William Whiskers
William Whiskers is a mischievous stuffed animal who was given life by a young Frieda Jacobs—the future Queen of Hearts. Brought to Eden at the dawn of the First Age by a traveling salesman, Whiskers is sometimes called the Cheshire Cat—though debate rages as to how he came by this particular sobriquet.
Supernatural Abilities
The Cheshire Cat is capable of a quirky form of teleportation. He can transport himself from one place to another in pieces, gradually, over time. He can also send himself whole, of course, but frightening someone with his disembodied head is often too much fun to pass up.
When he was younger, the Cat’s ability was far less refined—and entirely lacking in subtlety. His abilities were originally accompanied by a puff of pinkish purple smoke and a loud POOF. So distinctive was this sound that Frieda Jacobs referred to her friend‘s ability as “poofing”—a term the Cat found undignified.
Appearance & Personality
William Whiskers is 1' 9" tall plush toy cat. He is orange in color, with stripes of a darker orange on his head, shoulders, back, and tail. His tummy, paws, and inner ears are off-white with pink accents.
The Cat is a caring, insightful, and funny companion. Though loyal to a fault, he is fond of challenging his loved ones with mischievous behavior and confounding conversation. He loves to understand what makes people tick, but only once he’s decided that said people are worth his time.
Biography
The plushie which would become William Whiskers was manufactured on Earth in the year 1912. He was part of the beloved line of Honeybear toys for children, and the favorite of an American salesman called George Switzer.
Following the collapse of that reality on April 14, Switzer and the future William Whiskers found themselves on the shores of Eden as refugees. But while Switzer would seek to elevate himself in this new world as one of the so-called False Kings, Whiskers was content to remain naught but a child’s plaything.
Or, well, he would have been content—if he wasn’t still just an inanimate object at this point.
The future William Whiskers was passed down from Switzer to his daughter Gwen, then from Gwen to her son Fred, and so on and so forth until the toy was given to Frieda Jacobs by her mother. And it was only then, through the power of a soon-orphaned Frieda’s desperate imagination, that William Whiskers came to life.
A constant companion of Frieda’s for several years, Whiskers became a bit of a shut-in once his creator came of age. But in 263, in the build-up to the War of Western Aggression, he became one of the four members of Frieda’s inaugural Crown’s Guard and set off on a series of adventures you can read about in The Blood of Seven Queens.
I did audibly chuckle at the bit where Bill the Cat says "can we call it something else" and then your sound effect is "poof"! Also, I do love an insane, sentient orange cat!
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I'm so glad to hear that you audibly chuckled at the "can we call it something else?" bit. I had so much fun writing that.