003 ♚ mirror writing/action

[boyhood]

I. mirror writing;

<sub>[Today a certain someone's left a message for the Mirrors. Several messages, actually. Copies appear on all sorts of mirrors in all sorts of places, spread out around the mansion for maximum coverage.

To Mirror eyes, it reads:]</sub>

When does her royal highness plan to let you back over?
Good company is scarce and some of you are more likeable than your other selves.

Good allies are also hard to find.
I want something you can do.
Maybe you want something an ally on this side can do.
We could help each other across the great divide.

_{[Characters on the Real side see something different, however. Peter has cloaked his writing so that when Reals look at the words, they'll see nothing but gibberish, configurations of random letters, lines, and doodles as if a graffiti artist or a very bored person has gone around defacing mansion property. No matter how hard a person tries, though, the writing won't come off.]}

II.

<sub>[Another slight change in the daily comings and goings of Wonderland is that today Peter Pan is letting himself be seen.

Usually, the wiry youth with his leather skins and timeworn boots keeps his appearances random. Sometimes he might chat on the network or show up in the odd place, or he might disappear for a week or more, it all depends on his mood. Even though he technically has free run of the place, it's especially not every day Peter spends a lengthy amount of time in the mansion; he still looks out of place inside its walls like a vagabond that's snuck in through the back door, his tastes running in the opposite direction of all the glamor. Nonetheless, the mansion is where the people are, so even he has to come in to warm his feet by the proverbial fire sometimes.

While he monitors the mirrors, the boy can be found all over the mansion and its grounds, keeping his quick, nimble fingers occupied with wood and blades, partly for himself, and partly to attract the right eyes. He works idly--even thoughtlessly to inexperienced eyes who see only a meaningless pastime and not the centuries of experience in his baby-soft hands--but there's a grace in what he does.

In the morning, maybe you'll see him carving spears in the tea room or the dining room, the archaic weapons and the mess of wood shavings at his feet at odds with the room's expensive tastes. Maybe you'll find him somewhere with a large hunk of yew almost as tall as he is, scraping bark off with practiced ease, or measuring off branches of a dogwood tree with his eyes to ensure they're the right length for arrows. Reed is a slightly trickier wood to work with, and if you come across the teenager in the entrance hall you may find him cutting into the wood delicately, tongue peeking out of his mouth.

No matter where you come across him, Peter doesn't have a single care about leaving things in disarray, even if the room's already occupied. Don't bother trying to chastise this one. In Neverland, never had a child ever been expected to clean up a mess except as punishment.

At some point in the day, Peter can even be found sitting outside by the mansion doors, the sun beaming down on him without ever casting a shadow below. He handles small pieces of bamboo, carving them more carefully than any other, but he'll hide them from sight if anyone drifts near enough to catch a peek. They'll make fine panpipes before too long, and that's a surprise he wants to keep under wraps for a while yet.</sub>

Comments

killjoy writing;

[sivispacem]

[ The duke comes across the writing and scoffs. A brazen call for treason, if he ever saw one. Finding a marker nearby he immediately pens down his disgust: ]

There is neither help nor alliance for you on this side. Anyone who offers otherwise is a traitor to Her Royal Majesty.

[boyhood]

_{[True loyalty is rare, but a lack of imagination is widespread, even amongst this world's creations, it seems.]}

You're only a traitor if you intend to turn against the one you serve.

Do you?

Mirror Text

[thatholeinside]

What it is you want?

[His handwriting is slightly slanted and formal. No matter what, the Mirror-ler is a businessman at heart, and he's quicker to read between the lines than his Real self would be. So, he cuts to the chase immediately.]

[boyhood]

Eyes and ears.
Your kind of access to the mirrors is hard to come by.

_{[Short and to the point, Peter appreciates that. He can work with those who want help themselves.]}

I want you to keep on doing what you already do.
Just pass it along to me.

( ii )

[alayne]

[ alayne takes notice of him as she enters the tearoom. she has found that spending her morning in the room with a book and lemon cakes pleases her and she has made a habit of it. she is not oft without company but she is more used to other men and women with books and parchments and quills. but today the room smells of a forest in the rain and its floors are dirty and tat is enough to make her pause.

she fears blades, in truth; fears most weapons as they all remind her of joffrey and his affection for instruments of death and pain. but she knows there are those who try to deter and hunt the different beasts of wonderland, he might be one, young as he is. she watches him for a long moment; a lady would perhaps scold him for dirtying the floors but alayne is no lady and she enters; a girl of four-and-ten in a purple gown of good cotton. she curtsies. ]

With your leave. I did not intend to interrupt.

:D action;

[boyhood]

<sub>[Peter has his own habits, which much of the time involve memorizing those of other people. Knowing more about his enemies before they become enemies is how Peter's whiled away so many years in Neverland; taking advantage of information in Wonderland is a mindless habit not unlike a morning routine for Sansa. Whether said information strikes his interest is another matter. Having little immediate use for women, Peter doesn't pay the girl much mind. He has bigger concerns and bigger foes than the people who content themselves getting by day-to-day here.

