Tugger is totally chill about his dad. just so you know. Definitely doesn't get all excited and snuggly.

Hank Santos as Tugger, Cameron Schutza as Deuteronomy, and Ibn Snell as Mistoffelees. US tour 6, October 2022.

:)))

i promised cats metaposting 2 bagpipe boogaloo and i am a bitch of my word here we go

cats 1998: the rum tum tugger + these hands are rated G for grizabella

(theory wank under cut call that catracter development)

(theory wank about munkustrap & grizabella here for those uninitiated)

RIGHT SO unfortunately this one is no longer semi-coherent overanalysis of microexpression but a full descent into conspiratorial madness, so please remain aware of the fact that this is a tangent missing textual support at the best of times. it's entirely possible and even likely that rum tum tugger is genuinely just a bitch to grizabella because that's who he is as a person and doesn't like what she smells like or something idfk. anyway.

welcome to my red string board of why rum tum tugger actually doesn't dislike her for no reason and totally has depth and yeah we're poor little meow meowing a white boy with more hubris than eyeliner, classic essay genre on tumblr, at least he's a catboy this time and the hubris-eyeliner ratio is actually a close call.

anyway, for any of my theorizing to make sense, here are the two headcanons it's all based on:

grizabella is an (ex-)wife of old deuteronomy and the mother of rum tum tugger (and munkustrap if you're so inclined)

grizabella left the jellicle cats at some point when rum tum tugger was a kitten or otherwise a very young cat

and honestly the rest just flows from the mommy issues to be honest. there's a load of alternate explanations and theories and headcanons and mine's by no means the right one necessarily, but i do have to admit the family angst it allows for is balls to the walls insane because it just. it fits what we see on screen so well!

look at this clown i love him. he ONLY does the puff-up at grizabella. and even though that supports my theorizing it's also honestly a bit of a loss i think. it's such an evocative cat-thing. i want him to do that when something jumpscares him lmao. i NEED him to do that at old deuteronomy jokingly and get cuffed on the back of the head by munkustrap for being a professional youngest child. anyway

don't get me wrong, the fact that tugger has a grudge against grizabella isn't anything special, most older cats do; hell, some of them deliberately walk past her Judgementally (bombalurina, notably) or shake their head at her in disapproval (jennyanydots), but it's so pointedly constant and so pointedly Pointed with tugger that it draws my eye. every time she appears, he has to clearly and explicitly broadcast his displeasure with the fact that she's daring to breathe at them.

like, she's not In His Way or anything here. he doesn't have to walk past her if he doesn't want to. he doesn't have to look at her; plenty of other cats pretend she doesn't exist when she looks at them. but not only does he do all those things, he explicitly looks at her and puffs his coat up again. he's walking at a fairly brisk pace toward her and actually slows down to do it. it's such a deliberately mean thing to do it's stuck between really extra and really petty. exactly the same with the jellicle choice scene.

my man's being so petty this should be constituted as bullying lmao. look at that! nobody likes you still! sucks to be you i guess! like. this man would be pouncival doing the fake pranks and scratching her if he was a kitten. he's just, constantly upping his level of mean to her. in the first scene he at least has the decency to walk out in the opposite direction of her.

a really professional youngest child. again, all that ^ is fairly grounded thought on character performance i think if you don't really connect it to anything, but i'm connecting it to abandonment issues for maximum ouch lmao.

so, bear with me for a moment: for whatever reason, grizabella leaves the jellicles, including her husband and kid(s). (if you're a fan of the theory about macavity being the third brother to munkustrap and tugger, i mean, she might've just left with him because he was her kid. i dunno.) and you're tugger. Baby tugger, even. you don't understand why she'd leave you. was it you? were you too much? were you not enough? of course not, but you're a little cat with a lot of pride and all the makings of a Petty Little Bastard in you, so you say fuck all that. i'm not too much; i'm actually more than enough. i'm the best! and i'll make damn sure you never forget it!

i feel like if you include munkustrap in that too it gets to be a really interesting dynamic. tugger's mean and angry and going out of his way to show it, and munkustrap is just kind of. "can we not do this" about it. really seems like he'd rather be somewhere else, but, i mean, welcome to The Unpleasant Shit being his job. professional eldest sibling.

