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godunlap · 7 months

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wild card— talk about anything you want that you haven’t been asked about

the way you're such a genius for this bc i have the PERFECT topic i've been stewing on for literal weeks !! okay so there's a lot to unpack with cate & indira's relationship which i'm constantly doing but another dynamic that had a big impact on cate after leaving home was professor brink. almost as much as shetty, definitely not in the same way. he made his attempts at pulling cate under his wing once she was brought into the inner - circle of secrecy — but she formed longstanding [negative] opinions of him early on.

( FIRST IMPRESSIONS ) :

⑴ when cate was first introduced to brink, she was reminded what it was like to feel small again. trying to introduce herself, he barked at her to speak up - by the end of that initial meeting he'd coined for her the nickname 'little bird' which he used & she loathed until his death. it was all in the small things with him. the way he'd ruffle her hair or ignore her in a larger group. eventually, every time she saw him coming she found herself wanting to sink into the floor. very much -

[ FURTHER OBSERVATION ] :

⑵ as cate's reflection continued, there was only one aspect of brink that she couldn't shake, & that was the majority of people's reactions to & opinions of him. the innate respect he inspired, how loyalty was almost a given. more than indira even, brink knew how to reel people in. a skill cate knew she needed to give a convincing performance of a halfway normal girl once she arrived at god u. with that understanding, she finally allowed herself to take in his advice & lessons without immediate resistance. she adopted several bad habits of his, ways to give oil - slicked handshakes & spin a daedal web of lies. the dynamic became more so -

he basically encouraged the worst in her, where indira was still trying to teach cate how to 'normally' fit in. while cate eventually found her own balance (often keeping the darker parts of herself locked up tight) these differing approaches to her social training left a complex & self - opposing mess in its wake. cate had learned the ins & outs of contrasting forms of manipulation. with brink, it was the control of fear & respect, garnered by the imposition of his own 'larger-than-life' image of himself. whereas indira knew how to coax people gently, slowly pulling them onto her side until their loyalty was as sure as anyone else's.

( GOD - U ) :

⑶ upon the finality of cate's new persona, brink had slowly discovered the method to her self - reconstruction. how she took the pieces she liked of those around her & threw away the rest. as he sat with it, he came to the conclusion that he was not a fan. from then on he wrote her off as an unworthy student & prospect for the school of crimefighting. while indira & cate decided on her change of major due to health concerns, brink was in the dean's ear the whole time, urging it on.

brink also made a point of fussing over andre, jordan, & luke with a ridiculous amount of enthusiasm whenever she was around, making sure she felt as as invisible as ever, an attempt to convince her of her own irrelevance, like he never gave her the time of day at all. & in his show of omitting, she is thrust further into her need to be acknowledged -

at the point of brink's death, they are still very much in this place, never having found any further common ground. while cate is not overtly happy with his demise, she does note mild relief. more than that, her first thought upon hearing the news, hearing that it was luke, is : ❝ he probably deserved it. ❞ what she doesn't allow herself to acknowledge is that if he deserved it, does it not track that she would as well?

#⁰³ ⁾ ᴺᴼᵀᴱˢ. forced to disconnect.#if u read this...#you earn a lifelong membership 2 cate nation truly #& if you don't read this...#I GET IT #might make a web weaving #about this dyn at some point #cause it slays me #long post /

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godunlap · 8 months

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re - contextualizing literally all of cate's comments around sex all the way back to episode 1 is so sad considering she spent her formative years completely alone with nothing but a semi - limited level of access to the internet. (guessing she figured out how to work her way around a few parental controls during that time) i genuinely thought her early season dialogue was just typical 'the b.oys' style of over the top, but i should've KNOWN!! it's just like cut & pasted from a bad porno.

