♙ PLAYER INFORMATION
Your Name: Sid
OOC Journal: ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png) cidershark
Under 18? If yes, what is your age? Anope.
Email + IM: balphesian@gmail.com | balphesian
Characters Played at Ataraxion: None, at the moment!
♙ CHARACTER INFORMATION
Name: Hatter (sometimes "David")
Canon: Alice (SyFy)
Original or Alternate Universe: OU.
Canon Point: See here!
Number: 140
Setting: ( Alice @ Wikipedia. ) In short: the twenties meet the fifties meet the seventies meet the medieval ages meet art deco meets dystopian future meets magitech ??? PROFIT.
History: ❝ One of the privileges of running a tea sho-P. ❞ There's actually very little revealed about Hatter's past before Alice meets him, and very little explained about the world in which the characters live—beyond it being a Wonderland which has evolved over the past 140 years since the "original" Alice left it. As such, we don't really have a concrete idea as to the characters themselves—are they the same? Is the White Rabbit now the same White Rabbit that lured the original Alice down the rabbit hole, or are they just titles assigned and passed down in order to keep the flavor of the original universe? A couple of things lead me to say yes, at least in Hatter's case: numero uno, being that upon meeting Alice, Hatter isn't able to say with complete certainty that she is (or isn't) the Alice of Legend (or hereby shortened to AoL, no relation to America Online) as Ratty says. The original Hatter had tea with AoL, and would have probably remembered her. Also! During his discourse with Alice, he asks her why he's called Hatter (leaving off the "Mad", incidentally), and, in addition to wearing a hat, explains that he's always there when they "pass" the hat, leading me to believe that he's not the original Hatter, and that the original Hatter was likely his... grandfather or great-grandfather, at least? Depending on how time works in Wonderland! Which is already a bit screwy. So if Hatter isn't mad and he doesn't know what AoL looks like, it's a fair bet to say he isn't the same Hatter who met AoL in the first place.
However! Hatter also asks Alice if "this looks like a kid's story to you," SO that might imply that the story itself has changed to fit with the real world parallel to Wonderland, thus anthropomorphizing the animal characters and assigning more political and real-world elements to the narrative, but doing so... poorly, like it's trying to catch up and failing. (They know they're characters in a book back in Alice's world, by the way!) So maybe they are the original characters, just... evolved. Or not. BASICALLY what I'm trying to say is that I have NO IDEA what the writers were smoking thinking when they reinvented these characters, so I'm going to play Hatter as he's portrayed in the show, without touching on history that hasn't been explained, since oh my god what. Anyway! Let's move on to the actual character history of the mysterious man they call Hatter...
When he's introduced in the show (or when Ratty brings Alice to meet him), he's sitting in a comfy chair with a pair of headphones, apparently in charge of the running of a tea shop. And by tea, I mean "tea", of which there are two definitions in Wonderland:—TEA, the stuff Hatter and the rest of the population drinks, made from plants
—TEA, the stuff (maybe Hatter) and the rest of the population drinks, made from HUMAN EMOTIONS WHAT OKAY SO BASICALLY that leads us right into the general economic structure of Wonderland which at this point is kind of little fucked up, in that it runs primarily on the supply and demand of humans from "our world", or Oysters, as the Wonderlanders call them. And they call them Oysters (Hatter explains), because of the shiny pearls they all hold inside! AKA their emotions. Which certain Wonderlanders in the Queen's employ then drain from the humans in order to serve to the population in order to pacify and control them like... mass... brainwashing, to prevent uprisings and protect the Queen's place on the throne of Wonderland. Oysters are also "branded" by the sun with a green tattoo-like mark in order to differentiate them and make them easier to pluck out for harvesting.
The humans are then drained at a place called the Happy Hearts Casino (or just Hearts Casino), which is like a giant inverted pyramid-shaped collection of levels and floors and whatnot built to keep the humans occupied and happy while their emotions are drained from them through their feet. Wonderland is constantly searching for newer and more exciting emotions to try (for example, Bliss, Innocence, and Clear Conscience are among the most fresh on the market), which opens up a huge new realm of really sick possibilites since apparently now you get away with almost anything if you manage to get your hands on a certain tea? TL;DR Hatter runs a government-sanctioned drug house as a part of the Queen's world of instant gratification.