she approaches him and he actively goes absolutely not oh look at that what a nice corner i'll just go stand over there. meanwhile tugger's determined to be all OH! OH LOOK WHO'S HERE!!!! WELCOME HOME CHEATER!!!!!! about it. like i already made a post about this so i won't get into it again but i really don't think munkustrap is all that mad at her, which gives tugger's attitude some nice contrast.

continuing with dynamics for a moment, i feel like tugger either has real Attuned Parental Figure Senses or is surprisingly perceptive for his character? this isn't necessarily connected with the point before, but i mean, he stops his whole entire number MID-DANCE MOVE to point out grizabella. he does do it with great flow though you must admit.

he loves attention!! that's established!! whether or not he's up for it at All Times we can have a discussion about (he really just dips out after his number to recharge for a good while lol) but he's here having the time of his life, BOOM one whiff of grizz and he's tearing down the party decorations, that's it, everyone go home.

i'd attribute it to him just Really Having That Big of a grudge if he didn't also kinda sorta activate his Deuteronomy Detect power during the lad's arrival LMAO.

look at that! he beats munkustrap to it! admittedly i can't see the rest of the stage so it might be that all the other cats already saw it and he's just pointing old deuteronomy out to munkustrap as the latter's too busy looking the other way. but it's still a funky way to get in character traits besides Mean & A Whore!

ok and another notable thing, and to me something really interesting, it that tugger never does end up touching grizabella, even though he has the choice to.

after she's first accepted back via touch from victoria, the cats sort of line up to show their affections too. it's a really nice scene in my opinion, you get the sense that all those cats really are happy to be able to take back an old friend and i'm all for it. but the cherry is that tugger is being Really Interestingly Acted here - he leads cassandra closer so she can reach out to grizabella, but tugger himself stays behind with this sort of blank expression over him. even those cats i mentioned before - jennyanydots and bombalurina - get the moment to hold grizabella's hands and smile and encourage her on. tugger doesn't do that.

grizabella doesn't touch every cat, granted, but even those she doesn't touch are reaching out to her, which is pretty much as good as. they all do enough of that sort of implied gesture throughout the musical that it shows it's affection and acceptance all the same whether or not physical contact is made, like for example old deuteronomy's greeting and the moments before the jellicle choice; the first one's posed similarly to grizabella's return, everyone's trying to touch old deuteronomy, but they're perfectly fine with sort of just reaching out and being reached out to (note mr mistoffelees and bombalurina). in the second one it's even sillier because both munkustrap and old deuteronomy could clear the like 10cm of distance between them, but the reaching and willingness is more than enough for that mutual understanding to come between them. basically intent > result (side note: this is not a good rule for life outside of the cats musical).

tugger doesn't reach out. doesn't try to get any closer than he already got and stays in the shadow behind the rest, just watching her go for a bit before he dips again.

with the way he's squashed behind asparagus jr here i can't tell if he's bowing or nodding or what, but i think it'd be really funny if he was just trying to make himself shrink a little. like hanging his head nope i'm not here don't look at me goodbye. so completely contradictory to his usual vibe it's hilarious.

it is interesting to think about though, in my opinion, that he spends pretty much the rest of the musical in the shadow and separated from the other celebrating cats. he climbs up onto the chest and stays on that platform for the rest of the show while the other cats are being directed by munkustrap to follow and then surround old deuteronomy.

it's interesting - he may be positioned above the other cats physically, but it makes him feel sort of separated if you know what i mean. there's usually this pretty clear separation between munkustrap and the other cats when they're on screen, they might crouch when he stands and reach out to him when he's talking, but this time munkustrap is just down there calling upon the vibes with the other cats, and only makes his way up to old deuteronomy's right after grizabella's gone and it's time for the closing number. rum tum tugger straight up bounces as they're going to the russel hotel LMAO.

he does hype her up as she's going up, which is also really cute. he's off to the side so the other cats aren't really looking at him, but even as old deuteronomy shows her the rest of them, grizabella's eyes linger on tugger's wee rockstar schtick and it just kind of melts me.

anyway. man may be conflicted but he's happy mum gets a retry whether anyone likes it or not. and i think that's nice. :)

1998’s Gus the theatre cat is so so painful for me and I can’t praise it enough for that. like - the shaking, the aimless wandering…., his vision of the past that nobody else can see, that he’s chasing in such a confused way because it’s the only thing that feels familiar,,,,,,,,,,the frailty of the voice, the way he cries into Jellylorum’s chest, the tangible sense of grief !!!!!! and the way Old Deuteronomy encourages the other Jellicles to show him both affection and respect, honoring him for the life he’s lived………. I don’t think I can ever be normal about this sorry!!!!

