy gave a soundless laugh, relief escaping her in a short burst. A ring, she could probably manage that. “…Wait here.”

Wendy crawled back under the hedge and ran as fast as she could up to her room. There, she looked around for her sewing basket. There it was, in the corner. She opened it, took what she needed, before rushing straight out again. It was a little unusual, but hopefully Alice wouldn’t mind.

Alice was indeed still waiting under the tree when she got back. Wendy was a little out of breath as she opened the palm of her hand, revealing a blue ribbon tied into a circle. “Sorry, it’s not a proper ring, I know, but it’s all I had.”

The other girl just smiled. “That’s fine. Here, I’ve got something for you too.” She presented Wendy with a single daisy, the end of the stem tied neatly under the head. They exchanged “rings” and put them on, admiring them for a little while.

Wendy broke the silence first. “Do you think we should have a ceremony?”

“I think that would be lovely.”

v.

When they heard that the girls wanted to get married, Jane, John and Thomas had all taken it in their stride. Jane had immediately volunteered to be maid of honour, and Thomas offered himself up as best man before asking, “Hang on, who’s the bride and who’s the groom?”

John snorted. “Does it matter? It’s not a real wedding.” At this, Wendy fixed John with the most withering stare she could manage, and was proud to note that he actually shuddered.

With the number of “wedding guests” in attendance they found that they would have to hold the ceremony outside, behind the Liddells’ house. John and Michael, both too young to really understand what was going on, simply smiled broadly where they sat at the front of the “Darling” side of the ceremony. Peter and the Lost Boys were also present, Peter having been tasked with the role of ring bearer.

Alice’s older sister, Lorina, had been asked to officiate at the ceremony, and she had taken her role very seriously. The book she held in her hands had been borrowed from the local library and contained all the lines that needed to be said at the ceremony.

In the end, it had been decided that, since they were both girls, they would both be the bride. Alice walked down the aisle first, her arm hooked into John’s, with Wendy and Thomas following soon after. The ceremony proceeded remarkably like most wedding ceremonies did for having been performed by a group of under-twelves’.

The vows were a bit difficult, for Wendy at least. She hadn’t put much thought into the whole thing besides Do I want to marry Alice? and Yes, I want to marry Alice, but somehow, she managed.

When Lorina finally began to say the words, “You may kiss the bride”, Wendy was struck dumb as she tried to decide on what part of Alice’s face to place her lips. The decision was made for her, though, as Alice quickly dove in. Wendy had absolutely no idea what she was doing, and put most of her effort towards making sure her nose didn’t bump Alice’s too much, but all in all, it was nice. She didn’t have too much time to enjoy it though, as a bright flash startled the two of them into separating.

“Gross, I hope you guys didn’t use your tongues,” Thomas said as he inspected the photo he’d taken.

vi.

“Wendy dear, would you mind passing the bis-”

“That’s Mrs Wendy Liddell to you, father!” John said, before giggling into his tea. Mr Darling gave first John then Wendy a confused glance. “What?”

Wendy slumped in her chair, embarrassed but also far too happy to really care.

[reinvent--yourself]

as much as they love their boys, they love spending time with just the three of them too. a voice chatters as it brings a vivid tale to life, a pair of hands lazily weave stems into a daisy chain, and another is busily immortalising the image of a young hedgehog going about its way in pencil and paper.

they'll be best friends forever if they can help it. x.

i. rill rill sleigh bells | ii. obsessions marina & the diamonds | iii. someday tegan & sara | iv. ageless beauty stars | v. skeletons yeah yeah yeahs | vi. we turn it up oh land | vii. gimme sympathy metric | viii. sun feet eisley | ix. daddy's car the cardigans  | x. maps (acoustic ver.) yeah yeah yeahs

[like-aheartgrenade]

and i'll defy everyone, and love you still | x.