#i guessed which one is hatter and which is hare based on the order of their bodies and the order of their names

[majorshatterandhare]

[ID: Two images of drawings of characters from Alice by the Mechanisms. The first shows the Knave of Hearts, the Queen of Hearts, and the Caterpillar general. The second shows Alice Liddel, and Majors Hatter and Hare. The background of both is light grey. Each are labeled with their names, in all caps: "The Knave of Hearts" is in a black hand-written style font; "The Queen of Hearts" is in a red serif font, where the thick parts of the letters are open space; "Caterpillar" is in a simple, thick, blue font, which has been distorted to be wavy; "Scout Captain Alice Liddel" is in a blue typeface with reduced serifs, and which most of the letters are the same width and all are the same height; "Majors Hatter and Hare" is in another hand-written style font, this time in red.

Image One: The Queen of Hearts stands close to the middle of the frame. She is pulling the Knave of Hearts into frame from the left, by a chain attached to a bright red collar around his neck. The Queen has tan skin and long wavy red hair that is pulled up in a messy bun. She has bright blue eyes and a smirk on her face. Her head is nearly in profile, facing toward the right of the frame, but her body is mostly facing the viewer. She wears a uniform coat and trousers which are very dark in color, the coat being redder while the trousers are cooler brown. Both are splattered with black. Her coat has tails and the shoulders of it are decorated with roses. Her combat boots are the same color as her coat. She is wearing gloves colored the same as her trousers. Her coat has gold buttons and the coat, gloves, and trousers have gold piping. She is looking at the Knave.

The Knave has light skin and chin length black hair. He has cat ears atop his head which are flattened to the sides. His eyes are a very light chartreuse green color. He has a very worried look on his face and tears are streaming from his eyes. His uniform is also a dark red/black color. His coat is longer and comes down over his hips and has a wide collar. The Knave's boots are barely seen off the edge of the frame, but they are knee high. His coat is also decorated with gold piping and has flat horizontal buttons. His hands are chained together in front of him and he has light brown claws. Out from under his coat a black tail wraps around his leg. There are red lines indicating his falling into the frame and the Queen's fist tightening on his leash.

The Caterpillar general sits on the right side of the image. It is sitting backwards in a wooden chair. It has its arms resting on the back of the chair and its head in its right hand. In its left hand it holds the hose of a hookah. The hookah that the hose attaches to is sitting on the seat of the chair, in between the Caterpillar's legs. The stem of the hookah features a heart shape and all glass parts of it glow blue. It is wearing a denim blue uniform made up of a coat and trousers. The coat has a wide collar and is double breasted. The trousers are rolled up to the calves, where it can be seen that the Caterpillar's has two below-the-knee prosthetics which are blue and col grey. It wears navy combat boots. Around the chair, on the floor, are five glowing blue bottles, in various shades, and an additional hookah. The each of the hookahs have two hose ports, with only one hose attached. The Caterpillar is smiling with half-lidded, yellow eyes. It has long wavy blue hair and two antenna protruding up from its forehead and splitting its bangs. it has light blue skin with medium blue stripe-like markings.

Image Two: On the left side of the frame, Alice stands facing full on to the camera and taking a step forward. She is holding a futuristic black long gun, which is filled with a glowing pink liquid, across her body. Her uniform is blue, which consists of a V neck, with a lighter single breasted panel over it and long sleeves, under a short sleeve, high collar bolero. She has what appears to be a name tag on her right upper chest. Her trousers are nondescript, but the same mid blue color and tucked into her knee-high boots. Her uniform has coat-tails which reach her calves. Her uniform is accented with silver, in the form of piping, buttons, belts, and the high collar. She has light skin and blonde hair, which is pulled back into a low bun, and she has bangs which are V shaped in the middle and long on the outsides. Her eyes are red and she is splattered with blood, mainly concentrated on the top of her head, he right shoulder, her left ribs, her right leg, and so much on her boots that it is hard to see that they were actually blue as well. Two speech bubble style notifications come from Alice's body, between her and the Majors. They are the same black and pink as her gun. In a seven-segment display style typeface, they read "E> [heart] Access denied <3 [heart]" under a small picture of a cat head with an army cap on that has the outline of a cat head in the center. The cat's mouth is open and three excitement marks are on either side of his face.

Hatter stands in the middle of the three characters, but he is close to Hare and has his weight n the leg closer to him. Hatter has his left hand on his hip and his right one up by his chin, with his index finger and thumb stuck out in an L shape. His eyes are closed and he appears to be biting his lower lip. He has medium brown skin and long brown hair that is pulled back in a low bun. His uniform includes of a royal blue coat with gold buttons and piping. It has a high collar and on his upper sleeve is an upside down cat hat shape in light purple. He has a red sash tied around his waist and wears light beige riding breeches with black paddock boots and light brown half-chaps. A little yellow star comes out of Hatter's face between him and Hare. Hatter wears a blue cap which matches his coat and has two bunny ears sticking out from the back; it's visor is shiny and black.

Hare is mostly side to the viewer, with his body facing towards Hatter and his head turned toward the viewer. He also has his weight on the leg which is closer to Hatter. He wears and olive green siren suit with a dingy undershirt beneath it. The sleeves are long enough that they cover his hands, which are held together in front of him. He wears dark brown combat boots and his suit has a warm white rabbit tail on the back. The upper sleeve of his suit has a light pink, right side up bunny head shape on it. He has tan skin and pink eye and he is smiling with his lips closed. His hair is short and green and nearly the same color as his uniform. He wears a hat much like Hatter's except that Hare's is the same green as his suit. There are three short, pink lines denoting excitement radiating on either side of his face.

End ID

Note: In the image description and this note, the names of the characters have been color coded, such that every time "Queen of Hearts," "Queen," or "Queen's" is appears it is in red; "Knave of Hearts," "Knave" and "Knave's" are in pink; "Caterpillar," "Caterpillar general," and "Caterpillar's" are in blue; "Scout Captain Alice Liddel," "Alice Liddel," "Alice," and "Alice's" are in purple; "Majors Hatter and Hare" is split so that "Majors Hatter" yellow, the "and" is the same as the rest of the text (dependent on what mode you have tumblr in) and "Hare" is green, while the instance of just "Majors" is split so the first three letters are yellow and the last three are green; "Hatter" and "Hatter's" is yellow; and "Hare" and "Hare's" is green. Similarly, "Image One" and "Image Two" are bold and in orange. End Note]

✨mechanisms character designs!!✨

i know i posted alice and the majors™️ before but i wanted the whole Alice Squad to be together,,

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[inkdemonapologist]

[BatIM Call of Cthulhu Masterpost]

REMEMBER BACK WHEN WE GOT INVITED TO A MASQUERADE??? And we figured out the masquerade guests are definitely the sacrifice meant to summon their eldritch deity and that the party will probably be the location of the final ritual? ANYWAY WE’RE CRASHING THE PARTY, which means we need costumes.

The party is Alice in Wonderland themed; Sammy hasn’t read the book but got kin-assigned the March Hare by Joey, so naturally i’ve been doing nothing but drawing this loser in a dapper rabbit costume for an entire week

---

Anyway have a little smattering of out-of-context quotes from session 11

[Sammy is played by me, Joey is played by Boo (inkyvendingmachine), Henry is played by Maf (inkcryptid), Jack is played by Mochi (whatyouwantedmetosee) and Thren (haunted-hijinxer) is our GM!]