Your Elderly Representatives:

Gravity Falls - Stanley and Stanford Pines

Avatar: The Last Airbender - Uncle Iroh

Muppets - Statler and Waldorf

Lord of the Rings - Gandalf

Dream SMP - Philza Minecraft and Technoblade

Discworld - Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg

Ace Attorney - Wendy Oldbag

Doctor Who - Wilfred Mott

The Magnus Archives - Gertrude Robinson

Batman - Alfred Pennyworth

Star Wars - Yoda

Critical Role - Chetney Pock O'Pea

Up - Carl and Ellie Fredrickson

The Owl House - Principal Hieronymus Bump

Just Roll With It - Old Man Earl

Splatoon - Captain Craig Cuttlefish and DJ Octavio

Half Life VR but the AI is Self Aware - Dr Harold Coomer and Bubby

Jojo's Bizzare Adventure - Joseph Joestar

Transformers - Ratchet

Cats - Old Deuteronomy

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Splinter

DuckTales - Scrooge McDuck

Ninjago - Sensei Wu

Undertale - Gerson

Amphibia - Hop Pop

Golden Kamuy - Hijikata Toshizou

The Good Place - Michael

Back to the Future - Doc Brown

X-Men - Magneto and Professor X

Zero Escape - Tenmyouji

Genshin Impact - Zhongli

Five Nights at Freddy's - William Afton

Welcome to Night Vale - The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home

Homestuck - Nanna Jane Egbert

Kingdom Hearts - Master Xehanort

The Adventure Zone - Merle Highchurch

RWBY - Maria Calavera

Hermitcraft - TinFoilChef

Full Metal Alchemist - Pinako Rockbell

Miss Marple - Miss Marple

Skullgirls - Black Dahlia

Yu Yu Hakusho - Genkai

Umbrella Academy - Five Hargreeves

Golden Girls - the Golden Girls

Breaking Bad - Mike Erhmantraut

Dimension 20 - Bishop Raphaniel Charlock

Final Fantasy - Emet-Selch

Warrior Cats - Yellowfang

One Piece - Dr Kureha

My Little Pony - Granny Smith

Spongebob Squarepants - Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy

Stardew Valley - Grandpa

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power - Madame Razz

Bloodborne - Gehrman the First Hunter

Courage the Cowardly Dog - Muriel Bagge

Dragon Ball - Master Roshi

The Emperor's New Groove - Yzma

Mulan - Grandmother Fa

Death Note - Watari

Kung Fu Panda - Master Oogway

Christmas - Santa Claus

Plainview Discord Server - Funky Old

Token Tumblr Real Person - @theangstking 's cat, Lilly

Real Life Old Person - Betty White

EDIT: Results from all preliminaries have been updated

learning about Divine Council theology really reframes Percy Jackson in a funny way, especially the part where they were like “actually ww2 was a fight between demigod kids of the big three, but we’re not gonna say who was on which side 🤫”

because when I read it originally in hs I was like “oh, so usually Hades is framed as the Bad Guy of the three, so are they implying that his kid(s) were the nazis? And the book seems to frame Zeus as being at least not completely evil, so maybe idk”.

But now it’s like oh so:

-in Deuteronomy 32 and psalm 82 and Daniel 7 etc God sets up a governing/stewarding council (pantheon) of angelic beings over the nations that at some point turns evil and starts receiving worship for themselves,

-in Genesis 6 these kinds of beings had half-human kids that were great warriors (“the heroes of old”) just like demigods,

-in revelation 2 Jesus pretty much says that Zeus is literally Satan,

-and also the nazis literally worshipped Zeus through occult rituals, reconstructed his ancient temple in Berlin, copied its architecture, and wore his lightning bolt symbol on their uniforms.

So in hindsight that whole scene in pjo where they’re saying that the gladiator guy in the labyrinth shows how “sometimes the children of the gods do bad things in their parents’ name :’’’(((( that they wouldn’t approve of :(” along with the initial vagueness was probably an attempt to salvage the whole idea that any of the gods or demigods are the good guys. To make it more palatable for the reader.

I still love the books, but intentionally or not they’re a bit of a psyop.

And don’t get me started on how Kronos and the Titans are Abaddon/Apollyon and the other Watchers. The enemies of my enemies are not my friends, you all suck, Christ is Lord.

