CHAOTIC WONDERLAND

Hello !
This is a website about analysis and interpretations of Alice in Wonderland and TXT's The Star Seekers stories.
How are they connected? What are they about? What does it meaaan?

About

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is a novel published in 1865 by Lewis Caroll, three years after he narrated his story for the first time to Alice Liddel and her sisters during a boat trip.
The story was created to entertain the three young girls, and the manuscript was written at the request of Alice Liddel, who wanted to keep a memory of it. A simple silly lil story for three lil girls.
Therefore, all the analyses made upon this book and universe are interpretations. It is just to have fun and find interesting meanings :)
I based this research not only on the two books but on every element about Alice’s universe including the live-action movies from 2010 and 2016.The Star Seekers, previously known as the +U (TOMORROW X TOGETHER universe), is a fictional story created by Big Hit Music and HYBE about the group Tomorrow x Together (TXT). TXT's members each inspired a character in the story. TXT’s group name in this fictional dimension is “Star One''. The Star Seekers includes numerous videos, music clips, photos, performances, a webtoon, a webnovel and is strongly present in TXT’s music lyrics.
I've used “TXT”, “Star One” and “The Star Seekers” to refer to the members together, and their real names to refer to them individually. I've tried to rely mostly on song lyrics and MVs for those who don't know all the details of the story.
Likewise, all the analyses made about the Star Seekers on this website are personal interpretations. (I still did a lot of researches tho) ( but there are many different ways of interpreting it!!)Alice in Wonderland and The Star Seekers both feature a magical, colorful setting, contrasting with a deep underlying meaning (intended or not). It sometimes creates a disturbing, creepy atmosphere. I love this specific universe genre so much and wanted to share all the surprising similarities between both!I recommend to read in order :)

Characters

All of this research (study? essay? idk) comes from a strong desire to illustrate TXT in Wonderland.
Naturally, I had to choose who would be who.
I considered their personality, look and their role in the Star Seekers Universe.

Soobin as - the White rabbit -

"Oh dear, oh dear! I shall be too late!"
- Alice’s Adventures Under Ground - Chapter I, L. Carroll

Outfit from his MC days, a cute bag to carry his fan's letters, a bunny hat for special occasions and a vintage clock to keep track of the time.

The White Rabbit is said to be nervous and always in a hurry. Surprisingly, despite his shyness, he can be quite confident depending on the situation.
Although he’s rarely in a hurry, Soobin showed us how timid he can be with new people and, in contrast, how confident he can become once he is in a comfy environment.
In addition to obviously being a bunny.But what is more striking between the two characters are their roles in their respective story.Alice fell in the rabbit hole while chasing the latter, making him the one leading Alice to Wonderland. She continues to follow him when she is in Wonderland, making him her guide.
This can be paralleled with Soobin’s leader role, - both in real life and in The Star Seekers - and with his ability to open portals to parallel worlds in the web novel.
The White Rabbit is also known to always look at his watch, worrying about time. Soobin’s character in The Star Seekers is the one having visions about the future.
They are both characters linked to time and portals.

YEONJUN as -the mad hatter -

“It’s always tea time” - The Hatter in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Chapter VII, L.Carrol…or..T-Time?:)

Howl inspired vest, a tea set to be prepared for a tea time at any moment, funky gloves and jewels, a pretty cane because it's stylish, and, of course, a spare hat

The Hatter doesn’t have any precise description in the books. His “madness” is something interpreted by the public and became the name under which he is best known.
However, in the live-action movies, his character is more elaborated: Feeling alienated, the Hatter fled to the woods and escaped from reality in an eternal tea-time. In the second movie, he is crushed by guilt thinking he is the reason for his family’s death, when it isn’t the case.His story can be paralleled with Yeonjun in the Nap of a Star MV : Feeling different and afraid of not fitting in, he escapes in the forest at night and hides away. Like the Mad Hatter, he sinks in guilt, thinking he is the sole reason behind his friend’s misfortunes.On a lighter note, they are both quite fashionable and show their strong personality through their clothes and accessories.

Beomgyu as -the queen of hearts -

For this comparison, I based my character analysis on the live action movies, which contains a more in-depth description of the two queens.

Heart outfit, a 0x1 Lovesong era inspired top, a game of cards to play anytime, a long sword to duel the White Queen and slay some heads, a pretty heart cane, gloves to avoid touching others, and PEARLS, lots of it.

“I pictured to myself the Queen of Hearts as a sort of embodiment of ungovernable passion – a blind and aimless Fury.” Lewis Caroll in the ‘Alice on Stage’ article.
Passion, jealousy and wanting to be loved more than anyone else…Although his character is by no means a villain of the story, Beomgyu remains a victim of his turmoil of emotions while facing the group's difficulties. His jealousy, anger, and other strong negative feelings stems all from the fear of losing his friends.
For example, Beomgyu is the hero of the Drama MV, a song about someone who feels more and more like a secondary character in his own life. The lyrics depict how he became jealous towards his shining and popular friend.
The Queen of Hearts, who grew up in her loveable sister’s shade, is also characterized by her strong jealousy towards the White Queen.In Run Away, it is Beomgyu who sings the lines“It feels like everybody's happy but me”,reminding a lot about how the Queen of Hearts feels.

taehyun as - Alice -

« Curiouser and curiousers »
- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Chapter II: The Pool of Tears, L.Carrol

The classic blue Alice dress, an overalls for when he is in reality, cute ribbons, the mysterious Star Seekers book containing their True Names, spare socks and a super big collar because it would suits the character well.