[Sammy] Sammy just has no magical powers. [Jack] YET. [Sammy] Yet. Correct. ...He doesn't want any. [GM] Half of him doesn't want any. [Sammy] That's... accurate, yeah. Half of him ALSO wants the OTHER half of him to stop having magical powers. [Jack] No Magical Girl transformation? [GM] *laughing* Is that what that is? [Jack] I'd watch a magical anime where the main character drugs themself and then becomes a weird... religious... madman! [Sammy] That does sound compelling! Maybe you should see if you can find a franchise that contains that element, and then become a big fan of it and draw a bunch of fanart for some reason. [Jack] Yeah, I dunno, I mean... it's so tiring getting into new media, I need to get a friend who will drag me into it. [Henry] And then you guys can start a roleplaying game with it and drag me into it! [GM] There's an idea! [Jack] Yeah! Someone should get on that! [GM] And if there was such a theoretical game... people might have to figure... what they're doing when they wake up!

[Sammy] We were put in a situation before where we were told that the only thing we could do was kill the host, but we found a way around it last time, [Peter] What way was that? [Sammy] Complicated.

[GM] Henry is the first to notice the apparent cultist, camping out, looking tired, trying to spot you guys. [Henry] Uh, Henry is just going to tap Sammy on the arm and point him out. [Jack] Bros! You've got to unionise! Look at these working conditions! [GM] Maybe one of these days you won't spot them, right? Hope springs eternal!

[GM] Okay, you can make an intimidate! [Sammy] Okay! *rolls* FIFTEEN IS -- this is the only thing Sammy's good at now -- fifteen is a hard success!

[Jack] I'm proud of him! [Sammy] Someone has to be.

[GM] Allison chats with everyone, and gets you into the costume room! Everyone seems relatively friendly! [Sammy] Except Sammy. Sammy doesn't seem friendly.

[Joey] My idea was, Joey would be Mad Hatter -- [Sammy] Because he needs a hat, [Joey] --Yeah, so he can have a hat -- I was thinking Sammy could be the March Hare, Jack could be White Rabbit, and then Henry could be the Dormouse, [Sammy] Yes! And then the Haiti boys are all the Mad Teaparty, which is great, because the Mad Teaparty is canonically trapped in a time loop. [Sammy] Because we tHOUGHT ABOUT THIS TOO MUCH,

[Jack] Kin-assign Pete! [GM] He's content to wear anything that looks like it fits him, as long as people aren't trying to push a co-ordinated effort. [Joey] (Pete can be Caterpillar,) [Jack] Catter-pete-lar [Sammy] Oh my goodness. Completely unnecessary. [Jack] This is a pun that Jack might make, out loud, to Pete [GM] Pete laughs, despite himself! [Sammy] I feel like, Jack would make this pun, and then Jack would be SO pleased with himself that Pete would laugh, because Jack was so happy about it. [Jack] Yeah that sounds canon. ....It IS canon!!

[Jack] You can like, actually pretend to be people who decided to come to this party to enjoy it, and not just steal and/or murder!

[Henry] I want someone on the help, because I feel like we would have more control if we had someone on the inside, [Henry] And Henry does have a very forgettable face, apparently!!

[Joey] What are the staff wearing? Target red shirt, khaki pants? [Sammy] Perfect! Everyone will fall for it! Based on my experience wearing red shirts into Target!

[GM] I guess this does mean Joey misses an opportunity to dress up Henry. [Joey] *excited gasp* Wait, wait, [GM] What? [Joey] Sorry, this has nothing to do with anything that's happening right now in the roleplay, but I just suddenly realised that (1) when Henry got married, was Joey his best man, and (2) did Joey get to pick out his tuxedo for him [Henry] UHHHH... I feel like, Henry usually defaults to Joey for outfits and stuff, but he would hesitate a bit to ask his best friend who has an obvious crush on him to help dress for his heteronormative wedding!

[Joey] There probably is at least one of the wedding photos where Joey is insistent on standing very next to Henry -- while Henry's next to Linda! -- but, [GM] ...but also, Joey is here, [Joey] But also Joey is here. [Sammy] ...absolute disaster of a man... [GM] But the tuxedos look good! [Joey] Yes. Henry was properly fitted.

[Sammy] I don't want a full-- I don't want a freakin' fursuit, because-- [Henry] (FNAF in the distance)

[Sammy] But I feel like, since both White Rabbit and March Hare are, like, dapper rabbits, they could do something like, yeah, splicer mask and also a hat. [Jack] I mean, Jack's not opposed; Jack likes hats. [Sammy] Jack absolutely should have a hat, I agree. [Jack] He's getting so many hats! So many hats, and so many boyfriends, [GM] He can't be stopped! [Jack] >:3c He shouldn't be stopped.

[GM] I'm still just stuck on the phrase "Dapper Rabbits."

[GM] If Joey and Allison are talking further away, I guess it's moot. Though Allison did see Prophet Sammy! He changed in her room. [Sammy] Well, nobody explained him to her. Sammy just showed up the next day and hoped that we wouldn't talk about it, and then we didn't! It was great. [Jack] Sammy's over here, hoping that Allison is distracted by Joey so that none of this conversation is being listened to, [Jack] MEANWHILE, smash cut to the other side of the room, where Joey is explaining SillySam,

[Joey] A lot of Joey's lack of giving information was to keep her out of it, and not paint a target on her back... but now? She has a target on her back, so... Sure! You can also sacrifice yourself, for the greater good!

[Sammy] I'm sure someone in this party will thank Allison. It won't be me. But I'm sure someone will.

[Henry] Henry's already smearing his blood on people, he's gonna agree to whatever at this point.

[Sammy] DEFINITELY not a cult, now hold still while we put this guy's weird glowing blood on you, it's fine. [Jack] Welcome to the flock!

[GM] What does this mean for Prophet Sammy's sacrificeability rating on Henry, though? Now he's potentially long-term useful... [Sammy] I mean... [Jack] The Prophet isn't here so he doesn't need to know about this! [Sammy] ...I feel like, if something has greater value, then it's an even more impressive sacrifice. That's why you sacrifice an unblemished sheep, traditionally. If it's not a blemish-- [Sammy] Like, that's most of what he was worried about, like, “does this make you not fit for sacrifice.” But if it's actually a really cool thing, ...!

[Sammy] Sammy's nervous. [Jack] Jack is also nervous. [Henry] Henry is also nervous! [Jack] Oh, that's always a good sign, [Joey] Joey's going to be confident! [Henry] ...Of course he is. [Joey] Someone has to be! [Jack]...is he "Confident" or "Confident (Fast Talk)"? [Joey] YES. That last one. [Sammy] *muttering* That's the best we got, unfortunately.

[Sammy] If Jack or Henry express nervousness, Sammy agrees with them. If Pete is nervous, then Sammy will very aggressively say that Joey knows what he's doing.

[Sammy] Allison, don't use a spell to bind people's souls together in order to avoid crunch,,, [GM] You never know when something might be handy! [Sammy] I mean, [GM] Waste not want not!

