Chapter Text

"He'll be a great man someday," Peter's father said.

Peter didn't know what a man was; Peter Pan was only a baby after all, but the word didn't feel right. Peter was a girl, though Peter's father wasn't there for the birth. Father was at the office! Is it needless to add that Peter didn't know what a girl was either? Peter was about to find out that moment, a sick blue fairy named Tinkerbell flew past the window, and being a baby, Peter believed what Peter saw, saving the fairy's life! To reward the child for her belief, she sprinkled fairy dust on the baby, causing Peter to giggle, giggle, and fly right out the window. That wrong feeling floated away behind Peter as the child flew away from Victorian London, far away from the expectations of our world.

The Garden of the Fairies was a magical place. The light came from nowhere, and every plant had some sort of magical property. Blue light seemed to come from the lake. Peter grew her hair out long and, for the most part, felt very happy except when she heard:

"Peter don't wear dark brown leaves you're far too pretty." So Peter wore dark green leaves instead. Peter found the light green tights they gave her to be flexible, perfect for climbing trees and leaping across the cliffs above the lake.

"Peter we don't leap around like animals; we fly, Tinkrtbell teach her!"

"Try thinking of something lovely Peter," advised Tinkerbell

And Peter wished Peter weren't a girl, but Peter didn't feel like a boy either. Peter couldn't fly!

"Let's take a walk," Tinkerbell whispered.

As they walked through the forest, they could see plants that bore diamonds, gold, silver, rubies, emeralds, and a variety of other precious gems and useful metals.

"I don't want to be a girl anymore!" burst out Peter, tears in Peter's eyes.

"I thought you were unhappy being a boy?" Tinker Bell said, confused.

" I was… it's just being a girl is hard too."

"What did we do?" wondered an anguished Tinkerbell. "What would make you happy so you could fly Peter?"

"I'll try cutting my hair," Peter answered.

" With What?" asked Tinkerbell.

"A dagger!" A mischievous enthusiasm lit up Peter's face.

Tinkerbelle flew here and there, pulling gold, silver, and precious jewed plants out of the ground, which Peter fashioned into a dagger. Then, with a swing and a slash, Peter cut Peter's hair. Peter looked at Peter in the creek nearby and smiled Peter's biggest grin. Tinkerbell took the opportunity to sprinkle fairy dust on Peter, who floated up above the trees, and as soon as the Fairy Queen saw, she wasn't pleased!

"Why do you look like a boy?" she demanded.

"Because I'm not a girl," answered Peter honestly.

"Then you're a boy! Go away!"

"But Peter's not a boy," insisted Tinkerbell.

"Then what are you?" interrogated the Fairy Queen.

"I don't know," answered Peter.

"Anyways you can't stay here if your not a girl."

"Then we'll go somewhere else," snubbed Tinkerbell.

So up Peter flew, leaving girlhood behind, but isn't boyhood the only thing left? What was Boyhood anyway?

They flew for days and nights until finally, they spotted a little island. It was covered in a forest of palm trees at the front, pine trees in the middle, and oak trees at the back, looking completely uninhabited, or so Peter assumed. It was inhabited by "Indians," at least that's what other white people would call them, because they had been in Neverland longer than anybody, but in fact, they were white.

Their leader, Tiger Lily, had blonde hair and brown eyes, and wore what "Indians" are said to wear: feathers and buckskin. So, obviously, she was an Indian to other white people, who assumed Indians wore just those things. But in fact, the "Buckskin" was bright orange! The trick covered up the fact that Tiger Lily had trouble talking. Vowels and Gs were often what came out of her mouth unless she was echoing others. Her favorite sound was the "a" sound, as in "a house" that, when put with "ga", spelled "ugg", which frustrated people use when speaking English, so I ask that you remember this. She was born this way; her white Fairy knew this and had whisked her away to the Garden of the Fairies, where she was told, "Ladies must speak proper English." So like Peter, she was banished from The Garden of the Fairies and found her way to Neverland, where she never felt unwanted. The other first inhabitants thought it polite to speak like her, as she could not speak like them; thus, the Neverlandian language was born!

Peter just happened to land in the middle of the island where it was winter, though the pine trees had shown dark green, and this is where Tiger Lily lived, wearing her bright blue pants because it was cold! She waved at Peter, who had a handle on English but had never been waved "Hi" to. Peter shrugged.

"UggaWuggle," said Tiger Lily, smiling and waving enthusiastically!

"Say hello, Peter," suggested Tinkerbell.

"Hello, I'm Peter-" Peter looked around, then saw the frying pan Tinkerbell was currently mending, "Pan."

"Peter Pan," echoed Tiger Lily.

"What's your name?" modeled Tinkerbell.

"T…ig…er Lily," said the young woman.

"After one of the flowers in our garden? That's lovely!" said Tinkerbell.

Tiger Lily looked sadly wistful.

"You were banished too? Couldn't obey girls' rules either? Well, that's ok, rules are terrible!" assured Peter.

Tiger Lily, who was banished for not speaking in a "Ladylike" fashion, hugged Peter!

Tiger Lily taught Peter to hunt and fish. Peter threw spears and shot bows and arrows. The only magical part about Neverland was where it sat on the Earth's axis, making the year pass so slowly that you never grew up; the rest of the magic was fairy dust. That is to say, there was no different flora and fauna than there is on the rest of our planet.

"I caught a fish! It's mine! Its mine! It's mine!" shouted Peter gleefully.

"Uggdug uggog uggat!" Tiger pointed to herself and Peter.

"It's ours," translates Tinkerbell.

"But I caught it!" argued Peter.

"Uggat!" Tiger Lily insisted, stamping her foot.

"No!" said Peter petulantly.

Back at home, Tiger Lily and her family discussed what to do about Peter's behavior.

"Peter has never lived for anyone but themselves," observed Rose Blossom.

"Peter," protested Peter

"I'm sorry, Peter," apologized Rose Blossum.

Tiger Lily patted Peter on the shoulder empathetically.

"Maybe you would like to live by yourself, so you can have what you kill all to yourself," suggested Branches, who was younger than Tiger Lily.

"If you don't want me either then I will!" Peter ran off before anyone could correct Peter.

Peter went to the desert part of the island with the palm trees, where it was summer all year long. The heat made Peter sweat and thirsty, and there was only salty ocean water that made Peter thirstier! So Peter flew to the part with the oaks where it was spring, which was not too hot or too cold. Peter made a hole in the biggest tree, climbed down under its roots, and made Peter's home there.

