entrancelogs | OPEN | the "Lost People" mingle!

OPEN | the "Lost People" mingle!

Who: Every lonely person with a story to tell! (Check out the OOC details if you haven't yet!) Oh, and Peter Pan (

boyhood), too.
Where: Mingles are out on the mansion grounds.
When: June 4th-6th, night.
Rating: PG-13? We'll see.
Summary: Peter is up to old tricks. Using his influence as the Pied Piper, Peter gathers together everyone in Wonderland he can for a celebration. Are you ready to make some new friends, sad sacks? This doubles as a convenient excuse to see how many vulnerable children there are.
The Story:

So you heard a little tune on the air and you've come to play! The more, the merrier. Night 1 isn't strictly an action event, but if you'd like to have your characters react, or just want to thread something out for that time, go for it. Night 2 and Night 3 are where the action's at. The prompts are general ideas of what's going on!

Anyone who isn't invited is going to find they can't figure out where everyone's disappeared to, exactly, and if they do go to a location, it's going to look like nothing's going on. Strange, huh? For those who are invited, he only rule is this: mingle to your hearts' content! Make new posts, tag into things, do what makes the most fun!

After each night, everyone will be free to disperse before the sun comes up. They'll wake up in their beds feeling refreshed, with the pleasant, surreal sense they've just had a sweet dream.

Except it wasn't really a dream, was it?

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[The Once-ler knows that fear. He felt it intensely the day he finally asked the Lorax what happened, after he had used past tense one too many times in front of him. The Once-ler finally stopped and asked him what he meant, but the truth was that he wasn't sure he wanted to know. And once the Lorax told him, he was definitely sure he didn't want to know, and ignored that clear warning.

So he knows that fear very well, that fear that the future holds nothing good about him. It's such a strangely specific thing, but he understands it better than anyone else he can think of. With that in mind, he tells Peter what he would go back and tell himself, if he could. ]

...You should read it. There could be terrible, horrible things in it, and maybe you should be afraid of it, but you should still do it. It'll probably be good for you. Besides...

[He glances away, losing his resolve in his own guilt for just a moment. Eventually he takes a deep breath though and rebuilds his composure.]

...Besides, if you don't read it and everything goes to heck? You're going to hate yourself for it for the rest of your life. You're gonna just sit there every day thinking about everything you could've done different, but by then it'll be too late. You'll have to live with it forever, and it never goes away.

[He sighs, heavily.] Trust me, kid. You don't want that. ...No one does.

Edited 2014-08-20 04:03 (UTC)

[Peter bites his lower lip as The Once-ler talks, feeling a sense of mutual guilt. This was a person who felt the same as he did and he didn't really know how to comfort him. Misery loved company but Peter felt that there had to be something, some response, that he was supposed to do at times like this. If he had been James he would have known what to do. James was always good at things like that.

He reaches out and puts his hand on the Once-ler's shoulder, feeling awkward but at least it was something.]

I hope you're right. James thinks that we can stop it from ever happening. I'll read the books. Maybe there's something in them that can help.

[Honestly, he wasn't expecting to be comforted at all, and he's really not sure what to do with the sudden touch to his shoulder. Even after being back in Wonderland for a few months, he still has a little difficulty in strange social situations (and if he's honest, it's been a long time since anyone's patted his shoulder). Ultimately he settles on gently patting Peter's hand and offering an exceedingly awkward smile. He appreciates it, but he's really unsure how to react.

Besides, if Peter knew what he did, he probably wouldn't be trying to comfort him at all. He'd probably just be terrified of becoming him someday.]

Well, you won't know unless you read it, right? It sounds like you might actually have a shot if you do, if your friend's right about it.

[Peter smiled. It was thin and a bit weak but at least it was there. He moved his hand away, reaching out to grab another of the sweet drinks.]

You're right. I should grow a pair of bollocks and read the sodding thing. What am I doing being afraid of a few pages, eh? I'll do it. How scary can it be?

[Peter wobbles a little. Perhaps he's had bit too many but he doesn't care. He's starting to feel good and Merlin, that's a relief.]

It'll probably be fine - I mean, it's a book. It's not like anything's gonna jump out and grab you.

[He knows it's the content that's more scary, but he's trying to joke around and ease the mood, and he doesn't feel like he's doing a very good job of it.

Then, the Once-ler is the one to reach out and put a hand on Peter's shoulder, though it's less out of comfort and more to steady him. He saw him start to wobble there.]

Might want to slow down a bit there, buddy. They're a heck of a lot stronger than they taste.

[It's why the Once-ler is still on his first. Aside from the warning though, he doesn't make a real effort to stop him, or to take the drink away. He's already made peace with the fact that he's probably going to be half-carrying Peter back to the mansion at the rate he's going, and the kid's already having a cruddy night as it is.

Besides, no one ever claimed the Once-ler was a responsible adult - the Once-ler included.]

I'm fine! Really! These are wicked good, you know? We usually have Firewhiskey we nick from the kitchens but these.... bloody brilliant!

[Peter grinned brightly, his mood suddenly shifted. Oh, he could be a happy drunk sometimes he was finding. Of course, it all had to do with the company. A small voice told him that should he be alone with his thoughts, that happy, fuzzy feeling could turn very dark indeed.

There were two sides to Peter and it all depended on who was with him to see which side of Peter's personality would bubble up.

Peter stumbled a bit, the mask falling around his face again and he giggled.]

My friends call me Wormtail. Bet you can't guess why.

Aren't worms almost entirely tail?