[Henry] Does Henry have to draw in blood on himself...? [GM] No, Henry has a lot of his own blood on his person.

[GM] Aw, man, Bendy should've commented on the rabbit outfits! I'm sure he'd find that hilarious. [Joey] ...why...? [GM] WHY? It's just objectively funny! No additional reason is needed!!

[Joey] Joey will go through his notes, and confer with Henry and Bendy on, okay, shall we try this, and see if we can help Bendy as well? [Henry] Henry is down to try! [GM] Bendy is worried about Henry overexerting himself. [Henry] ...Henry is down to try!

[Jack] Worst case, Jack looks at the symbol, and then he can be seeing-eye rabbit for the rest of the group!

[GM] Norman wonders what the plan is! [Henry] Bold of you to assume,

[Sammy] We're having such a good sleepover! We did a weird blood ritual, and we're braiding each other's hair~ [Joey] Having a fashion show, [Sammy] Yeah! We went out and got clothes, [Jack] Can't believe Joey called a boy, [Sammy] Gotta ask Joey about the boy he likes... wait, no, don't do that. [Jack] I'd say it's time to play seven minutes in heaven, but I think we, we did that early. [Sammy] WE DIDN'T DO A VERY GOOD JOB,

[GM] Norman wants to see how this plays out. [Joey] Okay, well, try not to get sacrificed, then, [GM] He laughs, and thanks you for the advice! [Sammy] *Hypnos Hadesgame voice* "Try not to get sacrificed, okay?"

[Henry] Allison is very helpful, and not weird at all!

[Joey] We already have the banjo case full of ritual circles, and Joey would rather have the emergency circles than Sammy carrying around bOTTLES OF INK. [Sammy] WHY, WHY WOULDN'T YOU WANT THAT TO BE HAPPENING? WHAT WOULD BE THE PROBLEM WITH THAT,

[GM] Make a sanity check! [Jack] Wait, what's happening? [Sammy] Joey was trying to think too hard.

[GM] Sammy does manage to catch that there's a little-- next to the kitchen, when you go into the place where they're serving food, there's a sign that says "Sheep Shop" over it. And there's a person wearing a sheep mask, handing out food. [Sammy] OKAY, THAT'S FINE,,, I don't feel like Sammy has actually read Through The Looking Glass, so I don't know if he knows why this is happening. I think he's just concerned. [GM] Excellent. Ideal response.

[GM] And Joey has NEVER seen the symbol EVER because he's incredible at not looking at creepy symbols! Which you wouldn't expect. [Sammy] I'm sure Joey will put this in his autobiography.

[Jack] :/ No Hashtag Gay Rights at this party,

[GM] Seems to be another party-goer; in fact, you recognise the voice! [Joey] Ohhh. Kyle -- I don't know his actual name, but -- [Sammy] (Dennis!) [GM] (Yes, that's-) [Joey] -- Kyle.

[Henry] Henry is going to try to sneak up on Moonlight while he's distracted! [GM] OH! ...Okay! He's very distracted, Sammy just screamed! [excited noises from everyone beCAUSE NO ONE EXPECTED THIS] [GM] You successfully sneak up behind him! [Henry] I'm going to grab the staff! [GM] Make a Brawl check, with advantage! [Sammy] (He has SO many limbs that don't work my dude, you got this,) [Henry] That's a success! [GM] You snatch it! [Henry] I RUN!!!

[Joey] We're just both escorting Jack, now. [Sammy] Would you say Jack is late, for a very important date? [Jack] Well YEAH, his Face Removal was scheduled like 2 dreams ago!!

[GM] He'd have to roll for it, to see if it felt familiar to his trip to Carcosa. [Jack] Extreme success! [GM] Then he would pick up that familiar feeling! [Jack] Oh, nice and homey at this party! Really nice. Nostalgic! It's been a while. [Sammy] Hm, [Jack] Maybe he should go play the piano, for old time's sake! [Sammy] NO

[howcanisayy]

Stray Kids "ODDINARY" Main Trailer: Thoughts and Theories

The concept seems interesting if not a bit awkwardly executed as of right now. Compared to TXT and EN–, it doesn’t seem like SKZ fans are that into theories about what the trailer means aside from the potential release date, at least from the digging I’ve done. To be fair, it had only been half a day and I guess groups like TXT had really opened themselves to being theorized. 

*reminder, these theories (esp for SKZ comebacks) really only regard the overall vibe of the album, they won’t necessarily reflect that closely with the main mv (although I hope it does), moreso these the concepts might potentially develop in the multitude of side track mvs that SKZ are notorious for. 

Here’s my working theory right now: 

A DYSTOPIAN ALICE IN WONDERLAND

Felix= Alice  Bang Chan= White Rabbit  Han= Mad Hatter Hyunjin= Queen of Hearts  Lee Know= the March Hare I.N.= Dormouse Changbin= Not sure (maybe The Dutchess/Cheshire Cat???) Seungmin= Mock Turtle? 

(yeah the last two I have no idea)

I think that this concept is centered around the idea that being odd is the ‘new normal’. That comes not only from the title of the new album, but from the fact that the two words are combined, in the trailer it literally transforms from ORDINARY → ODDINARY . 

A big question (that fans have asked) is whether this being “odd” is good or not. In previous SKZ videos we see them being a mix of eccentric styles (think of any of the members’ appearances in God’s Menu, Back Door, Thunderous), however, their style in the trailer seem to be more off putting in appearance. And at the end of the trailer, we see Felix with the blue and yellow eyes. I feel like that was a callback to a certain character but I have no idea which one. I thought at first it was a reference to the Cheshire Cat but upon further research it was not. 

But eyes do hold significance. The changing of one’s eyes is signaling of one’s abstract vision. Now Felix will see things differently. But will he see things better or worse? Will he see things clearer and with foresight? Will he join the dark side or the light? 

I think that that touches on two main ideas regarding the trailer and the larger storyline:

Felix falling from the building 

Although he was pushed, he does seem to mouth ‘yes’ after Huynjin asks him if he wants to be oddinary and right before he pushes him. That, on top of the fact that, unlike Alice, Felix wasn’t lead to this place, but that he was journeying there himself, and even though he seemed startled by the people he finds, he still keeps going. If this is him breaking off from ‘ordinary’ society, i think that works well with pre-existing concepts of leaving modern society. It’s something that’s been done often in dystopian fiction and is reminiscent of late 90’s cult classics Fight Club and the Matrix (the Matrix itself being loosely based on Alice in Wonderland). There is a whole concept around these stories about ‘feeling something is inherently wrong and wanting to push against the restraints of what we know, and ends up seeking or is dropped into a unique alternative. Yeah i never watched the movies.

At first I thought Felix understood what happened to the missing people and went out to seek the abnormal.  But then, considering how he looked different from the people sitting on the bus, it might be that he was in search of the ordinary. But as he goes deeper into that world, the more he is intrigued, as much as he is apprehensive. (or maybe he misheard hyunjin and thought he said do you want to be ordinary, i would do that lol). The transition involves him jumping and killing his former self in order to pursue the “odd version” that he was searching for. That makes one wonder, if Felix seemed more innocent and curious (and curiouser) at the beginning of the trailer, then at the end, does he seem more sinister, or just more knowing? 

