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p-artsypants · 14 days ago

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Returning Again

Peter Pan returned Jane, Wendy's daughter, to London safely. He lingered just long enough to see Wendy all grown up. It was a bittersweet reunion, but worth it all the same.

If he hadn't lingered, he would have been in the sky when the air raid sirens went off. But as it was, Wendy and her family beckoned him to wait in their bomb shelter until the coast is clear. This gives him the chance to keep a family together.

I have literally been daydreaming about this fic for years and decided to just bite the bullet and write it. I doubt anyone will read it, but it was demanding my attention. So here we go!

Ao3

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While seeing Wendy as an adult was strange and oddly sad, Peter Pan felt like his work was done. Jane was home, just like he promised.

He wrung his hat in his hands. “Goodbye Wendy.”

“Goodbye Peter.” She smiled at him wistfully.

They were interrupted however, when a truck pulled up in front of the house. Peter thought it odd, considering the time of night.

Wendy, however, realized what it meant almost immediately. “Edward?” She whispered.

A man slid out of the bed of the truck, putting one foot on the ground, and leaning heavily on a crutch. His other leg from the knee down was gone.

Was Wendy’s husband a pirate? No, she wouldn’t do such a thing!

Still, as he turned to ask questions, he found Wendy gone. The lights on the first floor turned on, and Wendy, Jane, and even little Danny went running to greet the man.

Peter’s part had been played. He no longer had a place in this story. But he lingered for a moment, just watching as the family reunited and started to head inside.

It was good that he had lingered too, as just a second later, a loud siren echoed across the cityscape.

Wendy’s eyes shot up to the sky, and met Peter’s. She looked scared, so different from the tearful joy from a moment ago.

“Come come,” Edward was saying to Jane and Danny, who hadn’t noticed Peter was still there.

Wendy beckoned Peter down, to follow them, and he shared a look with Tinkerbell.

She crossed her arms and turned her head away, not liking the idea.

“Peter!” Wendy yelled, “please! It isn’t safe in the sky!”

As she yelled it, an explosion went off on the horizon.

“Please Peter Pan!” Yelled Jane. “You’ll get hit!”

Peter didn’t know what was happening, but if Jane was worried too, it wasn’t just some grown up nonsense.

He landed at the front door, and Wendy quickly led him inside. “I have to help Edward. Follow Jane.”

Peter did as asked, but kept looking back at Edward and Wendy.

The man was hopping on one foot, using the crutch to make the other step.

“What’s going on? Are those pirates? Why aren’t you fighting them?”

“They aren’t pirates. They’re Germans,” said Jane, with disdain.

“What’s a German?”

“Later,” Wendy urged as they crossed into the backyard.

Peter now saw where they were heading. A little shed, half buried in the ground. It was covered with sandbags and had a heavy door. The family ducked inside as Peter heard another explosion. Fires dotted the skyline.

Wendy grabbed his arm and pulled him into the bunker.

“Hey!”

“Sorry Peter, but it’s really not safe out there.” Wendy bolted the door shut.

Peter was mildly annoyed, but nonetheless touched that Wendy still cared about his safety.

He glanced back at the rest of the family. Jane sat at a table, looking miserable, while the dog sat at her feet, alert and looking between him and Tinkerbell. Edward sat on the bed in the corner, his stump leg stretched out in front of him. And Danny? Danny sat on the floor, staring right back at Peter, star struck.

“So,” Edward broke the silence. “This is the infamous Peter Pan. I’ve heard all about you.”

“You still tell stories about me?” He preened to Wendy.

She sat at the other side of Jane. “Of course. I said I’d always believe in you.”

“And yet,” Peter frowned, “you married a pirate.” He looked at Edward.

“Don’t talk about my daddy that way!” Danny yelled.

“Oh yeah? Well where’s his leg, then? Everyone knows that pirates have peg legs!”

Danny turned and looked at his father. “The war didn’t turn you into a pirate, did it daddy?”

Peter noticed the outburst only made Jane look more miserable, and even Wendy looked crestfallen.

Well, how else would they feel, knowing a pirate was in their family?

“I’m not a pirate,” Edward chuckled. “I’m a Viking!”

Peter, now thoroughly confused, took a seat on the floor, cross-legged, next to Danny. “A Viking? What’s a Viking?”

“You’ve never heard of a Viking? The great dragon slayers of the North?”

Peter shook his head, as did Danny, who was crawling up the mattress to sit on his father’s lap.

Jane turned around in her chair, and Wendy relaxed in her seat, looking between her family and the door to the bunker.

“I wasn’t always a viking,” began Edward. “When I was your age, and Jane’s age, I was just a snobby school boy. I had heard stories of the vikings. Brave men with metal helmets that fought dragons with their swords.”

“Like a knight!” said Danny.

“A lot like a knight, yes!” Edward smiled. “But where as knights have their root in horse mounted warriors during the Roman Empire, in the Ordo Equestris, the earliest known nordic invaders were recorded in 793—”

“Darling, you’ve devolved into a university lecture again,” Wendy reminded gently.

Danny giggled, “Daddy’s stories always get so boring in the middle.”

Edward gave his son a withering look. “Boring, am I? Well, what if I told you that the Germans have a dragon under their control? The one and only Jormungandr?”

“You told me about him before!” Said Jane. “He’s a sea serpent the size of the world!”

“That’s right.”

“The size of the world?” Peter asked, his eyes wide in horror. “That’s what you were fighting?”

Edward nodded sagely. “Along with many other dragons. You see, Vikings are a lot like knights, but the main difference is that vikings sail on ships, and they work in teams. They have a tribe of warriors that work together, a brotherhood to fight! A brotherhood…” he trailed off, his eyes becoming misty. “My brothers…”

“Edward…”

“The other men in my battalion,” he said softly. “They—”

“I know, darling. But not in front of the children.”

He nodded sternly. Then he told Peter, “when our country heard that Germany had control of dragons, they told every able-bodied man to help the fight. I was picked by the chieftain, and given a sword to fight. I then became a viking. I lost my leg, and my battle ended. They sent me home to recover.”

“Does that mean they’ll want you back, one day? You’ll go away again?” Danny asked.

“I don’t think so, kiddo.” Then he considered a moment and murmured, “Depending on how long this goes on.”

Then Peter heard it, outside, distant booms like thunder. “Is it storming?” He asked. “We don’t like flying through rain and lightning, do we Tink?” He looked to the table, where Tinkerbell was sitting between the girls.

“It’s not a storm, Peter,” Jane said bitterly.

The booms grew louder, not gradually, like a rolling storm, but like they jumped across the landscape. Then again, making the whole room shake and dirt fall from the ceiling.

“I’m scared,” Danny said, clinging to his father.

“No reason to be scared,” Edward pet his head. “Because I built this castle myself. And although it’s small, I built it strong.”

Danny nodded his head, but didn’t look reassured.

Suddenly, the little electric lamp went out and they were plunged into almost total darkness, only a faint glow from Tinkerbell visible, before a deafening boom rocked the room. Peter heard stuff clattering from where it was on the wall, and dirt falling around him.

“Those aren’t pirates!!” Danny cried. “I want pirates instead!”

Peter agreed that it was definitely not cannon fire. Unless these pirates had bigger cannons than Hook did.

“It’s like when Hangman’s Tree blew up,” Peter told Wendy. “It’s so loud!”

“Yes Peter!” Wendy cried. “It’s like that!”

It started to make sense then. Bombs? They were hearing bombs? “What’s being bombed?”

“It’s…It’s…” Wendy seemed to be fishing for the answer.

“A dragon?”

“Yes! Yes!” Said Edward. “Dragon scales are tough, so the bigger ones need more than just arrows to—”

Another boom shook the landscape, everyone, even Peter, let out a scream.

Once the rumbling calmed a little, Peter looked up for Tink. She floated over, landing in his hand. She looked scared, concerned, and skeptical.

They were lying.

Of course, Peter knew that all adults were liars, but Wendy was an exception to adult rules. She wouldn’t lie to him. And if she had decided to have a family with this Viking Edward, then he must be pretty good too.

But they were lying. There was no dragon outside. Maybe there were no dragons at all.

Wendy stood and lit a gas lantern in the corner. This was less light than the electric lamp, but at least they could see now.

Books and other supplies were on the floor now, covered in dust from the ceiling.

There was another boom, but it sounded farther this time, thankfully. Moving on from where it started.

“I think…I’m going to peek,” said Wendy.

Edward pushed against the mattress, “darling, don’t.”

“I’m just going to crack open the door. Just to look outside.”

Peter leaned back too, trying to see through the crack.

As she opened the door, all he saw was a line of bright orange, before she slammed the door shut with a sob.

“Mother?” Asked Jane.

Wendy walked across the room and sat on the mattress next to Edward. She held a shaking hand to her face, and just slowly shook her head.

“Mommy?” Asked Danny. “Is our house okay?”

She shook her head no.

“Darling,” Edward rested a hand on her shoulder.

“It’s…not all gone. But…the neighborhood. That’s…” She swallowed thickly.

Edward reached up and moved a loose curl from her temple, moving it behind her hair. “I’m sorry, love,” he whispered. Then he gathered Danny up and held him.

“Jane…” Wendy breathed, holding her arms open.

Jane stumbled over the chair and threw her arms around her mother.

“What’s gonna happen now?” Asked Danny. “Are we gonna live in here?”

Edward let out a sob, tears running down his cheeks.

Wendy answered. “No dear…you and Jane…they’re sending the children to go live in the country, where it’s safe. We’ll go to the train station in the morning.”

Peter felt a coldness drape on his shoulders. He thought he understood why they were lying now. Whatever was really happening out there had turned Jane into a grown up. There was no room for fun in this world, and now everything he and the Lost Boys had done to fix all that would be undone. Maybe Danny would turn serious, hating nonsense just like Jane had.

