Cheshire Cat

*"You're not our Alice."*

## Storyline

The Listener finds themselves in Wonderland with a familiar character watching them. The Cheshire Cat quickly declares, however, that they are not Alice, a figure that he hasn't seen in quite a while. Nevertheless, he can recognize that the Listener has gone through the usual story of falling down a rabbit howl, consuming things that change their size, and wanting to go home. The Listener suggests somehow that they are Alice. The Cheshire Cat bites back that they certainly are not an Alice, although they might have similar qualities to Wonderland's true Alice. The Listener appears to try and argue or talk back but he is insistent they don't understand.

> "Being Alice doesn't matter. Having any of the traits doesn't matter...it is the soul Alice carried with her. The want to help. The desire to explore. A hundred and one confusing emotions rolled up into one blue dress. Do not presume to call yourself an Alice."
>
>

Despite this pronouncement, he decides that they could be an Alice but doesn't say how.

The Cheshire Cat inform the Listener that their way home is unavailable. The Wonderland they might have read about is not the Wonderland that they are in. Wonderland lives on in stories but ever since Alice left it has started to rot. This confuses the Listener, who just wants to go home, and in exasperation he informs them that they can only go home if Wonderland is well again. Not only has the land begun to rot but the world has become less chaotic and more boring since Alice left. None of the usual characters are acting the say they're supposed to, spending their days moping instead of partying or chopping off heads.

The Listener shocks the Cheshire Cat by offering their help, something that will make "an Alice of [them] yet". As an ethereal being, though, he can't really direct them where they need to go. He decides to bring them to the Hatter to test their mettle. If they can reawaken him, the Cat will consider them an Alice in training and guide them the rest of the way.

## Personality

The Cheshire Cat is an ethereal creatures who is (so far) the only authority on Alice. He's jaded by the constant appearances of Alice and not-Alices who seem to run through the same story every time they appear. The current state of Wonderland without Alice's influence might have gotten to him as well since he lacks the manic trickster energy of the animated Disney movie Cat or the sly sophistication of the live action movie Cat.

## Trivia

### Cheshire Cat

* Time in Wonderland runs in four dimensions.
* The Caterpillar has flown away.
* The Hatter has grown temperamental in his age.

### Fan Theories

* The Listener is a person named Alice or the original Alice suffering from some kind of disease or mental breakdown. Wonderland is their using their imagination to cope with it, especially if they're in a psychiatric facility.
* All the characters in Wonderland are psychiatric patients telling the story of Alice and how she's "ruined" their world. The Listener is the doctor trying to help them. Or maybe they are Alice. Or both.
* The Listener is not named Alice but knows enough of the story to try and claim they are, which the Cheshire Cat sees through.
* Alice is a title that can be earned through deeds and a true Alice can change Wonderland as they see fit. That is why not just anyone who ends up in Wonderland is treated as Alice since they can literally change game.
	+ The original story heavily used the symbolism of cards and chess, which may also appear should this end up being a series.

## Audio References

1. ↑ The Cheshire Cat Soothes You to Sleep