#BB!Jellicle Cats

[bonefall]

question would there be a relatively similar group to the scientist studying the clan cats but for the jellicles? surely the cats somehow becoming relatively bipedal over a period of time would attract at least some interest if not just for the "there are little guys running around wadda ell" factor

I like to think there's a lot of variation in cats in this universe, a little more than normal. Kinda like, trading away some "purebreeds" in exchange for there being more "regional variations," y'know?

(Some purebreeds do exist though but I have more fun making them up than referencing specific breeds)

So Jellicles are like Clan cats, their odd variations aren't too nonstandard. Clan cats probably have,

Sharper claws and thicker pelts

A more developed 'thumb'

A wider range of patterns

Where Jellicles probably have

A thicker clavicle allowing for more motion of the upper arms

"Back heavy" haunches which makes them appear oddly bipedal

It would also be SUPER cool if their legs had that Reindeer hoof clicky thing, which made their dances sound like tapdancing

[cryptologicalmystic]

things to ask when the next bonefall clanmew day comes around

pronunciation:

apparently english /l/ gets realized in clanmew as ⟨w⟩ when intervocalic (cf. "olive" ⟨oweef⟩, "jellicle" ⟨shewakl⟩), which means clanmew ⟨l⟩ might be something other than the lateral approximant [l] i have on my chart; ⟨shewakl⟩ also implies ⟨l⟩ can act as a syllabic consonant, at the very least when word-final

prefixes and suffixes:

prefix "pinnacle" - possible senses: mountain peak; highest point; best

suffix "hollow" (none of the existing translations are quite what i'm after) - in the senses: tree hollow (for a standard name), empty/emptiness (for a dishonor title)

prefix "haven" - possible senses: safety, safe place

prefix "gill" - in the sense of the fish body part

(^ right now i've been approximating this as ⟨qiliao⟩ "chaffinch", both for auditory similarity and for the species name (Fringilla coelebs), but obviously this isn't even close to a perfect solution unless you assume whoever translated the name was sleep deprived that day)

prefix "hemlock" - in the sense of the poisonous plant; part of a dishonor title "hemlockwhisper", for a cat who turned her leader and her deputy against each other

prefix "scale" - in the sense of the fish/lizard body part

prefix "gorge" - in the sense of a canyon, like the one skyclan was living in

general vocabulary/grammar:

words for "nothing", "nobody"; maybe even a word for "zero", if "nothing" wouldn't already cover that for most purposes

comparative and superlative forms of adjectives. there's already a word ⟨omporr⟩ for "more", but i don't see a word for "most"

disambiguation questions:

does ⟨weehoo⟩ "jingle" refer to the sound of jingleshells, or to a jingle as in a catchy tune? tumblr search is being unhelpful

things that could probably be expansion packs on their own:

clan music (clanmewsic?) in general.

words for the sounds instruments make

words for instruments themselves

what musical scales do they use? do they divide octaves into twelve notes (C, C#/Db, D, D#/Eb, E, F, F#/Gb, G, G#/Ab, A, A#/Bb, B) like us, or another number?

do they even use a scale that repeats on octaves at all, or something weirder, like the Bohlen-Pierce scale?

what do their rhythms sound like?

just for fun:

a word for "death glare", for use as a suffix. preferably with the implication that the cat thusly named is Done With Everyone's Shit

[0zzysaurus]

why is it when I actually like, try to think about the logistics for BB's jellicle choice it like... confuses the hell out of me?? like... theres no way Tugger could be a kitten for BB's reincarnation because everyone else was already around at that point (considering the opening chorus' cast). But then like... would a cat be reborn as a non-kitten right away like that?? Does BB like... Poke-evolve??? I feel like my brain is one of those water hoop catch games and I cant get the hoops to land

[whatsajinglebellcat]

Jellicles as Jenna Marbles (and Company) Quotes

Munkustrap: "This man has no children and is such a dad!"

Old Deuteronomy: "I'm being held against my will, somebody help me. Please come to 12345 internet street."

The Rum Tum Tugger: "Be tall. Be blonde. Be beautiful."

Skimbleshanks: "Somebody come get your uncle! Holy shit!"

Demeter: "Now we have some time to talk about how you need to stop it."

Bombalurina: "I need to do whatever the fuck I want!"

Jellylorum: "I look like somebody's mother. I feel like I look like somebody's mother."

Jennyanydots: "Do I have to baby sit you? Stop it."

Grizabella: "What? I'm trying to block out the pain."

Macavity: (throwing Munk) "Get this the fuck outta here!"

Gus The Theater Cat: "Do you see my hand shaking already? Like, I'm tired- this is exhausting!"

Mistofelees: "If you don't put me down- I swear to God... Pay me for my services!"

Bustopher Jones: "Oh the skill. The expertise!"

Rumpus Cat: "Wearing a hat and a vest does not make you a cop."

