Line #67 Webcomic/CheshireCrossing


1	[[quoteright:264:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ea7dfb1c_d502_4b6d_83d5_05f114810520.jpeg]]
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3	''[[http://www.cheshirecrossing.net Cheshire Crossing]]'' is a [[MassiveMultiplayerCrossover Crossover]] [[NotableFantasyWebcomics fantasy webcomic]] by Creator/AndyWeir in which [[Literature/AliceInWonderland Alice Liddell]], [[Literature/PeterPan Wendy Darling]] and [[Film/TheWizardOfOz Dorothy Gale]] are brought to an ExtranormalInstitute-style BoardingSchool run by [[BadassNormal Ernest]] [[HistoricalDomainCharacter Rutherford]], so they can be taught to master their [[PubertySuperpower latent superpowers]] by Film/MaryPoppins. Action and adventure ensue.
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5	The comic also features [[Film/TheWizardOfOz the Wicked Witch of the West]], [[Literature/PeterPan Peter Pan, Captain Hook and Tinker Bell]], [[Literature/AliceInWonderland the Knave of Hearts and the Mad Hatter]] and [[Literature/GulliversTravels Lemuel Gulliver]].
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7	Four issues were released, forming a pretty self-contained story arc, before the series came to an unannounced halt. The author [[http://www.reddit.com/r/sciencefiction/comments/1wwjol/i_am_andy_weir_author_of_the_egg_and_the/ later said]] he didn't intend to continue it, and had given up on drawing comics unless he decides to hire a professional artist.
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9	And, guess what! That very thing happened, years later, as the comic was rebooted in 2017, now with [[Webcomic/SarahsScribbles Sarah Andersen]] as artist. [[https://tapas.io/episode/662806 The new comic]] is found on Tapastic and seems to be adapting the original plotline rather faithfully. Unfortunately, a portion of the comic is behind a paywall, but at least you no longer need an Android or iOS app to unlock it.
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11	A graphic novel collecting the early part of the storyline was released on July 9, 2019.
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13	See also ''Webcomic/CaseyAndAndy'', Weir's previous, completed webcomic, and ''Literature/TheMartian'', Weir's debut novel, published to great success in 2014.
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15	!!This comic provides examples of:
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17	* AcquiredPoisonImmunity: Alice isn't knocked out by the Wicked Witch's magical poppy field as she has built up a tolerance to laudanum while sectioned in a series of mental institutions. Oddly, she shows no sign of opium addiction.
18	* ActionGirl: All girls display some tendencies, but Wendy most of all.
19	* AdaptationDyeJob: Alice's hair was made black (like the real Alice Liddell), while Wendy Darling and Tink switch hair colors so that Wendy's is blonde — presumably to provide some [[ColourCodedForYourConvenience colour-coding]] to distinguish the main trio.
20	* AdaptationalAttractiveness: The Wicked Witch of the West. Even more so in the published version, where (due to [[Film/TheWizardOfOz the movie]] not being in public domain yet), she was given normal human skin.
21	** The Queen of Hearts as well, compared to the Tenniel illustrations.
22	* AdaptationNameChange: Most likely due to copyright reasons, when the comic was rebooted with an official publisher, Mary Poppins is changed to Miss Poole.
23	* AudibleSharpness: The Vorpal Sword. ''snk''
24	* BarehandedBladeBlock: Wendy Darling, of all people. But at least she cuts herself doing it...
25	* TheBaroness: The Wicked Witch of the West, and, from the look of it, the Queen of Hearts.
26	* BatmanGambit: Captain Hook and The Witch manipulate Dorothy into teleporting them and the whole ship into Oz.
27	* BeamOWar: One [[http://www.cheshirecrossing.net/page.php?issue=4&pagenum=20 between Wicked West and Mary Poppins]], interrupted by outside intervention.
28	* BigBad: Captain Hook and The Wicked Witch of the West.
29	* BladeBelowTheShoulder: Hook's namesake. He uses it both for {{sword fight}}ing and [[MundaneUtility cutting his steak]]...
30	* BoyishShortHair: Wendy, most noticeably in the reboot: It's actually shorter than Dr Rutherford or "Lem"'s.
31	* BrokenBird: Alice.
32	* CheshireCatGrin: Naturally, any time the TropeNamer shows up.