A pirate ship dipped and swayed on a stormy sea. The captain, James Hook, barked over the thunder at his crew, "Keep her steady!" for it was all the crew could do to do that.

With no direction, the ship dipped and swayed chaotically onward until it crashed into the island of Neverland. Captain Hook and Smee, his second in command, got off to inspect the damage.

"It appears we just slid on to the Island Sir," said Smee.

"You and the crew obey orders well,'' congratulated Hook.

Hook's crew hammered and sawed until the ship was repaired. Hook and Smee looked around the Island. They spotted Tiger Lily and her family.

"They look so common," said Hook.

"They look like the Indians we saw in America," observed Smee.

"Wonder why?" thought Hook out loud.

The question was answered as they walked into the forest. They saw pine trees and oaks, brush, grass, violets, and roses. At last, they came upon Peter setting up Peter's house.

"Looks like he could use a break," said Hook.

"I think it's a girl…" Smee cautiously offered

"Let's see if he wants to play swordfight." suggested Hook. Hokk strode forward in such a way that his sword glinted in the sun, catching Peter's eye as planned.

"Neat sword! Wanna see my dagger?" Peter asked excitedly.

"Yes, let's see who's the better swordsman," Hook said, not knowing that by using the word "Man" he'd offended Peter.

Peter and Hook crossed their swords in an X, twisted, jabbed, and stabbed. Peter jumped forward. Peter sliced, trying to disarm Peter's opponent, and almost literally did disarm him, for Peter sliced off his hand at the wrist! Smee used his belt to stop the blood from spurting from the limb.

"LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO ME!" bellowed Captain Hook.

Peter silently stared in horror, "I'm sorry… I didn't know I was that strong…"

"DIDN'T YOU REALIZE I WAS JUST PLAYING!" Captain Hook continued to bellow, "YOU INPRUDENT BOY!"

"I'M NOT A BOY!" Peter was now yelling too.

"Then…? what are you?" asked the shocked Captain Hook.

"I DON'T KNOW!" Peter aguishly shrieked. All of a sudden, the voice sounded feminine.

"Told you she was a girl," whispered Smee.

"I AM NOT A GIRL!" Peter screamed, "I CAN'T ACT LIKE ONE!"

Captain Hook and Smee left Peter crying.

Captain Hook stared at his new hook in the mirror on the ship.

I'm Hideous!" He moaned

"Your face is still very handsome," comforted Smee.

"The first thing people will notice is my hand, not my face! Growled Hook.

"We still respect you," chimed the crew in unison.

"I will kill that thing!" vowed Captain Hook, tossing his mangled hand with his watch still in it to a crocodile, who loved it. The taste followed the ship as it sailed away.

Peter was so upset that Peter flew and flew back to London. Peter saw people wearing suits with top hats and people wearing dresses with feathered hats. Peter thought it odd to hear the people in dresses called "Mam" and the people in suits called "Sir" for Peter was so high up that all the people didn't look that different.

Peter flew over Kensington Gardens, where Peter came across babies and their nannies. One of the babies rolled out of its carriage. Peter swooped down and caught it before it hit the ground. Peter flew back to Neverland.

"What's your name?" Peter asked the baby

"Tu tu." The baby seemed to respond.

"Tootles!" proclaimed Peter happily. Tootles, what a silly name for a child!

Peter visited London because Peter was homesick. Another time, Peter saw a baby roll out of its carriage and begin to eat grass; the nanny wasn't even paying attention!

" No Nibble," Peter scolded the baby, who would become known as Nibbs.

When Peter flew back to London once more, Peter saw a baby carriage rolling down a sloped street. Peter flew after it, getting the baby out before the carriage crashed its wheels, still spinning.

"Look at the way the wheels swirl and curl Curly," Peter cooed as Peter flew away.

Peter now flew to London out of concern for the children who lived there, when Peter spotted a baby through a hospital window crying and being ignored because the overworked nurses had too much to do!

"Your Slightly Soied I will clean you up." Peter dipped the baby in the lapping waves on the way back to Neverland. The Name, fortunately, became just Slightly.

Now the Twins could toddle, and one day they toddled away from their nanny so far that they couldn't find their nanny and started to cry! Peter heard them on Peter's way home from checking on Peter's Mother and said, "Who abandoned you?" and took the Twins home to Neverland. No matter how Peter tried to name them, Peter always forgot which child was which, so their name was The Twins.

As the Lost Boys grew, they became more companions and friends than babies to be looked after, to Peter's absolute joy! They played games like tag and hide and seek. As the Lost Boys became more independent, Peter became lonely and thus flew back to London to fill the hole in Peter's heart.

In London, the Darling family and Wendy Darling loved reading the same fairy tales over and over again. The one she loved most of all was Cinderella because she loved to imagine that the parties Mother and Father went to were just like the Prince's Royal Ball! Wendy had to read Cinderella over and over first to John, then to Michael, who were boys who loved it just as much as she did! Wendy and John loved to play as their partners went to a ball and danced "one, two, three, one, two, three, one, two, three, one"

"Liza come play with us!" Wendy invited.

"I can't play with you, I'm working," though tired of having to explain the difference between "Lady" and "Maid" to Wendy, Liza felt included.

The party was always at the King of England's palace. Why else would Father say, "This tie it will not tie around the bedpost, oh yes, but around my neck no! Oh dear no begges to be excused!"

"Say it again, Father say it again!" giggled pleading Michael.

"A little less noise there a little less noise," chided Father.

"Go take your baths, children," directed Mother.

After the children left, Mrs. Darling tugged her husband over to the dresser.

"This is the shadow of a boy," assumed Mrs. Darling, for in the Real World, we have a thing called Gender!

Mr. Darling took the shadow and looked at it with a flicker of recognition. "It is a stranger…" not realizing that using the gender-neutral word "Stranger" was correcting his wife.

"I wish we weren't going out to dinner tonight… I'm afraid…"

"Don't worry, dear, Nana will look after them," comforted Mr. Darling.

Oh, but how thickle grownups can be, as soon as great Nana bumped Mr. Darling's leg…

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" wailed Mr. Darling.

The children ran to comfort Nana.

"Of course, you love her more than me, I have to work," Mr. Daring complained.

"Don't be silly, George," said Mrs. Darling.

