The emoji named moons shows two moons, so does not-earth have two moons? More? If yes, what are their names? How do they affect the tides and other moon related phenomena?

@Zav

Squid can answer the rest, but there are indeed two moons! You’ll be able to see them properly in the header and scenes when winter hits and the trees are bare.

back on earth, had any not-cats learned a human written language? this is silly and came up in a jokey context, but i was thinking, the warrior cats series probably would've been very relatable and possibly even inspirational to them- with it being about highly sapient and social cats.

@magpie Continuing the last bit from yesterday....

Unlike what we usually tend to do, it's customary in not-cat society for the parents to take their beans everywhere with them. Tiny little babies might be found curled up in gathering baskets with the sticks, or tucked into backpacks or homemade cloth slings. It's said they get good on the job experience by participating as a full member of the village from day 1. Once they get a little older, you'll often see a small collection of little kittens bounding after their parents all throughout the day, "helping" with their day jobs, and so on (Yes, not-cats will even drag their babies down into the mines.)

The entire village is really quite involved in the raising of kittens, so they all more or less mutually look after each other.


@Zav Yes! There are two moons, both the not-moons are smaller than earth's moon, and one of them is very much smaller. This means longer days, brighter nights, and much more extreme tides.

Their names would be the equivalent of Not-Moon and Moonbean (because the second one is seen as not-moon's baby moon.)


@urvogel Yes, they do sometimes know how to read and know some human language. Probably at least one not-cat has at one point in time encountered a warriors book. Now... whether they liked it or not probably depends on the individual. I'm not sure how relatable it would be since in warriors the cats don't usually engage very much with modern human life, whereas the not-cats were pretty well aware of things and tried to sort of integrate themselves into urban areas. Probably got a good laugh out of it though.

Granted I'm working off of reading just the first series as it came out when I was in middle school (never read beyond that and haven't read it since) so... almost 20 years rusty memory.

However now I have the mental imagery of a bundle of not-kittens crowded around a warriors book having stolen it from a bookstore because it had a cat on it... like when a bunch of 10 year olds stay up late at a sleepover and secretly watch a soap opera or something.

the ghosts... my heart

are ascended cats regarded any differently from not-cats? lore-wise, are they allowed to remain with their villages, and do they have commitments upon ascension?

how is the post / packages delivered? carrier cats, birds, magic

what kind of food or cuisine do not-cats like to eat? any regional delicacies or traditions among villages?

To add to this, would the different species have slightly different ideas of how the winds originated or any other differing beliefs?

@Elfydragon Other Species: The first is a mechanical question I don't have the answer to yet. As far as "in lore" is concerned, there are no other species yet. For mer-cats, yes I plan for them to share the same winds as the not-cats. For others though I can't say.

As for partners and adoption, yes this will be universal to all catlike creatures! They can all be buddies.

Nursery Rhymes: They do have nursery rhymes! They also love to sing little kitty songs... One of their favorite songs is about the magic and wonder of a pinecone.

There's also a cute little song about the winds where the kittens nyoom to the right pretending to be blown by the north wind, and then nyoom to the left pretending to be blown by the south wind, and then spin in circles (thanks to the trade wind) before falling over when the winds all stop (null wind).


You'll just have to ask them when they show up! Who knows if they even have the same winds at all.


@magpie Ascended Cats: Ascended cats are seen sort of as the wise village elders in a sense, but also as a source of protection. Think of them as like.... knights that protect the village and the nearby areas. They definitely remain with their villages, and spend a lot of their time keeping watch, helping out, etc., but they don't really do day job type work anymore. This is largely due to their increased obligations to help Nestor out and perform public service for Not-Earth as a whole. (Granted, they're like cats, their idea of a 'day job' is to do like 3-4 hours of "work" max before going back to fun and naps, so increased obligations is still not all that big of a time commitment.)

Nestor has a special way to communicate with cats ascended to him in order to tell them when a not-cat out in the woods or elsewhere might be in need of help. If you're out adventuring and your party gets wiped, nearby ascended cats are the ones who will come to your rescue! They have impeccable timing due to Nestor's ability to "see" almost everything happening at once (and promptly call for help from the ascended cats).

The not-cats in general are actually not sure why ascended cats are no longer able to make beans. Something about the bond with Nestor messes with their internal magnets.

Post: Courier / mail cats do all of the hard work! It's a fairly common job for not-cats sent to the city, though in more dangerous areas ascended cats might take on the work. Mail Courier is actually a job that will come out with the Village Lodge that you'll be able to assign one of your cats to!