◌ the "i guess i'm just gonna have to fuck you rotten till it stops" like girl what???? that's not a thing ◌ then in ep 2 with the guards, i don't remember exact quotes but something about the flashlight & the slutty little mouth lmao ◌ cut to our favorite imaginary friend soldier boy, further confirming this.

just like so -painfully- trying to fit in, to pretend she knows what she's talking about & like she had a normal upbringing but it just SOO misses the mark 😅

#⁰³ ⁾ ᴺᴼᵀᴱˢ. forced to disconnect.#like it's funny but its sad #gen v spoilers /#kinda

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godunlap · 7 months

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thinking about cate constantly wearing her hair pin - straight, how seeing the natural wave of it sucks her back into the pit of her childhood. she shifted several small things about her appearance once i.ndira took her in, not wanting to see that same scared girl she always saw in the mirror back home, but she always does. no matter what.

#⁰³ ⁾ ᴺᴼᵀᴱˢ. forced to disconnect.#sad about it !!

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godunlap · 7 months

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okay getting back around to my thoughts on this scene/interaction between cate & a.ndre. i think this really shows the level of hypocrisy & honestly downright delusion going on in cate's head at this point in the series. to accuse andre of doing nothing when he was the one to initially start looking into the higher ups at g.odolkin, the woods, etc. all while cate was ACTIVELY sabotaging his every effort, she's so bold for that!! she's been their personal asset for years, doing all kinds of dirty work for the woods, for indira & yet she believes that because she set them free, now she's the real hero. as if letting them loose like that was ever going to bring about anything but their own destruction.

#⁰³ ⁾ ᴺᴼᵀᴱˢ. forced to disconnect.#girl....#i can't keep defending u!#(she says as she keeps defending her)

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godunlap · 8 months

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NOTES ON EP. 6 ( part 1/? spoilers beneath the cut ) i'm so sorry if this is long & boring to you, she is just my everything. if you don't want to read the full debrief, the only note that pertains to canon divergence is marked : + 𝗗𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘 〢

YALL SEE HOW SHE ALMOST DIED ??? no i'm not okay

— 𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚎'𝚜 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚍𝚜𝚎𝚝 : ◌ due to cate's upbringing post - caleb, she's always felt like the physical side effects of her abilities were some kind of 'righteous punishment'. so not only is everything her fault, but even the resulting isolation & rejection from [ both her parents & the world ] isn't enough to make her feel adequately rebuked.

◌ on that note, how much damage has actually been done inside her head already? does she heal 100% or is her brain riddled with scar tissue??? how many burst blood vessels in her eyes before there's irreparable damage? there's just SOOOOOO much to consider.

◌ THE VOICES???!!!! i read an article like 2 days ago that hinted at cate's mind reading capabilities & it went right over my head until tonight i swear. SHE IS SO POWERFUL !!!! mind control, memory manipulation, telepathy / clairaudience, unconsciousness inducement, dream manipulation. i'm sure i'm missing some. if trained, could she project psionic attacks??? so far the only limitation i've made note of is that she can't implant false things, like memories, she can only take away.

— 𝚜𝚘𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 : ◌ robbed of a normal childhood, cate has only ever known the 'at - arms - length' love of her parents & the manipulative care of dean s/hetty + some other higher ups at g.odolkin. knowing this, cate is extremely aware of how she's being perceived at all times & attempts to mold herself into whatever the situation calls for. it's only after getting close to luke, jordan, & andre that she finally begins to feel more like herself & that they might accept who that person actually is.

— 𝚕𝚞𝚔𝚎 / 𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚛𝚎 : + 𝗗𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘 〢 ◌ i already hated how quickly cate/andre happened after luke's death, it truly kills me to know it was going on before.

◌ probably my only divergence from canon will be that this was not a thing, cate had genuine feelings for & loyalty to luke while he was alive. until canon says otherwise (maybe) i think cate was asked to get close to him by i/ndira, knowing how powerful he is. spending time with him & his family, cate got emotionally invested for the first time. this made it harder for s.hetty to get her continued compliance, but in the end cate always caved. the "𝘪 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮" comment from marie was so REALLL. her loyalty, admiration & love for i.ndira forced her into a sort of 'double think' that allowed her to believe she was doing the right thing for both dean s/hetty & luke. cate was never interested in andre before luke's death & confused her feelings of grief & guilt post - luke to hook up with andre. she does love him dearly as a friend.