Alice is described by L. Caroll in the article ‘Alice on Stage’ as a child with « lots of imagination » and who « is fond of showing off her knowledge.”« Alice is polite, well raised and interested in others, although she sometimes makes the wrong remarks and upsets the creatures in Wonderland.”As Alice is the embodiment of curiosity, Taehyun suits the character really well. Like the young heroine, he can be blunt due to his unfiltered honesty.
In addition, his Star Seeker character is actively researching clues to find answers to the team’s problems. “Clue” is even his “True Name”, symbol of a neverending thirst for knowledge. (Introduction Film - What do you do?)

“What will I see? Even though i'm afraid , I open the door”
- Quote on Taehyun’s Eternity Album Photocard

Hueningkai as -the white queen -

“Sometimes i believed as many as 6 impossible things before breakfast”- the White Queen in Through the Looking-Glass and what Alice found there - Chapter V, L.Carrol

The World Concept Picture outfit re-interpreted, the heart eye-patch, the Vorpal Sword to slay the Jabberwock, candies and potions to change one's height.

The White Queen is also more portrayed in the live action movies than in the books. Her image is graceful and pure and her looks are similar to the World Concept pictures from TXT Freeze album, as a frozen queen.If we go a bit further, a Danish fairytale seems to have inspired this album concept : the Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen. This novel tells the story of “Kai”, who gets a mirror’s shatter in his eye and heart. In the concept photo, Huening Kai coincidentally gets a heart eye-patch.*Moreover, his character in The Star Seekers universe can summon and communicate with creatures from every realm and worlds, like…a Disney princess.All these details led me to associate Huening Kai with the White Queen.

* Check-out Leina Sunflower channel on Youtube for more amazing infos like this!

THE STORY ANALYSIS

Alice in Wonderland and The Star Seekers.
Both of these stories portray children feeling different, children who reject the rules of society, children who dream of another path.
Both depict children who are scared to become adults with responsibilities in a gray dreamless life.
Both tell how they try to escape the harsh reality by escaping to a dreamy and fantasy world.But fatally, these children will grow up, as a dream can’t be eternal, as the time can’t be stopped forever, as they are not Peter Pan.
Alice and The Star Seekers are stories about growth.
In both tales, we follow our protagonists in their quest to find their identity, while traveling between their dreams and reality. In this adventure, Alice is alone while TXT are 5. Being together is a source of additional difficulties as well as a necessary strength to succeed in their quest.A lot of fantasy elements can be found in the two universes: a mysterious cat, mirrors, potions, cards, a magical tree, time modifications, a dragon that they must fight on a doomed day,...
They can be interpreted as symbols or metaphors supporting the theme of the research of the identity, in a philosophical or psychological way.

“And what if it is childish? It’s just like us” - Moa Dairy, TXT

THE SETTING

What makes Alice and The Star Seeker feel so magical, weird, whimsical and creepy?
The setting of these stories is quite similar : travels between dream and reality, to an imaginary forest full of adventures...

DREAMING

“Alice: But a dream is not reality
The Mad Hatter: Whose to say which is which?”
- Alice Through The Looking Glass (2016)

Dreaming is used in these tales as a means to start our protagonists’ adventures: Alice falls asleep on a tree and dreams about Wonderland. TXT can access to their “Magic Island'' by “closing their eyes', traveling between their dream world and the real one. In Alice and in The Star Seekers universe, this limit between the dreams and the reality is blurred and let each one mix with the other, symbolizing the protagonist's confusion in their life and with who they are.Dreams are linked to the subconscious and can be interpreted in many ways to reflect about what one is going through.Dreaming is also a very useful storyline tool, as it is the imagination domain and let the author play with fantasy creatures and magical elements.

MAGIC WONDERLAND

These “dream” worlds have names in each tale: Wonderland for Alice and Magic Island for The Star Seekers.Alice is 7 years old when she dreams of her adventures in Wonderland. The fantasy world is her vision of the confusing adult’s society, seen with her children's eyes.
In the 2010 movie, little Alice often whined about her recurring nightmares in which she visited Wonderland. Growing up, she forgets about her dreamland. But when faced with a forced engagement and the incomprehensible expectations of the society in which she lives, the now-19-years-old Alice returns to Wonderland.For TXT, their dreams reunite them in Magic Island, which is depicted through various contents as a multidimensional magical space, similar to a virtual game. This mysterious “Island” is accessible for the members through a real Seoul location, the Ttukseom station, near an amusement park also called “Magic Island”. This subway station seems to work like a portal between the “real” and the “imaginary” Magic Island. The Run Away MV, the Frost MV, and many other contents mention this place. TXT’s trips to Magic Island from childhood to their teenage years are sung in the “Dream Chapter” trilogy albums .

“A small island
from which secrets began”
- Magic Island, TXT

ESCAPE REALITY

Oh to be sleeping and meeting bizarre creatures, living fun adventures, discovering a captivating forest.. isn’t it better than reality full of unending problems?

Taehyun as the 7 years-old Alice falling asleep to Wonderland at dusk, around.. 5:53. The book is the one from the Star Seekers, containing all the truths the members are searching for.

In Alice's case, she doesn't want to grow as a boring adult or be married, she wants to live passionately and realize her big dreams. But sometimes, it seems too big of a fight. A small girl against a whole society made up by expectant adults who want you to follow nonsensical rules. Therefore, she escapes to Wonderland, to her dream world.

“I know I should have to get through the Looking-glass again— back into the old room—and there’d be an end of all my adventures!”- Alice in Through the Looking-Glass and what Alice found there - Chapter II: The Garden of Live Flowers, L.Carroll

At first, the “Star Seekers” - or “Star One”, TXT’s alter ego - are magicless idols in difficulty, without much hope of getting more popular. When they suddenly gain magic, strangers give them absurdly high responsibilities, like saving the world from an apocalypse. Through their whole life as children and teenagers, the group of friends faced many hardships, made even tougher by their inner fights.