"Nana isn't the one hurt here, I am!" Mr. Darling protested further, "Also, I'm the mam of the house, a she is a dog! Dogs belong in the yard!" Mr. Darling grabbed Nana roughly by the collar and dragged her outside.

Wendy said, "Nana smells danger," smiling out the window, before turning with a concerned face to her Mother.

"I hope you'll have a quiet night tonight…" Mrs. Daring's voice trailed off.

"Can anything harm us Mommy, after the night lights are lit?" asked Michael, getting anxious because his mother was.

"Nothing precious, they are the eyes a mother leaves behind to guard her children, now sing your goodnight song and into your beds."

Wendy, though a young lady, insisted that they all sing "Tender Shepherd" every night; it was the normal routine.

After Mother left, Nana barked as Peter flew through the window.

"Shadow! Shadow! Where are you? Tink have you seen my shadow?" frustrated Peter asked.

Hearing the stranger's voice, Nana barked loudly, causing Peter to hide behind the left window curtain just in case anyone could see Peter startle. After Nana stopped, Peter came back out.

Tinkerbell flew over to the top dresser drawer.

"Shadow! I found you! I thought I lost you forever!" Peter hugged Peter's shadow. "Now, how do I stick you back on? I know soap!" Peter rubbed the soap on Peter's shadow. The soap made the shadow slippery, so it didn't stick.

Peter began to cry because Peter had a low tolerance for frustration, waking Wendy.

"Why are you crying?" asked Wendy.

Peter quickly wiped Peter's tears and went over and bowed to Wendy.

"What's your name?" Peter asked politely.

"Wwndy Darling," answered Wendy, "Where do you come from?" Wendy continued curiously.

"Second star to the right and straight on 'til morning," answered Peter.

Wendu looked at Peter, puzzled. "Is that your address?"

"What's an address?" Peter was now puzzled.

"Didn't your mother tell you what to say in case you got lost?" asked Wendy.

"Don't have a mother," Peter stated,

"I'm so sorry," said Wendy, "Do you need help? You were crying earlier." Wendy steered the conversation back to her first question.

"I can't put my shadow back on." Peter pouted.

"Peter, it will have to be sewn on, soap makes things slippery," explained Wendy,

"I apologize if this hurts," said Wenddy.

"I never cry," assured Peter, who had just cried!.

Peter wished to have other sensory input than the pain of the needle going in and out of Peter's body, watching the needle to gain a sense of control over the situation.

"There all done! You were so Brave!" Wendy applauded.

Peter, feeling elated, began to skip around crowing. The Crowing sounded high-pitched at points, and that's when Wendy discovered Peter was a girl. Wendy decided it would not be like a proper young lady to ask such a personal question! Besides, Peter was so clever! She told Peter this

"Yes, I know," said Peter, as if that is the polite way to respond when someone compliments you.

Nana started barking again, and Peter went to hide.

"It's ok, " Wendy said, causing Peter to blush. Seeing this, Wendy politely tried to cover up, noticing Peter's fear by continuing, "She's chained up."Peter pretended to be comforted; it was the polite thing to do!

"Peter, where do you live?" asked Wendy.

"Neverland," answered Peter.

"Why is it called that?" asked Wendy.

"Because you never have to grow up meaning you never have to decide who you are." answered Peter..

"Sounds lovely…" said Wendy.

"You must be lonely all by yourself, Peter," Wendy sympathized.

"I'm not lonely because the Lost Boys live with me, I'm the Captain of them," reassured Peter.

"That sounds like fun!" exclaimed Wendy.

"Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have a mother, because I ran away from home the day I was born so I don't remember her., my Father said I'd be a man when I grew up, and I'm not a man!"

"You're definitely not!" affirmed Wendy.

"I don't hear TinkerBell!" screamed Peter in distress.

"Who is Tinkerbell?" asked Wendy.

"The Fairy born through my laughtter," clarified Peter.

"What does she sound like?" asked Wendy. Little girls are assumed to like fairies, so they are assumed to be female.

"Like jingle bells," Peter responded.

"Then let's be quiet and listen," suggested Wendy.

Peter closed Peter's eyes and took slow breaths to breathe quietly.

Quiet jingle bells came from the top drawer of Wendy's bureau

"She's in the drawer, Wendy!" giggled Peter

As soon as Peter opened the drawer, Tinkerbell flew really fast into Wendy's face, jingling angrily.

"Tinkerbell Wendy is not a kester!" Peter corrected angrily.

Wendy laughed even though she was too old to laugh at a word that meant bottom.

"Wendy, I came to your window to hear your stories. I don't know how to tell stories; because I always arrive at the end, so what I make up for the Lost Boys from the begging of the story makes no sense! The Lost Boys love stories . Will come to Neverland to tell us stories?"

"Is it dangerous ?" Wendy leaned in.

"Yes! There are pirates who can kidnap you and make you walk the plank!

"How exciting!" exclaimed Wendy. "I'd better naught leave John and Michael home alone they're too young."

"They can come." Peter hadn't noticed the two lumps in the two other beds and therefore just shrugged.

"John! Michael! Wake up We're going to Neverland!" Wendy shook her brothers awake.

"Peter how we get to Neverland?" Wendy hadn't thought of this until just now.

"We can fly! You just think lovely, wonderful thoughts and up you go!" As Peter said this, Peter felt genderless and floated up without the weight of Gendee!

Peter did air gymnastics for the Darling children for a while.

"What are your lovely thoughts?" Peter asked the Darling children.

"Picnics!" exclaimed John.

"Hopscotch!" exclaimed Wendy.

"Candy!" exclaimed Michael.

"Sailing!" exclaimed John.

"Flowers! Exclaimed Wendy

"Candy!" exclaimed Michael.

Since Michael's happy thoughts were genderless, Peter appalled him to think lovelier thoughts.

"Christmas!" and Michael rocketed up into the air on that genderless thought!

"Think like Michael," Peter instructed the Gender socialized older Darlings,

Wendy thought of her crush on Peter, and rocketed up. John thought of his love of learning about History, and rocketed up too!

"I can't wait for you to meet Tiger Lily!" Peter was excited.

Hearing all the noise, Liza ran in, fearing that something bad had happened because of Michael's shrieking as he flew up.

"Liza, come with us to Neverland!" Michael took the social cue from his sister.

All flew out the window into the night.