Growltiger: "I really thought that one was going to be good. Why wasn't it good?"

Mungojerrie: "True Love is letting your significant other choke you out real quick."

Rumpleteazer: "I fucked everything up!!!"

(2 minuets later)

"I fixed it."

Griddlebone: "Hurt shmurt- pussy!"

Alonzo: "Just know I'm putting my life at risk for you. For us."

Asparagus: "Respect me!"

Coricopat: "It's not creepy! It's creepy cause you're making it creepy."

Tantomile: "Welcome back to my midlife crisis tutorial!"

Cassandra: "Stop it! You're not a 13 year old boy! If I wanted to deal with that I'd have a teenager! Knock it off!"

Exotica: "Welcome back to me time. Starring me and my time."

Tumblebrutus: "My right eye betrayed me, my boyfriend betrayed me....."

Pouncival: "I don't know what I've done wrong- but it's just not working."

Admetus: "The sun is literally setting as I do this. The sun is also setting on my window of opportunity to do something with my life."

Plato: "Ey bb- Ey bb- Ey bb- Ey bb! You single? You single bb? Bb- can I get your number bb?"

Carbucketty: "No one cares. Everyone wants wii music and we want it now."

Jemima: "She's manipulating you. That's manipulation."

Sillabub: "Oh my God why? I thought you loved me!"

Electra: "I did not think I'd be this excited."

Etcetera: "I'm melting down!"

Victoria: "You need to take me on a date first."

[mygeekcorner]

Okay, five objects for five songs (looks around for five objects): my pink frilly high heels, fluffy pillow, nightlight shaped like a cat, bb cream, backpack

well fuck, I should have known reblogging that was a bad idea. I don’t know songs, what was I thinking? can I just steal your shoes instead?

hmm….

Pink frilly high heels: Kellie Pickler - Red High Heels (yes red, I can’t think of any frilly pink ones, shut up)

Well, you thought I’d wait around foreverBut baby get realI just kicked you to the curbIn my red high heels

Fluffy pillow: fuuuuuuck, I actually have a song I want to use here, but google isn’t helpful at all and I haven’t listened to it since … 2009?? crisis averted, I found it! Sugarcult - I changed my name

Three hours later and I’m staring at the ceiling stillXanax does nothing more but calm the sleeping thrill Turning the pillows round and round to find the cold spot for my headAh, bless my only friend

Cat nightlight: Cats - Jellicle Ball (nightlight = moon. I’m tired. also why do I feel the need  to defend all my choices?)

Jellicle Cats come out tonightJellicle Cats come one, come allThe Jellicle Moon is shining brightJellicles come to the Jellicle Ball

BB cream: shit dude, this one was really hard? I can’t think of a single one. (can anyone else??) screw it, I’ll go with this one for lack of more BB creamy options. Fall out boy - The Pheonix

Wearing our vintage miseryNo, I think it looked a little better on meI’m gonna change you like a remixThen I’ll raise you like a phoenixPut on your war paint

Backpack: ABBA - Slipping through my hands

Schoolbag in hand, she leaves home in the early morning Waving goodbye with an absent-minded smile

[bonefall]

Do all cats in the bb universe generally cook their food and make tools, etc? Or is it just specific highly developed groups? Do the clan cats look down on rouges or loners who may not have the resources or know-how to cook their food?

It is specific, highly developed groups. Making fire is very difficult, and a skill that must be taught. Park Cats didn't have it; you can trace fire as an invention in this region back to the Great Kinships of the Lake, the society that Fallenleaf ruined.

Even within Clan culture I imagine it's pretty difficult. On the Great Journey, I imagine Crowfoot was actually the one who set 75% of their campfires. He'd get impatient with how long it takes everyone else.

Most cats in the BB!Universe have basic tool manipulation skills, on the level of a Caledonian Crow or a Kea. There would be papers in universe documenting this; they have a casual understanding of water displacement, simple door handles, and backpack zippers. The difference with cats and birds, however, is that cats are lazy.

This can make domestic cats pretty difficult to research. They're not usually motivated by fun or satisfaction quite like a parrot. Other small differences between Albion (BB!UK) and the real world (Canon!UK)

(side note. yes i do laugh at my own jokes. you will not stop me.)

Some fridges have a latch or better suction to close them. These are marketed as "pet savvy." Not all households have them though.

I don't design with ACTUAL genetics in mind the same way I DO write dialogue with Clanmew in mind, but I do think that genetics are different here. One example of this is Sweetness Tolerance.

"Problem Groups" of feral cats are treated as a bigger problem in general, on the same level as problematic monkey troops. Rounding these up is a job handled by local municipalities.

Every town has a "local colony," though they're usually not paid attention to. It's just vaguely known as a feature of human settlement.

BloodClan IS special, and it's a well known local quirk that some of the cats in the local colony wear strange collars.

DEEP BB!Iceberg lore here but Jellicle cats are canon. They live in the south.