“I wanna run away from here, disappear far away
Who am I, I don’t know who I am”
- Crown, TXT

As all of these expectations and fated doom are darkening their future, the Star One’s members escape all together to their safe place, Magic Island, where there seems to have no rules, where time seems to stop, where it seems they can be eternally happy together. They “Run Away” to their imagination.

“Oh stop it for a second you can put off
Your ending for a while ; i’m going back again
Now the boss of the end , leave your fears behind
I want to enjoy this world more at this moment”
- Can’t We Leave the Monster Alive?, TXT“Maybe I'll escape from reality tomorrow too
Doping in the imagination”
-Balance Game, TXT

PORTALS between dreams and reality

Taehyun falling into Magic Wonderland, passing by doors referencing the Star Seekers, like the 17 Room or the Run Away gigantic door. A mix of Alice's and the +U's elements are represented: a DnD multiside dice, cards, potions, stars, the Eternity album photocards, a mirror, the weird plushie combining all OT5 "pains" in the Run Away MV , the pandora box, a tea set with the Run Away Japanese MV flying cup of tea, chess pieces, blue butterflies (Frost,SRR, SRR Japanses MV, ...) and a clock.

One of the ways to an imaginary world is to fall asleep, or, as Lewis represents it in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, to “fall in the rabbit hole”.
In the +U, this idea of falling asleep is often implied. First, Star One can access their Magic Island at dusk, exactly at 5:53. After that, their fun adventures on the island seem to take place at night, under a starry sky.

“I wanna stay here
In the gap between the two worlds
At the hour between dog and wolf
I wanna be trapped in magic”
- Blue Hour, TXT

Moreover, when they go to Magic Island by train through the Ttukseom Station gate, they have to “close their eyes”. All of these hints are supported by the fact that their Magic Island adventures are told in their “Dream” Chapter.

“When we go past this tunnel
When we open our eyes
Our dreams become reality”
- Run Away, TXT

Note: One has to go through a tunnel to access the Ttukseom Park after taking the subway.

But other paths to their magical safe place are possible.Dreams are a reflection of our subconscious and, as such, Wonderland and Magic Island mirrors our protagonists inner thoughts and emotions. It is no surprise then that Alice goes to Wonderland through a “Looking Glass” in the second book and movie. Magic Island is also often represented as a reversed world, as if reality was seen through a mirror. (Run Away MV)Some classical fantasy gates are also used in the Star Seekers’ imagery such as magical spells, portals and doors. Water and holes are very present in the storyline and can have many different meanings too.

THE mysterious FOREST

Numerous children’s fairy tales use the forest as the principal scenery. It represents being lost, exploration, potential danger and mystery. It can act as a world on its own, separated from our concrete reality. There, in an enchanted setting, reality is left behind, the rules are bent, and a separated world is created where the visitors are left to their own devices. There, Alice, Hansel and Gretel, Tom Thumb, Snow White and so many others meet magical and mysterious creatures, good and bad.

In Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, the 7 year old girl runs into the woods after making a mess in the Rabbit’s house. She then encounters the Caterpillar, meets the Duchess, asks her way to the Cheshire Cat, attends the Tea Party of the Mad Hatter and the March Hare, while she keeps eating food that makes her grow and shrink. She experienced lots of questioning and strange behaviors in those woods that nourished her reflexions and internal growth.In the Star Seekers, Magic Island is represented as a purple forest, with blue and red living trees, and mysterious creatures hiding in the shadows (Nap of a star MV).

“Oh in this dark maze
In the twisted tangled bushes
Oh I even like the monsters in the forest »
- Can’t We Just Leave The Monster Alive?, TXT

Hidden in the dark forest, the Star Seekers can show their special attributes rejected by others in the real world:Hueningkai’s wings, Yeonjun’s antlers, Soobin’s elf ears, Taehyun’s star eye, Beomgyu’s spikes on his shoulder.These attributes can also be a representation of their growing individualities and pains as teenagers.
The Star One’s members can show this “monstrous side” of them because they are in the monster's realm, with no one here to judge them. Magic Island’s forest acts like a sanctuary.But as much as the forest can be a safe and reassuring place, it can also be menacing and scary with dangers and secrets hiding in the bushes. Magic Island is not only the realm of blue butterflies and birds, it is also where Yeonjun first encounters the evil odd-eye cat.Symbolically, the forest can represent the maze of one’s unconscious and when the protagonist is lost in their life, they are also lost in their inner “forest”.
A story about a lost hero in the forest represents the journey to find oneself, full of meetings, hardships and tests to overcome.Another forest element common in Alice and the Star Seekers is a specific tree that signals the start of both stories. Alice fell asleep in its branches in the Disney movie, and a mysterious tree represents Magic Island in the Star Seekers universe. It is seen in the Doom’s Night animation, and in the Nap of a Star, Magic Island, Blue Hour and Sugar Rush Ride MVs. It seems to work as a meeting place and a safe sanctuary. It can also be linked with the Hangman’s Tree in the Peter Pan story.

THE QUEST of the NAME

“Who in the world am I ? Ah, that's the great puzzle ! ”
- Alice in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Chapter II : The Pool of Tears, L.Carroll

Through her adventures, Alice is constantly being asked and asking herself: “Who is Alice?”Identity is also one of the main themes of TXT’s lyrics. The group’s discography is chaptered by “the Dream Chapter”, “the Chaos Chapter” and “the Name Chapter”. These “Chapters” narrate a story about growth, from childhood to adulthood. This process of growth is symbolized by a quest for each member: the quest of their Names.Our young protagonists are lost and afraid of their future and search for answers about who they are to have the courage to face their real-life challenges. Alice and The Star Seekers will experience similar steps and trials in this long quest.