— 𝚜𝚊𝚖 🥲 : ◌ i think it's safe to say sam's probably been the most negatively impacted by cate. he's the piece of the puzzle that erodes at her ability to remain amenable to the whole situation. in the moments she's faced with the pain & suffering he's being put through, she has to dissociate. that is not luke's brother & she's not luke's lying, manipulating, parasite of a girlfriend. he's just a patient & she's a useful tool. ( you're easing his agony, this misery is necessary, you're doing the right thing ) all those whispered encouragements of i/ndira's just playing in her mind on a loop. that's how she keeps going. but when it all finally catches up with her, she knows it was wrong. she always has.

#⁰³ ⁾ ᴺᴼᵀᴱˢ. forced to disconnect.#if you read this whole thing #🫶🫶🫶#BUT EVEN IF U DON'T #🫶🫶#i know it's... yeah #& i probably have more in the tank so don't even

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godunlap · 7 months

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NOTES ON EP. 8 ( part 1/? ) 𝚜𝚙𝚘𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚞𝚝. absolutely criminal in length, WHAT CAN I SAY, she does it 2 me.

here we go again guys WHAT THE FUCK???? sorry i always have to get that out first. [ i loved it ] not everyone's cup of tea i know but 'twas mine !!!

◌ the overlapping thoughts in the beginning? that's something she's going to need time to gain control over. looking back on her childhood, she didn't hear people's thoughts right away, it all started with persuasion. once the voices did start, they were overwhelming, but it was only a few people at a time, thinking relatively calm thoughts. - then she was exposed to the truth of how her parents felt about her, with nothing to block it out. this added to her parents resilience in keeping her locked up, the voices made it impossible to participate normally in society anyway. so cut back to the present & she's bombarded with several thoughts in times of CHAOS, it's a lot for her.

◌ so much to say about the sam/cate dynamic, VERY much in connection with @riordsam's portrayal because... yeah. but the loyalty displayed in such a short time was !! it says so much about them individually for one thing, but as a duo, i really am expecting so much of them in the future.

◌ the dead student was the final nail in the coffin for g.odolkin i fear. it was a blatant & brutal display of how (in cate's mind) they will never be left in peace & almost always hated & feared for who they are.

◌ now, with the switch up in public perception [ my mind's been going crazy over this thanks to @gadflies always having the most insightful questions at the ready ] this might actually have a hand in shifting cate's perspective. seen as the hero, she'll finally know what it's like to be loved & admired rather than feared. no matter how shallow, fleeting, or uninformed that 'love' may be. that said, i don't believe she'll be a big fan of the narrative rewrite being worked by v.ought because the woods & all their sins are being buried along with it.

◌ more on sam/cate but the scene following/during sam's hallucination of luke was SO INTERESTING!!! "do you want me to help you, sam?" the specific framing of 'help', respecting his choice in the matter but urging him to accept!!! once again zawn gets me thinking, the details of that scene : her hand placement, her choice of words, even body language / tone. she touches his face in a show of comfort, her words reflecting the same. cate tells sam to feel nothing because in her mind, this is the ideal. no more pain, shame, or guilt about anything that happened to them or anything they had to do now. her body language is extremely wary because she knows he's fighting a battle in his mind & she fears the outcome might be him abandoning her or turning against her.

◌ CATE WAS A LITTLE TOO GOOD WITH THE CAMPUS TAKE - DOWN. she went in with no hesitation, the beginnings of a plan & she bulldozed their whole shit. do i love that they went off & killed a bunch of innocent people for the sake of "supe superiority"? hell to the no, but i understand the progression of their characters & accept that this is the route they've taken. i plan to explore it to the fullest extent while taking my own liberties with cate post - finale & gearing up to the b/oys s4.

◌ sorry but the "that's your real superpower isn't it? acting like you're doing something when really you're doing nothing" OOOOF. this was one of the more disappointing aspects of andre's character for me. they built him up in the first few eps like he was gonna get to the bottom of things & free the kids from the woods & then... nothing.

