#couldn't find a photo online of his actual dessert

[frevstoreon]

A cooking king...

Louis XIII liked cooking and he is known for his omelette cooking skills. Below is a recipe from the man himself for a dessert omelette:

Ingredients

1 cup sliced strawberries

1/3 cup Framboise

1/2 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 tb of water

Dash of salt

1/3 cup sugar

2 tb unsalted butter

5 eggs

1 TB water

Instructions

Place strawberries and Framboise in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat for 3 minutes. Stir in cornstarch and keep cooking for 2-3 more minutes until mixture turns from cloudy to clear.

Mix eggs, salt, 3 tb sugar, and 1 tb water.

Melt butter in omelet pan with a metal handle. Pour in eggs and cook omelet until nearly set, but slightly soft on top.

Pour 2/3 of strawberry mixture on half of omelette. Turn omelette over. Sprinkle with remaining sugar and place under broiler for 1 minute.. Remove and top with remaining strawberry mixture.

Sauce:

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hi! I really love and appreciate your analyses work because I find it so rare to come across these days. Most content about TWST I found is either about in-game stuff or fics of various genres and AUs. It's refreshing in a way, and I just want to tell you that I absolutely adore your work.

I just read your analysis of Cater in canon and how romance comes into play, and I couldn't stop thinking about something when you mentioned how he lights up after taking pictures. Since Cater moves around a lot due to his father's work, I think the pictures immortalize whatever connections he had regardless of how long he got to stay in the area before he eventually moves away with his family.

Aside from Magicam and pictures being his coping mechanisms, it's what little Cater has to connections and relationships even if he distances himself due to his fear of rejection and of being forgotten. I only know bits and pieces of Cater in-game because I don't have many cards of him, but the little I do know of him made me think that he would take pictures to keep memories that would be forgotten once distance and time come to pass. He yearns for deep relationships similar to Riddle and Trey's friendship, but he's so afraid of what comes with such a sentiment that he would resort to pictures and a memorable, public image to keep everyone out of arms' reach.

Even if the people he was friends with (prior to moving away) forget him and move on with life, Cater would have his Magicam account and the pictures. He'd find solace in the memoirs he had taken himself, whether it was just a day inside the Heartslabyul dorm or something as grand as Beansfest. He also takes pictures of the latest trends such as the newest cafe or dessert in town, maybe even a once-in-a-lifetime traveling circus if that's a thing in TWST. Those trends are probably his gateways to finding people with similar interests (I'm using similar doubtfully because Cater does craft his personas so well that he might as well be a pseudo-INFJ) aside from meeting a Magicam influencer quota.

I believe Cater cherishes pictures this way aside from maintaining an image and switching personas in order to be liked and remembered—because those are the closest things that could resemble deep and close relationships to him without compromising his fear.

I may be wrong though, so feel free to correct me! I did say I don't have many cards of Cater so I'm not entirely sure if my speculation is justifiable or otherwise. I'm so sorry this ask became so long 😭 Cater is such an interesting character to analyze, and he's not even in my top 5 personal favorites. I hope you have a nice day!!

[Referencing this masterlist!]

Hello, I’m glad that you enjoy my works! ^^ I kind of do some of everything, but analyses are a big passion of mine. I’m happy that they’re being appreciated since they often take me a lot of time and effort to put together.

Ah, that must be in one of my older analyses, so it’s probably suuuuper outdated by now 😅 Mmmm, I do think it’s generally accepted that Cater desires deep and genuine connections like what Riddle and Trey have (but is too scared to open up to others). However, I don’t know if he actually places a ton of value in the pictures he takes. In my initial post, I meant to imply that Cater likes taking pictures because of the inherent clout that he can rake in from it, not that he necessarily attaches precious memories to those pictures.

Cater may use social media as a coping mechanism, but he also uses it to project what is knowingly a manufactured image of himself and his life out into the world. He takes so many pictures and posts so frequently (and not all of them are associated with doing things with friends; a lot of them appear to be selfies); it’s debatable whether it’s all just for show to feed the social media algorithm/his need for online validation or if he actually cherishes each and every photo (and thus the memories associated with them).