The feeling of Alienation

Their first step of this growth process is to get out of their peaceful and harmonious childhood state. At one point, Alice and the TXT’s members (or Star One) will taste the stingy feeling of alienation.
For TXT, it begins with their “monstrous differences” (horn, wings, ears,...), and for Alice, with her way of thinking. They all have something that makes them feel rejected by others and it's that first feeling that leads them to escape in their dreams. This is illustrated in the Nap of a Star MV, by Yeonjun escaping in the woods after growing his horns overnight.

“Save me, maybe i have turned into a monster ”
- Crown, TXT

There is a huge difference between the two stories at this point: Alice is completely alone while the TXT’s members can bond and form an “outcast group” together.But as the child grows and lives, this feeling of alienation won't be punctual and get rid off simply by being confronted with it once.
In the second movie - Alice Through The Looking Glass (2016) - Alice is seen by her mostly male navigators peers as a madwoman incapable of accomplishing anything.
For TXT, after finding comfort in their group, they fail to communicate clearly and end up breaking their friendship after feeling more and more different from each other. Soobin distances himself by not telling the others about his visions and everybody starts suspecting each other about everything without ever having open conversations. This absence of communication leads them to feed the growing fire destroying their relationship with their suspicion and secrecy. This stage of their relationship leads to the Can’t You See Me situation.At every conflict with the others, with society, with themselves, Alice and the TXT’s members will feel isolated and the need to escape will appear again and again. The cycle will stop once the protagonists find and accept themselves, as a multi-faceted person.One can’t feel rejected if one accepts their differences.

who are you?

“Who are you?”

Taehyun watching his "Monster" self through a mirror connected to Magic Island. His "pain" comes from his eye, which let him use visual magic with illusions spells. This version of TXT is seen in Nap of A Star and Eternally MVs. In the novel, it is know as the " possession" magic, when the members let their origin tribes take over their bodies to have more powers.

The solemn question is asked many times in various ways to Alice through her Wonderland journeys, by the Caterpillar, by the flowers, by a deer, the Red Queen, the Gnat, the Humpty Dumpty…and by herself.Alice, mostly confident and talkative, is suddenly uncomfy and in search of words whenever her identity is questioned. She doesn’t have a clear answer to the question.

““Who are you?” said the Caterpillar.
This was not an encouraging opening for a conversation. Alice replied, rather shyly, “I—I hardly know, sir, just at present—at least I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then.”
- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Chapter V, L.Carroll

In the 2010 Tim Burton's movie, the Wonderland creatures debate on whether she is “the right Alice”, as if she wasn’t herself yet.
Through her journey and in every media telling her story, the creatures around her are guiding her through her growth. Absolem or the Caterpillar states
“I can’t help you if you don’t even know who you are”
after Alice found difficulty to answer the fateful question.

In the second book, an interesting dialogue between the young girl and Humpty Dumpty takes place:

“‘Must a name mean something?’ Alice asked doubtfully.
‘Of course it must,’ Humpty Dumpty said with a sort laugh:
‘My name means the shape I am— and a good hand- some shape it is, too. With a name like yours, you might be any shape, almost.’ “
-Through the Looking-Glass and what Alice found there - Chapter VI: Humpty Dumpty, L.Carroll

The importance of the name, and the meaning behind it is one of the biggest themes in The Star Seekers. Indeed, every creature has a “True Name” in their universe. This is referencing the Dungeon and Dragons game’s rules, in which it is stated that:

“ A truename is a unique identifier that defines a creature or thing to the cosmos. A creature's true name is not the same as its normal name. Rather, it is a secret name in the original language of the universe, and most creatures do not know their own truename.”

In their journey, the Star One’s members have a hidden quest to find their True Name or, in other words, find themselves.
Through diverse contents, including TXT’s introduction videos, Star One’s true name were revealed as:

- Promise for Yeonjun (linked to the paladin class and to the irish demi-god Cú Chulainn)
- Tomorrow for Soobin (linked to the elf tribe as an archer and to the cursed prophet Cassandra)
- Hope for Beomgyu (linked to the druid class and to Pandora)
- Clue for Taehyun (linked to the sorcerer class and to the Norse god Odin)
- Secret for Hueningkai (linked to the mystic/ bard class, and to the mythical greek inventor and architect Daedalus)

“On the island of dreams, only chaos exists,
Even if i run away, i fall deeper into anxiety
the meaning is frozen in front of the name
Am I ready for this?”
- Frost, TXT

the process of Growing up

The process of finding one’s name - or one’s identity - is growth. It is a never-ending process that starts as soon as life begins. The growth narrated in both Alice and the Star Seekers is focused on the time from childhood to young adulthood, the first stages of growth that will help one continue the process through their life. As these times of life are a chain of first times, it is also one of the scariest stages, when everything you encounter, a situation or an emotion, is part of the unknown. Alice and the Star Seekers naturally are scared of adulthood and reject it.

« Do we have to break this stage? Do we have to become adults
To say that we're doing well?
I want to be a boy forever”
- Can’t We Just Leave The Monster Alive?, TXT

For Alice, it is by meeting new creatures and new opinions that her world expands and she grows. Once she matured enough to face her reality, she realized everything was a dream and she brutally woke up (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, L.Carroll). As a young adult, she realizes she can confront reality by living to achieve her dreams and make them true, by making her own path, far from the gray conventional society’s expected life (Alice Through The Looking Glass, 2016).For TXT, the process has more steps. Their whole growth process follows their albums themes and song’s lyrics.
They first find safety in friendship. But their comforting Magic island vanishes as their relationship deteriorates because of their growing differences/individuality (The Dream Chapter + Minisode1).

