you can't sit with us
💥Firecracker💥
Firecracker/Misty is one of my favorite additions to the show in S4, mostly because I enjoyed having a legitimate redpill influencer be depicted in the show outside of Stormfront.
Misty’s ability is a very minor form of explosion generation, taking the form of small sparks that are summoned from her snapping her fingers. This ability seems to be the result of her initially meek and insecure temperament in early adolescence that’s since mutated into an inferno of overconfidence that could very well seal her fate.
As we learn, she hates Starlight/Annie because back when they would do superhero pageants together, Annie was a pageant diva who spread a false rumor that Misty had performed lewd acts to get as far as she did in the competition. This ousted Misty from ever competing again, delegating her to a solid D-lister with a shitty power. This interaction ultimately puts both characters into perspective of one another. Both of their abilities center around light and ultimately visible perception, but while Annie relished in the limelight by shoving others out of her way, Misty was dependent on minor details to “spark” her way to glory. She relies on clipping truths and stringing together irrelevant info to create patchwork stories of misinformation she can sell to her fanbase.
As she puts it, she sells them purpose, making them believe that they’re a part of something worth fighting for instead of simple cogs in a corporate machine. Misty’s light doesn’t lead or guide like Annie’s, despite the fact it had the full potential to. Her light dissuades and confuses, flickering momentarily, just long enough to lure someone in her direction, only for it to fizzle out when they would attempt to examine it further. This is exactly how I view her conspiracy theories, giving her audience bread crumbs of truth without being able to provide ample evidence of their credibility.
Misty, like her ability, cares about details, so much so to the point where you could argue her true ability is being able to spin any situation back into a redpilled hate campaign to better suit her own agenda. She words every statement she gives the press carefully, riling up the masses while being able to turn suspicion away from herself, even when outed for sleeping with a 15 year old boy when she was 28. She took this mindset and used it to seduce Homelander, understanding that her breast milk could lure him in, but much like her sparks, it would only ever be a temporary source.
Misty is a perfect embodiment of the she-devil residing in the details, seeing as how one spark was capable of launching the entire United States into a tyrannical state of marital law.
Eros kids 💘Overdramatic 💘Protective 💘Everyone is obsessed with them 💘Serial monogamists
No Cabin Assigned Yet Roman Aspect: Cupid Link in bio for more Eros info 💘
💎Cate Dunlap💎
Cate’s one of my favorite onscreen villains, seeing as how she takes the whole Queen of Mean trope and gives an audience something to worry about.
Cate’s ability is a tactile form of mind control, along with a seemingly unstable form of telepathy. While she can read minds, she seems to have difficulty fully controlling the individual thoughts she wants to pay attention to. I’m assuming this is from her relying on power suppressants which made her rusty at mind reading, especially since she seems to be off the pills and completely fine now.
I would imagine that at the point of the V in her system giving her this ability, she would have just been coming into her own as a woman in a world that tells young girls to hyper-obsess about their social impact on the world around them. Imagine if you shot a young Regina George up with Compound V. Wouldn’t having the ability to read the minds of her teenage subjects and force them to think, believe, and do whatever she wants by placing a guiding hand on their shoulder be a perfect mutation for her body to produce?
Having the ability to command people to do her dirty work based solely on touch, Cate relies on the fact that her beauty and unassuming nature would allow her to get close enough to touch any potential opponent. This way of thinking reminds me of Glimmer from “The Hunger Games”, seeing as how in the books, she attempted to sneak in a diamond ring that, upon unscrewing the jewel, revealed a poisoned spike. A weapon like that wielded in a battle royale style death match is unimaginably arrogant and short sighted. While it may seem cunning, her entire battle strategy hinged on her beauty and ability to draw close enough to another tribute while their guard was down to prick them with a mini spike. Cate, regardless of her own agency in the matter, shares a similar viewpoint. It wasn’t until Marie blew up her arm that she was forced to confront the fact that, when her reach is snubbed by a legitimately strong influence, she’s ultimately powerless.
The ultimate tragedy of her character is a lack of true intimacy. After she unwittingly compelled her little brother to disappear in a forest and “get lost”, to which his body was never found, her parents were horrified to do so much as touch their own daughter. When she was with Luke she repeatedly mind controlled him, and she ended up doing the same to Andre. Anyone and everyone she gets close to will inevitably fear that the ungloved intimacy they share with her is inauthentic, which creates a cruel cycle of her feeling the need to compel the people around her to forget all of the horrible things she’s done.
This is the exact play that Dean Shetty makes on her. Understanding and even aiding to curate Cate fears of her powers and whether the only reason people would ever love her is because she’s making them do so, Shetty is one of the few characters to consistently touch Cate. This shifts the dynamic between the two of them, and while it initially seemed to be done out of kindness, you very quickly understand that Shetty’s touch was equally manipulative as Cate’s.
Cate’s seemingly a pathological liar and manipulator, appearing unable to discern her own lies from Vought’s narrative. She’s both a pawn and a player, but I believe this next season will prove her to come out as a hero and unlikely ally to Marie and the true Guardians of Godolkin.
Love how random these are
H2O: Just Add Water: The girls.
Rihanna in 2007 ・゚゚・。ᡣ𐭩
This is what the Sun looks like
No ordinary girl...
Rikki / Emma