Social media is a means for him to find stability because the internet provides him with a way to keep in touch with everyone no matter where he physically is. However, social media also promotes an environment in which you’re encouraged to put your “best face” out there, to get the most attention and social approval (likes, shares, etc.). In heavily relying on social media for his socialization, it has probably fostered some of Cater’s currently observed insecurities (ie the fear of rejection or being seen as vulnerable if people learn about the not-so-perfect parts of him that he keeps off of Magicam—because what is social media if not a carefully curated photo album of all your “best” moments?).

How Cater engages with others online actually isn’t detailed often; whenever he mentions his socials, it’s almost always in the context of posting something or tagging someone. It sounds very “one way” and passive; Cater seems to be posting more than actually interacting with others or having extended dialogues. We see in his Robes vignettes that he likes comments, but the way he speaks about them makes it sound like he has to like back as an obligation to thank a particular user for the engagement. He confirms in his latest JP birthday interview that he’s always thinking of new places and things to post, but he doesn’t say his motivation is to make friends, he says it’s to get likes. Even when he’s by himself and doesn’t have to put on a show for anyone else (ie post-party in his Ceremonial Robes vignettes), Cater is concerned about getting likes. He presents his intentions as very shallow ones (whether you think he’s a reliable narrator or not is another question though 😂).

Cater also mentions using horoscopes as ice-breakers, which gives him a chance to show his social intelligence and skill at making people feel comfortable talking to him. I don’t think he’s really intending to find people with similar interests or actively going out of his way to try and make new friends; when Cater approaches someone, he usually wants something from them and he knows how to use his cheery and laidback demeanor to do it (ie he asks Malleus for a photo of him in Malleus’s PE Uniform vignettes, he gets cozy with Adeuce to get them to do his chores for him in the main story episode 1, he talks about using the freshmen for “good material” for his Magicam in his Robes vignettes, he consistently asks Vil to collab or take pics with him so he can get some of Vil’s clout, etc.). Cater uses his amicability to get others to lower their guards and play along with him. Then you have Trey, whom we know Cater likes and has said before that he wishes he had “someone like Trey” in his youth. It’s clear that Cater wants to be Trey’s friend, but this isn’t reflected in Cater’s behavior. He doesn’t go out of his way to try talking to Trey or inviting him to hang out; he seems to spend more time with his club friends Lilia and Kalim, but even then, they mostly get up to shallow activities like sitting around, eating snacks, and talking. Cater doesn’t push beyond that boundary, and the limitations of his own comfort. Likewise, we don’t really know of instances when he made efforts to befriend people online or via his socials.

Cater has a conversation specifically on the topic of memories, experiences, and departures in Silver’s Halloween vignettes. In it, Silver talks about how once he graduates, he won’t be able to visit his school friends like Kalim anymore and how that will make him feel lonely. Cater says that while he could worry that “I might not see you guys again someday”, he could also just as easily decide to have a good time with his friends while he still can. “That way, I’ll always have the memories”. Notice his use of “I” rather than “you”, referring to Silver. Cater may be speaking vaguely about his own experiences moving around and leaving friends behind. If we accept this interaction at face value, it does seem to imply that Cater puts value in making real connections and spending time with his loved ones, without necessarily having to immortalize the moment in a picture. It is the memories he cherishes—so while it can be said that he may place more value in pictures associated with certain happy moments, it’s also true that he's capable of just enjoying himself and appreciating what he has without commemorating the event with a photo.

dbksbskwwb Anyway, it’s hard to say for sure just how much Cater cares about those individual pictures just because 1) he’s an unreliable narrator, 2) you really wonder if he has more selfish reasons for acting as he does sometimes because he has demonstrated the capacity to manipulate others, and 3) his best memories don't always come with pictures. This doesn’t mean Cater is heartless or a bad person! I definitely think it’s possible he has some kind of attachment toward his pictures, since those are the closest approximation Cater has for the intimacy that he seeks without leaving him vulnerable to others. It’s just that I’m not sure if he places as much value in the pictures he takes as we may think he does. He has other motivations mixed in there, and it's possible to isolate Cater's feelings attached to happy memories from the pictures.

P.S. Just so you know, you don’t necessarily need Cater’s (or any character’s) cards to learn more about him; sometimes Cater lore is dropped in other peoples’ vignettes and event stories. Additionally, you can almost always find a source for his vignettes online by either Googling it or just accessing the unofficial Twisted Wonderland wiki.