“You turn your back when the fire is burning
Crumbled sand castle, who’s a liar?
Once again I’m left alone”“Abandoned island, that forgotten melody”
- Can’t You See Me, TXT

Too soon for them to confront the cruel and violent reality, they quickly find reassurance in the illusion of love that fills the hole opened in them with the loss of their friends (The Chaos Chapter).But once more, this love is broken and the feeling of betrayal and pain comes back. This time, instead of replacing love with another relationship, they decided to face themselves and heal by going through their “ego death”, as the jungian psychology states. (Minisode 2) They are on their way to accept their “shadow” at the same degree as their “ego”.

“Erase that boy inside of you”
“Born atomb the tomb of love
I feel free now”
- Good Boy Gone Bad, TXT

TXT’s growth is a long and painful process whereas Alice’s growth is more of a confusing process. Both stories make those ongoing changes visible with appearances changes: Alice constantly varies between gigantic and minuscule, growing and shrinking, like the TXT’s members in the Blue Hour or the Cat and Dog MVs.

Dragon and destiny

To conclude their growth process, Alice and TXT must face “an apocalypse” and slay a “Dragon”(or “Jabberwock”). It takes place on the Doom’s Day for TXT and on the Frabjous day for Alice (Alice in Wonderland, 2010).The Doom’s Day is often described in the Star Seekers contents, with Soobin’s visions. One of this description is made in the Eternally MV :

“Section 1 : the Night of the Last DayOn the night of the last day, the world lay in shattered ruins
Darkness descended on the boys and the night
Memories of a destined future draped slowly over them
The boys asked as they wandered the nightmare maze
“Are there no other choices for us?”
the boys were thrown into confusion “

Our protagonists are designated by everyone as “saviors” who must accomplish their destiny. A fate they can’t avoid with a heavy responsibility made by the others. This dark future makes them question life and society.

“My fate is what? What's the right answer, really?”
- Frost, TXT

One of the interesting common elements in both stories is a dragon. After Carroll’s words, the Jabberwock, Wonderland’s monster, is said to live on an island …
In psychology, the dragon can refer to the negative side of the human psyche, including instincts, fear, hatred and selfishness. When Alice is finally ready to face the dragon - or the real world that lies after it - Absolem the Caterpillar asserts« You seem more like the real Alice »,as if she found herself after all these adventures and trials, ready to face her final test. In a way, once Star One and Alice slay their own dragon by reaching self-knowledge, they are ready to face reality and society.Another interesting aspect of both stories is that, even if fate is forced upon them, TXT and Alice still resist and insist on finding their own path, another way, a third-choice in a perpetual two-choice situation.

“- From the moment I fell down that rabbit hole, I've been told what I must do and who I must be. But this is my dream! I'll decide where it goes from here
- If you diverge from the path …
- I MAKE THE PATH.”- Alice in Wonderland (2010)

In the Star Seekers, Soobin is always questioning this destiny and has faith that their group can go beyond it.All in all, our protagonists have to grow up eventually and it is up to them to conform to society, keep rejecting this fate in a delusional state or… accept it and become an adult that keeps dreaming.

THE importance of memories

Memories are the roots to one’s identity.
It is no surprise then, that memories are a huge theme in the Stars Seekers. In order to defeat their dragon, or in other terms, to accept their true selves, the members have to remember a specific name and event: their promise made on the Starlights festival under the star and the name of this star. The star represents their fans, MOA, seen in several contents as The Eternity Girl (Eternally MV). Until they remember everything, their missing collective memory haunts them, like a lost piece of their identity. They feel lost, and this missing souvenir seems to contain the key to all of their answers. This specific memory seems to be able to act like a guide in a world where they can't count on anyone else but themselves.

“Voices calling me, I'm in chaos now
Drawn by the name, I stand in chaos
Really lost my mind
Really, really, really, really lost it”- Frost, TXT

“Don't forget that night
you can't forget this place”“Don’t forget your name
So that the spell won’t unravel”- Magic Island, TXT

Their truth, dreams and motivation lies in this missing collective memory.In Alice, the theme of memory is present but not a major one. In the second book, Through the Looking-Glass and what Alice found there, Alice forgot her name in a mysterious wood. Afterwards, unable to answer the question "Who are you?", Alice finds herself denied her very nature as a human being by a deer. This little event reminds the heroine how important her name and memories are.Moreover, as a story component, fuzzy memories allow to blur the limit between dreams and reality.

Mirrors and opposites

Tae-lice facing different settings the Star Seekers have been through : their meeting as children under the Star (Nap of a Star), their days as teenagers with growing problems (Run Away), the amusement park linking the real and dream Magic Island (Blue Hour), Doom's Day, Dragonpeak

Alice going through a mirror to travel to Wonderland (Through the Looking-Glass and what Alice found there), TXT finding a way to Magic Island in the water, a reflective surface (Run Away MV), Yeonjun discovering his horns in a mirror in the Nap of a Star MV, their practice room full of mirrors in the Eternally MV, and so on… Mirrors are omnipresent in both universes, and its “portal” function can have a much deeper meaning.

“Whoever looks into the mirror of the water will see first of all his own face. Whoever goes to himself risks a confrontation with himself. The mirror does not flatter, it faithfully shows whatever looks into it; namely, the face we never show the world, because we cover it with the persona , the mask of the actor. But the mirror lies behind the mask and shows the true face.”
- Carl Jung, C.W. Vol 9. Part I: Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious

Firstly, mirrors are a common way of representing the inner self, the subconscious. Traveling to their fantasy worlds gives our protagonists an opportunity to face their hidden emotions, wishes and fears. TXT chooses to use this revealing mirror to escape their anxious thoughts about reality instead of facing their fears. They are actively ignoring their problems during all of their magical trips. Alice, on the other hand, chooses to explore her inner world and find answers to her questions about reality and adult society.