Neverland was somewhere between Australia and Africa, and had a balance of both climates. Thus, a lion, a kangaroo, and a kangaroo lived there. The crocodile could live in either country's climate and could follow Hook around the entire island, hoping to eat him. The Lost Boys loved to terrarize the ostach, and after doing so, wondered why Peter Pan hadn't come back yet.

"We upset Peter when we told Peter Peter's story didn't make sense," bemoaned Tootles.

"It's scary here without Peter… It's just way too quiet in Neverland," shivered the Twins.

"I'm not afraid of anything!" boasted Slightly anoxiously, so the other boys tackled Slightly and started playing wrestling. Just then, they all heard a sea shanty out in the distance. swor

"Piates! Hide!" the Lost Boys yelled, alerting Tiger Lily and her family as well.

The pirates grandly marched to their sea shantly, until Hook's thrown was dropped!

"Clumsy! Butterfingers!" screamed Hook, kicking two pirates out of the way.

One pirate spotted one of the Twins running to hide and tried to shoot the Twin. Hook dug his hook into the pirate's arm. "Tiger Lily will hear the crack, I don't want to deal with her shrieking and crying!" Tiger Lily, for her part, wouldn't want to deal with the attention her fear of loud noise would get her from her family or Hook and his pirate crew.

"I could slit his thoat quiet;y with my sword," suggested Smee.

"There's no point if you can't kill all of them! Go and find them!." Hook commanded his crew.

Smee was too loyal to leave. Since Hook didn't have two hands anymore, he couldn't cut his hair, thus it had grown long, and he felt better. An idea came to Hook's mind, though he didn't know why, to refer to the hook as they or them because it helped the hook seem more useful to him. However, Hook didn't tell the other pirates this; he wanted to be respected and feared as a captain.

"Smee, a captain, or a man must demand respect from his cew through fear and intimidation." said Hook of his theory of Manhood.

Smee suggested, "Why don't we be productive and search the part of the Island we're on."

Hook walked around until he saw a suspicious mushroom, because this type of mushroom didn't grow in the Spring part of the island. Hook's natural reaction was to try to pull it out of the ground… Not only did it work, but there was a chimney under it!

"The Lost Boys live underground!" Hook was excited about his conclusion. "Whistle for the other pirates," Hook commanded Smee.

Children love cake! We are going to use mint jelly and poison to turn it a tempting green. We'll place it near the tree door so the Lost Boys will find it, eat it, and die!" cackled Hook. Just then, Hook heard a tick tock tick tock. "The crocodile!" he exclaimed in fear, falling backward, catching himself in a backward crab crawl, and crawling away!

The Lost Boys crept out of their hiding places, just as a signal arrow was shot into their front door.

"Well, guess we'd better get out of Tiger Lily's way," sighed Slighy.

"Why doesn't she want us around?" asked Nibbs.

"It's so we won't hear her talk weird," answered the Twins, not realizing that calling the way Tiger Lily spoke "Weird" was the reason they were forced to leave.

Tiger Lily danced mute with her family; it was their favorite way to help Tiger Lily find more comfortable ways to communicate with them. Dancing was like having a secret language just for them. This was a fun type of secret! "Ugga Wugga meatball." This particular vocal stem referred to Captain Hook, who would be a "MeatBall" if the crocodile ate him!

Unfortunately, Tootles ran out and interrupted Tiger Lily and her family's conversation, causing him to be grabbed by Tulips, and as Tootles was being taken back for a good talking to, the rest of the Lost Boys didn't want Tootles to be punished, and thus, a tug-of-war began!

All heard a swoosh and looked up.

"Poor Wendy… Poor Wendy." They heard a female voice no one knew was Liza's.

"It's a Wendy Bird!" proclaimed Slilighly.

"The Wendy Bird is a bad Omen, RUN!" screamed Tiger Lily, who could speak clearly in emergencies, surprising the Lost Boys.

"Don't worry, Tiger Lily, we'll shoot the Wendy! Go get your bows and arrows! Slightly called after Tiger Lily and her family. All the Lost Boys did. Slightly took a perfect shot, and Wendy floated to the ground.

"I killed Wendy Bird, I am the protector when Peter isn't around," smiled Slightly proudly. Slightly only thought this because Slightly was the tallest.

The lost boys heard a triumphant crow, meaning Peter was back!

"Let's surprise Peter with the Wendy Birf! " recommended Sghitly

"Did you miss me?" asked Peter as Peter landed.

"We killed a large bird!" The Lost Boys all said in chorus, stepping aside like a curtain.

"You shot Wendy, she's my friend!" Peter said, dismayed.

"You mean that's a human?" Slightly felt guilty. The guilt showed on Slightly's face.

"I'm going to kill you!" Peter lost it.

Wendy grabbed Peter's arm, causing Peter to calm down.

"She's alive!" Peter and the Lost Boys all sighed in relief.

"What do we do now?" asked Tootles.

"We'll build Wendy a house as an apology." Peter improvised.

"How do we build a house?" asked Curly

"Wendy is a creative young woman, so be imaginative in your material choices. " Peter instructed.

So, the Lost Boys scattered to look for these items and found a frame for a cabin, canvas for sails, and some red paint that the pirates had discarded. Hook saw this and childishly wanted his stuff back!

The Lost Boys spread out the frame, covered it in canvas, and painted a door, windows, and Wendy's name on the door. All the work around her made Wendy wake up. Taking her sewing scissors out of her purse, Wendy cut with precision until the door opened.

"Wendy, lady, be our mother!" cried the Lost Boys ad libbed. They had never known anyone who used She or Her pronouns, and thus, didn't know what else to say to Wendy, who was also taller than Slightly.

"Oh," Wendy blushed with pride at being given such a Grown-Up responsibility!

"I guess I can play father! It will turn Neverland into a stage! Peter didn't realize this statement affirmed Wendy's crush!

"Well, come inside and you can introduce yourselves, and I'll tell you a story!" Wendy clapped her hands delightfully!

Once inside, Wendy asked the Lost Boys their names.

"Curly," Curly stepped forward and stomped twice.

"Nibbs," Nibbs stepped forward and stomped twice.

"Slightly," Slightly stepped forward and stomped twice.

"Tootles," Tootles stepped forward and stomped twice.

"We're the Twins," they stepped forward and stomped twice.