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"

tugtumboffelees with whatever headcanon(s) you want

Gina, I'm so sorry this bad boys late. I forgot to post 💀 so enjoy a handful of headcanons!

• I like to think that although the three are a mated trio, they still have a healthy open relationship agreement. (They have respective partners they're friends with benefits with)

• With Old Deuteronomy, Jennyanydots, Skimbleshanks, and Jellylorum all going back a long time, it was a delight to them when their sons came out as a mated trio at a ball. (Personally, I see them doing it post canon while Castor and CJ are kittens, after the move to the cemetery, but before Sarai and Devika are adopted)

• 6 of their 7 kittens possess magical powers!

• Tumble is Vice President of the Tugger Fan Club (and totally not because they're mates or anything. Also Bombalurina is the President of the fan club)

• Tumble and Misto help Tugger dye streaks of his mane pink whenever it fades

• They like to switch around and wear each others' collars

I am soooooo late but I'm joining @uppastthejelliclemoon 's "CATS 1998 Anniversary Celebration"!

And today is Headcanon Day so here's some of mine! Tho they're very lukewarm takes lol

This is Jemima's first ball. She's wide eyed and excited about everything because this is the first time she's old enough to be there and she's so happy!

Victoria and Plato's pax de deux is an old tradition for the Jellicles. It signifies an union publicly to the to the tribe, and a way to honour the Everlasting Cat. Every cat has a unique way to do it, and in Victoria and Plato's case it was through ballet

Is not often that Old Deuteronomy stays for the whole ball. The fact that he's there shows that this year is not only uncommon, but special in some way

The 'Nathan Luke playing Bill Bailey' special: LIGHTBULB MOMENT! it's quicker to get to Deut if I go THROUGH THE MUNKUSTANCE!

... even if somehow he always ends up getting stuck or caught.

(little butt pat!)

Nathan Luke as Bill Bailey with (top) Alexander Auler as Munkustrap, Riccardo Sinisi as Carbuckety, and Anastasia Bertinshaw as Jemima; bottom; Anastasia as Jemima again, with Florian Fetterle as Munkustrap. Vienna revival, 24 and 19 June 2022 respectively; filmed by @cryptidvoidwritings and @falasta.

Tumblr ate the post so I’m just gonna update and post it again, this time for @the-cat-at-the-theatre-door ‘s oldies’ week!

I’ve collected speculative evidence that fuels my theory that Bustopher Jones is the Everlasting Cat

The strongest piece of evidence is that the melody and instrumentation of the verse Bustopher sings in his song is the same as the part in the Prologue (and Ascent) where the cats are all praising the Everlasting Cat

He’s universally adored and respected, and very much treated as an authority by kittens and adults alike.

Very Big To Contain Power

When I mentioned that Bustopher, Old Deuteronomy, and Gus originally were all played by one actor, my mother said that they were like “the father, the son, and the Holy Spirit” and ya know, she’s got a point

I say this as a compliment; Bustopher is hedonistic, even for a cat. This could very well be interpreted as the Everlasting Cat taking a physical form specifically to enjoy the pleasures of life on earth.

Bouncing off of that, Bustopher acts the least cat-like out of all the Jellicles, and he’s quite clumsy as well. I propose that this is because he isn’t quite acclimated to living in a body.

He appears once out of nowhere and is never seen again. Where did he go? The Heaviside layer?

Going with the popular “Mistoffelees and Bustopher are related” headcanon, it makes sense that The Original Conjuring Cat has godly DNA

Anyway yeah vivat to Bustopher Jones in white spats

Grizabella?

Headcanons, Backstory, Family, Pairings, Personality, Plotbunnies? Literally anything you want to add🥰

Favorite and least favorite foods?

If they had a human home, what would it be like?

What song(s) that aren’t canon do you think would fit their character?

What kind of cat do you think they would be if they weren’t an Anthropomorphic cat? (Example: I think Tugger would be a Russet Marble Tabby Maine Coone Cat and Cassandra would be a Dark Mink or Solid Burmese Cat)

Grizabella headcanons under the cut!

Just wanna say thank you for sending a ask for EVERY character, it´s gonna take me a while to get through them all but I´ll will do it!

As always spelling and grammar might be wrong since english is not my first language.

Backstory/family:

Grizabella was born into the tribe, she had a litter brother but he didn't make it. Her father was never there since he was a street cat and didn´t belong in a tribe. Grizabellas mother however was a beautiful grey queen adored by the other Jellicles.