My theory is that, since he does not acknowledge any of the members, that this could be the “prequel” to SKZ, before they're actualized. This could be Felix becoming the person that he needed to be this whole time, even if that person seems scary or worrying at first, and even if he needs to go missing first. 

     2. The Sound Monster (can you tell I’m a grown adult)

If that concept isn’t done yet (considering it was still there for Christmas Eve-L), I’d say that maybe this isn’t a prequel concept at all. Perhaps the sound that they were trying to fight all along wasn’t bad. In some ways, they seem to lean into that.

Noeasy is literally about the group owning up to the fact that their music is noisy, but it still slaps

They do not seem to care about Christmas as a concept (hence the title can be read as Christmas Evil) and they seem to be reluctant to do their job as the makeshift Santa Clauses too. Their ‘down with the government’ concept from Miroh is really coming after everyone.

It could be that the common or ordinary things in society were the evil ones all along, and the things that one thought were evil were actually “never bad.” However, one has to completely remove themselves from society in order to have that “sight”. 

Tbh, I could be completely wrong and once they show more of the concept, it turns out that I’m a clown. Or this could just be an evil version of SKZ that comes to add a morally gray concept to fighting the sound monster. Or just completely inverted SKZ, like freakin X-EXO. Honestly if we get something edgy and akin to Obsession I’m down. I just hope the comeback is good. 

***Things I have no idea about yet: 

The “Frankenstein” version of their album 

Changbin’s free hugs thing??

***Other thoughts:

-it could also be that the “noise” as a villain is two-sided. Maybe there is good noise and bad noise.

[yabookrevu]

Heartless - Marissa Meyer

Another day, another book review.

Read this one last night. As usual (because I am a disaster person), I didn’t correctly guess what story this was a retelling of. And even though it says very clearly on the back of the book (in the first line of the blurb, no less) something about Wonderland, my brain went to Snow White. No idea why (maybe something about the huntsman being sent to cut out Snow White’s heart? idk), but anyway: This book is related to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

But there’s no Alice in this version. The main character is Catherine, the daughter of a nobleman in the (approximately Victorian-era) kingdom of Hearts. Catherine is not good at the things that are expected of her as a noblewoman, but is instead an excellent baker. She finds herself falling for the new court joker, a mysterious man named Jest. This is complicated by the fact that the king of Hearts has chosen her to be his bride.

Now, all of that is covered by the blurb on the back of the book. So let’s dive into some (spoiler-free) points about the story itself, in no particular order:

- This book is distinct from a lot of the YA books I’ve read in that it is a gentler love story. Meaning that there’s no sex. The most scandalous it gets is a couple of kisses, and even those aren’t aggressively described. So if you’re not into that element of a book for any particular reason, then this might be a better choice for you than a lot of the other ones.

- The love story is, I would say, the main plotline of this book. There are absolutely other things: friendship, monsters (one monster), court intrigue. But it seems like the budding love between Cath and Jest is the main component. Y’know, the more I read, the more I narrow down the types of stories that I like. This book nudged me closer to figuring it out, because the answer is clearly “not this.” I like a love story as much as the next person, but I have come to realize that I more enjoy a story where people are pushed together to overcome some obstacle, and they happen to fall in love during their quest. There’s not a lot of quest to this book. It’s first and foremost, a love story.

- This is a personal note. I’ve never read Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and it’s been a very long time since I’ve watched Alice in Wonderland (it’s not one of my favorite Disney movies). There are a lot of characters in this book that you would remember from the movie version (again, can’t comment on the original book). You’ll see appearances by the Caterpillar, the Cheshire Cat, The Mad Hatter and the March Hare, along with, I’m sure, many others that I’ve forgotten. I felt like there were quite a few references that I would have had a better appreciation of if the movie were more clear in my mind. Just little callbacks sprinkled throughout that tugged on something at the back of my mind, but not strongly enough for me to remember anything about them. So, you might want to watch the movie BEFORE reading this book. It’s not the same story at all, so you’ll still go in fresh.

- There is a lot of silliness in the way the characters talk. I read the same joke at three different points throughout the book before I slowed down and really looked at it. (”Are you alright?” “No, but I’m mostly right.”) If you’re a fan of any part of the Wonderland mythos, you’ll probably have a good time reading these little exchanges.

Now, the million dollar question: Would I recommend this book? The answer is a resounding... I don’t know. This wasn’t my favorite of the books that I’ve read, simply because of the story. I probably won’t re-read it. BUT! The book was well-written and told a solid story. I will definitely be seeking out the author’s other books, which are loosely based on other fairy tales. So I would say, if you already like Alice in Wonderland, definitely give it a read. If you think you can give the story more of a chance than I did, then go for it! If, however, you’re also not a fan of Alice in Wonderland, maybe skip this one and look for other books by the same author. It was a good book. Just not my cup of tea. ;)

Heartless, Marissa Meyer, $11.99, 449 Pages

[rachel1987]

GWCFT Part 7

This is it everyone! With the Talent Show over, Hare must face his greatest fear: his mother’s opinion! In the final installment we get June Hare’s word on her son’s relationship, whether Hatter or Hare want to hear about it. What will she say?

xposted on ao3 and FF.net

A little while later, after the excitement of the goof up of the final performance, everyone was sitting around eating pretzels and having tea. They had moved a group of chairs up to the stage and were using it as a makeshift table for the time being. Most of their friends had already gone home for the night, but the Queen, Rabbit, Alice and June congregated at the foot of the stage while Hatter and Hare tried to figure out why the magic box had malfunctioned toward the back of it.

"Why didn't you perform in the talent show, your Highness?" June asked curiously, trying to make casual conversation. She had Hare's cape draped over her shoulders to keep her warm and was sipping at a cup of hot tea. "You must be very accomplished, I'm sure you could have shown us quite a show. I hear you're a wild animal trainer! My son told me that you keep a wild woebear as a pet."

"I am not a show pony," the Queen replied, taking a sip from her cup of tea. She had been drinking wine coolers all night but Rabbit suggested she switch to tea a few drinks ago. She wasn't drunk or even tipsy really, just a little more loose lipped than usual. Which could be pretty dangerous when you're already as loudmouthed as the Queen. "I came to be entertained, not to be the entertainment. It was enough that I convinced Rabbit to perform, I shouldn't have to do a song and dance as well."

"She did do a song and dance to order me to perform," Rabbit whispered to Alice, the sweatbands from his act still wrapped around his wrists. "She should have saved it for the show. It would have been much more appreciated with a larger audience."

"And I had no idea you could move like that, mr Rabbit," Alice said politely. "You're a very good dancer."

"Why, thank you, Alice," he grinned, face going a little pink. "My Mumsie did always say I was light on my feet, you know."

"Yes, I couldn't keep my eyes off you," June added, making his face turn a little green. He gave her a friendly smile and scooted his chair away a little.

"Well, heh…" Rabbit chuckled, looking at his watch. "Oh, look at the time. Your highness, I believe it is time that we make our leave. You have a busy schedule to keep tomorrow."

"Yes, and I still have my bubble bath to take tonight…" the Queen said with a grin.

"Well, in that case, it was an honor meeting you, your majesty," June said as the group joined the Queen in getting to her feet.