A well-established group of cats with a religion system will start to develop physical differences from the "Standard BB!Cat," but never enough to be too different.

Hengest, where Jessy, Stormcloud, and Fernsong came from, has good examples of normal colonies. Disorganized groups that vaguely follow a few charismatic leaders, but for the most part, hang out where they can find the most food and sleep safely.

Research into "Cat Culture" is in its infancy. The discoveries that are going to be made about Clan cats will advance scientific understanding of what a cat is truly capable of immensely.

Functionally though? It's not going to change people's lives too much, besides make it easier to register cats as service animals lmao.

But, anyway, unfortunately, yes Clan cats look down on outsiders who do not know how to use fire. They accuse them of being full of worms.

[bonefall]

I think the most pertinent, fundamental question to ask at this point is: How canon do we want to make the 1981 musical Cats by Andrew Lloyd Webber to Better Bones? Since you've done so fantastically well at fleshing out alternate but no-less-viable systems of belief, that door has been left wiiiide open. Stripped of the zany dance numbers and stage actors in copious makeup, you can't deny that the underlying Jellicle cat religion / Heavyside Layer wouldn't be out of place. Don't lie to us. Don't you dare.

We don't know when the musical takes place, but as for where, the Jellicle Cats and their religion are centralized in a junkyard somewhere in London. Depending on how far their area of influence extends, there could be a few cats in a sect or two of BloodClan who practice the faith of a land to the south, or otherwise believe in the existence of the Heavyside Layer. Or say, the junkyard is done away with in the late 90's and a diaspora of Jellicle Cats spreads across the land. Their descendants hope one day to make the pilgrimage for one last ball, and are invariably seen as Rather Offputting by everyone. (In-story it'd all amount to rare sequiturs from a nameless extra or two which increase in probability the further one heads south.)

Hey bonefall hey, do you think Skyclan has a word for this? It'd be a corruption of the English "dear little [cats], of which "Jellicle" is a romanization. How would you say Jellicle with Clanmew pronunciation?

You can't run from this forever.

Stripped of the zany musical numbers and stage actors in copious makeup??? What are you, Tom Hooper?!

If you're going to put the Jellicles in the BB Universe, you fucking BETTER be taking inspiration from the cancelled 1997 Steven Spielberg animated musical adaptation which places the cats in postwar London sometime circa 1945 and implied that the cats had heavily cultural emphasis on song, dance, and performance

Which btw would place Grizabella's Jellicle Ball pretty firmly in the Code Era of my adaptation (built around the canonical tidbit that Turtle Tail was hit by a Ford Model T meaning the Dawn Era was pre-war).

It would be before the main Warrior cast is born (Except Holly due to infamous Time Travel Shenanigans)-- but Jellicles, after all, were there when the Sphinx was built, so it's safe to assume they'd still be around in the future as a cultural group.

Really the biggest barrier is that they live in bloodbourne London. Too far southeast to communicate with Clan cats or even BloodClan, who are northwest. Park Cats are from further south, but no further south than Gloucestershire at most.

So, serious answer, they can absolutely be canon in this universe, or at the very least they can be slotted in easily. I built a brand new religion system exactly to accommodate the existence of multiple cultural groups and honor the afterlives of each.

In fact, Jellicles fit perfectly into it.

They have a heaven (Heavyside Layer) but no hell, exactly the way that a "vanilla" type religion can form on its own. Really there's just one question-- what's their leader power?

Old Deuteronomy...

Is said to have lived many lives in succession (possible continual reincarnation?)

May choose the next cat to ascend to the Heavyside Layer (immediate patronification?)

But at the same time, there are some cats who seem to display magical powers, akin to the Sister's power distribution system. Mr. Mistoffelees is one, able to perform simple magical tricks. As far as I remember, there are two.

Conjuration (Ability to change the location of an object in space)

Levitation

These both seem like versions of the same power, really. It makes sense, too, that culturally they would value agility to the point of veneration. It ties into dancing, avoiding cars and dogs, stealing things.

In any case though-- you begin to lose these sorts of abilities the further you go from a group, without some kind of token. The Sisters are the example I've written so far; Tree needs some kind of item in order to see ghosts when he's not near the rest of the Sisters. The Jellicles are also a pretty proud group, I can't see them making these "tokens" for any old wanderer.

So maybe there's just a few of them, and Macavity has one stolen?

hmmmm... Maybe those reincarnations have to do with who's supposed to Hold The Token, and Old Doot has basically been one of them for eons. Maybe Mistoffelees was the most recent reincarnation from the Jellicle Ball?

Anyway TL;DR yeah Jellicle cats can exist in Better Bones, they're just too far away to interact with Clan cats.

Clanmew pronunciation of Jellicle = "Shewakl"

[bonefall]

Please tell me bb!jellicle cats are not humanoid

Damn never seen the concept art for the cancelled animated movie, ay?