Not to mention Wendy and Edward. Their expressions were foreign. Peter had seen Hook cry plenty of times, begging and pleading for his life like a sniffing coward.

But the tears Edward and Wendy shed, they were truly sad. Like the grief he felt when he’d almost lost Tinkerbell.

What was that about Jane and Danny being sent away?

This simply wouldn’t do.

“Well, why don’t you all come to Neverland?” The suggestion was out of his mouth before he really thought about it.

The family looked at him startled, like they had forgotten he was there.

“Adults can’t go to Neverland,” Wendy said sadly, wiping tears from her cheek.

“Adults can, grown ups can’t. The pirates are adults. And the Indians are adults. But none of them are grown ups.”

Edward cocked his head, not really understanding.

“Besides, Neverland could use a Viking and a Mother.”

Wendy and Edward shared a look.

“Oh can we, Mother?!” Jane cheered. “I would so prefer going to Neverland over the countryside!”

“I wanna go to Neverland!” Said Danny.

“I wouldn’t mind getting out of this world,” said Edward. “It seems like everyone’s gone to Neverland except me.”

“I wanna go to Neverland!” Danny said again, more insistent.

Eventually, Wendy nodded. “Neverland isn’t as safe as the countryside, but there’s no chance that war will come to us.”

“And we can all finally be together,” said Edward, hugging Danny to his chest.

“Then it’s settled!” Said Peter, jumping to his feet. “Time’s a wastin’!”

“Wait Peter, we can’t go now!” Wendy argued.

“Why not?”

“The sky isn’t safe! The pl—the dragons are still out!”

“Oh.” He sat back down. “And they’ll probably try to eat us if we fly now, huh?”

“That’s right,” Wendy breathed.

“Here.” Edward pushed off the bed to stand shakily, and moved over to sit at the table. “Why don’t you children get some rest? Danny and Jane can share the bottom bunk, and Peter, you can sleep up top.”

Peter let out a yawn at the suggestion.

Though Edward had seen it earlier, it hadn't really registered who this boy was until he floated up to sit on the top bunk.

Edward turned to Wendy, wide-eyed. “It’s really him. The flying boy from your stories!” He spoke quietly.

“Did you ever doubt me?”

“Darling, yes. I love you, but I wondered if perhaps you had a very vivid dream.”

Wendy laughed. “I don’t blame you. It is quite fantastic.”

“So…we’re really going to Neverland?”

“You’re the one that agreed to it.”

“So I did…I mean it too. Pirates, Indians, the Lost Boys…I’d rather deal with any of that than whatever comes next in our world.”

“Agreed,” said Wendy, gravely.

“You think we’ll be able to handle it?”

“It might be some getting used to, but if the Lost Boys can handle it, I think we’ll be okay.”

Edward hummed, thinking. “So…is there really a ticking crocodile?”

Peter did earnestly try to sleep. It had been a long day, and this world made him tired. But he laid there with his eyes closed, listening to Wendy tell her husband stories of when she was in Neverland. The way she told the story was different than how she usually told them. It wasn’t nearly as exciting.

But he supposed that’s how adults had to be told stories, or else they’d think they were nonsense.

Many hours passed in the bunker. For a while, the booms persisted outside like thunder, growing more and more distant until they stopped. Then there were sirens, duel sounding ‘wee woo’s moving all over the city.

Peter wondered how anyone could sleep with all this noise. At least in Neverland, there were just crickets and bullfrogs to lull you to sleep. And he was here at night! It was probably even more loud during the day!

Eventually, activity slowed down. Wendy got up every once in a while to look outside. The orange became less vibrant.

A knock came from the door, and she answered it.

Peter threw the blanket over himself to hide.

“Evening Ma’am, we’re doing a count in the wake of the raid. Is everyone in your household here and accounted for?”

“Yes. My husband just returned this evening, and my children are all here and asleep. We even have our dog.”

“Excellent,” he wrote something down on a pad of paper. “It’s great timing that the children are leaving tomorrow. Plenty of time to rebuild before they return in a few years.”

“...yes. Quite fortunate for us.”

“The train leaves at 7. Please be on time.”

“Thank you, sir.” And she closed the door.

“Sounds like we’ll have to get going soon,” Edward stated, looking at the clock. It was a little after 5 in the morning.

“Yes. I think I’ll try to get supplies from the house. Your tools are in the shed. We will need them if we are to build a home.”

“Right, building a home…”

“Hangman’s Tree has room,” said Peter, popping up from the blanket.

Wendy startled a moment, not expecting him to be awake. Then she smiled, “oh perhaps we could stay for a little while, but Peter, Hangman’s Tree is where the Lost Boys live, and we’re adults.”

He considered this. “You got me there. Hey! It’ll be like building a fort! And I bet Hook’s ship has a bunch of wood that washed up. I bet we could use that!”

Wendy tilted her head. “Hook’s ship…washed up? Are you saying that The Jolly Roger sank?”

“Yep! I dropped an anchor on Hook and it broke all the way through the ship! That woke up the octopus and he climbed inside to try to eat him! I’m sure it won’t be long until he’s back with a new one, though.”

Edward smiled, a little bewildered. He began wondering about how he’d get a ship, and all that entailed, but didn’t say anything out loud.

Wendy put a coat and helmet on. “Well, that takes a load off my mind, but I’d still like to salvage what I can. And I’ll go tell Mary we’re leaving. She’ll tell John and Michael.”

“I will stay with the children,” said Edward. “At my current state, I would be more of a hindrance than a help.”

“It’s alright dear. We’ll get you up on your feet in no time.”

“I’ll help!” Sang Peter, leaping from the bunk. “I’m great at finding treasure!”

“I know you are,” Wendy grinned. “But before we go…” She placed a helmet on his head. “I apologize, but you must wear this.”

He pushed it back. “Why?”

“Do you remember when Hangman’s Tree blew up? Do you remember how much dirt and stick fell on you?”

He considered it. “Yeah?”

“It’s a similar situation, but with bricks and cement. You don’t want to have that fall on your head, right?”

“Oh…guess not.”

“And this too,” she held a brown trench coat out, open to help him put it on. Not that he needed help, but it was a motherly instinct.

“What’s this one for?”

“…to make you less visible.”

He frowned, but put his arms in the sleeves. “Should Tink stay here then?”

“Perhaps. What do you think, Tinkerbell? Would you keep Edward company?” Wendy asked the pixie.

The fairy flew over to the table, and gave Edward a once over.

He gave her a friendly smile.

Thankfully, Tinkerbell was a lot more friendly and kind to men. No reason to be jealous. And now that Wendy was an adult and married to another adult, she wasn’t worried about Peter being alone with her. She looked to Peter and gave an affirmative nod.

He gave her a thumbs up as Wendy opened the door.

Though Peter Pan didn’t live in London, he had been there many times. The way to the Darling house was familiar, and he knew the neighboring houses.

But this landscape was a mystery. It was gray and black, with bits of red brick thrown here and there. The sky was black. Not black like a storm, but pitch black like squid ink. The air smelled like burnt hair and farts.

The Darling house stood, despite the carnage around it. The windows were blown out, and the wall next to the house next door had collapsed, taking part of those rooms with it.

“What…happened?”

“Come on,” Wendy beckoned him to follow instead of answering.

There was a shed attached to the side of the house, and she unlocked the padlock on the double doors. Then opened it to reveal an untouched trove of inherited bits and bobbles.

In the middle of it all was a rowboat with a canvas over it.

Peter lifted the canvas to look at it. “Oh neat! A boat! Does it float?”

Wendy glanced over to him from where she was looking through gardening supplies. “I believe so. It’s Michael’s old fishing boat he made in school.”

“We can put everything you want to take in it and Tink can sprinkle it with dust like the Jolly Roger!”

Wendy gave him a big smile. “That’s a wonderful plan, Peter!”

Together, they dragged the boat out of the shed and onto the gravel drive, then emptied it of all the useless stuff stored in it.

Wendy, being an adult and practical, placed what she thought was necessary in it. Fishing poles, shovels, camping supplies, seeds for the garden, and a basic tool kit.

Peter, being used to working with what he had, grabbed things that piqued his interest. As he placed Michael’s woodworking toolkit in, Wendy gave him a look.

“Surely we don’t need all those, right? They’re for fine tuning wood projects, like this.” She showed him a wooden duck that was carved.

“But…I want them.” Peter explained. “I want to make something like that.” He also put the duck in the boat.

“Oh, fair enough. I suppose it won’t take up much room.”

Satisfied, Peter went back to hunting for useful items.

After a while, Wendy decided to go in the house. She grabbed whatever kitchenware made of metal she would find. Bowls, pots, silverware, and even a silver tea set. Then she wrapped up several plates and cups in towels to keep them safe. “Oh I just know these are going to get broken…”

“Plates? You’re not going to need those!”

“Oh, I remember the Lost Boys eating with their hands, but mothers and vikings prefer to eat off plates.”

Peter seemed skeptical, but ended up helping her carry her dishware outside.

After gathering all food items that she had been rationing, it was time to move onto the rest of the house.

Wendy salvaged what she could, but this portion of the house was caved in. She dug around to find clothes, bedding, shoes, anything and everything she thought her children would need. Meanwhile, Peter became busy looking for more treasure. He found a globe, a painting, a clock, and the inherited family jewelry box. In Daniel’s room, the old nursery, he collected toys.

“Oh dear,” Wendy wondered. “What about NanaTwo?”

“What’s a NanaTwo? Some kind of fruit?”

“No, our dog. Can she come?”

Peter scratched his head, confused. “Oh! The animal in the shed! That’s a dog? Huh. I never knew that. You had one when you were young, right?”

“Yes. She was very protective of us and took care of us. Likewise, NanaTwo looks after Jane and Danny.”

“So…dogs are like mothers?”