"I should probably be heading home too," Alice said with a smile beside the Queen and the Rabbit. "It's getting late and I don't want my parents to notice that I'm gone."

"It was lovely meeting you too, Alice. I hope to see you again soon."

Alice nodded in agreement. "Yes, that would be nice mrs Hare. Good night mr Hatter and mr Hare!"

Hatter and Hare turned their attention from the trunk and joined everyone else at the base of the stage.

"Going home so early?" Hatter asked. "I thought we'd maybe squeeze in a game of charades before the night was through."

"Oh, heh, no…" the girl shook her head. "I'm far too tired for something like that. I can come by tomorrow and help you clean up if you want."

"Oh, well that's very kind of you, Alice," he replied, hopping down from the stage and taking a seat. Hare followed suit, although he walked up beside his mother and turned to the Queen.

"Thank you for making the time to see the show, your Majesty," he said appreciatively.

"Yes, well…" the Queen smirked. "It's always a pleasure to be among my subjects. And also to meet new ones." Turning to June, she bestowed upon her the first friendly royal smile that had been offered her entire trip. "Mrs Hare, it was lovely finally meeting you. Maybe the next time you come to Wonderland we'll play a couple rounds of croquet at the Palace?"

Hare made eye contact with his mother and they silently screamed at each other out of pure joy. June took a second to compose herself before nodding her head, ears bouncing. "That would be marvelous, your Majesty. I will eagerly await your invitation to the Palace and will be there with bells on."

The Queen immediately regretted the invitation, but hid it behind her gleaming smile and nodded. "I'm looking forward to it. Come, Rabbit!"

And, with that, she took her leave with Rabbit and Alice trailing behind, each of them carrying an overflowing bag of pretzels in their hands.

All that was left was Hatter, Hare and June, standing at the foot of the stage in the empty courtyard.

"Shall we head inside for a nightcap?" Hatter offered, turning to his bunny compatriots.

"What do you think, Mom?" Hare asked her.

"Yes, that sounds nice," she said happily.

The party moved inside and settled in the living room. Hatter brewed a fresh pot of chamomile and vanilla tea, adding a splash of lemon and spiking it with brandy.

"The perfect hot toddy to end a long day," Hatter said, setting the tea tray down on his coffee table. He pulled a chair across from the Hare's, who were both sitting on the sofa.

"What did you think of the show, Mom?" Hare asked as he added some honey to his tea.

"It was just wonderful!" she exclaimed, leaning back into the plush sofa, cape still draped over her shoulders. "I had no idea all of your friends were so very talented! I was very impressed."

"Anybody stand out to you?" Hatter asked, adding an extra splash of brandy to his cup. "Other than Hare, I mean."

"Well, I actually thought your song was just delightful," June crooned. "It was very sweet and you sang it beautifully. Did you write it yourself?"

"Aww shucks, June..." Hatter's cheeks flushed and he waved her praise away, trying to make light of it. "That's awfully kind of you to say. Yes, I write all my own songs. I had been working on that one for a while and I decided now was the perfect time to perform it."

"It really was very good, Hatter," Hare praised him, taking a sip from his tea. "It was one of your best so far. You should send a recording of it to your mother, I think she'd like to hear it."

"Oh, you do?" It seemed the idea had never come to his mind to send it to her, but he was interested in the prospect. "You don't say…"

"And you're right, Hatter, I was also impressed with my son here. Even with that little goof up, you did a fantastic job with your magic act." June gave her son a pat on the knee, making him grin.

"Thanks, Mom," he blushed, enjoying the acclaim. "If I'm being honest, I was pretty nervous about it. It would have been perfect if the door on that trunk hadn't gotten stuck."

"Well, it wasn't the first time you'd locked yourself in one of those," June said, hiding her smirk behind her cup of tea.

Hare rolled his eyes and looked to the Hatter with an embarrassed expression.

"You really swooped in to the rescue though, June," Hatter added. "I had no idea you were so talented with a hairpin. In a way, you did your own talent act for all of us."

"Oh!" June put a gloved hand to her mouth and chuckled, face turning red. "I guess I did, didn't I?"

"We were all mesmerized," Hatter nodded, really lathering on the charm again.

They enjoyed the company of one another until they drank their way through the pot of tea. The dishes were moved to the kitchen, cleaned and put away and they returned to their places by the sofa to relax a little. The back door to the Hat house was open, letting a fresh breeze in, making the area comfortable.

"What are the plans for the morning?" Hatter asked, tuning his radio in to some music while they lounged.

"I don't think we really spoke about it…" Hare said, glancing at his mother, who shrugged.

"My train to the Hinterlands leaves at noon tomorrow, so that doesn't leave much time to do anything."

"Maybe I'll come by for breakfast in the morning," Hatter offered. "I'll bring some pastries and we'll all go to the station together?"

Hatter was, in a sense, inviting himself on the trip but they didn't seem to mind very much. The three of them felt very comfortable together, which was a little bit of a surprise to the Hare. He had anticipated his mother finding Hatter too outlandish and wild for her son, but she seemed to have accepted him rather well in the short amount of time they had spent together.

"I think that would be very nice," June smiled, her eyelids dropping a little. "Maybe I'll make some biscuits and gravy for breakfast. I know I saw the ingredients in your kitchen, son."

"Ooh, that would be lovely!" Hatter exclaimed, never being one to turn down a homemade meal.

"That's very sweet of you, Mom, but you don't have to…" Hare started, only for his mother to shake her head at him.

"It's no trouble at all. After everything you two have done for me all weekend, it's the least I could do." She smiled at the both of them and Hare could tell that she was getting very sleepy. They'd have to leave soon if they were going to make it all the way to his place before it got too late.

"It's settled then," Hatter said with a smile. "I'll drop by at 9, how is that?"

"Great idea, Hatter," Hare smiled. "We should probably get going, Ma. It's getting late."

June nodded and got to her feet, adjusting the cape on her shoulders again. "I think I'll powder my nose before we go."

She left the boys alone again and Hatter shifted around and took a seat next to Hare on the sofa.

"The magic act was terrible, wasn't it?" Hare asked, taking the Hatter's hand in his own.

"Terrible? No… you were fine," he tried to reassure him, wrapping an arm around the Hare's shoulders. "It made for a more exciting show, with you getting stuck like that. Nobody will forget it."

"The Cat won't let me forget it," Hare said as he rolled his eyes. "I could hear him laughing at me all the way inside the box."

"I'm sure we'll mess something else up in the next few days to make him forget about it," Hatter said with a shrug. "We are pretty good at that."

"We are," he agreed. They sat silently for a little while, listening to the radio play before Hare spoke up again . "Hey, Hatter, I didn't thank you for everything you did for me this week. You really stepped up more than I could have asked for."

"Oh, it was nothing," Hatter said, flashing that charming smile of his. "You would have done the same for me if it were my mother coming to visit. And probably more, come to think of it."

"Yeah, well," Hare laced his fingers with Hatter's and leaned against him a little. "I'd like to repay you, when Ma goes home and things go back to normal."

"I'm sure I can think of something you can do to make it up to me," Hatter said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, elbowing Hare in the ribs. The two giggled to themselves as June returned from the bathroom, trying to suddenly compose themselves in her presence. She grinned at them happily as Hare got to his feet, tugging on his lapels to better his appearance.