◌ "you're a product to them, i'm trying to save you" in such a short time period cate has completely re - framed the past few years of her life. those people were not doing the right thing, meaning everything she ever did for them was wrong. stripping back the layers of the TOTAL denial necessary for her complacency has taken an extreme toll.

◌ the arm. . . cate had to be stopped SOMEHOW so u know, i get it. cool possibilities for the future !! (lea got my brain going again about a prosthetic arm possibly) I COULD SEE IT, definitely now after sitting with it for a bit. there's a few reasons / implications with this. 1st of all with vought money / tech, she knows she'd be very taken care of. there's also the fact that it might help in terms of safety? in potential combat, there's always the chance that an opponent might not know she lost an arm or even which arm she lost. it might give her an edge, buy her a second or two. then there's the heartbreaking idea that it might give her a new way to connect with people. one hand that wouldn't strike fear or distrust in the hearts of even her closest of friends & family to touch.

◌ my feariest fear is that they're going to go the route of pulling sam back from the precipice while pushing cate fully over the edge. while sam has at least a few moments of genuine doubt, cate showed no hesitation. with every move, she was sure. what i hope is that they realize very quickly that h.omelander is not a friend & they simply lump him in with vought, part of the system that needs dismantling rather than supes vs. humans.

this is INSANELY long, thoughts on cate post - finale will have to follow, also considering an alternate verse sticking with the idea that sam & cate liberate the woods, being stealthy about it instead & hiding out at shetty's to come up with a plan focused on taking down v.ought/godolkin as entities rather than targeting the individuals within the organizations.

#⁰³ ⁾ ᴺᴼᵀᴱˢ. forced to disconnect.#i'm going to bed now #what's gotten INTO ME #!!!#gen v spoilers /

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godunlap · 8 months

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NOTES ON EP. 7 ( part 1/? ) 𝚜𝚙𝚘𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚞𝚝. probably to be continued tomorrow when my brain isn't sludge!

HOLY FUCKKKKKK, okay had to get that out where do we start

◌ okayyy so had a major feeling already that cate wasn't taking her meds & i also felt like they played more of a factor into the side effects of using her abilities than she realized. thank u for the confirm fhbrhbf

◌ I SWEAR I KNEW VICTORIA WAS MARIE'S BENEFACTOR THE SECOND I WATCHED THE PROMO BUT I DIDN'T KNOW WHYY, the full power reveal?? it makes so much sense. also i'm still BEGGING for any crumbs of info about her daughter cause literally wtf happened after she gave her the v

◌ andre.... i wish i could like you so bad

◌ I WAS SO SCARED THEY WERE GONNA FUCK UP CATE'S STORYLINE & THEY SAID NO NADYA THIS ONE'S FOR U

◌ are we worried for cate/sam? yes... do i support them on their journey? unfortunately i sure do.

◌ that whole ending for shetty / cate was SO PERFECT & i knew cate would be able to see the duality of yes this woman does sincerely love you but she HATES who & what you are on a fundamental level.

◌ this is the ULTIMATE rejection, even worse than her parents honestly. she did so much for indira, she knows indira can see the good in her & it's still not enough. humans will never understand her.

◌ & along with that, she knew she was risking the rest of the group turning on her, but she also knew shetty had to die. yes it was personal but it was also prompted by the idea that supes would never be safe while people like her were in such high places of power.

◌ half a life of isolation, followed by years of manipulation, suppression & control, only to be faced with the ugly truth that you will never be accepted is really the recipe for a villain origin story IS IT NOT???

◌ there's also the way this plays into cate's worst fear that she's just inherently unlovable like to her very core :)))) but i don't wanna think about that rn.

#⁰³ ⁾ ᴺᴼᵀᴱˢ. forced to disconnect.#gen v spoilers /

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godunlap · 6 months

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could we get some insight on cate’s relationship with indira ?