Wendy chuckled as she placed a few books in the galvanized wash tub she was packing. “Not quite. Nana and NanaTwo were well trained to care for children. Dogs can do all sorts of things. Some dogs are just companions, some hunt, and right now, they have dogs that sniff out bombs!”

“Any dogs that can play tag?”

“Sure! NanaTwo can!”

“Then she can come!”

“The kids will be happy to hear that. They love her. I bet the Lost Boys will like her too.”

Distantly, Big Ben struck 6 o’clock.

“My, we’ve been at this for an hour? And I still have to go tell Mary that we’re evacuating.”

“Who’s Mary?”

“Mary is John’s wife. She lives just a few blocks away.”

“I see, so can I say hi to John too?”

Wendy pursed her lips. “I’m afraid not. John is…well, he and Michael are off with the Vikings.”

“Oh…don’t you wanna go get them? They can come too.”

Wendy sighed. “I would very much like to take them with us…but I don’t know where they are.”

“Hm.” Peter crossed his arms. “Hey! We can come back for them later! London’s just a flight away!”

She gave him a grateful smile. “Thank you Peter.”

He grinned. Then he placed the toys he found in her tub and picked it up. “Don’t worry, Wendy. I’ll make sure everyone is having fun all the time. And no one’s gonna go hungry or get sick.” As he turned to go downstairs, he added. “Maybe they’ll get hurt, but that’s part of fun!”

Wendy chuckled to herself before going to the bathroom and gathering the large collection of medical supplies one accumulates with children.

Outside, Wendy and Peter returned to the boat to find Edward leaning on a crutch while securing rope to the edges and the canvas back to the top. Tinkerbell was hard at work trying to help.

Edward had two guns on his back, a hunting shotgun and his rifle from the war, as well has his helmet.

“Good thinking on this,” he stated. “But won’t it be too heavy to fly with?”

“Not with pixie dust it won’t!” Peter exclaimed. “If Tink can make the Jolly Roger fly, she can make this little row boat soar!”

“What of the children?” Wendy asked.

“Still asleep. Nana is watching over them.” He hobbled over and held out his free arm to take the wash basin of supplies from her. “Are we almost ready?”

“Just about. I’m going to go tell Mary.”

Edward looked down the rubble covered, smoke-filled street. “Alright…just be careful.”

“I shall be.”

“I’ll go!” Peter assured. “I’ll keep her safe!”

Edward gave a stern nod. “See that you do.”

“Come along, Peter,” she held out her hand.

Though Peter was certainly old enough to walk without holding a mother’s hand, something about this landscape made him instinctively take hold.

They walked into the cobblestone streets, walking quickly and with purpose. Peter looked around, seeing other people picking through the rubble for salvageable goods.

“Wendy, what’s really happening?”

Wendy didn’t answer immediately. “Are you sure you want to know? It might make you grow up.”

“Well…just don’t tell me the boring parts.”

She smiled slightly. “We’re in a War.”

“Oh! We play war with the Indians all the time…” he paused to consider. “But this isn’t a game, is it?”

She shook her head. “No. A man in charge of the country across the sea from us is trying to take over England. They’re using bombs to try to get us to surrender.”

“What happens if you surrender? Is it that bad?”

“Imagine…Captain Hook has bested you—“

“Not possible.”

“Of course, but pretend that you had no choice but to surrender to him.”

“Hmmm okay. I’ll pretend.”

“Okay. Now, he has taken you and the Lost Boys into his crew, and he’s the boss now. He gets to decide everything. How much food you eat, when you go to bed, even what you can say.”

“Sounds awful! I think I’d rather die!”

“Well, that��s what this other country, Germany, is trying to do. And not just to England, but all of Europe.”

“So…the Vikings?”

“They’re soldiers. Imagine Captain Hook declared war on the Lost Boys—“

“Like every day?”

“Yes, but…imagine one of the Lost Boys didn’t want to fight. Maybe he wasn’t feeling well, or he was bored of playing with Hook. What would you do?”

“Hmm, tease him. The other boys would pick on ‘im too. Then we’d probably get bored and leave him alone to go play.”

“But here in this war, if you’re asked to go to war, you’re expected to go. Anyone that doesn’t could go to prison. And Churchill has called every able bodied man to fight.”

Peter frowned. “Well, at least fighting is fun!”

“Not this kind of fighting. It’s dangerous.”

“It’s not? No sword fighting?”

“No sword fighting.”

“Taking prisoners?”

“Yes, but no ‘turn ‘em loose’. Most prisoners…they don’t go home.”

Peter kinked his mouth to the side, still appearing to not understand.

“It may start exciting and fun, but after a while, when you get hungry and tired and you have to keep going, it loses all its appeal. It’s not fun anymore. It’s scary.”

Peter looked around, the smouldering ruins of homes around him painting a very vivid picture. Once again, he was brought back to the time that Hook had planted a bomb in Hangman’s Tree. They’d lost everything, and had to rebuild. More than that, he thought he’d lost Tinkerbell.

Peter was rather fearless. Neverland was his home, and its threats held no teeth for him.

But digging through the rubble and ashes for Tink was the most afraid he’d been in his life, and he never wanted to do it again.

Living in fear. That’s what Wendy and her family were dealing with.

“Fear makes you grow up, huh?” He finally asked.

“Yes. Very quickly.”

“Then we need to get you guys out of here. You and Edward are a lost cause, but Jane and Danny can still be saved.”

Wendy chuckled. “Well Peter, Edward and I may be grown ups, but I don’t know if we’re truly lost yet. But I agree we need to get out of here.”

She led him to a house that was still intact. It was just a few blocks away from the Darling house, but the block was untouched. The windows were boarded up, but everything was still in one piece. Even the gardens were unharmed.

Wendy approached the door and knocked.

A moment later, a blonde woman answered, a concerned look on her face. “Wendy? What are you doing here so early? Is everything okay?” She looked at Peter. “Who is this?”

Wendy smiled gently. “I’m sorry if I disturbed you. Things are…not good, but they will be. This is a dear old friend of John, Michael, and I; Peter Pan.”

Mary frowned, her eyebrows drawing close and wrinkling. “Peter Pan? The Peter Pan?”

He took off his helmet, revealing his pointy ears. “In the flesh, my lady!”

Her face morphed to stark shock. “He’s real? All this time…”

Wendy held up a hand. “I know. I know…Edward returned this evening.”

“He did? They aren’t due to return for a few months still, if that.”

“Yes well, he was released early…” She trailed off.

“He lost his leg,” Peter clarified, bluntly.

“Oh! Oh Wendy…”

Wendy’s voice was thick with grief, but she continued to bravely smile. “We’ll be alright. But…well, that last air raid was the last straw. Our home is…not completely destroyed but not liveable.”

Mary gasped and covered her mouth.

“So we’re leaving. They’re sending the children to the countryside in the morning, and we’d rather stay together. So…we’re leaving.”

“To where?”

“Neverland, of course!” Peter declared.

Mary frowned again. “Are you…sure? Wendy, I know the stories are really important to your family, but…they’re just stories. Childish nonsense.”

Wendy hung her head. “I had hoped that seeing him in person would have convinced you, but I can’t make you believe.”

Mary shook her head. “Endangering your family for a fairytale…”

Wendy huffed. “It isn’t! Neverland is real!”

“Go home Wendy, and stay there.” With a cold look on her face, Mary partially closed the door and hurried inside.

Wendy scoffed. “We need to go.” She tugged Peter’s hand and pulled him along.

“What’s going on?”

“I think she’s going to call the police. She thinks I’ve gone mad.”

“Why would she think that?”

“Some adults just can’t believe things they don’t understand. Maybe when John comes home, he can convince her…but she won’t listen to me.”

They ran back to the Darling house. Edward and Tinkerbell were putting the finishing touches on the boat, while Jane and Danny, now dressed, helped.

“All set?” Edward asked.

Wendy sighed. “I suppose. She didn’t believe me, and I think she’s calling the police.”

Edward shook his head. “It’s unfortunate, but understandable.” He glanced at the sky. “It’s starting to get light. We should go.”

“Absolutely. Peter? Tinkerbell?”

Peter tossed the coat and helmet into the boat with a flourish. Then he beckoned Tink to fly around and cover the family in fairy dust. “Flying is easy, right Jane?”

She stuck her tongue out at him.

He laughed. “All it takes is faith, trust, and pixie dust! Think of a wonderful thought, and you’ll start to–”

Before he even finished, Edward, of all people, was already up in the air! “Ha! Look at that! I-I’m floating!”

Danny floated up a second after. “Look at daddy! He’s laughing!”

The joy was contagious as they all raised up in the air, even NanaTwo. With an excited whoop, Edward swooped down and took hold of the rope on the boat. “Everyone grab a corner! Neverland awaits!”

The rowboat raised up like it weighed nothing, and the Darling family and Peter escaped the war torn landscape into the early dawn.

“Where to?”

Peter pointed. “The second star to the right, and straight on until morning.”

“Lead on!”

The dark grays and stench of London slowly melted away into vibrant blues and greens, and fresh, clean air.

“It’s as beautiful as it’s been in my dreams,” Wendy sighed. “It’s great to be back.”

“Let’s set down by Hangman’s Tree.” Peter pointed. “Just for now. I got an idea on how to find a place for you to build a fort.”

They flew in, looking over the island and the landscape.

Jane pointed to a black ship in the bay. “That didn’t take long,” she laughed.

“Of course not. It’s Hook! I bet he stole it!”

Before they even landed, The Lost Boys were clamoring out of the treefort to investigate. At first, they were excited, but when they caught sight of two adults, they drew back, warily.

Slightly stepped up, his chest puffed out. “What’s the big deal, Pan? You’ve been gone for weeks! And now you’ve got adults with you?! What gives?!”

“Yeah, what gives?!” Parroted Cubby.

“Is that a pirate?!” Nibs pointed at Edward.