"You ready, Ma?"

She nodded and they made their way to the door, Hatter's hand on Hare's shoulder.

"You two travel safe and I'll see you in the morning."

"That sounds good," June replied. "Have a good night."

The pair exited through the IN door and Hatter stood at the doorway until he saw them swing the gate shut behind them and disappear into the distance. With a sigh, he looked at his courtyard. The lack of tea table made the area look strange, he'd have to fix that tomorrow before the afternoon tea party. He walked to the table the pretzel machine was on and picked up the Dormouse's teapot, carrying it inside with him to watch some late night HTV.

Hare and June made good time getting home. They had arrived by half past ten and were all settled for bed by eleven. Walking down the hall in his newly purchased sleepwear, he knocked on his mother's door before entering.

"Come in," came the reply and he pushed his head in through the crack in the door.

"You comfortable, Mom?"

She grinned seeing that he was in the pajamas she had bought him earlier that day. They were covered in little orange carrots and had a blue trim around the edges. It made him look five years old.

"Oh, yes, this is very nice," she replied from her spot, patting the quilt that was covered in embroidered vegetables. She was in a sleeping gown covered in small flowers and her hair was wrapped in curlers, with a handkerchief over them. "Thank you. Very comfortable. And everything is so spick and span. Nothing out of place."

Hare would have relished in his mother's compliments if his mind wasn't on something else. He spoke as he entered the bedroom and took a seat beside her on the bed. "Mom, what do you think of the Hatter?"

"I must be honest, son, he wasn't quite what I expected," June admitted after some thought. "I always imagined you'd settle down with someone a little more like me. A more domestic type."

What would be exciting about that? Hare thought to himself, though he didn't dare say it aloud. "We work well together, Mom. We're very compatible."

June smiled and nodded, patting her son on the arm. "I know, son, I can see that. You both really care for each other, don't you?"

Hare couldn't form words but his face said everything.

She nodded knowingly, choosing her next words very carefully. "That's all well and good, but I do have one concern." She paused and took her glasses off, looking at her son with her dark eyes that looked so much like his own. Reaching a hand out, she placed it on her sons and looked at him seriously. "Does he make you happy?"

The Hare's heart stopped beating and he almost forgot to breathe. His mother had never spoken to him like this before. "Yes, Mom. He makes me very happy."

June rubbed her thumb over her son's knuckles and smiled at him. "Then that's most important to me."

"Really, Mom? You mean it?"

June put a hand on her son's cheek and rubbed it with her thumb. "You're my son, my pride and joy, and I only want you to be happy. You've done so well here. So many friends and this lovely little house and garden. You make me very proud. However, I do want to ask for one favor."

"What's that?" Hare asked, unsure if he would want to know the answer.

"If the Hatter is going to walk on the table, can you make sure he removes his shoes first? They left marks on his table cloth and it looked very untidy."

Hare giggled and shook his head, ears flopping around a little. "It was really something, wasn't it? I had quite a time convincing him not to do it all week."

June laughed along with him, putting her glasses back on as she gazed across at her son. "Oh, how I've missed moments like this. Why don't we have some warm milk before bed? Like when you were just a little boy."

"I don't think it would hurt," Hare agreed, getting to his feet and leading his mother to the kitchen. He went to the fridge and grabbed the carton of milk as June went to the cupboard to get a couple mugs.

"We used to do this all the time, do you remember?" June asked, gazing at all the cups and mugs in the cupboard. She picked two she rather liked and set them on the table, watching Hare pour the milk into a deep pot over the stove. "Whenever you couldn't sleep I'd make you some warm milk with cinnamon and we'd read books out loud until you couldn't keep your eyes open anymore."

"I remember one night I had a nightmare and couldn't get back to sleep," Hare said, remembering like it was yesterday, stirring the milk with a wooden spoon. "We sat up reading James and the Giant Carrot and drank through a whole quart of milk. I think we probably read more than half of it before we called it a night."

"That was when you had chicken pox, wasn't it?"

Hare stopped and furrowed his brow, thinking to himself. "No… no, I don't think so."

June rested her elbow on the table and thought for a moment. "Something similar must have happened then. You got really sick one night when you had chicken pox and it was touch and go for a little while there. And I remember you were very offended that you thought an actual chicken had gotten you sick. You had me put away all your chicken toys and were too afraid to touch them for months."

Hare laughed at that. "Oh yeah! I forgot about that. What was the name of my favorite chicken again? The orange one. Do you remember?"

"You had so many, I don't think I could remember. You had Cluck Rogers for a long time. And one you named Burrito... Frittata lasted a while."

Hare smiled, thinking of all the chicken toys he'd had over the years. He continued to stir the milk on the stove until it was nice and hot, carrying the pot to the table and pouring it into the two mugs. After replacing the pot on the stove to cool, he took a seat next to his mother and lifted his mug of milk up, only to realize it had a picture of a dancing hot dog on it.

"Mom where'd you get these cups?" Hare asked, looking at the image on the side of the mug and then across to his mothers. Her's had a cow in a unitard with the words "Let's Moooove" on it.

"They were in the cupboard. Why?" June didn't seem to see any problem as she sipped at her mug of milk, deciding that it might need a touch of cinnamon and going directly to the correct pantry to find some.

"Why didn't you use one of the nice ones on the counter?" he asked, gesturing to the full rack of delicately painted mugs and cups sitting in view.

"Oh… well, because I like these ones. They're cute."

Hare was going to say something but stopped, mouth hanging open a little as he processed what she said. He blinked and furrowed his brow, pointing a finger at his cup as he spoke. "You like these?"

"Well, yes. They're very kitschy, aren't they?" she said as she returned to her seat, sprinkling a little cinnamon into her cup and stirring it with a spoon. "They remind me of a set of bowls I had for you when you were a baby. You'd only eat your mashed carrots out of this bowl that had a clown printed on the bottom and you'd eat and eat until you could see his entire face."

He was completely unmoved by her little story, surprised that she actually liked his little tacky things in his pantry. "I thought you'd think they were too… childish."

"Not at all! I mean, they may be a little garish, but they are very fun," June smiled as she looked at her cup, laughing a little before taking another sip from it. "I saw the plates in your cupboard too of the dancing foods. Those are pretty silly too."

How could he have been so wrong about his mother? Leaning back into his chair, he rested his elbow over the back of the seat, gazing at his Mom across the table. "You don't think they're tacky at all?"

"No, I don't," she replied, brow furrowing a little at how her son was reacting to this news. "Why? Is something wrong?"

"I just…" Hare shrugged, gesturing toward the cups. "I didn't think you'd like them. I had them hidden away because I thought you'd want to use something else."

"Oh…" June looked down at her cup again and chuckled. "You didn't have to go through all the trouble. The pretty ones are very nice, but I like these ones just fine. If they're what you'd rather use then that's what we should use."

Hare scratched his head and reached out, picking up his mug and taking a sip from it. It had cooled a little and he also decided that it needed some cinnamon in it.

"You don't have to change things around for me, son. You know that."

"Well, I know now…" he mumbled behind his mug.