Wendy noticed that these weren't "Boys Names" or "Girls Names" for that matter, they and Peter just had one marker of boyhood: short hair.

"So, which story would you like to hear?"

"Tell us the one about the prince that couldn't find the lady who wore the glass slipper…" said Peter dreamily.

So Wendy told Cinderella,

"The Prince knew he had found Cinderella when he put the glass slipper on Cinderella. and it fit her like a glove, and thus Cinderella and her prince were married and lived happily ever after!"

"Tell us, Sleeping Beauty." Tootles forgot to say "Please."

Wendy ended it with "...And the Prince kissed Sleeping Beauty awake…"

"Yuck!" proclaimed Peter.

"All the Prince did was put a thimble on her finger to protect her from pricking her finger on the spinning wheel ever again, so Slepping Beauty and her Prince lived happily ever after " Wendy respectfully backtracked.

Peter sighed, relieved.

"Tell us Hamlet," bored Slightly said, being too old for Fairy Tales.

"Prince Hamlet was cut with his poison sword by Laertes. and died in Horatio's arms… King Hamlet was poisoned by his brother, Claudius, and died. Queen Gertrude: took the poison meant for her son, Prince Hamlet, and died… Ophelia drowns herself because Prince Hamlet refused to marry her… Leartes is stabbed with a poisoned sword by Prince Hamlet for trying to kill him at the command of King Claudius, and dies. Then Prince Hamlet stabs his uncle, King Claudius, with the same poisoned sword, and thus, he dies… Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are executed by the new King of England, because Prince Hamlet and they die…

"And they all lived happily ever as ghosts like King Hamlet.!" Peter fix-it-ficed, cheering up the younger children.

There was a friendly knock on the door. The Lost Boys stumbled over each other to open it!

"It's a cake!" Tootles exclaimed excitedly.

Wendy slowly made her way through the crowd of Lost Boys, and when she got to the front, she remembered the poisoned apple from  Snow White. And since this cake was clearly left by a stranger…

"I'm sure you would rather have a cake made by your Mother… Let's play Snow White while I cook!" So the Lost Boys learned the art of homemaking.

"The girl foiled our plan, she is intuitive," observed Stalky.

"We've never baked a cake before…" pointed out Smee.

"A change of plans we'll take Peter's new family away like he took my hand!" declared Captain Hook. The Pirates sang and danced away.

Since the house was too small for everyone to sleep in, Peter politely guarded it. Liza, who had straggled behind, was met by the animals and was fascinated by why animals from two different continents could live on the same island. She decided to follow the animals quietly and observe them. Tiger Lily also loved to follow the animals for play, though not for science, "Uggle Wuggle ostrich." she exclaimed excitedly upon seeing the ostrich in the morning.

Peter taught the Lost Boys, who now included Michael and John among their ranks, how to break rules, not to wear masculine clothing like ties or grow facial hair. Michael responded well, while John corrected Peter's grammar.

"Piates!" The Lost Boys screamed and ran away.

Peter stayed behind. Smee came carrying Tiger Lily.

"The Captain orded us to let Tiger Lily be eaten by wolves," Smee smirked.

"Oh No!" Peter clapped Peter's mouth.

"What's that?" asked Stalky.

"Let her go!" commanded Peter in a ghostly voice.

"Who are you to command us? Smee demanded.

"I'm your Captain!" Peter said with authority.

"Yes Captain," The two pirates said robotically, letting Tiger Lily go.

Captain Hook stormed to the tree in his bright red coat, demanding to know, "Where's the Redskin?"

In response, Tiger Lily, from up in her tree-top hiding place, threw red-skinned apples and red-skinned cherries at him, to show Hook what a weird, literal word he had just called her.

"What? Why? said Hook in shock, batted the fruit away, not realizing the question he had asked sounded like grammatical nonsense.

"What's he talking about? His coat is red!" Thought Peter

"We let Tiger Lily go," the pirates were finally able to explain.

"On who's orders?" Hook snarled.

"Yours," quiver the pirates.

"What spirit said that?" Hook said superstitiously.

"I am James Hook, Captain of the Jolly Roger!" Peter's voice echoed.

"If you are Hook, than who am I?" Hook asked.

"A codfish!" Peter called Hook something as weird as he had called Tiger Lily.

"Have we been captained all this time by a codfish?"

"T's lowr'en to our Pride "said Stalky. On that note, the pirates left thier captain behind.

Hook's new long hair made Peter wonder if Peter and the Pirate Captain could be the same. Finding a piece of brown-tanish fabric, Peter put the veil on.

Seeing Peter do this, Hook decided to give Peter a second chance to play with him, as soon as Peter sang "Ahhhhhh!" in mezzo soprano, Hook mirrored back " Ahhhhhh!" his voice cracking with tears in their eyes. They felt like they were flying without fairy dust, hearing their real voice for the first time since they were a child. The sea had brought them to Neverland because they needed to regress to remember who they are! Hook looked at the little hook with love. "We are they…" Hook said through tears of joy.

"I didn't mean to make you cry! I was just playing!" Peter comforted Hook.

The Phase bought back to Hook the moment Hook had lost their hand, Hook whistles for the other pirates to get Peter! Tiger Lily arrived on a scooter left by children who came to Neverland before the Darlings and whisked Peter away! Her family chased the pirates back to the Pirate Ship on scooters as well.

"Love you," she hung onto Peter tightly, not able to watch the romantic tone in her voice.

"Thanks," Peter answered awkwardly.

"Why did Hook call me-" Tiger Lily had particular trouble with the letters "R" and"S," and that word had both.

"Grown ups are weird, Tiger Lily," explained Peter comfortingly.

When they got back to Peter's home, Michael pointed and said, "Look at the Indians!" Horrifying Wendy.

"Michael, don't make assumptions!" Wendy corrected gently.

"Besides they're white like us, Indians are tea-brown, remember my history book?" reminded John.

Michael looked disappointed, so Tiger Lily said, " UggaWuggaWigwam." She could easily get down to his level of thinking.

Michael brithened.

"Tiger Lily deserves a party, for she saved my life!" proclaimed Peter.

"Ugg-A-Wugg," Peter spoke like Tiger Lily to make her feel equal.

"Ugg-A-Wugg," Tiger Lily echoed back happily. She had decided it meant "Help"

"Gug-A-Bug," Peter Pan and Tiger Lily celebrated the fact that "We Got Them Wahoo!"