Even at the feeling of eyes on him, Peter continues scraping, keeping the branch braced against his leg. A curl of tree bark gets caught on his boot laces; he bends to flick it away at just the right time to look up and see the girl's greeting. His green eyes follow her through every inch of the curtsy--down, up, bobbing like a well-rehearsed performer.

Etiquette. A reminder of those dull, meaningless conventions class systems cling to for lack of anything better to do.

Well, that's not him. He's risen above poverty, and on the other end of the spectrum, lordship.]</sub>

No need for that. There's no lords here you need to bow for.

(2)

[imnotsure]

[Selina has a book and is sitting in a chair. Periodically. The rest of the time she's following the kid. Silently, or as stealthy as she can. He might notice her, then again he might not.

She is still just sitting there with her book in her hands smiling occasionally, seemingly completely oblivious]

action;

[boyhood]

<sub>[Anyone who'd visited Neverland in the time Pan had ruled there would have been able to tell Selina that sneaking up on someone aware of every beating heart and rocked kicked out of place is impossible at best. Magic lets him cast a wide net, and even the shadows have a habit of betraying secrets to someone with the skill to control them. Of course, this isn't Neverland and Peter doesn't have the same intrinsic connection to this world as he does his own. He's a guest of people like the Queen of Hearts and the Red Queen, like everyone else.

Nevertheless, it'd take a lot more than the noiseless pitter patter of cat feet to catch this particular teen off guard. He always wins against adults, not the other way around.

Peter supposes he'd have to be as dim-witted as they come not to notice the woman who appears over and over again in his peripheral when he grows tired of a spot and moves to another, but he finds the attention amusing rather than irritating. She can track him all she likes on foot, but what if there's no boy to follow? What then? Smells like a potential game to him.

Once he finishes off another spear, smoothing his thumb and forefinger over its wickedly sharp point, Peter hefts it and starts to leave out the door. This time he doesn't walk anywhere, he teleports; once he's around the corner he jumps from their place on the second floor to the tea room on the seventh.

Catch him if you can!]</sub>

Mirror writing;

[denyingpets]

what kind of help?

[boyhood]

Everybody wants something. What do you want? That's the help I offer.

The price is helping me with what I want.
I need some people to do some watching for me.
For starters.

_{[An equal trade. Mutual interests wouldn't hurt, but that'll take a little more sussing out.]}

Mirror Text

[starttheviolence]

Not Soon Enough.

[boyhood]

And what would you do if the glass came down and you could do whatever you wanted?

_{[If this Queen of Hearts wants her Mirrors to stay one side and there are those among their number who want something different, there's room for negotiation.]}

why;

[rockflagandeagle]

[ One of the messages catches the drunken eyes of a semi-literate trash bag who stares blearily at the words for several long seconds, then very carefully tries to hand his bottle of alcoholic abomination through the glass. It's a miserable failure and clatters to the floor on the mirror side.

So he scrawls in pink... something: ]

I TRIED 2 GIV DRINK FREE SAMPL

ALIES | CUSTOMRS = BY THINGS
STRING CHEEEEESE VODKA U PAY TEETH / DEAD COINS

WILL PAY U TEETH 2 GO OTHER SIDE + NOT TRADE PLACES CUZ ALFIE = ❤ SQUISHY FEELS
CAN ALSO RENT OUT SQUIDDLES HE IS HARD WERKR WERKS 4 MILK + END OF HUMANS

CUM 2 DONNYS BAR + DINER
SOUP OF DAY: PANCAKE
DRINK OF DAY: GASOLEEN

[ He then tries to draw an advertisement but it somehow becomes this. ]

LMAO.

[boyhood]

_{[This is the most nonsensical reply he's gotten yet. He takes a bit to decipher the message, which involves Peter blinking hard at the mirror's surface.]}

The mirrors aren't open to you?

_{[Peter hazards a guess based on "I tried." The rest... well. The rest, he's not entirely unfamiliar with, having been in a few drunken stupors himself. The resemblance isn't appreciated.]}

So you want to cross without switching with your other half.
Air out some and maybe we'll talk.

[erofebemac]

[The writing is precise although a few stray marks surround the words.]

I want over there.

What do you need from me?

[boyhood]

Without switching with the version here?
That'll take some doing unless you know how the queens' magic works.
Part of the answer might lie on your side.

<sub>[The Mirrors seem to have the innate ability to step over whenever they please, but if this one wants what many of them want--to exist in the same place at the same time--then he'll have to help Peter with the ultimate goal of controlling Wonderland's magic before that can happen.

Peter can tackle almost anything else on the Real side on his own, even his own infestation problem. It just so happens to be easier getting jobs done when you have help.]</sub>

There are people on this side who pose a problem.
I'm looking for those who wouldn't mind keeping their eyes open for me.
And who understand sacrifices have to be made.