"What other things did you put away? Was there more?" June seemed reinvigorated by this realization that her son had changed things in the house to suit her better. She no longer looked like she was in need of sleep, the milk seemed to have given her a boost of energy.

"Oh, well, not much…" Hare shrugged. "Just some blankets and things. And I hid a lot of my practical joke stuff."

"Why did you think you had to hide all of that from me?" She was starting to look like he had hurt her feelings somehow. Her brows were knitting in the center of her forehead and her shoulders were drooping a little.

"Well, I didn't want to disappoint you, I guess," he replied

"Oh, no, son…" June shook her head, reaching across the table and pushing Hare's bangs away from his eyes in a doting way, like she'd done a million times in his youth. "I'm proud of every little thing you have and do, even when you do mess up."

"Really?" Hare couldn't believe what she was saying. He'd always felt this huge pressure from her, wanting to impress her and make her proud, but he always assumed that meant that he had to be perfect all the time. In both the things he did and what he owned.

"Yes, really. You're my son, the best thing that ever came into my life. And I know I have been harsh and pushed you too hard, but that's because I wanted you to succeed and be happy. And if that means you want to be with a crazy tall man in a big hat and have ridiculous designs on your tableware, that's alright with me."

Hare thought back to all the work he'd done over the past week, worrying about what she'd think about his house and everything contained within it and felt like he had been stressing for nothing. Just like both the Hatter and Caterpillar told him all along.

"Thanks, Mom…" was all Hare could manage, hiding sheepishly behind his mug of now lukewarm milk.

"Now, why don't you show me some of the other things you managed to hide away from me?" June teased.

It was 9 o'clock on the dot when Hatter arrived on the Hare's doorstep holding a pink box of hot cross buns he'd picked up from the Wonderland Bakery. He dusted himself off and straightened his cap before knocking on the door.

"It's open!" came a voice from inside.

Hatter pushed the door inward and entered the house, the smell of freshly baked biscuits and sausage hitting him in the face.

"Yum! Smells scrummy in here!" he announced as he walked through the entryway and to the kitchen. He found them by the stove, both wearing aprons and looking bright and cheery. Hare had flour on his face and down his right side, while June looked spotless.

"Thanks!" Hare said, flashing Hatter the first carefree smile he'd seen on his face the whole weekend. "What's in the box?"

"Hot cross buns," Hatter said, placing the pink carton on the table next to the bouquet of pansies Hare had picked from his garden for his mother two days before and joining the pair by the stove.

"They're his favorite," Hare told his mother, who nodded.

Hatter stood over them with his hands clasped behind his back, craning his neck to see what was going on over the stove. He saw a large skillet with sausage crumbles and gravy cooking in it, bubbling away deliciously. "How's everything going over here?"

"You should ask him," June said, giving her son a gentle nudge. "He'll give an honest answer."

"Okay, okay. Here, Hatter, give this a taste…" Hare said, offering a spoonful of the off-white gravy to the Hatter, who smacked his lips at it.

"Mmmm!" His expression brightened and he nodded. "Not bad! Maybe a little more pepper and I think you're good to go."

"That's what I said! Isn't that what I said?" June exclaimed, reaching for the pepper grinder and adding a few generous turns of the knob.

"Yes, Mom, that's what you said…" Hare rolled his eyes and shrugged at his partner.

"How long have you both been up? You have an awful lot of energy for so early in the morning."

"Only about an hour," Hare shrugged, wiping his hands off on his apron.

"We did start the morning off with coffee, that helps!" June added, giving the gravy one final stir before turning the heat off and letting it rest for a few moments, taking the fresh biscuits out of the oven.

"What tea would you like?" Hare whispered to the Hatter after sneaking in a smooch on the cheek.

"Anything you have will do, I'm not picky," Hatter replied with a smile, before Hare rushed to get a kettle on the boil.

The energy in the kitchen was really fantastic and Hatter eventually just had to step back and let the Hare's have the run of it. He took a seat at the table and watched them zoom around like a well oiled machine, never getting in the other's way and always being in the right place at the right time. Even though they hadn't worked together in a kitchen for years, they still knew how to do it.

Looking around, Hatter noticed that all of the fancy dishware had been put away and the settings were all the Kitchen Kabaret set. All the punny mugs were also set out and on display. Hatter caught the Hare's glance for a moment and raised his eyebrows in confusion and surprise, holding up a mug that had a picture of a crustacean on it with the words "Don't Be Crabby, Just Have Coffee" on it. Hare gave him a smile and a wink and that was all he needed to know. He had been right after all.

It didn't take long before the table was set, Earl Grey was poured and everyone had a full plate of biscuits and gravy in front of them. They also had some fresh fruit salad and the hot cross buns to round out the meal.

Hatter really enjoyed the food, going back for seconds as soon as he cleaned his plate. "June this really is delicious," he commended halfway through his second plate. "Hare, why don't you cook meals like this?"

Hare rolled his eyes a little as June smiled at the Hatter. "Thank you, Hatter. I'm glad that you like it. It's one of my best recipes, if I do say so myself."

"Hare, you should ask for this recipe. It's good."

"I have it in the orange books we used the other day, Hatter," Hare replied, munching on some strawberries.

"Oh…" Hatter paused and tore off a piece of a hot cross bun and plopped it into his mouth. "Well, maybe we should keep those books at my place then. Maybe we'll use them more often if they live there now."

"Oh, uh…" Hare looked at his mother nervously. He knew that if the books stayed at the Hatter's they'd get lost in a matter of days. "I think maybe I'll have copies made for you."

"Righty roo!" he exclaimed, taking a sip from his tea.

"Do you stay at the Hatter's house mostly?" June asked curiously.

"Oh, yes," Hare nodded. "There's always a lot going on at the Hat house, so we spend most of our time there. We're always entertaining guests or making things… we don't come to my house very much at all, to be honest."

Hatter flattened his lips and nodded. "I think this is the most time I've spent here in the past two months. We might need to change that though, if it means more home cooked meals like this."

"Hatter, I can cook you more meals at your house," Hare replied, exasperated. "You just need to let me take charge in the kitchen."

"But it's my kitchen!" Hatter shouted, not the least bit angry but actually excited. "My house, my rules."

June hid her mouth behind her hands and chuckled, watching them bicker a little. She found it charming and couldn't help but enjoy the interaction.

"I'm not going to argue over this," Hare said, shaking his head as he started packing up the dishes and moving them to the sink. "You want me to cook for you, you'll have to let me take charge."

Hatter pouted playfully and pointed at him with a gloved finger. "Has he always been like this?"

"March has always been a little on the stubborn side, when he knows what he wants," she said with a wink. "I think sometimes it's best to just give in."

He considered this, so many thoughts running through his mind but none he would say out loud with June in the room.

"I guess I'll have to think about it," he replied.

The rest of the morning went by quickly and before they knew it, it was 11:30 and time to leave for the train station. Hatter and Hare carried all of June's luggage on the short walk, leaving June's arms free to carry her purse and the pansies the Hare had picked for her. He gave her a fresh bouquet to take and enjoy on the train ride, wrapping the stems in a wet rag and a plastic bag to keep them fresh until she arrived at her destination tomorrow.

The train had just pulled up to the platform by the time they got to the station. For once it was running early, so they had a little bit of time before she'd have to board and be on her way.