Grizabella and her mother seemed to have a wonderful relationship but behind closed doors her mother would get mad at Grizabella if she ever did anything to ruin her glamorous reputaion. She would make sure Grizabella was always the most beautiful in the room.

Her mother left suddenly when her human family moved and took Grizabellas mother with them.

Later in life she mated with Old Deutoronomy and they had 3 kittens, the oldest Macavity, then Munkustrap and last Rum Tum Tugger.

Grizabellas favorite was Macavity by a long shot, his magic made him special and that in turn made her special, because well, she birthed him. However both Munkustrap and Tugger were severly neglected by her since "they had nothing to bring compared to magic".

This put a strain on her and Deutoronomys relationship and it all came ahead the day Macavity was banished. She ultimetly desided to go with him. Leaving the rest of her family and tribe betrayed and sadden.

Years later Macavity was established as the notorious criminal "The Hidden Paw". But Grizabella refused to see that part of him, delution kicking in real bad.

During her time with Macavity she would meet the two sisters Demeter and Bombalurina. They were the ones who opened Grizabellas eyes too how horrible her son really was when he started abusing them both right in front of her.

But instead of helping them, she escaped by herself and became the street cat we later see in the musical.

Pairings:

Of course Deuteronomy and Grizabella is my main pairing but the idea of Grizabella and Bustopher being together before Grizabella became the street cat is just *chefs kiss*

Personality:

Don't really know what to say here as I've never really thought about just that. I'll just write her 3 words since that's basically how I see her.

Proud, hurt, indomitable.

Though I will add that before she left Macavity she was definitely delusional.

Plotbunnies:

Definitely what happened when Macavity left and why Grizabella came with him. Another one is a fanfic with her, Demeter and Bombalurina while with Macavity. I just feel the angst flow through me.

Food:

She loves being spoiled with fancy food, so anything from humans is always a win. She however hates dry catfood and animals she needs to hunt for herself.

If they had a human home:

She would live in a villa with a rich woman who would spoil her at every turn. "Yes, my cat has her own room? So what? Don't yours?"

What song(s) would fit their character:

This one took me a while to figure out since I would say a song for her would be a more sad song... and I don't really listen to that. But one song that I found I feel like fits well with Grizabella and Deut during the musical.

I present to you: Never Forget (by Greta Salome & Jonsi). The lyrics just ✨️works✨️

What kind of cat would they be irl:

Somewhere between a Chartreux, british shorthair and selkirk rex.

ramble ab ur favourite moment/s in 1998 (for the ask)

Jellicle Songs is the most energetic banger that gets me ready for the whole experience of watching Cats again. And then there's just...John Partridge being the hottest Tugger with the biggest rockstar vibes singling out Jemima (his favorite kitten) and gently silencing Etcetera's fangirl screams. Demeter and Bombalurina giving us this haunting duet about Grizabella. And then just...the way everyone's voices blend together so beautifully during Old Deuteronomy (and especially with Munkustrap and Tugger's duet bringing that perfect brotherly vibe) and Tugger bowing to his Papa in a way that makes it obvious to the audience that he respects him probably more than anyone else in the Junkyard. How excited everyone is to be able to see their leader again, the happiness in the kittens' eyes as they hug him and sing his praises. Everyone being dorks during the Pekes and Pollicles number. The way Platoria are just so in love. The Jellicle Ball, particularly the moment when Bomba interrupts the young Toms so that the Queens can dance, the way the Toms advance on the Queens, and the beautiful lifts (the Tuggerlurina lift gives me life!!!), how perfectly in-sync everyone is and the expressions of satisfaction and triumph when they nail certain moves (again, Veerle Jemima just makes me smile, she looks so happy to be here!). And then Jemima is singing again and I tear up and my heart hurts because I love her so much and she's just the sweetest, most compassionate, empathetic little thing ever. I can't forget the Macavity song and dance, which is probably my favorite sequence of the whole musical. The inherent sexuality of the song and dance, the realization that Demeter and Bombalurina have both been in relationships with Macavity, the way they play off each other, and just the fact that we get another moment for all the ladies in the cast to show off their moves and sing together. The way Munkustrap and Bombalurina defend Demeter and Jemima just warms my heart and validates all my headcanons for them, and the little Demestrap moment after Deuteronomy's capture is just perfect and lovely and everything I want out of Cats. And then we get Tugger and Misto being attatched at the hip, with Tugger singing Misto's praises and mimicking almost every move. How proud and emotional Tugger is when Mistoffelees brings Old Deuteronomy back (complete with Misto jumping in Old Deut's arms and giving him an affectionate lick). And then, of course, the whole of Memory. The moment when everything comes full-circle and the Jellicles forgive Grizabella. Jemima's song of encouragment (again with the crying and realizing just how compassionate and empathetic this little baby kitten is). The fact that in the moment, it doesn't really matter what she's done, just that she's forgiven. How honored and humbled and happy everyone is after they've touched her. The fact that she gets to go to the Heavyside Layer, and that now she can start life anew...to have a chance at living without a past that hangs around her like a dark cloud.