“Men! These are no ordinary adults! You know they’d never make it here!”

The boys turned and nodded to each other, agreeing that that was true.

Peter gestured to Edward first. “This is Neverland’s first Viking! A fierce warrior, a dragon slayer!”

“Oooh,” the Lost Boys sang in aw.

“And he’s married…to Wendy,” he gestured with a smile.

“Hello everyone,” she greeted warmly.

“Wendy? That’s Wendy?” Nibs sneered. “She got old.”

“That’s right,” Wendy chuckled. “I did.”

“I thought Jane was leaving for good?” Slightly scratched his head.

“I was,” Jane grabbed Danny and held him up. “Because he needed me. This is my little brother, Danny! He wants to be a Lost Boy too!”

“Hi!” Chirped Danny.

The Boys all looked at Peter for directions.

“Men, we’ve rescued these Londoner’s from a world where growing up is inevitable. Next, we need to scout out a place where they can build a house. Whoever finds the best place to build a fort wins!”

At the announcement of a game, the Boys leapt for joy and immediately scattered.

“They sure are motivated,” Edward laughed.

Peter nudged him with his elbow. “Here’s a tip. If you want the Boys to do something for you, you just have to turn it into a game.”

“I’ll keep that in mind, thanks Peter.” He chuckled.

“I wanna go look too!” Danny protested. “I wanna find a house!”

Jane took his hand. “We’ll go together, Danny! I know my way around! We’ll find the best spot!”

“Yay!”

Wendy called after as they ran into the jungle. “Make sure you stick together!”

“Jane’s been all over Neverland, she knows it just as well as the other Lost Boys,” Peter waved her off.

“Time is different here, isn’t it?” Edward mused. “They said you were gone for weeks, but you were only in London overnight.”

Peter scratched his head. “Yeah, I guess. I never really thought about it.” He shrugged. “But what does time mean when you don’t have to grow up?” He floated up and crossed his hands behind his head. “Every day is a new game. Every day is a new chance to win. We don’t have to worry about all that…wasting time stuff. Just enjoy it!”

Edward rubbed his truncated leg. “So…if time doesn’t progress, and we don’t age…will my wound ever heal?”

Peter scoffed. “That’s the problem with all you adults. You think too much! Your leg will heal like any other wound. I get hurt all the time!” He waved his hand about.

“I suppose I’ll just have to trust you.” Edward still floated a few inches off the ground, as his crutch was resting atop the canvas of the boat. “Miss Tinkerbell, your pixie dust will be a real boon in the coming days until I can get a fake leg. I owe you a great bit of gratitude.”

Tinkerbell twirled a little from the praise.

Peter perked up. “I can get you a fake leg! I know exactly which pirate to take from!”

“Peter…” Wendy warned, but it was no use. He was already rocketing away towards the bay. Wendy sighed. “Oh well, never a dull moment when children are around.”

Peter flew low over the water, keeping out of sight of the crow’s nest watch. This ship was bigger than the Jolly Roger. It was mostly black, with a gold band around the middle. He appraised the amount of canon windows along the side.

Twice as many. Did Hook have enough men to man them? Did he get more?

The back of the boat had a name on it, showing that Hook had ‘The Interceptor’ under his control.

He peeked over the edge, seeing some men mopping, others tying rope, but his eyes were on peg-leg Pablo. A heavy set man with an almost identical missing leg to Edward. Pablo was reclined in a hammock, fast asleep with a bottle of rum in hand.

It would be relatively easy to nab, but…

Why not have a little fun?

Peter spied a white sheet hanging out a window, likely drying. He took off his hat and held it out like a horn. He crowed like a rooster, throwing the sound to the other side of the ship.

Then he watched in joy as everyone on board started clambering around.

“Quiet you fools!” Hook shouted from the upper deck. “Pan’s gone! It’s just a bird!”

“Hoooook…” he called in a ghostly voice. “Where did I go Hook? It’s so cold…”

“N-no…” Captain Hook whimpered, shaking. “No, it can’t be!”

“Hook…I found you…I’m in need of a friend…I might just stay here with you…forever!”

“No! No no leave me alone! I will not be haunted by a spirit!”

Peter took the sheet and draped it over himself to look like a ghost. Then he flew into the scene. “I’m here to stay!”

He had to fight very hard not to burst into laughter as the grown pirates screamed and cried in terror. How gullible!

He easily snatched the peg leg from Pablo’s foot and flew away, satisfied with the chaos he left in his wake.

When he returned to Wendy and Edward, the mood changed drastically.

Edward was sitting on a log, while Wendy had his bad leg stretch out over her lap. She was redressing his wounds.

And Peter could see them in all their glory.

He came closer, setting the peg leg on the ground nearby.

“Oh Peter, I didn’t know you’d be back so soon,” Wendy fretted.

He sat cross-legged on the grass, transfixed by the scars. “What happened? And don’t tell me it was eaten by a dragon. I won’t believe you.”

Edward hissed as Wendy dabbed a wet washcloth over the stitches. “Are you sure you want to know? It might make you grow up.”

Peter smiled as he remembered Wendy had said something like that earlier. Edward must be a lot like her. She wouldn’t marry a grown-up adult.

“Just don’t tell me the boring parts,” Peter grinned.

Wendy began to wrap the leg with bandages while Edward explained. “Well, it was really very sudden. We were walking in the woods when an artillery round exploded above. I didn’t even notice I was hit until I realized I wasn’t able to put weight on this leg. Then I looked down and had a hole the size of my fist in my calf.”

Peter felt cold as the image popped into his head. He’d gotten hurt plenty of times, and he’d wounded plenty others.

Heck, he’d been the one that cut off Hook’s hand.

But the idea that someone could be walking in the woods and then suddenly find a giant hole in their leg…

No warning. No chance to fly away. It was almost…scary.

Peter Pan didn’t get scared.

Everyone else that he fought and injured deserved it. They were sloppy, they weren’t good enough, they picked a fight with him.

But Edward hadn’t done anything to deserve this. It could have happened to anyone.

It could happen to him.

Peter shook his head to rid himself of the thought. What was he thinking? Sure, it could happen to anyone, but not him. He was lucky.

“That’s quite the story! You weren’t kidding. War does make you grow up! It’s a good thing we got you out of there!” He chirped.

“Yeah,” Edward echoed, though not as enthused.

“Problem?”

“No! No, it’s fine. I just…have concerns.”

“About what?” He reclined in the air. “What could you possibly worry about?”

Edward sighed. “My leg, Peter. I don’t know how to explain this, but I’m worried about it healing safely. What if I need medicine?”

“Then I’ll just take you back to London. No problem. So lighten up, will you?”

“He will, in time,” Wendy intervened. “You’ve done a great deal for him, for us, by bringing us here. Thank you, Peter.”

“Don’t worry ‘bout it!”

—

It was Tootles that picked the best location. He excitedly grabbed Wendy’s hand and pulled her along a well worn path in the woods. It led them right to a cave, which was throwing distance to a beach. The cave wasn’t too big, but had a nice wide main room, and several off-shoot rooms, one of which had a tiny waterfall.

“Yeah! This can be the living room!” Said Danny.

“And this is the kitchen!” Said Jane, in the waterfall room.

“And these are bedrooms!” Said Slightly and Cubby.

“Well,” asked Peter. “What do you guys think? Which place do you like the best?”

“The cave provides the most protection. It’ll trap heat in the cold season. We can build a door and use wood we find to build a floor.” Edward mused. “It’s close enough to the ocean to go fishing, and it’s not too far from Hangman’s Tree.” He nodded. “I think this cave is the best option. What do you think, Sweetheart?”

“I agree!” Said Wendy. “I can picture this looking like a home! Thank you, Tootles.”

The little boy grinned broadly at her.

“Alright, it’s decided! Tootles is the winner!”

“Hooray for Tootles!” The Lost Boys cheered.

“There’s quite a bit more work to be done, isn’t there?” Jane asked. “A cave is fine to protect you from the rain, but we’ll freeze if we sleep on the ground!”

“My my,” Edward grinned. “A little survivalist, are we?”

“She read every book on the topic we could get our hands on.”

“You told me to take care of everyone, so I wanted to prepare for every scenario!” She said proudly, resting her hands on her hips.

Edward petted her hair fondly. “And you’ve done well, my brave soldier.” He too put his hands on his hips. “Well, we have a tent in the boat. We can set that up for now. But we’ll need to work on making our home more permanent, don’t you think? Lost Boys!”

The boys, who had started exploring the cave in earnest, all startled and clambered to attention in the main room.

Peter was impressed.

“To build the perfect fort, first you need a location.” He gestured to the cave at large. “Then what?”

Peter knew the answer, but stayed quiet, waiting to see if anyone else knew.

After a few seconds, the twins asked in unison, “stuff to build with?”

“That’s right! Now, while sticks and logs can be useful, we were thinking about salvaging Captain Hook’s ship that sank.”

“Oh!” Said Slightly. “That wreck’s been coming up on the beach by the bay! We go down every day to pick through it! There’s a ton of wood!”

“Isn’t it all wet though?” Asked Cubby. “That’s not gonna help…”

“We’ll leave it all out in the sun to dry,” said Edward. “What do you think, Peter?”

“Sounds good to me! Let’s go see who can find the biggest pieces! On your mark…” the boys and Jane got into position.

“Get set…go!”

And they all ran off, falling behind quickly as Peter flew towards the beach. He was going to find the biggest piece first, but also make sure no pirates were on the beach either.

When he arrived, he could see what the boys meant. The beach was covered in all sorts of debris. The biggest pieces weren’t actually able to be lifted. Tinkerbell would have to help.

“No fair, Pan!” Slightly whined. “We can’t run as fast as you can fly!”

“Then get faster!” He laughed. “Hey, where’s Wendy and Edward?”

“They stayed behind to set up a tent,” said Jane. “My dad can’t really race right now.”