Why TXT seems to have so much more difficulties to find themselves in the Star Seekers story compared to Alice?
It’s because they are Together. They don’t take the time to analyze their inner self in Magic Island because they are never alone.
When one is with another, one can use the reflection they have of themselves through the eyes of the other. This reflection is often less scary than looking at a mirror alone because it isn’t the true reflection of ourselves : it is shown by someone else, with a different life, individuality, personality, beliefs and so on that will filter one’s reflection. To use Jung's idea, only a mirror, an inert object, can show us our true self without any lies.

“I spent hours in front of the mirror wanting to become you “
- Good Boy Gone Bad , TXT

In the Star Seekers, whether in Magic Island or in real life, the members grow with each other. After their group broke up, they desperately sought another person in fear of being alone. They immediately pour their everything into this new “one and only”. It is only when they break up, when the mirror that is “you” cracks, that TXT don’t recognize themselves in this “you” anymore. They “kill” their old self who lived only through the others and finally accept to face their “inner shadows”. They are finally acknowledging their monsters that grew in them since “Crown”. At this moment, they are accepting their entire identity, not only the good parts.“The Shadow” and “The Ego” is also an idea developed by Jung. One can only be truly themselves once they accept their Shadows on the same level as their Ego, the part shown to the world. As the shadows are the opposite of the Ego, the hidden part of the self, it is interesting to see that it resonates once again with the idea of the Mirror. And opposites are a common recurring thing in TXT’s discography: Blue Orangeade, Angel or Devil, Cat and Dog, Good Boy Gone Bad, Lo$er Lover...
Everyone and everything seems to have an opposite, as Magic Island burns while the real Magic Island location near the Ttukseom Station freeze… (Magic Island MV vs. Frost MV and the Chaos Concept trailer)
In a way, our protagonists are going through a maze in a mirror to find themselves and grow, by questioning the world and themselves.

“At the end of the maze
Across the mirror over there
Please find me please""Push me in the mirror
In that broken and divided shape
Don't let me even find the real me”- Maze in the Mirror, TXT

tHE GAME

Chess, Cards, Dungeon and Dragons,... Games, their rules and the choices induced are strongly represented through Alice and +U Universe.

playing with Time

Growing up takes time and parallel worlds enable the narrative to play with it. The rules of time are bent in diverse ways...

Rabbit Soobin trying to be on time for his numerous rendez-vous.
The clocks are showing specific TXT's related hours (debut date, 5:53, 9 3/4)

When Alice and Star One’s members spend their days in Wonderland or Magic Island, it seems only a few seconds or hours pass by in the real world. But this is not the only way time is changed in both universes.The Alice Through The Looking Glass 2016 movie main theme is time. Alice travels through time to change the present by changing a few details in the past, following the Chaos Theory. Chaos is a commonly used term in the Star Seekers storyline: the Chaos Chapter (with the Freeze and Fight or Escape albums), Chaotic Wonderland (Japanese album in the Chaos Chapter era). The Chaos Theory itself is also used in the Stars Seeker by none other than MOAs. Indeed, as the story progresses, the protagonists realize they are being helped by an external force who seems to come from the future: the Eternal girl, or MOAs, the ones who didn't survive the unavoidable apocalypse. Under a ghost form or a mint magical light, they try to go back in time to help TXT win over the final dragon.

Alongside time travels and time freezing, one can play with time loops.
In Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, The Mad Hatter explains that he was trapped in time and enjoys a never-ending tea time with the March Hare.
In the Star Seekers, as their Run Away and Blue Hour title tracks narrate,TXT can travel to Magic Island just before 5:53 and postpone their worries about becoming adults. They keep rewinding time again and again until it is no longer possible to access their Magic Island game (The Chaos Chapter Trailer) . When the clock inevitably reaches 5:54 and the time resumes its course, the boys fatefully have to face their real problems.

"When the night is nearly ending
Rewind the clock, Rewind now,
The forbidden games and this magic hour"
- Run away, TXT

But controlling time comes with consequences, often in the form of … the loss of memories.Through their time manipulation, Alice and TXT learns that some events will inevitably happen but the way you live through these events can change depending on your choices.

Rules of the game

Why Alice and TXT rejects their future so much? What makes the adult world so scary and incomprehensible?

Beomgyu as the Red Queen, holding a red rose just like his GBGB scene.
Lots of hearts can be found everywhere<3

For Alice, it would be that adults seem to need illogical rules that they follow blindly without questioning their meaning. This vision of society and the social etiquette explains the chaos that is Wonderland and the weird behaviors that Alice meets there. As these rules make no sense for her, she wants to create her own rules.In the same way, TXT keeps encountering situations labeled as good or evil, when these very notions don’t have the same meaning for everyone.

“I don’t know why this is
Everything about this world is about good and evil”
- New Rules, TXT

For example, the Dragon Slayer Clan is presented as their adversaries and the Dragon Sect as their partners but neither seems to answer these descriptions. As a result, Star One doesn’t want to side with anyone and are left to their own devices. The absence of clear rules and distinct options causes a lot of confusion for the young heroes, causing their minds to fall into chaos.

"I'm confused because all of the broken patterns
Don't know what's right, I don't get it
Woo, my world is panic (Panic, panic)"
- No Rules , TXT

Interestingly enough, their way to run from this anguish is to enjoy a game - Magic Island - which always comes with rules, even if the Star One are not aware of it.

Hueningkai as the pure White Queen, surrounded by his blue bird friends seen in the Blue Hour MV. A blue butterfly, only seen in Magic Island, is resting in the bushes.

Games in the game

Wouldn’t it be more fun to view reality as a game with rules to understand it better?It seems that Alice did exactly that and the second book shows Wonderland as a chess game. The land is made up of squares delimited by little brooks. The Wonderland creatures follow the game’s rules and move from one square to another.
But Alice’s goal isn’t to win the game by siding with the red or the white queen, it is to become one of the queens herself, a third party with its own rules.