YOU SURE CAN - but it's a doozy! the reality of their dynamic is that from the beginning, cate has to adopt a very particular mindset to be able to hold both love for & subservience to indira. to become a tool but not see herself that way - to take all she's learned from studying heroes & turn it on it's head for the sake of her new parental figure. but it's the safety, love & community offered by shetty that makes it all possible. her parents truly set her up for failure in this way, stripping all the love & care that should be inherently given, forcing cate to seek & accept it from ANYONE who was willing to give it. that's how it begins -

the early years of cate finishing up high school & prepping to enroll at godolkin are very much "the golden years" of their relationship. this is the time that indira allows cate to find her bearings in the world she's been locked away from for so many years while simultaneously cementing herself as cate's savior & surrogate mother. she begins instilling her own ideals & values into cate, emphasizing the chaos of compound v, how even the best of supes could be corrupted by their own power. all in preparation of bringing cate into the fold & using her within the woods for her own ends. ( i believe canon notes that cate is rescued by indira at the age of 18 but for the means of establishing a genuine connection before enrolling her at godolkin, i find it to be more realistic within my own portrayal that she was rescued at the age of 16-17 )

skipping ahead : what's hard for cate to accept once she does allow herself to see the truth of their dynamic is the complexity of it all. indira loves her like a daughter but it will never be enough to counteract the hatred she has for supes. she taught cate how to utilize her gifts & then hates her for them. it's the betrayal of her parents all over again, but worse this time. because she should have seen it coming. worse because indira twisted her - molded her into a weapon. now she'll never know who she might have become without her influence because she never had a chance.

the decision to kill indira in ep 7, while it was meticulously executed, is still extremely impulsive. if cate is honest with herself, the true drive behind such harsh measures is the finality of it. she's not allowing the chance for indira's redemption or her own ability to walk back on her decision. the genuine love they have for each other will always be a flaw in cate's armor, if she wants to guarantee her own freedom, she has to remove the only real threat to it.

the aftermath of indira's death leaves cate much more inwardly distraught than she appears to be. in her first moments alone she completely breaks down, sobbing - screaming - hitting at the floor / tugging at her own hair. just generally wanting to crawl out of her skin. it's only after months of mourning that cate is able to settle into the reality of her decision. she finds forgiveness in herself by focusing on all of indira's darkness. the lies & manipulations, reminding herself that she never really had a chance. it's the only way for her to work past the guilt.

#⁰³ ⁾ ᴺᴼᵀᴱˢ. forced to disconnect.#TYSM LIL ANON #the push i needed #to get this written up #nadya learn to shut up challenge: failed #i could honestly get into sm more detail #about specific eras of their dynamic #but this is already a lot

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godunlap · 6 months

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what do you think cate’s aspirations for the future were pre-series?

when her abilities were revealed, cate's parents did their best to control the narrative surrounding vought, supes, & their role in it all. as they saw it, supes were more or less evil, vought was a company of corrupt con-men & they were just two parents looking to "exponentially enhance" their children's quality of life. in their eyes, they are the ultimate victims. losing both children in the course of a day.

despite their insistence, cate was quick to form her own opinions about the supes in the spotlight & the company that essentially created her. due to the immediate icing out of her parents, cate found it easy to place the majority of the blame on them. not only did they make this decision without her consent, they hated & locked her up for it. once she got comfortable with her computer, forcing her way through her parents less - than - impressive security protocols & erasing her own history, she begins her real deep dive into the known supes of the world, the seven specifically. queen m.aeve is the ideal in her eyes, the powers she wishes she had, her public image & how loved she is. s/oldier boy is her crush of course, but maeve is what she began to aspire towards.

in that vein, she hopes to be free someday to help people in the same way, to receive a similar admiration in return. her desire to be a well - known supe ( hopefully in the seven ) is born out of her need to be loved, a need that was denied the second she sent caleb away. a need that was fulfilled by indira once she came to set her free. once that gaping hole was on it's way to recovery, cate realized she didn't care much about being a hero at all. she was content to finish her studies, help indira with whatever she needed, & probably be on staff with the university after her graduation. something like a student advisor [ she'd be terrible at it ]

#⁰³ ⁾ ᴺᴼᵀᴱˢ. forced to disconnect.#it's so funny to me #how she does not see herself clearly at all #well funny & sad #sorry u got childhood up 2 pre-series actually #tysm for this

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