33	* CloudCuckoolander: The Mad Hatter, appropriately enough.
34	* CoolAirship[=/=]CoolShip: Hook's levitated pirate ship.
35	* CoversAlwaysLie: Subverted somewhat. The girls' outfits on the cover of the published version vary slightly from their in-story appearances.
36	* CrossoverShip: InUniverse:
37	** [[Literature/PeterPan Captain Hook]] and the [[Film/TheWizardOfOz Wicked Witch of the West]].
38	** Just after [[spoiler:Peter Pan]] finds reason to like girls, he starts hitting on Alice. To get him to concentrate on the task at hand, Alice tells him [[ExactWords she'll see to his physical needs later]]. She's got other plans in mind[[note]]which involve shrinking him to Tinker Bell's size[[/note]], but those few lines are sure to be breeding {{Plot Bunn\|y}}ies as we speak.
39	** Out-of-universe, WordOfGod has it that Alice[=/=]Wendy was the most popular pairing on the forums back in the day.
40	* CutAndPasteComic: The original was very blatant about this, with a behind the scenes page on the website showing Any Weir using a selection of predrawn body, head and limb sections that were quite literally c&p'ed to create new character figures in a process reminiscent of a SpriteComic.
41	* CuttingTheKnot: Peter knocking out the keeper of the Vorpal Sword instead of answering the riddle.
42	** Notably, the answer to the riddle was [[spoiler:"Punch", so in a way, Peter did answer it.]]
43	* DeadpanSnarker:
44	** The Cheshire Cat: Once, when he appears to give Wendy a hand, Wendy says something along the lines of "Holy crap, a talking cat," at which point the cat makes a sarcastic remark about her priorities. [[ArbitrarySkepticism You can see his point.]]
45	** Alice has moments of this, though she's more likely to gleefully jump over the line between snarker and {{Jerkass}}.
46	* DefeatMeansFriendship: Jack conscripting the Winkies, although it's strongly implied that they weren't especially fond of the Red Queen to start with. Hook's crew are a straighter example, particularly Mister Smee... Sorry, ''Captain'' Smee.
47	* DistaffCounterpart: Wendy over the years has essentially become a female version of Peter Pan.
48	* EvenEvilHasStandards: "Beating prisoners is 'bad form'..."
49	* ExactlyWhatIAimedAt:
50	** Alice [[AudibleSharpness snicker-snack]]ing the fairy-ball with the [[Creator/LewisCarroll Vorpal Sword]].
51	** The Witch inexplicably knocking a few rocks out of the ceiling above Mary Poppins...[[http://www.cheshirecrossing.net/page.php?issue=2&pagenum=20 in order to get her to move the umbrella]] she was using to shield against direct attacks.
52	* ExpoSpeakGag: Rutherford's ShoutOut to ''Film/MaryPoppins'':
53	-->"I've isolated a catalyst—sucrose! And if my calculations are correct, we'll only need a very small amount of it. Roughly a teaspoon."
54	* FairyCompanion: Tinker Bell.
55	* FromASingleCell: Apparently all witches can do this—West and Mary Poppins do so after [[KillItWithWater meeeeltiiiing]] (and we even [[DoingInTheWizard see it through a microscope]]).
56	* GoombaStomp: [[http://www.cheshirecrossing.net/page.php?issue=4&pagenum=12 here]].
57	* {{Grimmification}}
58	* HandsOnApproach: Captain Hook teaching the Witch of The West to steer a ship. Despite, you know, ''the hook''.
59	* IBelieveICanFly: Everyone seems to work out some way of managing it — [[ParasolParachute umbrella]], [[ContagiousPowers ruby slippers]], [[AppliedPhlebotinum fairy dust]] or just [[HandWave plain]] {{magic}}.
60	* InformedAbility: Wendy Darling is apparently very attached to her throwing knives, but, while she fences all over the place, she has yet to throw a single knife in combat — the only time she's seen throwing them is while briefly practising in the first issue.
61	* ImmuneToBullets: "I'm a card. Poking holes in me won't kill me."
62	* KickThemWhileTheyAreDown: After the Wicked Witch knocks out Wendy, she prepares to punch her again as a painful warning not to cross her.