In addition to this, it's revealed that not only does he keep the Queen's rule happy and healthy by serving tea to her addled population, he helps out the underground resistance trying to usurp the Queen and revitalize Wonderland. Long story short:—ONCE UPON A TIME the Red King ruled Wonderland with his elected council and everything was hunky dory and lovely and the City of Knights (his seat) was prosperous and everything was grand and they lived in harmony for 1,000 years!
—then the Red Queen of Hearts came to power and wiped them all out, even the King himself
—sometime during her reign her miners made a Stone of Wonderland which could open up the Looking Glass which connects the two worlds, making it possible for the Wonderlanders to snatch Oysters away from their families and drain them
—the resistance are the survivors of the war (refugees) who want to close the Looking Glass and kill the Queen and return Wonderland to the way it was, all happy and nice and stuff, sometimes at any cost. The resistance are currently headquartered at the Great Library of Wonderland, and Hatter regularly smuggles them dangerous things in order to help out—and for his "usual cut." After meeting Alice, they both go to visit Dodo, the leader of the resistance, to see if he can help her find her boyfriend—Jack Chase, who they later find out is Jack Heart, the son of the Queen.
Dodo, knowing Alice is an Oyster, refuses to help her; and, upon finding out that she holds the Stone of Wonderland (a ring Jack gave her before being kidnapped back through the Looking Glass), tries to kill her! So that's fun. She and Hatter escape to relative safety, while the Queen is also notified that she has the ring via the White Rabbit. Mad March, who had apparently had his (human) head chopped off as per the Queen's orders, is brought back to life with the porcelain head of a hare, and is sent to bring her back as a prisoner. Alice and Hatter head back to his tea house, but Mad March gets there first; they manage to escape them via Hatter's smuggling boat, and they make it to the Forest of Wonderland barely scratched. And are chased by the Jabberwock.
THEN, after the Jabberwock flounces off after jabbing its head on a stick in the pit they both fell into, Alice and Hatter meet Charlie the White Knight. After Charlie proves himself to be totally bonkers and Alice is revealed to possess the Ring and Hatter makes "are you serious" faces at him for a while, Charlie leads them to the ruins of the Kingdom of the Knights, and they settle down in order to think on what to do next, and to avoid the search party out looking for them. CUE CANON POINT.
Personality:❝ A friend. I hope. ❞ Other than being a pro at kissing ass and playing the game, Hatter's an avoidant and opportunistic personality. Fight? Does he have to? If not, he's off in the other direction, trying to save his ass. But if he's got something to gain, you bet he's in there taking the hits. It's a matter of weighing options and seeing which gets him further ahead in this crappy little world; there's not much point otherwise, is there? Hatter is a survivor, first and foremost. He'll do anything it takes to keep himself alive, at the cost of maybe offending somebody else's stricter morals. This doesn't make him a bad man; it just makes him a selfish one. (At least, at the beginning of the miniseries.) He helps people, sure, but he makes sure he's in the correct position to help them first—and that he's paid. And that means straddling the line and double-crossing and generally being two-faced; but, hey, you do what you gotta, right? Right? Right.
In light of this, he's still got a heart of gold—or, at least, tarnished silver; he helps with the resistance not because he makes a profit, but because he agrees with them, because he doesn't think it's right to poison the population and keep them in the dark. "Wisdom is the biggest threat," he tells Alice; he's made sure to remain wise in the face of the Queen's reign in order to help those less privileged. That doesn't mean he's a saint—not by any means—but he's doing what he can to help to resistance, in his own time and his own way, occupying the moral grey area with his tea business and sticking his fingers in as many pies as it takes. Hatter, the almost-but-not-quite-noble-or-trustworthy-but-getting-there-so-sorry-to-disappoint.
It's also clear that when he latches onto something (or when his heart gets involved) he becomes motivated to protect or follow through on whatever it is he's set on. In this case, it turns out to be Alice. At first, it's because he thought he might be able to barter her for something—earn a little cash on the side while helping her, everyone wins, they all go home happy—and then, somewhere along the way, he fell in love with her and promised to look out for her in every way he knows how. When Hatter makes a promise, he keeps it, and he kept the ones he made to her; at the risk of his own life and Charlie's. But during their first meeting, he comes off p r e t t y sketch. He's got a bit of a ego on him, probably due to his position; he's definitely not the type to lord it over someone, but he enjoys where he is and the comforts it affords him. Probably more than the next guy, if we're honest. He's not afraid to crack jokes and make fun of Ratty and Alice at both of their expenses, as well as leer a little at the "very pretty girl in a very wet dress." Let's be real; he's not even close to a gentleman. In fact, he'd probably get offended if you tried to call him that.