"Ubblele-Wubble," Peter and Tiger Lily gestured for all to "Come Here."

When either got in trouble, there was just one thing to do!

" I'll just send for Tiger Lily!" proclaimed Peter with joy.

"I'll just send for Peter Pan!" Tiger Lily echoed back.

The two families acknowledged they had really, really shaken hands.

"Ibby Bibby sab," Peter Pan called Peter's two representatives, Tootees and one of the Twins.

"Ibby Bibby sab," Tiger Lily called her two representatives forward, Tulips and Braches.

"Sabble," everybody made eye contact with Peter Pan or Tiger Lily, whichever led them.

"Seeble " If anyone came to evil, they would "Beware!"

All made a two-handed version of the "I Promise" symbol and made a promise to each other to save each other from evil.

"Ugg-a-wechta" meant "You are in danger if the Pirates getcha and your took away away by Captain Hook!"

"Whar do we do?" That would be an emergency, so Tiger Lily spoke clearly!

" I'll just send for Tiger Lily!" reminded Peter.

"I'll just send for Peter Pan!" Tiger Lily echoed back.

All chimed in, "We'll be coming willy, nilly, Lily."

"Send up a flare!..." Peter was so excited that the sentence was incomplete.

"And I'll be there." Tiger Lily was trying to speak clearly because she felt confident about her speaking voice after being treated with dignity and respect!

"You know you really got a friend, a friend. We'll be true blood brothers till the end, the end, we're brothers till the End!" The whole family finished laughing.

"Tiger Lily, the children won't sleep after such a party!" Wendy smiled.

"We'll guard you from the pirates," Tiger Lily said to excuse herself quickly, running away in embarrassment because she recognized Wendy as the "Bad Omen Wendy Bird."

"Time to clean up from the party, children," said Wendy with motherly authority. As the Lost Boys and John and Michael put stuff in tree holes in another room, Wendy decided to ask Peter. "What are your exact feelings for me?"

Peter wasn't attracted to people with long hair, not having the words to explain this, though Peter said lovingly, "Those of a devoted son,Wendy." Wendy looked disappointed, and Peter had hoped to make her understand she was loved, just not that way!

"We got ready for bed, too, we brushed our teeth even though we were too tired to do so!" The Lost Boys stampeded into the middle of the conversation.

"How responsible you are becoming!" praised Wendy, "Now I shall tuck you into bed, Peter will sing you all a lullaby tonight." Wendy turned expectedly.

Peter's lullaby was about a memory, or a least as far as Peter knew, of love from Peter's Mother. It made Michael homesick, and so was John. Wendy knew if Peter couldn't love her romantically, she was too old for Neverland.

"We'll come to," for with Wendy's mothering, the Lost Boys had matured and so had to leave Neverland.

"I will say goodbye to you then." All Peter could do was shake each of the Lost Boys' hands. If Peter opened Peter's mouth, Peter would cry.

"Come with us Peter," Wendy saw the sadness in Peter's eyes.

"No, because my father wanted a man. He'd be so disappointed in what I've become! As for my mother, I don't know what she would have wanted, but I doubt she would have wanted an abnormal child. I am wanted here in Neverland, Wendy." Peter burst into tears.

Wendy tried to hug Peter.

"That's not what I need right now, Wendy. I need to grieve the loss of my family alone." Said Peter through tears.

"Remember to take your medicine, Peter," reminded Wendy.

"I will," Peter couldn't look her in the eye. Peter fell asleep depressed.

What the children didn't hear underground was Hook firing their pistol in the air out of desperation to make Tiger Lily startle, which to her family looked like. Her vision became blurry, her arms and legs jerked uncomfortably, and the feeling of fear ran through her mind; therefore, Tiger Lily melted down, and her family carried her away, crying! So the pirates tied the children up and took them to the ship.

"I will poison Peter's medicine because Peter Outed me to myself!" Captain Hook evilly laughed to no one in particular.

They climbed down the inside of the tree and found the milk medicine mixer on the table with the red and white checkered cloth, and poured blood red poison into the glass. Then Hook climbed back up the inside of the tree and disappeared back to the ship.

Tinkerbell saw what Hook did and woke Peter up.

"The Pirates have taken my family prisoner! I'll rescue them after I take my medicine, of course." Peter was being responsible!

Tinkerbell, remembering the tragic fate of Queen Gertrude, in Wendy's retelling of Hamlet, drank Peter's medicine so quickly that the color change wasn't noticed by Peter.

"Tinkerbell, you look sick… you're dying… but why ? Quickly, wherever your computer is, clap! Clap 'til you can't anymore…. Thank you for saving my dearest friend!"

Peter went off to the rescue!

On Hook's Pirate Ship, Hook celebrated their villainous victory by degrading themselves as "Dog" and "Swine" because they still despised their hook.

They covered up for it by singing "...Willing to kill any who says that his hook isn't cute," Leaving the pirates terrified to admit the pirates knew their Captain was like Peter, why, as a group, the crew referred to them as "Capyain Hook" or "Hook," while singing. The pirates respected them as their leader.

"Let me tell the Prisoners they're going to die, and bging. the Mother up from the ship's hold!" demanded Captain Hook.

Screaming children were brought to the mast, and Wendy was brought to face them!

"Does the mother have any last words? Hook sneered.

"These are my last words-" began Wendy.

"Thank You, Thaank You, very much," said Hook, cutting her off!

Just then, the Tick Tock Croc was heard, and Hook was terrified, causing them to lie down on their stomach and close their eyes! Peter crept onto the pirate ship, followed by Tiger Lily and her family, and Liza and the animals, including the crocodile! As soon as Peter hid all Peter's friends in the cabins, Peter hid in the darkest cabin and crowed!

"There's a monster on the ship!" cried the Piates.

"Stalkey, go into the cabin and kill it!" commanded Captain Hook.

"No!" rebutted Stalkey

"Muteny!" Hook chased Stalky off the plank!

"I'll go in," offered Checko, who knew it was Peter.

Sticking a dagger between his teeth, Checko went inside the cabin and screamed as he was killed! Hook was now sure the ship was cursed!

"Let the prisoners be killed by the Mosnter!" decided Captain Hook.

So the pirates drove the children into the cabin, who screamed in the dark until Peter hugged them.

"Now all we have to do is make Wendy walk the plank… No one can save you now, little girl," cackled Captain Hook.