*“I don’t want to be anybody’s prisoner. I want to be a Queen.’ *
- Through the Looking-Glass and what Alice found there - Chapter VIII: It’s my own Invention, L. Carroll

Other games are played in Wonderland, such as cards and cricket. It's always the queens who play the games, and the Wonderland’s creatures are their pawns. Playing for someone else is a far cry from Alice's ideals of independence, leading the little girl to break the rules.In the same spirit, the members of TXT reject the rules that are forced upon them in reality and wish to stay in their Magic Island game where it seems no rules are being applied.

“Where there are no rules
I wanna go back”
- No Rules, TXT

But a game always has rules! The Magic Island world answers to rules similar to the Dungeon and Dragon game, with a game master, powers and characteristics, a multi-sided dice, a main quest and individual side quests.
When one doesn’t know the rules of the game they play, more knowledgeable players can use this ignorance at their expenses. It is the case in the Star Seekers, where the boys are tricked by the Odd-eye Cat and the Dragon Sect into using cheat codes such as contracts and potions. Unknowingly, Yeonjun became a cheater…Through various contents, Magic Island game elements were described : In the Doom’s Night animation, the members meet as children and play a magical DnD game with a mysterious game master beside the tree representing Magic Island, describing their first meeting. To access the virtual Magic Island, it seems TXT can also play at the arcades. Moreover, tarot imagery is also used to represent the members’ True Names. Surrounded by games, TXT’s members become accustomed to approaching their life choices in the same way.

“My life before you was a mess
Couldn't win one round of this chess”
- 0x1=Lovesong, TXT

A game implies either clearing it or losing. Usually, when a player loses, he will face a “Game Over”. But TXT manipulated time to play the game repeatedly, without ever clearing it. The Chaos Chapter trailer shows that, after facing another “Game Over”, TXT realize they can’t restart the game, even with a cheat code or money. Magic Island is then inaccessible, as they each grow out of the times they are allowed to enter it, reminding us of Narnia or Neverland.
The Game is over for good and they have to face reality.

The third choice

To grow up means to make choices for the first time.Mirrors and opposites are strongly represented in TXT’s story, also because they have to make a choice between the two sides.
Will they Fight or Escape? Be a Loser or a Lover? Good or Bad? Angel or Devil? The Dragon Slayer Clan or the Dragon Sect?

“Tell me, what should I choose
Either angel and devil
This struggle in my head”
- Angel or Devil, TXT

But when faced with these choices, the Star Seekers prefers to ignore them :

“I don't want to choose, I don't care
I just wanna skip it “
- Balance Game / What if I had been that Puma, TXT

This initial rejection of choice can be explained by the major consequences it will have on their future. For both Alice and TXT, our protagonists must choose between accepting the responsibility of saving the world from an apocalypse or continuing to live and enjoy the present.
In Alice's 2010 movie, the White Queen says to Alice :“You cannot live your life to please others. The choice must be yours”while handing her the Vorpal swords with shiny imploring eyes.
In the Star Seekers story, everyone expects them to save the world with the help of the Dragon Sect but they soon realize that this group’s motivations aren't better than the Dragon Slayer Clan. They are expected to honor their imaginary duties and be “good” but the “good” choice is often questionable.
While Alice and TXT explores their own definition of good and bad, they make decisions and choices based on their current vision of those blurry notions.

“I feel like I'm the only one that's been robbed
It's unfair
So everything shall be doomed
For my slightly mean wish
I'm going to pray for being able to do small evil things
Secretly, secretly with my heart
I wish for things to be unfair for everyone, yeah”
- Ice Cream, TXT

This leads them to make errors: Yeonjun makes the dangerous contract with the Odd-eye Cat to gain powers in order to help his friends, TXT all together drinks potions to recover faster without suspecting the Dragon Sect’s intentions, the members lie to each other.
For her part, Alice insults people by ignoring social etiquette (she mentions her cat to open a discussion with a mouse…) , which can look like she lacks communication skills.
And these errors are what will help them grow. Alice is still 7 years old in the first book, explaining her lack of delicacy. It’s even harder for TXT to make their own choices because they are surrounded by lies and people trying to take advantage of them... Will they face their responsibilities pushed by society or fly to their imagination? Will they conform to society or will they follow their dreams? Which side will they pick?In spite of everything, they all continue to believe that a third path, their own, is possible. Alice won’t play as a red or white pawn but as a third queen. Star One won’t help either of the Dragon’s Clan but their fans and themselves.
Their choices are also about their internal fight.Will they stay their pure innocent self or will they be consumed by their darker thoughts and impulse?
The third answer, according to Jung, isn't to choose one or the other but to embrace both sides.

Temptation

An Odd Eye Cat, potions, a promise of eternal happiness, ... our protagonists are surrounded with temptations that prevents them to move towards their dreams.

the cat

“ That sweet devilish smile”
- Sugar Rush Ride, TXT

Tae-lice double sided-self: the Ego and Shadow, both existing at the same time. Ego-self is inspired by Eternity's album fashion, mixed with Alice's blue and frills. Shadow-self is inpired by Alice's goth versions and Fight and Escape Taehyun's outfit. The cat has two eye color: the blue reprensent the good part of everyone and the green, the vices and hidden parts.

The Cheshire Cat is one of the most famous Wonderland’s characters for his mischievous and mysterious presence. It is also one of the most obvious similarities with the Star Seekers storyline, in which an odd-eye cat follows the members since the very beginning of their adventures. His blue and green eyes represent “the good and evil in everyone”. He is seen in various shapes in many TXT’s videos such as Nap of A Star, Eternally, Run Away MVs and Eternity Concept Trailer or the Name Chapter Concept Trailer.Alice and the Star Seekers’s cats are both a third party, mostly watching and occasionally interacting with the protagonists in a mysterious way. The readers never truly understand what the cat’s motives are.But they are different. In Alice, the Cheshire Cat guides the young girl and answers her questions in an enigmatic way. He doesn't take actions and only seems interested in the way the story will unfold, curious with how Alice will change Wonderland.

“ - Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here ? ”
- That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.
- I don’t much care where ” said Alice.
- Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.
- So long as I get SOMEWHERE ,” Alice added as an explanation.
- Oh, you’re sure to do that,” said the Cat, “if you only walk long enough.”
- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Chapter VI: Pig and Pepper, L. Carroll

Unlike the Cheshire Cat, the Odd-eye Cat from the Star Seekers has ill intentions towards the members. In fact, he is referred to as the “devil” in the Temptation album. First, he manages to make a contract with Yeonjun for the latter to obtain more powers in exchange for control of his being (Nap of A Star, the Doom’s Night animation, Eternally). One can suppose that, at this moment, Yeonjun gave him his True Name, allowing control over him.

“I met the devil by the window
Traded my life”
- Devil By the Window, TXT

After the eldest, the Cat continues to try to do the same with the other members, while encouraging disagreement and suspicion between them (Can’t You See Me). He seems to succeed for a while (Sugar Rush Ride story), when he tempts the members to “fly to Neverland” *. This counterfeit Magic Island prevents the members from moving forward, as they are stuck in time and pleasure.
The Odd-eye Cat is therefore much more involved in the story than a simple watcher.

“Someone called my name
That cat with different eyes
I’m tired of those eyes, still
But you can’t fall asleep, you can’t”
-Magic Island, TXT

* My timeline theory follows the album's order. There are also theories saying that Magic Island and the Cat's Neverland are one and the same, therefore all albums could be happening at the same time.

temptation of eternity

When TXT’s members understand that neither of the Dragon’s clans have great motives and that an apocalypse will happen anyway, they lose hope. Their despair makes them great victims for the Odd-eye Cat, who takes the opportunity to lure them into Neverland.
sent.

“Taking me into the dream
The liar on the bedside”“I can feel it I can’t resist it
That sweet devilish smile”- Devil By the Window, TXT

The promise of instant, never-ending pleasure wins over the hearts of the members, tired of their duties and anxious feelings in the real world. They lose themselves in laziness and easy happiness, forgetting about the long and hard fight they must begin to achieve their dreams.

“My twinkling dream
It's been long since it faded away “
- Tinnitus, TXT

“Every day is warm, every day is the same season
Boys don't grow up
A kiss from the sun that never sleeps
No one can see the stars”
- Farewell Neverland, TXT

Even The Eternity Girl can’t reach them this time, as there are “no stars” in Nerverland. What's more, they all separate and forget each other, making them isolated. The only way to escape this place controlled by the Cat is to realize by themselves that their dreams for their future won't come true unless they choose the harsh reality.This theme is also present in Alice in Wonderland with the Mad Hatter. In the second movie from 2016, the Hatter recalls his memories:
The young man was rejected by society and his family because of his eccentricity. One day, he fought with his dad and fled from home to the woods. There, the hatter fell into an eternal tea time where he can always have fun, forgetting about his dear family.

Yeonjun as the Mad Hatter, hosting a never-ending tea party. The tea cups set is seen in the Blue Hour Japanese MV. A whole sugary feast is served as the non-anniversary celebration. Some questionable potions altering sizes are offered.
Soobin-bunny begins to understand that something is wrong with the time, which is stopped in a time loop for the Mad Hatter's tea time.

“Happy, happy, happy fools
It's happy every day
I’m trapped tightly in a sweet moment”
- Happy Fools, TXT

Both Alice and TXT also used potions with doubtful sources to obtain powers or change their size, similar to cheat codes.Being happy, easier and faster, is the temptation of instant gratification in the face of the fact that you have to work hard to realize your dreams. Forgetting these dreams can help erase a painful past, but prevents from building a future.
All that's left is a Peter Pan-esque eternal present.

the end?
the era of real dreams

At last, the Star One's members realized Neverland was nothing but an illusion of happiness and decided to leave this “paradise of irresponsible dreams” (Farewell Neverland). They are now ready to face hardships that come in their way to realize their true dreams : find their True Name, (identity) and being together under the star (MOA).

“My last refuge
I hoped for endless flying
It's the end, it's true”
- Farewell Neverland, TXT

Likewise, In the Alice Through the Looking Glass movie, when the Mad Hatter ask the now young woman if she want to stay, she respond :

“But I can’t, there are things I have to answer, things I have to do”.

After all their dreamy adventures, Alice and the Star Seekers found their answers and don’t need to run away anymore.They…grew up.The imagery of the ship and the ocean to sail on new adventures is also used in both tales: Farewell Neverland stage and the Farewell Concept Photos for TXT shows the members ready to sail the seas on a boat. Alice becomes a captain and dreams of going all the way to India (Alice Through the Looking Glass, 2016).
The ocean, vast and limpid, mysterious and unknown, is their new adventure ground after the forest, but this time rooted in reality rather than imagination.
The horizon, the future, is now clearly visible, calling to set out on a voyage of discovery without hiding.

References

ALICEAlice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll, 1865
Through the Looking-Glass and what Alice found there, Lewis Carroll, 1871Alice in Wonderland, Tim Burton, 2010
Alice Through the Looking Glass, James Bobin, 2016‘Alice on Stage’ article, Lewis Carroll, The Theatre, April 1887
this goldmine website about AliceTXTAll TXT’s content (MVs, songs, webnovel, performances…)
TXT’s lyrics : @translatingTXT on twitter
Lena flower videos on youtube
MOA’s theories : @txt_book on twitterOTHERCarl Jung’s analytical psychology researches
True Name informationsMUSIC while working on thisplaylist 1playlist 2The Name Chapter : Temptation album, Tomorrow x Together