"Well, this has been one of the funnest weekends I've had in a very long while," June said, trying to hide the fact that she had started to cry a little on the walk over. The thought of leaving them broke her heart and, while she was excited to see her sister again, she could also do with staying the rest of the week with her son and his friends. She had her handkerchief in her hand and kept dabbing at her eyes and nose.

"I'm glad to hear you say that," Hatter beamed, feeling mostly responsible for the good time she'd had. This probably wasn't true, but it was the honest truth to him. "We'll have to do this again soon, June. Before too much time has passed."

"Oh, yes!" she exclaimed excitedly, clasping her hands together. "We'll spend more time with just the three of us. Maybe we'll have a spa day."

"Ooh, a spa day!?" Hatter boomed, looking at Hare happily. Hare obviously wasn't thrilled with the idea, but forced a smile and nodded.

"Yes, that would be… fun," he managed with a lighthearted chuckle.

"Oh, and son, one more thing before I go," she put a finger to her cheek and she spoke nervously. "I wanted to know if you could possibly give me the Rabbit's number. I think I'd like to call upon him sometime."

Both Hare and Hatter's jaws gaped a little, Hare's face going green. "Oh, no… Mom, I will not do that."

June could only keep the ruse up for so long, before she waved a hand at the two of them and laughed. "I'm only kidding dear. He's much too old for me. I don't know if he knows how to have a little fun."

Hatter and Hare exchanged a glance, not daring to say a word to one another. For a second, Hare thought he was going to faint. Hatter thought he'd be able to tease Hare by calling Rabbit "Papa Rabbit" from now on.

The train whistle blew, making the three of them jump, signaling that the train was ready to begin boarding. It was time to say their goodbyes.

"Now, you take care of my boy, you hear me?" June said as she turned and looked up at Hatter. She had a serious expression on her face but there was a tenderness in her eyes as she shook a finger at him.

Hatter smiled widely and nodded, putting a hand on Hare's shoulder as he spoke. "You don't have a thing to worry about, June. You're leaving him in very capable hands. Why, I'd never forgive myself if something were to happen to the Hare."

June's expression broke and she smiled widely, reaching up with her hands and cupping the Hatter's face. She pulled him down closer to him and kissed either side of his mug, giving him a pat before letting him go. His face was pink as he stood upright, chest puffing with pride. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw Hare wipe a tear from beneath his glasses.

"I will be keeping tabs on you, so don't you get into too much trouble," June added to the Hatter, straightening his jacket a little and giving him an approving smile. "Don't make me come back here and have to mother you."

Hatter beamed and looked up to the sky, cheeks rosy. "Oh, June… you're such a card!"

The whistle blew again and the three exchanged a glance, knowing it was time for her to board the train. Smiling, she reached out and embraced the Hatter, giving him a warm hug. Hatter returned the hug sweetly, patting her back. "It was lovely meeting you June," he said in an oddly serious tone. "I'll take good care of him for you."

She smiled and nodded, a tear running down her cheek which she brushed away hurriedly. "Thank you, Hatter," she managed to mutter, giving him another peck on the cheek and tap on the shoulder before turning to her son.

"I'll help you stow your luggage inside," Hare offered, following his mother onto the train carriage. Hatter stuck behind on the platform and took a seat on the bench, waiting for his friend to return, wanting to give them some privacy in their last moments together.

They made their way to June's compartment and he helped his mother put her luggage away, a short man with a paper hat walking up and asking for her ticket. She gave it to him and he looked it over, nodding at it after a few moments before returning it to her. Once the luggage was put away, the pair stood in the compartment awkwardly, not entirely sure what to say.

"Now, you give me a call when you're settled at Aunt May's, okay Ma?" Hare told her, a touch of concern in his voice.

"I will, son, don't worry," she said, reaching out and straightening his bow-tie one last time. She also pushed his bangs away from his eyes again. "The Hinterlands isn't so far away, I should get there by tomorrow morning."

"Well, still… I'd like to know that you got there safe."

"I promise that I'll call you the moment I get settled there," she reassured him. "Now give your old Ma one last hug for the road, hmm?" She held her arms open to him a little, welcoming his embrace.

Hare nodded and engulfed his mother in one last, long, warm hug. She held onto him and smiled, burrowing her nose in his neck as they held one another. She felt another tear come to her eye and she wiped it away before her son could see. He had been missing from her arms for so long, the thought that she didn't know when they would be in the same room again made her heart hurt. She felt his hand rub her back as she held onto him for longer than she'd probably meant to, pulling away and looking at her son with all the love in the world in her eyes. "I love you, sonny. And I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too, Mom," Hare cooed, reaching out and wiping some smeared mascara from her cheek with his thumb. "But we'll see each other soon. We won't let this much time pass again, okay?"

She sniffled in spite of herself and nodded, clearing her throat and shaking her head, forcing a strong smile. "Look at me, I'm acting like a child…" she muttered, dabbing her eyes with her handkerchief one final time before composing herself. They looked at each other once more, before the final train whistle blew. "Okay, you'd better go if you don't want to go all the way to the Hinterlands with me."

Hare paused at the compartment door and looked at his mother, a loving smile on his face. "I love you, Mom. Have a safe trip."

"Thank you, son," she said with a short wave.

And, with that, Hare turned away from his mother and made for the exit of the train. He was feeling an odd mixture of emotions. Relief and sadness all rolled up into one. Seeing his mother so emotional was difficult for him, but not something he didn't expect to happen. He was more surprised to find that after the lovely morning they'd had together, he was actually really going to miss his Mom. Composing himself at the train door for a moment, he exited to find Hatter on the bench eating a cupcake.

"Where'd you get that?" he asked, pointing at it.

"Oh, this?" Hatter asked, before taking another bite from it. "Someone gave it to me. Said I had a sweet face that needed to get sweeter."

Hare furrowed his brow and looked around the platform, seeing that the Hatter was completely alone, and yet still decided not to question it further. The tall man devoured the rest of the sweet snicky snack and tossed the paper trash in the bin, before leaving the train station.

"That wasn't so bad…" The Hatter said as they walked back to the Hat house from the train station. He had his arm draped over the Hare's shoulder, who had his arm around the Hatter's waist as they walked. "We should invite your mother over more often."

Hare rolled his eyes a little, his knees going weak for a moment. "I love my mother, but I don't think I could have taken another day with her. She's just too much work."

"I don't think it was as bad as all that…" Hatter shrugged. "I think maybe you blew things out of proportion a little. She didn't seem nearly as bad as you'd made her out to be."

"Perhaps…" Hare nodded. He knew he was inclined to make a big deal out of nothing when dealing with both good and bad situations. And, in all honesty, she wasn't as bad as he remembered. "I think maybe she's mellowed with her age."

"Why'd you have the sudden change of heart with your stuff? I noticed your cups and plates were back out, so were your pastel blankets."

"She said they were kitschy?" Hare shrugged. "I guess she found a charm in them."

"I suppose you'll enjoy the quiet now that she's gone?" Hatter tilting his head a little, looking down at the Hare with a grin.

"I'm just excited to get things back to normal," Hare said with a wave of his free hand.

"So… wanna go prank call the palace?"

"Do I?" the Hare giggled, ears perking as he raced the Hatter home.