63	* KillItWithWater: The Wicked Witch isn't personally vulnerable to water; rather, it has the same effect on any witch who happens to be in Oz [[http://www.cheshirecrossing.net/page.php?issue=2&pagenum=22 — unfortunately no-one warned Mary Poppins]].
64	** This actually helps with a FridgeLogic point from the original Oz: Just why did the Witch have buckets of witch-melting acid around? [[spoiler:In case of Glinda!]]
65	* KissOfLife: A mermaid gives Wendy one [[UnderwaterKiss underwater]].
66	* LadySwearsALot: The Wicked Witch of the West, especially [[http://www.cheshirecrossing.net/page.php?issue=4&pagenum=15 when fighting Mary Poppins]], highlighting the contrast between them.
67	-->'''West:''' A blast of eldritch fire in your $%&@ing face!\
68	'''Mary Poppins:''' Impudent girl.
69	* LimitedWardrobe: Most of the characters are limited to their MemeticOutfit in the original version, without which [[OnlySixFaces it would be near-impossible to tell them apart.]] The remake is a bit better about this. In any case, the whole plot appears to be taking place over an in-universe period of no more than a couple of days.
70	* LostInImitation: The comic's interpretation of Oz is clearly based entirely on [[Film/TheWizardOfOz the film version]], with ruby slippers and a green witch. The 2017 reboot distances itself from the film, restoring the silver shoes and the witch's healthy skin tone.
71	* MagicAIsMagicA: Evidently magic works differently depending on where you are — in Oz, Mary Poppins is melted with a splash of water, which is apparently just what happens to witches who get wet in Oz; while in Neverland, splashing the Witch of the West with water has no effect, since it doesn't work that way there.
72	* MagicalNanny
73	* MagicFeather: Dorothy's ruby slippers. Their ''actual'' power is copying their previous wearer's power, including Dorothy's inter-world travel.
74	* MagicMirror: Subverted — it turns out Alice has the power to walk through any mirror or reflective surface.
75	* TheMagicWasInsideYouAllAlong: The basis of the comic. All the plane-shifting experienced by the three heroines is down to their own powers, [[http://www.cheshirecrossing.net/page.php?issue=2&pagenum=2 to Dorothy's surprise]].
76	* MamaBear: Mary Poppins.
77	--> You threatened a girl in my care, and [[PreAssKickingOneLiner I'm afraid I simply cannot allow that.]]
78	* MegaManning: [[spoiler: ''Dorothy's shoes'' accomplish this whenever somebody else puts them on—they get the ability to use the abilities of who wore them last]].
79	* MythologyGag: Dorothy's seeming RaceLift in the published version may be one to Theatre/TheWiz.
80	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Alice accidentally starts an inter-world war first by stealing Dorothy's shoes so she can run away from school by way of Oz, and second by accidentally knocking the Witch of the West into a portal to Never-land.
81	* OrphanedSeries: According to the website, the comic is still on SeriesHiatus... since 2008. The author has stated elsewhere that it's over, as he's given up drawing in favour of writing novels.
82	* OnlySixFaces: [[http://www.cheshirecrossing.net/page.php?issue=1&pagenum=0 Or, you know, only one face.]] The reboot fixes this problem thoroughly.
83	* OvernightAgeUp: [[spoiler:Peter Pan]] gets a taste of some Wonderland berries, which cause him to [[http://www.cheshirecrossing.net/page.php?issue=3&pagenum=20 grow bigger]]...and grow up. He's still got the same personality, mostly, but starts having physical urges he has absolutely no idea how to deal with.
84	-->'''[[spoiler:Peter Pan]]:''' Say... Your body's got a real nice shape. You know that? And I ''especially'' like your chest! Wait a minute! Why is your chest so interesting all of a sudden?
85	* ParasolOfPain: Mary Poppins' seems to be capable of being a MagicWand and DeflectorShield in addition to its ParasolParachute and SnarkyNonHumanSidekick roles carried over from the film. And if all else fails, she can just batter you with it.
86	* ParasolParachute
87	* PortalPicture: This being one of Poppins' abilities, she uses Dorothy's drawing of the Wicked Witch's castle as a portal to Oz.
88	* PortalPool: Alice using her ability to cross reflective surfaces with a puddle of water.
89	* PowerTrio: Alice, Dorothy and Wendy, if somewhat reluctantly on Alice's part.