Litsy’s Jellicle Family Headcanons

A few disclaimers before we get into this:

These are based on my experience and opinions after seeing the tour in May 2021. I’ll include a cast list at the bottom if you’re interested. Most of these were approximately formed at the time (I recently reread my thoughts from immediately after seeing the show), but are being finalized and articulated over a year later, so some of it is a bit more recent.

Obviously I went into seeing the tour already with strong opinions and ideas from the 1998 film, so as long as those weren’t contradicted by the tour, or the tour inspired new ideas, I’ve often defaulted to my original ideas. So this is mostly to compare the two productions to each other in terms of my thoughts on the relationships between the characters.

You are not immune to backstage shenanigans.

I’m picking and choosing which “chorus cats” for featured performers are included in the canon.

I didn’t include romantic relationships unless they resulted in a child.

I’m gonna go through the 1998 headcanons pretty quickly because I’ve shared these before.

Feel free to ask questions if you have any, I’d love to share more thoughts and discuss!

1998 film family tree headcanons:

Old Deuteronomy and Grizabella are the parents of Macavity, Munkustrap, & Rum Tum Tugger. They are former mates; she left the tribe when their sons were still young. They still resent her for it by the time of the canon Jellicle Ball.

Macavity and Demeter are the parents of Plato. Mac and Dem were never mated.

Munkustrap and Demeter are the parents of Jemima. Munk and Dem are mates. Munk is also a father figure to Plato.

Coricopat & Tantomile are twins. They have no other family in the tribe.

Exotica Wallflower is Cassandra’s mother. She is also mates with George, but George is not Cassandra’s father.

Gus is Asparagus’s father.

Asparagus and Jellylorum are the parents of Tumblebrutus, Etcetera, & Pouncival, who are littermates. Asparagus and Jelly are mates.

Jennyanydots is the mother of Bombalurina.

Skimbleshanks’s deceased sister was the mother of Mungojerrie & Rumpleteazer, who are littermates. He took them in when their mother died, as their father is unknown.

Skimble and Jenny are the adoptive parents of Mistoffelees and biological parents of Electra. Skimble and Jenny are mates.

Jellicles with no blood/familial relationships in the tribe: Alonzo, Bustopher Jones, Victoria.

2021 tourverse/revivalverse family tree headcanons:

Old Deuteronomy is the father of Macavity, Rum Tum Tugger, and Munkustrap. They are half-siblings.

Macavity and Demeter are the parents of Plato. Mac and Dem were never mated.

Munkustrap and Demeter are the parents of Jemima. Munk and Dem are in a relationship but not mated.

Bombalurina is Demeter’s mother.

Coricopat & Tantomile are twins. They have no other family in the tribe.

Gus is Peter’s father.

Peter and Jellylorum are the parents of Tumblebrutus. Peter and Jelly are mates.

Skimbleshanks adopted Mungojerrie & Rumpleteazer, who are not littermates and whose biological parents are unknown.

Skimbleshanks & Jennyanydots are in an open, unmated relationship, and are the adoptive parents of Pouncival.

Jellicles with no blood/familial relationships in the tribe: Alonzo, Bustopher Jones, Cassandra, Grizabella, Mistoffelees, Victoria.