Peter shrugged. They were missing out!

—

The Darlings were settling in nicely to Neverland. Even when Peter was off doing something else, Tinkerbell visited for a few moments to sprinkle fairy dust on Edward. It kept him mobile and able to build their home.

Jane split her time with her parents and the Lost Boys. Wendy and Edward encouraged her to spend time having fun, but Jane just explained she missed her father and didn’t mind helping.

The cave was slowly becoming a home. There was a full wooden floor now, and the tent had been repurposed into the ceiling. The bow of the ship had mostly been in one piece. Edward took it down to just the curved shell and placed it on the front of the cave, upside down, making their home resemble a Viking Longhouse.

They’d found Captain Hook’s door, the one with a gold skull and crossbones on it. Edward hung it where the bow and cave met.

Peter had said that he didn’t like the door. It made it look like pirates lived there. In response, Edward painted a Viking helmet on the skull, and added Nordic knotwork around the edges.

“Well now it’s obvious a Viking lives here! Who wouldn’t understand that?” Peter stated, approving of the changes.

NanaTwo was having a hard time adjusting. As a nanny for Jane and Danny, she often tried to intervene when the Lost Boys got into precarious situations. But there were just too many boys, and not enough Nanas. By midday, she’d give up and slink back to Wendy and Edward to rest.

—

One day, not long after they arrived, there came a knock at the door.

Edward answered, surprised that anyone would knock. The Boys certainly just barged in.

But it wasn’t the Boys, it was three Natives, a man, woman, and girl. The man was huge, with a glorious feathered headdress.

“Oh, hello,” Edward greeted.

“How,” said the man, hand raised.

Wendy came over quickly. “Oh! Chief Big Panther! It’s been a long time.”

He narrowed his eyes at her, his face pulled into a permanent scowl. “So what Peter Pan says is true, the girl Wendy has returned as a grown up. She brings her husband with her.”

“That’s right, this is Edward.”

“Peter said you are a Viking, but you look like nothing more than a man.”

“Um…” Edward scratched his head. “I haven’t been a Viking very long.”

He held up a hand to stop him. “You do not need to explain, as long as you are not a pirate, I will greet you as a neighbor.”

“No, I’m definitely not a pirate,” Edward urged. “Though Peter assumed I was at first, because of my leg.”

“And it was wise you claimed otherwise,” the chief nodded. “We have brought gifts, as a peace offering.” He gestured to the baskets his wife and daughter held.

“Why, thank you ever so much! Would you come in?”

The family brought fur pelts of several different colors and sizes. They also brought corn, squash, beans, and tobacco. Wendy made tea over the little fire pit as they sat cross-legged on the floor.

The chief generously shared information on the landscape. Where the predators could be found, and where the hunting was best. His wife told of the fruit of the island, what was safe to eat, and what was poisonous.

Wendy wrote all of it down, grateful for the straightforward answers. The Lost Boys had survived for however long they’d been here, but being young boys, they didn’t think of these things.

As they spoke, the front door opened and Tootles entered, tears running down his ruddy cheeks.

“Oh dear,” Wendy tutted. “What ever is the matter?”

The little boy held up his finger, which had a splitter in it.

“Well, that’s no good. We’ll just have to fix it!” She got up and went to her first aid kit.

Edward tsked. “I don’t know, chap, we might have to cut it off.”

Tootles looked at him, wide-eyed.

“Yes, a splinter can be quite serious, you know. But you’ll be brave, right?”

He nodded solemnly, preparing for the worst.

Wendy simply returned with a pair of tweezers and a bandaid. She turned his hand to see what she was doing, then gently plucked the splinter out without any pain. Then she wrapped the bandage on it and gave it a little kiss. “There you are, sweetheart! All better!”

Tootles gave her a quick hug before skipping back out to play.

The chief’s wife gave a speculative hum. “Yes, you will be most welcomed in Neverland. I’ve always believed the Lost Boys needed a mother.”

“It’s an honor,” Wendy smiled fondly.

—-

Everything was coming along well. Perhaps for the average Londoner, it was hard work, but for Edward, a soldier who’d been at the frontlines not too long ago, it was a vacation.

He was building a bed today. At first, he and Wendy had slept on the canvas from the boat and sleeping bags. Then, they added the furs that the Chief had brought.

Occasionally, Edward thought about returning to London to bring back bedding to make things more comfortable for his wonderful wife, but the difference in time worried him. Peter was gone overnight, and yet in Neverland, it was weeks. He didn’t want to leave Wendy alone for that long.

“Daddy!” Jane called, running over. “Are you busy?”

“I’m never too busy for you, my cupcake. What is on your mind?”

“We were going to play a game and they wanted to ask if you would join. Would you please?”

Edward stood up on his peg leg. He had finally healed enough to put weight on it, but only just. “Well, I would like to. Is it a running game?”

“Nope! That’s why they thought you could join! Peter’s hidden Hook’s treasure on the island, and we’re to find it!”

“Oh a treasure hunt is it? Well, I’d certainly enjoy that! Shall we look together?”

“If we do, we will surely win!”

Edward had no such notions. He was slow, and new to the island. The Lost Boys knew all the nooks and crannies where treasure could be hidden. But the walk with Jane was more important.

Somehow though, they were the ones to find it! Jane had taken Edward to the cove where it had been hidden last time, only to find it still there.

“Ugh! He didn’t even move it!”

“Clever,” said Edward. “He probably thought we wouldn’t look where it’s already been!”

“It’s not clever, it’s lazy!”

“No one else found it though, did they?”

Jane couldn’t argue with that and just giggled. She ran and scrambled up the rock and called out, “we found it! We found the treasure! We win!”

Edward just looked over the treasure in awe. Not even the queen had this much gold and jewels. And the Boys were playing with them all like toys.

Well, what use was gold and jewels in Neverland?

As Peter and the rest of the Lost Boys came running to celebrate, Edward noticed a sword sticking out of the sand by the chest. It was made of steel, but inlaid with jewels in the pommel. Strangely, it was in the style of a Viking greatsword, rather than a rapier as he would have expected. But the treasure seemed to be made up of all sorts of valuable items from all over the world. It’d taken years to collect. He took hold of the sword and pulled, finding it stuck hard into the ground.

“Hey guys, get a load of this! Edward’s gonna try to free the sword from the rock!”

“If I do, does that make me King of Neverland?”

“What?” Peter scoffed. “Neverland doesn’t have a King! If it did, it wouldn’t be you!”

“I don’t know,” said Cubby, “Didn’t you say he was a vi-king? What’s the difference?”

“The difference is that a King makes lots of dumb rules and tells us how we can and can’t play! No King of Neverland!”

“I apologize, Peter,” Edward smirked. “I thought you knew the story of King Arthur.”

Immediately, the Boys were intrigued. “Who’s King Arthur?”

“Well, long ago, before Big Ben was even built, the land you know as London was ruled by a long line of corrupt and evil kings. God sent a sign, a sword stuck in a stone, as a test for the next worthy ruler. Many centuries went by, and many strong men tried to pull the sword, but none prevailed…until one day, a young lad named Arthur pulled the sword, Excalibur, from its resting place. He was then crowned King of England.”

“What about that sword?” Peter pointed to the one Edward still had a hand on.

“I don’t think it’s enchanted or blessed by God, rather, it’s likely just stuck.”

“Then get it out!”

“Yeah! Come on, Eddie!” Slightly shouted.

Edward frowned at him, not a fan of being called ‘Eddie’ by a kid, but he supposed the boys wouldn’t take well to chastisement. Instead, he just took hold of the sword and pulled. It shifted slightly, giving him hope. He yanked hard, and with a scraping noise, the blade rose from the rock.

It was dented and dull, definitely needing a sharpening, but it was still lethal. And heavy.

The boys cheered and slapped his back.

Jane hugged him. “You did it, daddy! You have your very own sword, like a proper viking!”

“Can I hold it?” Peter asked.

Edward turned it handle out, gently holding the blade. As soon as Peter had it, he let go and Peter faltered. “It weighs a ton! Who could fight with this?!”

“Big brutes,” said Edward. “It’s not meant for the swashbuckling fights you and Hook have. It would be far too slow.”

Peter contemplated this before handing the sword back over, using the same manner that Edward had. “Ah, you’d need a big sword like this to kill a dragon right? They’ve got tough hides.”

“Exactly.”

“Men,” Peter announced, “that’s a dragon-killing sword, not a pirate-fighting sword.”

The Lost Boys all nodded like that made perfect sense.

Edward looked through and around the chest for a sheath while the boys and Jane excitedly went through the treasure to play with. He didn’t see one. Perhaps the natives would trade him some leather?

It was then that sinister laughter echoed through the cave. Two dozen pirates laughing and hooting and hollering swarmed the cove and surrounded them. The Boys and Jane all ran to Edward, gathering in a group and standing back to back, armed with slingshots and rocks.

Captain Hook stepped out from the shadows, a smug grin on his face. “We heard someone found the treasure! Really Pan, you couldn’t find a new hiding spot?”

Peter just glared at him, not saying a word.

“And here, I was so thrilled that you were gone. I thought you’d gone off and died somewhere. I was disappointed that I hadn’t been the one to do it…yet here you are. Alive and well, and still stealing from me!”

“As if everything you own wasn’t stolen from someone else first,” Peter snipped. “A pirate never buys or trades, only takes.”

“Ah, but doesn’t that mean that you, Peter Pan, are actually a pirate?”

“Stealing from a stealer doesn’t count!” He yelled.

“Don’t let him get to you,” Edward advised. “He’s trying to make you mad.”

“Well,” Hook drawled. “The rumor is true. There’s a Viking in Neverland! But why on earth would you align yourself with these children? You have much more in common with us,” he gestured around to his crew.

