How do you think Trey distinguishes Cater from the clones?
Trey mentions being able to do so in the Diasomnia book, but I don't think he ever specified or explained how he tells them apart at any other point...
Btw, I hope you're fine <3
Ahhh! Firstly, thank you for being so, so sweet. I’m doing well! I hope you are too <3
Secondly, excellent question! Moose, if you see this, this is heading into spoiler territory. Read at your own risk 😂 But this is something I had headcanoned FAR before Book 7 came to the NA server. When I found out about this playing the story though, I freaked out. But anyways, on to the question.
So, I just went back to Book Seven to see what Trey says exactly in regards to being able to tell Cater’s clones apart. Chapter 259 is where we learn this. The conversation is as follows:
“Cater? …Wait, you’re not the original.”
“Whoah! How’d you guess?”
“It’s not hard after knowing you for three years.”
“Oh, uh… Huh. Is that a fact? Have you been able to tell us apart immediately this whole time?”
“Depends on the occasion, really. You seem very different from normal today, so it was an easy guess to make.”
So, Trey says that his being able to tell them apart depends on whatever is going on. We know the clones are virtually identical to Cater, so it all boils down to personality, body language, the way he carries himself. I think Trey just is so well attuned to Cater and his personality(ies) that he’s able to tell if a clone comes in with a slightly different attitude than what he had last seen Cater with. We can also infer that Trey pays so much attention to Cater due to the Make A Wish event where Cater makes a wish, Trey says that Cater made the same wish last year (which Trey wasn’t a Star Sender that year, we can safely assume), and so Cater changes it, and when Trey leaves, he mentions that he had hoped Cater would have shared his true wish since they had known each other for so long, and he takes it as a sign Cater doesn’t trust him.
But, I digress. I honestly think Trey is just extremely observant to all things Cater. He uses his spell to change flavors when Cater asks for him to do so as a party trick without complaining because he knows Cater hates sweets. He could honestly write a book on all things Cater, I think. I know that many people point out the… rather obvious difference between the Cater in Trey’s dream and the real Cater, and that is why Trey assumed that the real Cater was a clone. But he indicates that he’s done it before. They were roommates, and Trey has a knack for observing people closest to him.
I don’t know if this answered anything or if I just rambled for far too long, but I hope this satisfies your question! Thank you so much for the chance to ramble about my boys 😭🫶
