Worldbuilding the Catpeople¶

When I started writing Bloody Catboy, I knew I wanted manufactured catpeople who were designed to be compliant. But I kept running into questions that needed real answers, not just "because anime logic."

The Memory Problem¶

Early on, I hit this question: Do catpeople have emotions? My first instinct was "no" - they're manufactured, they're property, maybe they're just... empty? But then I thought about Jax purring in Episode 1. That moment only works if it's SIGNIFICANT. If catpeople naturally have no emotions, then Jax purring is just... a quirk. But if they DO have emotions and normally can't express them? Then that moment becomes everything. It's freedom. It's autonomy. It's him being himself for the first time.

So: catpeople have emotions.

But then I realized - you can't really have functional consciousness without emotion. Memory and emotion are deeply connected. You can't remember things properly without emotional context. And if catpeople are conscious enough to work, to understand orders, to function in society, they need memory. And if they need memory, they need emotions too.

That led to the implanted memories. Not because the manufacturers care about catpeople having "full lives," but because consciousness breaks down without memory. It's practical. Clinical. They need memories to function, so they get fake ones implanted. And those fake memories come with real emotions attached.

Which makes everything so much worse. Catpeople FEEL everything - the loneliness, the degradation, the trauma - but they can't express it. They can't refuse. They just have to endure.

The Cat Irony¶

Here's something that made me laugh while developing this: Why cat DNA specifically?

In the real world, cats are famously non-compliant. They're the "I'll do what I want, when I want, and you can't make me" animal. Dogs want to please. Cats... don't care.

So it's almost cosmically ironic that splicing cat DNA into humans creates the MOST obedient beings ever made. Nobody in-universe knows exactly why this works. It just does. The science isn't fully understood - which honestly feels very real. Real science has lots of "we don't know why this works, but it does" moments.

And thematically? It's perfect. The animal famous for autonomy creates beings with none. The "fuck you, I do what I want" creature becomes the genetic basis for "I must obey." That tension sits at the heart of the whole story.

The Defect Question¶

When I was writing Call 2 I hit another question: Why does Jax have his specific defect?

First answer: "He just does." But that felt lazy. If ALL catpeople are manufactured to be perfectly obedient, why would some have defects? Why would Jax specifically be unable to follow kill orders?

Luckily biology doesn't work perfectly. Even in manufacturing. Even with careful genetic engineering.

Mutations happen. They're normal. Most mutations don't do anything significant. But sometimes - rarely - a mutation disturbs the neuronal wiring that creates compliance. You get a "defective" unit. One that won't follow certain orders, or all orders, or specific types of orders.

This isn't special.It's just biology being biology. And that makes it more powerful, honestly. Jax isn't the Chosen One. He's a manufacturing error. A glitch. And that glitch gives him the potential for autonomy - but he still has to choose to use it.

Ownership vs. General Obedience¶

One detail that emerged during revision: catpeople are wired to obey their owning human, not all humans generally. This means: - There's a specific power structure (you own them, you control them) - Jax at The Doll House is owned by someone/something (the establishment, Cardinal Lawrence's empire) - When he escapes, he's not just running away - he's breaking the ownership bond itself - Other humans can't just command him randomly (which would make the world unworkable)

It also makes the trauma more specific. It's not "all humans have power over me." It's "the human/entity that owns me has total power over me, and I can't break free."

The Rewiring Scene¶

This was a hard one to develop. How does Jax gain autonomy? First version: he just... decides to stop obeying. But that doesn't work if his compliance is genetic. He can't just will himself free.

Second version: another catperson tells him he can choose. But why would they know? And why would that work?

Final version: Physical trauma accidentally breaks the neuronal wiring. A client beats him so badly that something in his brain rewires. The violence meant to control him becomes the thing that frees him. It's dark and it's thematically powerful: he doesn't choose freedom initially. Freedom is forced on him through violence. But once he has it, he chooses what to do with it. That's where his agency lives.

Why This Matters for Tim's Story¶

All of this worldbuilding isn't just for the anime. It's for Tim too. Tim is watching a story about someone who's wired to be one thing, who breaks free and chooses who they are instead. Someone who discovers their memories and identity aren't what they thought. Someone who finds autonomy in the wreckage of trauma. And Tim is starting to realize his own identity isn't what he thought either. He's having feelings he doesn't have language for yet. He's noticing things about himself. And he's watching Jax's journey while going through his own. The catpeople lore has to be rich enough, real enough, coherent enough to support both stories. The worldbuilding has to earn that weight.