"There is one! Peter Pan, the avenger!" Peter came out of nowhere!

The fighting ensued in earnest, no longer a game between Peter and Hook! Swishing and swooshing, sword and dagger clanging, Hook fought Peter, while Tiger Lily, her family, the Lost Boys, and the animals took care of Hook's crew. Hook disarmed Peter, so Peter did what Peter did best: fly!

"This isn't fair I say with my last breath. This isn't fair! I'm being fought by a fiend! Pan, who and what art thou?"

"I am youth, I am joy, I am Freedom!" proclaimed Peter, flying upwards.

"You are Freedom, you are the Freedom I'll never have." Hook resigned sadly, and they threw themselves overboard. Drowning like Ophelia in Hamlet

Oh, if only Captain Hook had accepted themselves as rhieir crew had accepted them, and their hook, they wouldn't have died a villain!

The heroes took the rest of the pirates back to Neverland and celebrated!

"Peter Pan is the most wonderful child!" Tiger Lily was so happy!

"Yes, I know," Peter hadn't learned how to take a compliment with grace.

Peter skipped around and crowed, prompting Liza and Michael to say in unison, "Will you teach me how to crow?"

"Sure," Peter was also glad to put in a lesson about gender as well.

"Don't be such a sissy, pim and prissy…" Michel loved being "Prim and Prissy," Liza did not. So, her crow came out as a clear "R" sound. Overwhelmed by their gender, clicking Michel's crow sounded like a "W"

"Wa…hisperrrrr close to my ear," Peter prompted Liza and Michel.

"Eroo! Eroo! both crowed triumphantly!

Peter continued to crow after Liza and the Daring children left for home.

In London, Mrs Darling waited for her children to come back, even though they never would.

"Tender Shepherd Tender Shepherd. Let me help you count your sheep…" Sang Wendy, Michael, and John, landing on the windowsill!

"George! Wake up! The children have come home! Exclaimed Mrs. Darling, shaking Mr. Darling awake..

He had been in the literal dog house because Mr. Darling blamed himself for his children running away!

"We brought you six more children!" exclaimed Wendy after hugs and kisses. "Won't you adopt them?"

"All of them!" Mr. Darling was surprised.

"I've done the calculations and we can manage," Ms. Darling said, handing Mr. Darling her notebook.

"Well, what's another six? Mr. Darling smiled.

The Lost Boys promised to be polite and shine their shoes, totally genderless promises that Mr. Darling absorbed as Masculine.

"It's time for baths!" Mrs Darling was cheerful.

"Peter will come back for me, and I won't have to marry a man," whispered Wendy to herself.

Peter didn't come for Wendy until she was married to a man.

Peter didn't come for Wendy until she was married to a man.

"Hello, Wendy," said Peter. "Where's John?"

"Studying for his PhD in history at Oxford," Wendy answered. Proudly.

"How is Liza?" Peter asked.

"She's studying crocodiles in Africa," said Wendy with a longing look.

"Is Michael okay?" Peter knew Michael shouldn't have left Neverland!

"They're figuring themselves out… Father didn't understand… and it made them sick.. " Peter could see the pain in Wendy's eyes.

"Is that them in bed?" This time, Peter noticed the lump in Wendy's childhood bed.

"No, that's my daughter Jane," clarified Wendy.

"You grew up! You must be so sad!" exclaimed Peter compassionately.

Wendy nodded. Women like Wendy can't vote, make, or control their money… Peter never grew up because Peter understood this from taking other girls to Neverland.. Peter started crying out of empathy!

"Mother! Mother!" Wendy had to go and submit to her husband

" Why are you crying?" asked a familiar-sounding voice.

"Hello," Peter said politely. "I'm Peter Pan."

"I know lots of stories,,, You love stories don't you Peter?" Jane conferred.

"Yes! Come with me to Neverland!" Peter jumped and crowed.

Jane thought lovely, wonderful thoughts and flew to the window.

"If only I could go with you," Wendy rushed into the room to say, "Goodbye."

"You can't because you grew up," Peter said, hugging her with tears in Peter's eyes.

What Jane discovered about herself in Neverland, I will leave you to imagine…

Chapter Text

Does Media shape who we become? How do our lived experiences shape the way we consume media? My Childhood love of “Peter Pan,” specifically Mary Martin, a woman playing Peter Pan, is complicated by colonist racism and a disabled villain. Peter Pan being played by a woman opened up my mind to possibility.

I had been born with Cerebral Palsy and thus had to go to speech therapy so I assumed I was misunderstanding the characters and tried to understand them. The limits of my six-year-old vocabulary meant that all of the words meant "help" except "Ugg-Ugg-Wah" which meant "I Promise" Jerome Robbins's choreography is the reason I can get the meaning of the words. Mary Martin/ sang the Racial Slur "Redskin"  Mary Martin hired Jermome Robbins Who hired "Ugg-A-Wugg"  lyricist Adolph Green so Mary Martin is RESPONSIBLE for RACISM!  Ugg” is used to portray “Indians” as violent, and the Lyrics Adolph Green wrote also include,”We'll just send for Tiger Lily I'll just send for Peter Pan! We'll be coming willy-nilly Lily Send up a flare And I'll be there! You know you really got a friend A Friend! We'll be true blood brothers to the end”  The duel Good and Evil nature of the lyrics is Brutal! “Bird must omen” sounds even more racist than “Ugg” because the speech pattern isn’t used again; Tiger Lily more often puts “Ugg” at the beginning of words, which is Tiger Lily's vocal stimming, with a sound, The Mary Martin Peter Pan presented a more fleshed-out version of Tiger Lily. She is the leader of her tribe, she rescues Peter on scooters and wears pants. But there’s the dreaded “Ugg” associated with the mean violent Indians in Westerns!  Once again, however, the stereotype is related to speech. In the song, “Ugg-A-Wugg” Tiger Lily alternates between perfect English and make-believe speech, because Tiger Lily is semi-verbal autistic!. This aligns with the Critical Period Hypothesis, the concept that a child must learn a language before puberty or the opportunity will be lost. I first learned about the Critical Period Hypothesis by watching Nova Secret of the Wild Child about Gene, a girl isolated by her parents who didn’t know how to talk until she was 14. Still, Susan Curtis reports that Gene would say things like “Apple sauce buy store.” This fits Tiger Lily’s speech pattern perfectly. Phrases like “Ugga Wugga meatball” or “Uggle Wuggle ostrich” are examples.  “Ugg-A-Wugg” also includes examples of autistic Echolalia with her echoing “I’ll just send for Peter Pan” after He sings “I’ll just send for Tiger Lily.”  Sondra Lee the actress who played Tiger Lily in the Mary Martin production, is white, removing a sense of “otherness.” I guess this added to my interruption. I do think the fact that Sondra Lee is white makes the use of “Indians say Ugg” as a joke abstract. The racial slur that calls the white Sondra Lee red is absurd, exacerbated by Captain Hook’s bright red coat.  The literal and abstractness of the Tiger Lily portrayal of the Mary Martin version had a weird effect on my autistic brain.  What if an Indigenous performer plays Tiger Lily?  In the new Lerissa Fasthorse products, she simply speaks English, which is neutral and not confusing. In this way, Larissa FastHorse doesn’t just “Cope” with Tiger Lily, she deals with her.! I’m not Indigenous so I can’t speak to the impact of Tiger Lily simply speaking English on Indigenous audience members, I will always be emotionally conflicted about Tiger Lily as a character, because of the new emphasis on how clear her speech is. Starting with Peter Pan Live “Ugg-a--Wugg” was referred to as “Meaningless” “Gibberish” or “Nonsensical-Gibberish” which is not like saying “Ugg is associated with Indigenous people being voilent” which is clear and not unintentionally ableist.