[He raises an eyebrow, looking pretty amused at both that and at Peter swaying the way he is. Yeah, he's definitely not-fine.

The Once-ler doesn't really want to kill the kid's buzz by pointing out the strangeness of his nickname though. Peter seems a bit like he needs it. Kindly, he reaches out and helps him fix his mask.]

Sorry. Why do they call you Wormtail? I'm not that good at guessing games.

[Peter laughs softly as the Once-ler helped him with his mask. Merlin, when he wasn't paying attention the alcohol really snuck up on him. He went from zero to drunk in what felt like no time at all. He does his best to keep from falling on his face, his cheeks incredibly red as he looks up with a grin.]

'Cause I'm a rat. No, really. I...I'd show you but, I ...lost my wand somewhere. But you can't tell anyone. It's a secret. James, Sirius, and I would be in so much trouble. But it's brilliant!

[It's a little hard for the Once-ler to suspend his disbelief when Peter is this sloshed.]

Uh-huh. Right. I'm sure it is.

[He's not totally unkind about it, but he always has a hard time believing in magical things without some kind of proof. It probably seems real to Peter though, through that thick layer of drunkenness, so the Once-ler sighs, and offers a tired smile. His hand is right back on Peter's shoulder, to help keep him upright.]

I'm not gonna tell anybody. I think you're about done for the night though.

[And in case that isn't clear enough, the Once-ler uses his free hand to pluck whatever's left of Peter's most recent drink right out of his hands.]

Awwww.

[Peter pouted when the Once-ler removed the drink from his hand. He really wasn't done with it. It tasted like candy and Peter wanted more of the liquid sweet. He reached for it and wobbled, leaning against the Once-ler with a sigh.]

Bugger. I suppose you're right. I think... perhaps... I should... lie down or sommat.

[Suddenly the world began to tip and swim. Buggering hell, it was all crashing down on him at once and the ground was gelatin, shifting with every move of his body.]

[The Once-ler tosses the contents of the drink over his shoulder, entirely removing the opportunity for Peter to grab it.]

Yeah, no, that's not happening. Not unless you wanna sleep in the forest.

[Regardless of whether Peter wants to or not, the Once-ler's not irresponsible enough to just leave him there by himself and he's definitely not staying out in the woods all night. Peter's leaning pretty heavily against him as it is though, and if he lets him lay down he's going to be totally immovable dead weight.

There's one other slight logistical problem though, and that's the absurd height difference between them. Instinct says to just drape Peter's arm over his shoulders and wrap an arm around his waist to lead him back, but it turns out the Once-ler is too tall for this to be comfortable for anyone involved - it involves more awkward reaching up than leaning for Peter and it's just not really going to work. He could probably lead Peter around with a firm grip on his shoulders, but if he's already this dizzy that's just going to make him sick. Maybe he wouldn't care as much if it was someone else, but...this kid's had a pretty rough night (or maybe even just a rough life in general lately), and he probably should have stopped him sooner.

The Once-ler stands in front of him, steadying him with two firm hands as he thinks. When he's pretty sure Peter's not going to immediately fall over, he lets go, turns around, and crouches down to the ground.]

Get on. Come on; we're going back.

[He figures piggyback might be easiest, and probably most comfortable for Peter. The Once-ler's stronger than he looks, considering he used to drag trees around like they were nothing. As long as Peter can hold on to him, they'll be good.]

[Peter falls forward, his arms wrapping around the Once-ler's shoulders, his legs curling around his waist. Had he been sober, Peter would have shied away from such a personal touch. The only people he ever would have accepted a piggyback ride from was James, Sirius, or Remus. But he was three-sheets to the wind now and he laid his head down against his shoulders, smiling.]

'mfine. Really. You're... thish is nice.

[The Once-ler hooks his arms under Peter's legs and stands up. They're a little shaky at first, but everything evens out once the Once-ler is used to their combined weight, and he starts slowly marching them forward. He can feel Peter's head against his shoulder, and his voice is clear in his ear, and...he doesn't know what to say or how to respond at all.]

...I'm not. But thanks, I guess.

[He shifts them a little bit, and pretends he didn't say anything at all. The party grows smaller and quieter behind them as they move further into the forest.]

Hold on tight, alright? [He doesn't want this kid to slip right off him, after all.]

[Peter hugged the Once-ler's shoulders tight, still convinced he was about the softest pillow.]

You are nice. Jamesh would take me home. He'sh nice too. He'sh my bestest mate in the whole world.

[He shakes his head a bit. No, he's really not, but this kid's pretty drunk. He probably thinks everyone's nice. He'd probably think the ground was nice, if he fell on it.]

Sounds like a good guy. [He shifts Peter's weight a little, so he won't drop him.] How come he's not out here?

[He knows the other Peter had some kind of criteria for being invited, something that made everyone at the party special, but he's still not really sure what that was supposed to mean. Now that he's away from the spell of the party, the implication that it's really because he wants more leaves him kind of uneasy.]

[Peter's forehead scrunches as he searches for some reason as to why James wouldn't be here with him. Oh, there are lots of answers and none of them make him feel happy.]

Because he has a girlfriend.

[Lily. It always comes down to her. Even in a place where he's the only Marauder besides James, he doesn't have his full attention. That belongs to Lily - has always belonged to Lily.]

Ah. That would do it. A guy can get pretty stupidly distracted over a girl.

[It's never happened to him but he's seen and heard about it often enough to know that's true. He can tell it's kind of upsetting the kid though, so he tries to be a bit lighter about it.]

But hey, his loss, right?

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OPEN | the "Lost People" mingle!

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