90	* TheProfessor: Ernest Rutherford.
91	* RaceLift: In the reboot, Dorothy is AmbiguouslyBrown, unlike in the illustrations of the original Oz books and in the movies, which (for the most part) her as Caucasian.
92	** Same with Peter and Captain Hook, also in the reboot.
93	* ScaryShinyGlasses: Played fairly straight with the aloof Rutherford, but a bit of a subversion with the affable CloudCuckoolander Mad Hatter.
94	* SequelHook: Since the fourth issue ends more or less happily for all parties involved, the planned (and never released) storyline teased in the final page could be considered a sequel to a self-contained story.
95	* {{Shipping}}: InUniverse; In addition to the CrossoverShip mentioned above, [[spoiler: Peter Pan gets shrunken down and apparently hooks up with Tinker Bell]]. Impossible in canon but, given the circumstances here, totally believable.
96	* ShoutOut:
97	** [[Film/PlanetOfTheApes1968 "Get your hands off me, you damn dirty human!"]]
98	** Mary Poppins, to the Wicked Witch about Tinker Bell: "[[Film/{{Scarface 1983}} Say hello to my little friend!]]"
99	** The Queen Of Hearts: "We are not amused." [[UsefulNotes/QueenVictoria Queen Victoria]] never said that, of course but she's still known for saying it.
100	* SmugSuper: Mary Poppins. Take her "practically perfect in every way" attitude and [[{{Deconstruction}} imagine how it would appear to a rival magic user]], and you can kinda see why the Witch finds her so frustrating.
101	* StealthPun: The answer to the riddle is given on the same page.
102	* SwordFight
103	* SkyPirates: Hook and crew branch out into this trope temporarily with the assistance of the Witch of the West.
104	* SwordOfPlotAdvancement: Alice and Peter's quest for the Vorpal Sword.
105	* SymbolSwearing
106	* TalkLikeAPirate: Hook's crew be doin' this unashamedly, but the good cap'n be a very posh-spoke gennleman indeed, yarr.
107	* TechnoBabble (or is it MagiBabble?): Lemuel Gulliver suggests to Rutherford that they dilute the melted Mary Poppins with distilled water in order to remove impurities and help her regenerate.
108	* ThisIsForEmphasisBitch: [[http://www.cheshirecrossing.net/page.php?issue=2&pagenum=22 Welcome to Oz, witch!]]
109	* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: ([[http://www.cheshirecrossing.net/page.php?issue=4&pagenum=21 Alice]]).
110	* TookALevelInBadass: All three of the girls: Wendy has acquired impressive fighting skills and can fly under her own power, Dorothy's been taught lateral thinking and knows how to punch, and Alice has become relentlessly pragmatic and knows ''exactly'' how to use Wonderland's items to her advantage.
111	* UnholyMatrimony: [[Literature/PeterPan Captain Hook]] and the [[Film/TheWizardOfOz Wicked Witch of the West]].
112	* TheUnintelligible: Tinker Bell speaks in jingles, of all things. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] at one point by Wendy saying, "Slow down, I can't understand a word you're saying!" Not to mention the line [[http://www.cheshirecrossing.net/page.php?issue=4&pagenum=19 "Jingle jingle #%&@ing jingle!]]"
113	* UpUpAndAway: The [[Film/TheWizardOfOz flying monkeys]].
114	* VisualPun (also StealthPun): The answer to the Red Bishop's riddle is [[spoiler: "Punch." Which is precisely what Peter does.]]
115	* WeNeedADistraction: Alice provides a [[http://www.cheshirecrossing.net/page.php?issue=2&pagenum=17 particularly honest one]].
116	* TheWorfEffect: Peter Pan seems to exist to prove how tough the Wicked Witch is.
117	* WizardDuel: [[CoolVersusAwesome Mary Poppins versus the Wicked Witch of the West.]]
118	* YouFightLikeACow: Jack and Hook:
119	-->'''Hook:''' Nice [[EyepatchOfPower eyepatch]]. You'd make a good pirate.\
120	'''Jack:''' Nice hook. You'd make a bad [[GenderVocabularySlip masseuse]].\
121	'''Hook:''' All those pink hearts don't exactly inspire terror.\
122	'''Jack:''' [[LameComeback ...Shut up]]!

Context Webcomic / CheshireCrossing