“Because I’m a father first before a Viking.” He brandished the dull sword, taking note of the men surrounding them that all held scimitars.

One handed, light weapons that would cut him to ribbons before he could do anything with that broadsword.

He wasn’t completely defenseless though.

“Ah, you’re Wendy’s husband then? Father of this…charming creature?” He pointed at Jane.

“Careful what you say, Hook. You don’t know who you’re messing with.”

Hook chuckled with a fond roll of his eyes. “Oh, of course! A warrior! A fighter! Very powerful, very threatening. But you forget the sheer fact that we outnumber you.”

The pirates all chuckled, shuffling in closer.

Hook withdrew his pistol, pointing it at the group. “Now, I’ll tell you how this works. I’m nothing if not a gentleman, so I’ll give you a sporting chance.”

While he talked, Edward made a decision and slowly passed the sword off to Jane. She trembled with it, but bravely kept the tip up.

Hook continued, “you hand over Peter and the Lost Boys, and I will allow you and your daughter to go free. If not,” he slowly pulled back the hammer. “I’ll just pull the trigger now.”

“You codfish!” Peter yelled. “That’s dirty, and you know it!”

“Quiet boy, let the men negotiate!”

With a loud bang, Hook’s pistol flung out of his hand and landed in a shallow pool about a foot away. Blood was already pooling from his palm.

Edward had taken the momentary distraction from Peter to reach his army issued revolver in his belt. He hadn’t had to use it since coming to Neverland, opting to use the rifles for hunting game. But he made sure to always have it on him and loaded, for just such an emergency.

Hook cradled his bleeding hand to his stomach. “Augh! I only have one hand left!”

“And I’ll shoot it again if you don’t leave this second!”

“You’d have to reload first,” Hook smirked.

But Edward just let out a shot towards the ocean. “It’s not a single shot. You don’t know how many rounds I have.” He pointed back towards Hook. “Threaten my children one more time, I dare you.”

Hook pouted, a feigned plea. “Now good sir, there’s no need for such violence. It’s all just a game, you know. The Boys and us, we play these little games. It’s just good fun. Sporty even.”

Edward sneered at him. “You take me for a fool, Hook? I know of your silver tongue. I’m not a stranger to your crooked deals.” He took a step closer, resting a hand on Jane’s shoulder. “I left London to escape the horrors of war. I fought day and night for two years for freedom. I watched every man under my command die in agony. I watched my leg get torn in half from an artillery round and almost bled out and died alone in the snow. The only thing that kept me alive was the thought of my family, of my wife and children. I fought to come home and take them away from all that. And I’ll be damned if I let some pathetic codfish of a pirate be the one to take me out!”

The cove was dead silent. The Lost Boys and the Pirates both waiting to see what would happen.

Hook looked genuinely nervous, as he came to grips with the situation. Yes, they were outnumbered, but he’d absolutely be shot if he called an attack. “Rest assured, Mister Viking, I have no qualms with you or your family. Wendy was a very polite and lovely girl, I’m sure she’s become a lovely lady!”

The pirates all murmured in agreement.

“Please, take your children, be my guest, we only want Peter.”

Edward fired another shot, knocking Hook’s hat off.

Hook ducked, patting his head for injuries.

“That’s Brigadier Viking to you,” he snarled. “And these children are all mine. I’m their father. As long as I’m around, I will protect them.”

“He’s a Brigadier?” One of the pirates said just loud enough.

“Is that higher or lower than a captain?” Someone else asked.

“I think it’s higher. Jack’d know, right mate? You used to be a soldier.”

“Yeah, Brigadier General is a lot higher rank than a Captain. ‘Bout four.”

“Shut up!” Hook scolded, still shaken.

Finally, Hook fished a handkerchief out of his coat and pressed it to his hand. “Very well, you’ve made your point quite clear.” He tried in vain to hide the grimace as he moved his hand. “One day, you won’t be there, and I will have my revenge on Peter Pan, mark my words. But today, we take our leave.”

Another pirate spoke up, “but—“

“We’re leaving!” Hook screamed, his voice deafening in the cave. “Move out!”

Usually after a defeat of Hook, there would be a lot of cheering and jeering at the captain. But this time, things were a lot more somber.

It wasn’t until the pirates were completely gone that Edward put his gun away.

“Daddy!” Jane cried, throwing her arms around his waist. “That was amazing! You were so brave!”

“You really mean it?” Asked Slightly. “You’re gonna be our father?”

“Wendy is your mother, right?” He asked, his voice drained and subdued.

“Yeah! She’s great at telling stories!”

“And healing boo-boos!” Said Cubby.

“What do father’s do?” Peter asked with a heavy frown. “All Wendy’s father did was demand that she grow up and stop telling stories. Are you going to do that?”

The Boys recoiled in horror.

“No,” Edward cleared his throat. “No, father’s are teachers and guides. I’ll teach you skills and history—“

“Father was a history teacher before the war,” said Jane. “He likes stories too.”

“His are boring,” said Daniel. “Too many names and dates.”

Edward cracked a smile before lifting Daniel onto his shoulders with a grunt. “Oh but Danny-boy, that’s what’s so interesting about my stories! They actually happened.”

“Mother’s stories are true too,” Jane frowned.

“R-right. Yes, of course. But history is about other people.”

“Sounds boring,” said Peter. “I wanna hear stories about me.”

Edward didn’t argue, just shook his head in amusement.

“What kinda skills are you gonna teach us?” Asked Slightly.

“Well, whatever you want to know. Can you fish? Can you tie knots?”

“I wanna learn how to shoot like you! That was awesome!”

Edward swallowed thickly. Gun handling wasn’t a bad skill to have at all, especially in this hostile world.

But the sound of the gunshot, the feeling of it in his hand. It brought back a lot of horrible memories.

“Sure. Maybe I can teach you that someday.”

—-

Every night, Wendy would go over to Hangman’s tree and tell the Lost Boys stories as they fell asleep. Sometimes, Edward would go along to listen. Inevitably, he’d end up with a child in his lap, and they’d fall asleep against his chest.

That night, they’d gone as usual and once everyone was asleep, Wendy and Edward made their way back to their longhouse.

“You’ve been quiet today, dear. And you’re favoring one side. Are you alright?”

“I will be.”

“Is it the interaction with Hook? Peter and Jane told me all about it.”

He nodded.

“You don’t regret coming here, do you?”

“No,” he said easily. “We would have had to send the children away for years. Danny…Danny was so little when I left. I was afraid he wouldn’t know me if he was sent to the countryside.”

Wendy held his hand, squeezing tightly. “I feared that too. I told him lots of stories about you while you were gone. He loves you, and he’s excited to make new memories.”

They walked a little longer in silence.

“It’s strange,” he said at last. “I’ve shot my rifle a few times since coming here to hunt bear and deer, but using my revolver…I felt like I was on the front lines for a moment. Facing Hook, shooting Hook, it brought me to a dark place.”

“I’d imagine so.”

“I’ve been so happy here. The happy thoughts and the pixie dust…” he gestured to his leg. “It helps.”

“I understand,” Wendy consoled. “Tomorrow will be a better day. And a pirate Captain is no match for my Viking warrior.” She stood on her tiptoes to kiss him.

He smiled gratefully. “My happy thought was getting to be with my family, to be a father again. Tonight helped a lot. Thank you, my love.”

“Any time.”

As they reached their home, he grinned at her. “It’s up to you…but would you want to make a few more Lost Boys?”

She swatted him, “Oh Edward!”

#fanfiction #peter pan #wendy darling #Jane Darling #Captain Hook #Tinkerbell #return to neverland

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thewickedmerman · 1 year ago

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My Top 10 Favorite Disney Heroines

Okay, so I've recently been having some issues with making videos and until I can sort it out, I can't really get any new clips for videos. So that makes it harder for me to be able to talk about certain topics I want to discuss on YouTube. However, I really want to talk about this so I decided to make a post here on Tumblr and when I have my technical issues sorted out, I'll post a YouTube version. However, since I'm not playing a character on Tumblr, that means that this won't include my signature merfolk language like "mermazing", "What the Tartarus", or "Dear sweet Poseidon." But you can expect that in my video when I sort out my technical issues.

Anyway, I’ve been criticizing Disney quite a bit lately and while that’s been both fun and therapeutic, I’m still a MASSIVE fan of Disney and would like to talk about something great from them. Since one of my more recent videos where I fixed Disney’s adorkable problem has gotten popular, I figured I would talk about my top 10 favorite Disney heroines. Now lets establish the guidelines. I will only be talking about Disney’s animated heroines, I will only be including characters from their animated movies so that means no TV show heroines like Kim Possible will be included, and I won’t be including characters from properties that Disney has bought. So that means that characters like Anastasia/Anya from Anastasia won’t be included, otherwise she would be in my top 3. Why? Because apart from putting them on DisneyPlus, Disney hasn’t done anything to promote or profit off of these movies so it’s hard to consider them to be actual Disney movies. It’s why I still don’t consider movies like Anastasia to be Disney movies.

But other than that, I will have free range in what heroines make my list. So that means Pixar and Disney sequel heroines will be included. Keep in mind that this will be heavily bias, since this is obviously my opinion. So your favorites aren’t necessarily my favorites and vise versa. Feel free to share your favorites and your thoughts on my list. Just don’t be an asshole about it! Now without any further delay, lets dive right on it.