Being diagnosed with autism as an adult changed Wendy from “Damsel in Disstress”  to an empowered young lady. Wendy Darling is also autistic. Wendy loves stories and loves to retell them to others, having memorized them as she can retell them orally from memory, making stories her special interest. Retelling is bringing the female perspective to the stories she loves, it’s how many writers start. In Cathy Rigby's Peter Pan, she knows the end of Hamlet which would put her around 15-17 years old, so her special interest in fairy tales points to a child-like demeanor associated with Autism.   Wendy only had a slight crush on Peter in the Mary Martin and Cathy Rigby versions. In the final scene of the play, when Peter decides to take her daughter, Jane, back to Neverland with him, Wendy says "If only I could go with you" Wendy wants to go back to the place where she was KIDNAPPED & ALMOST KILLED. That's the ADVENTUROUS, THILL-SEEKING  BEHAVIOR of mine.

Captain Hook can be viewed through a different lens when played by a performer like Cody Garcia who is genderfluid and uses They/Them pronouns.  The way the Mary Martin version has Cyril Richard who also plays the abled Mr.  Darling before transforming into Captain Hook makes the cropping up less painful as the performer isn’t lying to you about being disabled.  Peter Pan doesn't acknowledge Hook's Disability! The musical starring Mary Martin has Hook say "If I were a mother I pray that my children be born with This Instead of That" He openly denies the Disability of not having an arm/hand out of pride! I do have a very weak right arm! Also, the line twists disabled pride into something evil, which took me a long time to unlearn. When I found out that Cody Garcia the performer who plays Hook on the current tour uses They/Them pronouns I got the chance to be empathetic with Hook. I have Cerebral Palsy and My walker  (Walkery) My G-tube (Buttony and Tubey) and my Feeding Pump (Pumpy) were all boys! Something that might be fun Is to have Hook Refer to his hook as They/Them. Talk to Larissa FastHorse, and see what she thinks. I am Disabled and Queer and this recommendation is based on my Lived experience This could remove the Hook’s association of the hook as a medieval sign of evil, instead helping express a longing to be themself. The awkward “If I were a mother I pray that my children be born with This Instead of That" was removed by Larissa FastHorse making the portrayal; of disability more relatable.  Hook throwing himself off the plank at the end could hint that he was depressed an underlying condition exacerbated by the loss of his hand. In the case of genderfluid performer Cody Garica, this could be a response to Hook not being able to express their gender identity and the source of the underlying depression. The Inclusion of a transfemme genderfluid performer in this production is extremely important as the production cast a teenage boy as Peter Pan censoring the querness of the Mary Martin portrayal.

The fact that Mary Martin, a woman plays Peter Pan, a boy, leads to a queer reading of the character Peter Pan. Why did my medical technology have male pronouns? Because Peter Pan does. Played by Mary Martin for a six-year-old girl it was like “You can do that?!" I was very aware that Mary Martin was a woman who was a boy while playing Peter Pan she was both in costume. Mary Martin was the first woman I saw who wasn't a "Damsel in Distress" She flew, she sword fought, She rescued others, She taught me Gender was interchangeable…   A woman playing Peter Pan gives girls a way to experience contrasting gender roles without demeaning the traditional material role that Wendy validates. The only person who uses any pronoun for Peter Pan is the villainous Captain Hook. Hook says “Because He cut off me arm ooh I’ll tear Him.” the rest of the characters refer to Peter as Peter. I saw an Australian news story called “tNot a Boy Not a Girl” where one of the nonbinary children used a first name instead of pronouns because no pronouns fit. I think this is the case for Peter who is also Nonbinary! Hook assumes Peter is a lady simply because he's wearing a veil, in “Oh My Mysterious Lady” which is a gender-neutral light brown color, unlike Wendy's pink dress. As an adult, "Oh, My Mysterious Lady" gives off sexual harassment vibes which Peter fights Hook when harassed! It also gives the audience a break from the suspension of disbelief, as they can laugh out their potential discomfort at Peter being played by a woman. This is the slapstick I remember laughing at. The I Gotta Crow (Reprise) resonated with me at six years old because I had trouble with the “R” sound! Mary Martin was a Transgender Role Model as Peter Pan for me at six years old! This is really the only thing I remember seeing that was positive and affirming of my disabled identity. It was what made an aspirational representation turn into a crush on Mary Martin, even though I didn’t know girls could feel True Love for other girls. As mentioned she sang the racial slur “Redskin” which from the definition I read You sat this word and an Indigenous person DiesMy heart will be forever broken for I truly love her! It was always my fantasy to be Peter Pan and now I’m GenderQueer, because a woman playing a boy means there are more than two genders!

As a disabled child, I wasn’t taught to view people who didn’t speak clearly as “Beneath Me” or as “The Othe” because I am just like Tiger Lily. Like Wendy, I love to retell stories. Like Captain Hook, I am confident in the body I’m in. Like Peter, I possess many aspirational qualities because the musical Peter Pan let me create a Neverland in which I belonged.