( mirror )

[untrustable]

What are you up to today, Pan?
I promise you can count on my help if I could count on yours.
A deal is only a deal if it works both ways.

[boyhood]

Always up to something. :)
Today it's casting nets to see what the fish are like.

_{[And this is why people don't let Peter Pan near stationary. This constitutes the villain version of sinister texting.]}

I will be. And you have mine.
I don't break my deals, and I trust you're as good as your word.
Everybody gets what they want.

[Mirror]

[coldsteelwolf]

[ Allying with one of the Reals was the last thing he wanted or intended to do. But he wondered if this strange child could be beneficial in some way. ]

There is a lot you COULD do
It depends on what you CAN do
And what you WANT
Tell me and MAYBE I'll help

[boyhood]

_{[Welcome to Peter's world, friend. Allying with anyone he doesn't have complete and total domination over is an unfortunate cost of the game, but exceptions have to be made and experiments have to be conducted to find the right fit. It's an adjustment.]}

I'm Peter Pan. I can do just about anything you can imagine.
The only limits are this world's and those can be broken with time.

You go by unnoticed behind the looking glass.
That could come in handy when I want information on people on this side.
I won't hold you back from anything you want for yourself, unlike others in control here.
Sound like a promising offer?

action »

[disparage]

[ for once, caroline doesn't return to the mansion after having killed a few of thumper's family members. it's boredom that had lead her out early in the afternoon to the maze, where she attempted to navigate it as though she couldn't hear almost every little twitch of the leaves in the wind, but she had ultimately chosen to cheat and speed through it. she has a few leaves in her hair from where she had brushed a little too closely toward the edges, practicing her turns as vin diesl would in fast and the furious. the last thing she expects is to see peter pan sitting outside the mansion, carving a shape out of wood. ]

[ wood isn't a welcomed sight. she's had vervain knock her unconscious and leave her weakened to the point of almost being girly little human caroline again. she's almost had a stake puncture her abdomen, but even though she knows a well-placed jab of the wood into her chest will see the colour drain from her face, she doesn't find herself too afraid ... if she allowed herself to fear pillows, she wouldn't sleep so comfortably at night. but it's still unsettling to see someone carve them into sharp points. ]

[ for a meticulous planner who takes note of every single detail, she doesn't notice his lack of shadow. if anything, she assumes it mingles with hers. ]

What are you doing? [ it should be obvious, but people within mystic falls really don't have hobbies. ]

[boyhood]

Off on an adventure, Caroline?

<sub>[Peter looks up from what he's doing, one leg stretched over the two steps below him. If he finds something at all strange about the sight of him hand-making tools of war like someone out of a time long past, he doesn't show it.

A spear isn't the most practical way to attack a vampire, anyway. Not when you have magic at your fingertips. For those times when he may not have magic, however, there are some people in Wonderland who should be worried about where the point of his weapons might end up... like possibly lodged in someone's eye socket.]</sub>

I'm carving. _{[Obvious answer is obvious.]} A little something to fill the time.

Mirror writing!

[everythingisvegetarian]

[ He considers the writing on the mirror carefully. For as much kindness and respect as he forces out of his body, there has always been (as far as he remembers always existing) the desire to be contrarian. Not for any particularly good reason, but for his own aggrandizing. He rarely does follow through with this instinct, but Will was a terrible influence for all the hard work he'd done to fit in and be a functioning member of society.

So, he finds a marker, looks around, and writes with practiced script, not a shake nor an error in it. ]

You may find us to be more useful to you than you are to us.

H.L.

[boyhood]

<sub>[The fuck you talkin' about, Mannibal. He's Peter friggin' Pan, and he doesn't need an ego event to think extremely highly of his capabilities. He can either be an asset, or a huge pain in the ass, it's entirely up to the individual. Considering the permanent destruction or disappearance of one's Real possibly affects the Mirror, Peter doesn't think one should be so quick to count him out.

Even so, he's pleasantly amused by the response, smiling while he compels his ink to form new letters.]</sub>

Then you're not using your imagination.

I'd find your kind very useful indeed.
But I've seen your side, I found it a bit depressing.
Maybe the question should be, do you find those on this side more deserving of what we have than you?
Personally, I'd just rather get along harmoniously than the other choice, quarreling.


_{[At the bottom, in the same place a person would put a return signature, he writes:]}

I'm Peter Pan, if you aren't already aware. :)

{ m i r r o r }

[venividipacem]

[ clarisse likes to keep a watchful eye on the other side, mostly to see what her real is up to, and what her real's friends are up to. but it isn't often that one of the reals wants to talk to them. she's intrigued, to say the least. she's had her fun with the percy on the other side of the mirror, but she'll have to find another way to make him her pawn... this one, though... ]

[boyhood]

_{[Blood writing? Someone's going to need to thoroughly Windex her side of the mirror when all is said and done.]}

Keep your hands clean.

... A little cleaner.