Food: Well, there are all the delicious meals in the Luncheon area. Stews are always popular, but the most "luxurious" and special/tasty treat might just be the Starfruit Jelly. I also have to give a shoutout to toasted crickets, the tasty popcorn of the not-cat world.


@Wolf Not-Creatures: There are lots of creatures that have been colloquially referred to as "not-creatures", such as all the not-squirrels, not-cardinals, not-foxes, and so on, but they aren't fully intelligent species that migrated from earth, they're just sort of vaguely similar looking species. The not-cats might be the only ones quite like that (that they know of) (yet).

Nestor Origin: The widespread belief among not-cats is that Nestor was created by a powerful sense of hope and need amongst all of the not-cats in a time of deep hardship. Their collective longing as a species amidst the trials and tragedies of life was so powerful that it manifested itself into a very real, physical presence: Nestor. All their little kitty hopes and dreams and wishes were simply so strong that they assembled up in the ether and compressed themselves into a guardian who could look after them.

It's largely believed that without the not-cats there would be no Nestor, and without Nestor, the not-cats wouldn't be around anymore either.

The reality of the situation is that it is much more complicated than this, but the general idea that Nestor is a personification of not-kitty hopes & dreams that somehow intermingled with a magical force/entity is not too far off the mark.

have not-cats created any forms of transportation?

what kinds of communal activities do not-cats commonly participate in?

any constellations seen on not-earth and stories to accompany them?

Do not-cats have access to the internet/a not-cat version of it?

@magpie Transportation: They have sailboats and rowboats, and a particularly bold not-cat might attempt to tame and ride atop a great beast, but otherwise no. Sometimes they do persuade monsters to pull carts, but there aren't really currently any larger domesticated creatures to serve as a more reliable steed or carriage-puller.

Communal Activities: Almost all of a village's activities are communal! Luncheon is the obvious one, but gardens, construction of buildings, living in buildings, hunting, saying hi to Nestor, and more are all done together in groups.

During the mid-day, it's very common for the not-cats to take naps in a big warm pile, and village-wide storytime around the fire is an important midnight activity.

Constellations:

There are constellations for each of the first four cats (north, south, trade, and null). There's a Nestor constellation! There are also constellations for each of the aspects which ties into the Creation Story of the Universe.

Since I don't think I've spoken much about the aspects, what with magic not being grasped by the not-cats yet....

The not-cats have divided the world and everything in it into 10 metaphorical/magical categories. Each aspect is sort of a part of the Universe that was created.

The first, strongest, and oldest aspect is Essence. Essence is, well, everything. It's like Time and Space itself. When the universe was first created, Essence was the only thing that existed.

From Essence, Sun (light) and Moon (darkness) appeared. The aspects of Sun and Moon cycle between each other throughout the day, always taking turns. They're partner aspects - without one, you can't have the other. Rather than in conflict, they are seen to love and support each other. Sun is associated with joy, music and adventure, and Moon is associated with safety, healing and rest.

From the cycles of Sun and Moon, three additional aspects are created: Stone (the earth and the mountains), Magma (heat and fire and change), and Frost (cold and winter and preservation). Magma and Frost are rivals who are locked in an eternal battle, while Stone is the unfortunate battleground that they are forever arguing around. The seasons are seen as a result of their eternal conflict.

From Stone, and due in part to the constant warring of Magma and Frost, the final four aspects formed: Sea, Sky, Growth, and Flora. Sky is the source of all the winds and the air and clouds and weather, whereas the sea is the oceans and rivers. Sea and Sky work together to make the Stone habitable and are what bring life to the universe.

Thanks to these two, Growth and Flora can exist. Growth is the wild forests and beasts of the earth. It is often associated with dense forests, survival, and carnivorous animals. Flora, on the other hand, is associated with beautiful flowers, fireflies, and herbivorous animals. It is the gentle love and joy and celebration that accompanies Growth. Sometimes, Growth is associated with the death side of life and death, while Flora is associated with the birth side.

They're visually arranged in a circle more or less like this (both as constellations in the sky and when generally talked about):



Oh yeah, that whole tangent aside, there's also a constellation that looks like a cat paw. They call it the Big Galactic High-Five. Sometimes they jump up at the sky to pretend to high five it.


@Silverwing Alas, no, the not-cats have not invented electricity. They do want to attempt to build steam trains someday though.