In the business vein, Hatter's the kind of guy how knows everything about everyone; he's everyone's friend long enough to learn their secrets and will use it as blackmail to keep himself on top of things. It's how he's learned to survive, at least in Wonderland, but it's a well-cultivated habit even if he doesn't use the information to make people hate him. He likes knowing things, and he likes exploring and sticking his nose where it doesn't belong, because it gives him an edge, and he likes edges. You scratch his back, he disinfects his hands and scratches yours with a ten-foot pole and some gloves.
Abilities, Weaknesses and Power Limitations:+ IT'S JUST FLESH AND BLOOD | Hatter's right hand is mysteriously incredibly strong, and can punch through solid rock. No explanation for why this is, but he killed Mad March with it, and punched the Jabberwock in the face, and Rabbit seems to be scared of it. So.
+ SAVVY? | Hatter seems to know a lot more about the Oyster world than a lot of people, and knows a lot of the ins and outs of Wonderland itself. He's good at lying and being sneaky and playing both sides of the board, so to speak.
+ HAT TRICKS | Shh, it's totally an ability.
— DOES THIS LOOK LIKE A KID'S STORY TO YOU? | Despite his street smarts, he's from Wonderland, which is... well, it's not the real world no matter how you look at it, despite trying to resemble it quite a bit. He's at a disadvantage when it comes to pop culture knowledge, but at least he knows he's a character in a book?
— NOT QUITE HUMAN | but close enough. You hit him hard enough and he will die a bloody death, just like anyone else. Inventory:one (1) straw-colored pork pie hat
one (1) brown leather jacket
one (1) burgundy paisley shirt
one (1) burgundy tie
one (1) pair of dark pinstriped trousers
one (1) belt
one (1) vest of body armor
a pair (2) of tan shoes
a few rings (4) two on each hand
one (1) brown mare, Guinevere Appearance:
I'm just jazzed about being on the show, man.
Age: Canonically, no clue!
AU Clarification: None needed.
♙ SAMPLES
Log Sample:Head hung, face down, sopping wet, hair in his face, trying to get his breath back. Ow. Ow. Definitely ow. Wouldn't you know it, but a tube down one's throat really hinders one's ability to get oxygen into one's lungs when not drowning in—whatever that liquid is. Blue. Blue, he remembers blue, blue and—
It's dark, or maybe his eyes are still adjusting, but this? This is not a forest. This is possibly the farthest thing from a forest he can think of. Everything is steel and grates and—more blue, subdued blue, darker—was he captured? Was Charlie and Alice—are they all right, or—
He takes great gulping breaths while his head spins, and then heaves himself to his feet. The lack of clothing bothers him, when he notices, but his mind is too fuzzy to care overmuch. This isn't the forest of Wonderland; its not even Wonderland, as far as he can tell, and even if it is, it's no place he's seen before. Mad March could have... and brought them to... torture, maybe, which would explain why he's...
Can't think. Hatter stumbles forward blindly and manages to locate a ledge, where he sits, just breathing. He'll—collect himself first. And then he'll find out what the hell is going on. Comms Sample:
TEXT ♙ OO1Wow. This is a surprising turn of events. I honestly couldn't have expected this. And that's not cheek - this is genuinely the most ridiculous thing that's ever happened to me, and where I come from, that's saying a hell of a lot. It's actually put a bit of a cramp in my plans, if I'm honest.
[ KIND OF A BIG CRAMP, actually. Like, at least a charlie horse in the great spectrum of life cramps. Speaking of Charlie and horses... ]
But isn't that how it always goes? In the middle of something important, whisked away into the aether by forces beyond your control... unbelievable.
Anyway. Introduce yourselves. I'd like to know more about you. Yes. You. No, not you, the other one.
I'm called
[ and he pauses, but—whatever. This isn't Wonderland; nobody knows him here. ]
Hatter. Pleased to make your textual acquaintance... s.
Oh, post script: directions to this garden thing might be nice. I've a horse in need of some greens.
[ and finally: ]
Post post script: I'm looking for a girl called Alice. She'll have a green mark on her arm. Or not, if this is where I think it is. Long brown hair, pretty face, blue dress, red coat - let me know. And if you see an old guy in a suit of white armor spouting nonsense about - I don't know, mystical vapours of destiny or something, you should probably let me know about him as well. Thanks in advance. |