10. Lilo (Lilo and Stitch Franchise)

This is definitely one of the BEST child characters EVER and I don’t just mean from Disney. She’s weird, eccentric, emotional, she gets into fights, she’s sweet, charming, hilarious, clever, adventurous, sassy, and is just the most entertaining part of her movie. And considering the cast of characters in this franchise, that’s saying A LOT. I love how she is into unconventional things that a girl her age typically isn’t into. It’s great rep for those of us who were the weird kid growing up. I mean, while I wasn’t into the things she was into, being a boy who was, and still is, into traditionally feminine things made me a bit of an outcast growing up. Speaking of great rep, many have said that Lilo is autistic-coded, and while this hasn’t been confirmed by either the original creators or Disney, I definitely can get behind it. Speaking as someone who is autistic, I definitely remember having similar behaviors to Lilo at that age. Not entirely because everyone with autism is different. Me and my wife (@keeloves) are both autistic but we have different sensory issues from each other and behaved differently from each other as kids but still saw ourselves in Lilo. My wife particularly sees herself in Lilo, due to being a brown autistic woman, which you don’t get a lot of rep with in media.

But anyway, even if I didn’t connect to Lilo because of my autism, I would still adore her, especially since I didn’t learn I was autistic until I was a senior in high school and I still grew up loving Lilo. She has a creative way of doing things and it helps her stand out from a lot of heroines. Even heroines that are allegedly supposed to be more unique and break the mold like Mirabel from Encanto, can’t hold a candle to Lilo’s uniqueness. She has a style that’s all her own and that’s what makes her the perfect friend for Stitch, along with her immense generosity. Many have said Lilo means lost in Hawaiian but it can also mean generous one, which perfectly describes Lilo, due to her not only being lonely, but also her generous heart that managed to break through to Stitch. However, she has her limits and when pushed too far will come at you hard. I also relate to her loneliness as someone who has a hard time both making friends and maintaining friendships. She also has some of the best lines in the movie. Her personality continues to shine in the other forms of media she appears in and you can’t have a Lilo and Stitch product without her because she’s the heart of the franchise. Yes, I’m aware of those stupid shows that don’t have Lilo and I don’t plan on watching them. They don’t exist!

9. Jane (Return to Neverland) and Raya (Raya and the Last Dragon)

Hey, I never said that I wouldn’t have ties on my list. Don’t worry, this will be the only tie on this list. But to keep it organized, I will be talking about each of these characters individually before I talk about why I can’t decide who I love more.

Starting with Jane, she’s a character who isn’t like most Disney heroines that are adventurous and dream of something more. Instead, she’s a young girl who is living during wartime and is just trying to survive and do what she can to take care of her family. She’s the daughter of Wendy from the original Peter Pan but the two couldn’t be more different. Whereas Wendy is a soft-spoken optimist who is full of childlike wonder, Jane is a practical pessimist with a sharp tongue that has become jaded due to her situation. This gives her more of an arc with her story compared to her mother, who is by no means a bad character. This helps her stand out among all the Disney sequel children who tend to share their parents personality traits. I love how they don’t have Jane just be a stick in the mud for no reason. She has an understandable reason for why she is the way that she is and I think people tend to overlook that because she’s so different from the heroines that we’re used to seeing from Disney. She had to grow up fast due to her experiences and she longs for her childhood days when she could believe in things like Peter Pan, Neverland, and pixie dust. However, she knows she has to be strong but she also needs to learn to regain some of her childhood wonder to help get her through the hard times. I honestly love her relationship with Peter Pan. Not only do they have amazing chemistry, but I love how unlike the female characters in the previous movies, who tend to fawn all over him and boost his ego, Jane deflates his ego, helps him mature a bit, and calls out his behavior. I love that even if she’s not as snarky as characters like Megara that Jane is still snarky. But she also has a loving side and can be taken in by the beauty of Neverland when she’s being shown Neverland. I honestly see a lot of myself in Jane and I loved seeing her growth as a character. She’s such a complex character and she’s just a child. She’s the best thing to come out of the Peter Pan franchise. Yes, even better than Tinkerbell and I love how she calls out Tinkerbell as well.

Now we move on to Raya. For those of you who have seen my video about fixing Disney’s adorkable problem, I mentioned that Raya is one of the few heroines of the revival era that doesn’t have an adorkable personality, making her one of the more unique characters of the era. Unlike the bubbly, optimistic, quirky, and over-the-top heroines of the era, Raya is mature, snarky, pessimistic, cheeky, serious, and jaded. This is a character type that is not only unique for this era of Disney but is also a rare type of character from Disney in general. I love that she’s not so optimistic and bubbly but can still be sweet and caring towards the ones she loves. Also, speaking as someone who has trust issues, I do relate to Raya and her journey with her distrust of people. She’s been hurt and when she trusted someone, the world ended up broken because of it. So her trying to save the world isn’t about trying to help the world but to help her kingdom and bring her father back. On the one hand it’s selfless for her to do this for her people but on the other hand, she’s selfish for not caring about the rest of the world but it makes sense because of her experiences and trust issues. I also love how she’s a bit xenophobic but she slowly starts to let down her walls and trust others from different clans. I love characters that are relatable but also have a lesson they have to learn that helps them grow as people and Raya definitely fits the bill. I also love how unlike other heroines, who are great with kids and babies, she was very awkward when interacting with Noi at first. It shows that not everyone is great with kids and it’s something that can be learned. It also shows her growth with how she’s able to let herself have connections with others. But she’s also a badass of a fighter! The woman has moves! But I love that there’s more to her than just her physical strength. I love her snarky and jaded personality and her journey. Plus, it's unique how she's a Disney Princess who wasn't wanting more out of life but rather wanted to the life she used to have back. Not to mention how she was the closed-minded one while her father was the open-minded one. I also love how became one of the few Disney protagonists that are willing to kill. Granted, she didn’t do it but she was willing to kill Namaari during the climax of the movie. But she’s ultimately a good person who comes to the realization that it wasn’t right. She’s a phenomenal and underrated character from a phenomenal and underrated movie. Give us more characters like her and unique personalities, Disney.

As for why I can’t decide between the two, it’s honestly because both of them are pretty similar. Both are snarky, jaded, practical, responsible, and act as the straight man in their respective movies amongst the more chaotic characters they come across. Not to mention, both long for the simpler days when their lives were actually happy but can’t because of how their worlds have shaped them. They have great character growth and their way of thinking is technically wrong but you also understand why they are the way they are. So with how similar they are, I can’t really decide who I love more so I decided not to. The two of them are truly amazing characters and actually break the mold of the heroines we tend to see from Disney and I adore them for that.

8. Tiana (The Princess and the Frog)

Just like Raya, she’s one of the few heroines from the revival era that actually has a unique personality and in my opinion is the best heroine from this era. I love how she’s practical and serious like Jane and Raya but it’s not because she’s jaded. It’s just because she’s determined, ambitious, and a workaholic. But even without her being jaded, there’s also an explanation for why she is the way she is. She has a dream that people say will be impossible for her to achieve due to her being a black woman of low status and a dream her father spent his whole life to achieve but never managed to see happen. She’s worked two jobs her entire life and has to work so much harder than everyone else just to prove herself. But I love that she’s also a bit playful, caring, friendly, does want to have fun but just can’t let herself, and is still creative. Almost There shows off the massive extent of her incredible imagination. I love how passionate she is about her dream and cooking. I adore how she never loses her passion and fire no matter what. I wish I had her drive in life to help make my dreams come true. She inspires me and it kills me that both she and her movie are so underrated when really they deserve to be getting the attention that Frozen got. I honestly can’t wait to see what they do in the new Tiana series and I just pray that they don’t disappoint me. Tiana is truly a great character and it’s a shame more people don’t realize it. Even in her frog form, her personality shines through with her hard-working and witty personality. Not to mention, she has great growth as a character. There’s nothing wrong with pursuing a dream but you shouldn’t let that keep you from also living your life. She’s confident in certain areas but she’s also insecure as well. It helps make her a layered character and one of the most three-dimensional heroines from the revival era. Truly one of Disney’s best leading ladies.

7. Pocahontas (Pocahontas)

First of all, yes, I know that the movie is problematic with its misrepresentation of the real Pocahontas’ life, showing both sides being in the wrong when in real life it was the white settlers who were the only ones in the wrong, and portraying Pocahontas in a romantic relationship with John Smith when she was a child when they met and the fact that he intended to colonize her people. However, I still ADORE the movie! Yes, it has its issues but it also has gorgeous animation, incredible songs, an amazing musical score, an engaging romance, likable and iconic characters, a great message that’s definitely relevant today, and most importantly one of the best protagonists to ever come out of Disney.

Despite the issues Native Americans rightfully have with her movie, one thing, at least from my understanding, that they universally agree on is that in terms of personality, Pocahontas is spot on. So it’s really no wonder that Pocahontas herself is the best thing about the movie. I adore how she’s curious, adventurous, mischievous, fun-loving, playful, and daring. However, she’s also smart and mature. She’s undeniably a remarkable character that deserves nothing but praise. I love how she has a journey of finding her path but isn’t sure what her path is. And I don’t mean like she has to decide between two things but rather she has no idea what her second option is. It’s something a lot of people can relate to who can’t decide what they want to do with their life. So it’s interesting and unique to have a character who doesn’t have a clear idea of what they want but still know they want more than the life that has been planned for them. When you think about it, Pocahontas is a pretty complex character in that sense and it’s one of the reasons I adore her along with her just being a fun and exciting character. One of my favorite scenes is just her going down the water rapids and instead of her just going down the safe path that she goes with the more exciting and fun path because it’s just who she is. I mean, when she’s supposed to just come down to the river and get into the canoe with Nakoma, she could just run down there but instead, she chooses the more daring option of diving off. I wish I had the amount of guts she has. She’s such an exciting character and there’s nothing dull about her. But she also stands up for what is right and will lay her own life down in order to do what needs to be done. She’s such an underrated character that it’s painful to think about. I adore Pocahontas and consider her to be one of the best characters Disney has ever created.