VISUAL REFERENCES

TOUR CAST LIST

Alonzo (Vinny Andaloro); Bombalurina (Chelsea Nicole Mitchell); Bustopher Jones/Gus/Peter (John Anker Bow); Cassandra (Lexy Bittner); Coricopat (Taylor James Rosenberger); Demeter (Lauren Louis); Grizabella (Tayler Harris); Jellylorum (Kayli Jamison); Jennyanydots (Michelle E. Carter); Macavity/Plato (Aiden Pressel); Mistoffelees (Paul Giarratano); Mungojerrie (Max Craven); Munkustrap (Nick Davis); Old Deuteronomy (Indalecio de Jesus Valentin); Pouncival (Dominic Fortunato); Rumpleteazer (Elana Valastro); Rum Tum Tugger (Zach Bravo); Sillabub (Brianna Kim); Skimbleshanks (Christopher Salvaggio); Tantomile (Alexia Waites); Tumblebrutus (Sean McManus); Victoria (Hyla Mayrose Perillo)

Mekhashepha in Melungeon Culture: Breaking it Down

In order to understand Mekhashepha and its ties to Melungeoninity you must first understand some history.  In recent years there has been a lot of push back against cultural Melungeons sharing their traditional culture and practices, with new age Melungeons demonizing and invalidating Melungeon culture in search of something more “mystical” in the form of appropriating Indigenous tribes form which they have no proof of claim. It is no secret that this denial and invalidation is rooted in antisemitism, and denial of Hebrew Melungeons.  It is undeniable that Melungeon (and Appalachian) people have Hebrew influence, whether this influence is ethnic, cultural, religious, or both varies per family.  This can be substantiated by looking at many common Melungeon names (and old Appalachian names), surnames, dialect, and traditions. Examples can be seen in the common Melungeon surname Cohen>Cowen>Gowen>Goin/Goins as well as common Melungeon given names such as Mahala, Nehemiah, Keziah, Hezekiah, Uzziah, Etc.  Melungeon people also have undeniable ties to Spain/Portugal this can also be substantiated by things like surnames (chavis/chavez), traditions, dialect, Oral History, and DNA. Mekhashepha is an ancient Hebrew word, it has been in use since before we existed as Melungeon people, however in the early 1900′s a man named Eliezer Ben Yeuhda, a lexicographer, created the first Hebrew English dictionary, becoming a driving force in the revival of the Hebrew Language, giving terms like Mekhashepha a resurgence, even if temporary at best. Many words coined by Yehuda became part of everyday Hebrew language while others died out or never caught on. The ancient origins of Melungeon people remains unconfirmed today, but it was once a common rumor among colonizers that Melungeon people were born of an affair between The Devil and an Indigenous Woman. This is important to note because this is likely in part why the term Mekhashepha was weaponized against our people. Though Melungeon people are not specifically mentioned, the book “ Religious Authority in the Spanish Renaissance “ by LuAnn Homza notes Nicholas De Lyra’s use of the Onkelos Targum when translating the term Mekhashepha to refer to a female soothsayer, sorceress, or witch, with carnal ties to the Devil.  Mekhashepha originally tended to refer to a title, usually that of a female, and not the name of their religious or spiritual practice, though today, following Yehuda’s dictionary, it seems to be used interchangeably. In the Torah and the Old Testament, the Mekhashepha are also included with "necromancers", "those who cast spells", "those who summon spirits" etc., as "an abomination to Yahweh" in Deuteronomy 18:9-10.  Mekhashepha does however have controversial translations as many scholars debate it may refer to an herbalist, healer, poisoner, or even pharmacist.  In some translations it is said Mekhashepha may be relied on to heal the sick, foretell the future, and predict agricultural outcomes. These are all things that were tied to Melungeon folk and traditional beliefs as well and can be seen still today in practices like faith healing, the man of signs, reading cards, using blood beads, folk remedies, etc. Due to the negative associations between Mekhashepha and Satan, many Melungeon people were not enthusiastic about identifying with the term, however neither were they about identifying as Melungeon.  In recent, with the rise of popularity in witchcraft, natural healing, cultural acceptance, and feminism, many Melungeons have made the decision to reclaim these terms and wear them and identify with them proudly, while others still feel uncomfortably with these terms. For further reading on Mekhashepha: https://history.stackexchange.com/questions/39828/what-was-the-churchs-attitude-to-magic-prior-to-the-15th-century

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eliezer_Ben-Yehuda

https://www.academia.edu/33078425/When_a_single_word_matters_The_role_of_Bible_translations_in_the_witch_hunt_in_the_Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania

https://archive.org/stream/AbrahamAbulafiaAStarterKit/AncientJewishMagic_djvu.txt

The Rum Tum Tugger: Old Deuteronomy's newest girlfriend introduced herself as "Sinnamon, with an S" and I've been calling her Cinnamons all afternoon and she absolutely will not correct me.