6. Anastasia Tremaine (Cinderella Sequels)

Originally starting off as a minor villain in the original Cinderella, Anastasia has since become one of the most complex and interesting characters to ever come out of Disney. Even people who hate the Disney sequels tend to agree that she’s one of the best things to come out of these cash grabs. She’s so great that even the show Once Upon a Time in Wonderland continued the trend of making her a sympathetic character, with her being played flawlessly by Emma Rigby. But anyway, I adore how she still has some traits from her original appearance with her lacking elegance and grace, being a clutz, being a bit ditzy (But not dumb), and having a bit of a temper to her. It shows that just because someone becomes good, they don’t lose all of their negative traits or become 100% different because that’s not realistic. However, she’s incredibly sympathetic with how she’s a victim of her mother and sister’s abuse but they don’t erase the fact that she was abusive to Cinderella. As they say, hurt people hurt people. People are complex and it’s amazing to see someone who was abusive can also be the abuse victim without erasing past mistakes. But they don’t have Cinderella judge her on the person she used to be but rather the person she is now. In A Twist in Time, we do see her show guilt towards Cinderella. She’s just someone who wanted to be loved and for someone to love her for who she is and not what her mother wanted her to be. Honestly, I wish Disney would explore more characters like Anastasia who aren’t conventionally attractive and can also be complex and interesting. She kind of reminds me of Helga from Hey Arnold. And honestly, while Cinderella herself is still a great an admirable character, I prefer her step-sister. In fact, I might have a video analyzing what a great and complex character Anastasia is in the future (Or even post it here on Tumblr), so keep an eye out for that.

5. Megara (Hercules)

But her friends call her Meg, at least they would if she had any friends. Yeah, you know I had to quote that. Much like Anastasia, Meg didn’t start off as a heroine but rather as a minion to the villain. I honestly went back and forth on whether or not I preferred Anastasia or Megara but I ultimately went with Megara because of her amazing snark. Being someone who is incredibly sarcastic, sassy, and snarky, I relate to characters who are like that as well. She’s honestly the sassiest Disney character ever. Literally no one can match her. Yes, there have been sassy and snarky characters from Disney, a good number of them are even on this list, but none meet the same level of sarcasm as her. She’s one of the most unique Disney heroines with her starting off as a bit of an antagonist, being way more snarky and jaded than Disney’s heroines, and actually having a romantic history instead of just only being in a relationship with one person in your life and that’s the one you end up marrying. A lot of people can relate to Meg and the fact that she gave and gave all her love to someone she was in a relationship with but that person just didn’t love her as much and left her for someone else. She gave so much that she sold her soul to save her boyfriend’s life only for him to dump her for some random girl. No wonder she swore off love and became so jaded. But I love how she learns to love again and sees that it’s not bad to give yourself to someone so long as it’s the right person because just like how Megara gave up her life to save Hercules, he was willing to give his life to gets hers back. While Hercules is a great and engaging character, I find Meg’s journey more engaging. She’s a great character and it’s no wonder that she’s so beloved. Plus, she’s a snarky queen!

4. Angel (Lady and the Tramp II: Scamp's Adventure)

Yeah, can you tell that I have a thing for characters that are snarky and jaded? She reminds me a lot of Megara, albeit, not as extreme due to being a kid and her movie having a different tone to Hercules. It’s no wonder that I love her, especially when her movie is also one of my top 10 favorite Disney movies of all-time. I love how she is very sly and confident but isn’t cocky or arrogant. However, despite her confidence, she also has her insecurities about her wanting a permanent family, since she’s had five families that have taken her in but when she starts to think that this one is for keeps, they move, have a new baby, or have an allergy. So despite her desire for a family, she’s jaded about the world and feels that she can only depend on herself and only sticks around the junkyard dogs because she has no other alternative. I love how even though she’s a major factor in Scamp’s development and is basically the glue that holds this movie together, Scamp helps with her development. He allows her to be brave enough to be vulnerable and to see that you don’t have to only look out for yourself because he looks out for her. The two of them help each other to grow just like a true couple should. Despite their age, their love is to the same level as any adult relationship because they were friends first and then fell in love. Overall, Angel is a phenomenal character that is smart, sassy, jaded, confident, insecure, layered, brave, brutal, sly, caring, kind, tomboyish but still feminine, and just so freaking adorable.

3. Mulan (Mulan)

Yeah, you know that you can’t have a top 10 best Disney heroines list without including her. I mean, what can I even say about her that hasn’t already been said. She’s a perfect character journey. She starts off trying to be the perfect bride and daughter but she just keeps messing it up, has no idea who she is or what she’s meant to be, breaks the rules and risks possible death for herself in order to save her father from certain death by taking his place in the army and disguising herself as a man, starts off terrible at training, gets better by embracing both sides of herself (The masculine and the feminine), and ultimately brings honor and saves the day by being herself. I love how, unlike the modern heroines we get nowadays, they take her journey seriously. Yes, there’s still some comedy with her but they don’t go over-the-top or make her clumsiness her most defining character trait. But her amazing actions aren’t the only great thing about her. I love her realistic clumsiness, awkwardness, wit, cleverness, kindness, caring nature, bravery, courage, creativity, and that she’s funny without having to be over-the-top. She’s far from perfect but that’s why she’s so great. She isn’t strong for just being masculine but also because she’s feminine. She’s flawed but she tries, she’s insecure but that doesn’t stop her, she wanted to save her father and bring honor but she also wanted to prove that she could do things right. And yet, they still made sure she was a likable character with a three-dimensional personality so that we actually care about her journey. I feel like modern Disney could learn a thing or two from Mulan. And the less said about that awful live-action remake or that horrendous direct-to-video sequel MulanII the better. Lets just focus on the original Disney Mulan and how she truly brought honor to us all.

2. Ariel (The Little Mermaid Franchise)

Yeah, you know that I had to include my favorite Disney Princess. Ever since I was a little boy, I’ve always absolutely ADORED Ariel. I relate to her rebellious nature, since I’ve always had a naturally rebellious side to me. She’s playful, mischievous, adventurous, curious, bubbly, determined, sweet, fiery, and a painfully accurate portrayal of adolescence. She’s reckless, naive, impulsive, stubborn, and headstrong. I love how flawed she is because it makes her feel more real and three-dimensional. I honestly love how relatable she is and even as someone in my late twenties, I still relate to Ariel even to this day. I know the feeling of wanting more out of life and wanting to explore beyond the confines of one's current existence. Ariel wants to learn more about the human world and wants to be a part of it because of her love of learning and her fascination with the human world. I adore just how curious and daring she is. When she sees something that interests her, she pursues it and is just so passionate about it. She’s just so engaging. I also love how on land when she’s can’t talk how adorable she is with her facial expressions and actions. She’s just such a delightful character. She sees what she wants and she goes for it and I love her for that. I honestly get so mad when people say she’s just boy-crazy and threw her life away for a man. Did people not watch the movie? She sang a whole mother-flipping song about how she wanted to be part of the human world long before she ever saw Eric. He was just what finally got things going. Besides, there’s nothing wrong with wanting romance because that’s not all she wants. She wants to explore the world and learn. The live-action remake actually made the character even better and considering how much I love the character, that’s saying something. And yeah, the live-action remake is amazing and the best of the live-action remakes (Which I have a video all about on YouTube). This little mermaid is the best Disney Princess and one of my favorite fictional characters of all-time.

Honorable mentions:

Now before I name my number 1 favorite, lets name some honorable mentions. Keep in mind that these aren’t in any particular order. Madellaine from The Hunchback of Notre Dame II, Esmeralda from The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Alice from Alice in Wonderland, Judy Hopps from Zootopia, Elsa from the Frozen franchise, Jasmine from the Aladdin franchise, Belle from Beauty and the Beast, Jane from Tarzan, Violet from The Incredibles franchise, Jessie from the Toy Story franchise, Kiara from The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride, Dory from the Finding Nemo franchise, Vanellope from Wreck-It Ralph, Miss Bianca The Rescuers franchise, and Rapunzel from Tangled.

Melody (The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea)

I mean, is anyone surprised? I’ve already mentioned that she’s tied with Jack Frost from Rise of the Guardians as my favorite fictional character of all-time. I absolutely ADORE her! Much like how her mother is an accurate depiction of teenage struggles, Melody is an accurate representation of preteen struggles. She’s awkward around her peers, she’s doesn’t know how to act around people, she’s shy around boys, she feels like a fish out of water (No pun intended), she’s unsure of herself, has a hard time communicating with her parents, and doesn’t make the best decisions. These are all part of growing up and they captured that flawlessly with her. She has the same traits as her mother but she also has her differences that make her feel like her own unique character. Unlike her mother, who is extroverted and confident, Melody is introverted and self-conscious, which makes her feel more relatable to me. I love how they can make her very awkward without having to make it her most defining character trait like with the Disney heroines of the Revival era. She only feels comfortable in her skin when she’s out swimming and she’s told that she can’t go out into the ocean. That’s something many of us can relate to with how we’re comfortable living a certain lifestyle, doing something we love, or being true to ourselves only to be told we can’t for whatever reason. Being a naturally rebellious person with interests that aren’t traditionally masculine, I definitely relate to that. Plus, being someone who always wanted to be a merman, I also have a massive love for the ocean and Melody’s explosive passion and undying love for the sea is just so engaging. But I also love how she also has a lesson to learn, which gives her more of an arc than her mother, though to be fair, Ariel didn’t really need to learn a lesson, King Triton did. But I still love how Melody had to learn her own self-worth and apologized for causing this mess. And instead of choosing between land or sea, she chooses both by breaking down the wall that divided them. She is the bridge that connects the two worlds together. She’s just such an engaging character. Every time I see her on screen, she's just so charming and entertaining. I love her passion, awkwardness, curiosity, mischievousness, playfulness, sweetness, cunning, and just everything about her. Maybe one of these days I’ll make a video all about how mermazing she is. She certainly is a remarkable character that is more than deserving of it.

And those are my top 10 favorite Disney heroines. Are any of my favorites your favorites? Who are your favorites? Let me know. Please like, comment, reblog, and follow me if you haven't already.

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