Cath York - Tumblr Posts

New Deadloch Fic: In Plain Sight

A slow-build romance leading to polyamory. Rated explicit. Long (84,000 words). Eddie POV. Complete.

Eddie/Dulcie are definitely the main pairing. Eddie/Cath are shown making out once. There is also one Dulcie/Eddie/Cath sex scene at the end but otherwise no Dulcie/Cath or Eddie/Cath is shown (though both are mentioned).

Canon-compliant. Set after the end of the series proper, starting right after Ray’s death. Includes the canon epilogue scene (in which Eddie and Dulcie visit Holly) and then continues after that.

I didn’t like Cath in canon but I think she could get her shit together and be a better person and a better partner, and I’ve leaned into that very hard, while doing my best to also keep her in character.

Important note: the first scene is rough but things don’t stay that way. This is a happy fic overall, with a very happy ending.

See Chapter 1 for content warning.

This was an utter delight to write. Please read and enjoy. I'd love to hear in comments how you respond to it -- all feedback is great, including critique. <3

Lastly, thank you SO MUCH to my absolutely amazing beta, @ratherembarrassing, for help with so many important dialect and character notes. This fic would be such a hot mess without you, and I'm so so grateful for your time and your meticulous attention to detail. <3 <3 <3

This way to the fic :-D

Deadloch-specific ask if you’re keen to play! No worries if not.

1. Favourite episode?

2. Favourite scene?

3. Favourite quote?

4. Favourite joke or bit?

5. Favourite character?

💕💕💕

EEEEEEEEE I will gladly squeal about my show. Thanks for the ask! <3

Fave episode:

Hard question! In some ways Deadloch feels more like a movie to me than like a series, I forget where one episode ends and the next begins.

Probably E6. I loved how Abby acts while poisoned, and I loved her breaking up with James. I loved Eddie continuing to care about Dulcie: how protective Eddie gets, how concerned Eddie is when Dulcie is obviously really not okay (during/after the confrontation with Skye, and during their boat ride). I loved Dulcie acting...a bit more casual, with Abby; I loved their dialogue on the island ("James said I was out of my mind." "You are not, Abby, you are entirely in your mind"). I loved Holly Austin's performance as Skye, her anger and hurt when she's being questioned.

And I LOVED Cath and Dulcie's fight, and how it feels like we finally see both of them clearly, we finally understand why they each are the way they are at this point in their lives. We see how deeply miserable and frustrated Dulcie is in this town and in her marriage, and why she's been trying so hard to make it work anyway. We see how Cath has been in an anxious spiral for so long -- on some level, since the affair -- and we start to understand that this is how she got to this point, where she really is completely disconnected from the reality of Dulcie's job.

Also this is a bit weird but I actually loved the final scene in E6, when Dulcie finds the bobbing bodies in the lake, because the music was so beautiful and the way it was shot was weirdly so pretty and dreamlike. It's a scene about discovering corpses and it's...gorgeous? Oops?

I also just loved E8 so much because it gives us the payoff of Eddie, Dulcie and Abby truly working together, the way it always seemed they could. And because I SO DEEPLY LOVE the happy ending where Eddie and Dulcie and Cath end up together in Darwin, and I LOVE the subtext that they're in some kind of triad or throuple or vee or whatever else they might call it.

2. Fave scene:

I loved the end of E5, where we see Abby and Dulcie and Eddie each thinking alone about the murders and trying alone to solve the mystery: Abby with her arsine, Dulcie spotting the newspaper photo of Jimmy on the cross, Eddie noticing the speeding ticket Mike gave to Skye (and then the Doorbell bathroom stall graffiti). We see that each one of them is smart and is working on solving it, but that they're working separately still: Abby goes alone to the high school, to test her theory. Dulcie hasn't yet told Eddie that she suspects Skye, even though the clues are really piling up in her mind. The three of them aren't yet communicating well enough to really be a team.

I loved the way this was shown because it really had me rooting for them to realize that they'd be smarter together, that they needed to lean on each other more and communicate better and brainstorm together. This montage made me really invested in that arc, in them learning to work together.

I also loved Eddie confronting Dulcie about that, really taking her to task for it -- but then also having so much compassion and understanding about why this is hard for Dulcie, to consider one of her closest friends as a suspect. I love that Eddie really gets what a terrible situation Dulcie's in with this, and hates to see her in pain, even though Eddie's still committed to doing what's right and pursuing Skye as the most likely suspect.

3. Fave quote:

"Do you not know my name?"

4. Fave joke or bit:

How Eddie and Cath are both so nonchalant about mentioning sex, and how uncomfortable/flustered this makes Dulcie, and how Eddie immediately clocks this and leans into it harder. My favorite moment is when Cath texts Dulcie a pic of her boobs and Dulcie accidentally opens the image while at work and can't figure out how to close it again and is super flustered...and Eddie obviously sees the pic, is totally unperturbed and seems, if anything, mildly amused by Dulcie's reaction.

5. Fave character:

I can't choose between Dulcie and Eddie.

I'm most similar to Dulcie; I relate to her the most. I love her secretiveness, her shame. I love how ethical she is and I love how it shows up at work as a willingness to let minor/harmless crimes slide where possible. I love that she wants to be gentle with people, even when they're behaving badly. I love her shyness, her hesitation to be herself with people. I love the person we start to see emerging in the last few episodes and in the epilogue. I love her bravery and I love her fear.

I admire Eddie the most. Not as much during the first 3 episodes; I see them as someone who, at that time, was in too much pain to notice much else. But after that: I love their anger, how they're not too afraid to stick up for other people, and for themself. I love how loyal they are, and how protective of the people they care about. I love their rudeness and how selectively they deploy it; even though they don't seem to be taking much care with that, they really are. I love their frankness and I love how perceptive they are about people. I love their honesty and I love how ethical they are -- they break the rules sometimes but they really care about doing the right thing. And I love the way they look at Dulcie, particularly in episodes 6-8: it's so intimate. I see Eddie as someone who's extremely warm and loving, when they feel close to someone.

One thing that's great about Deadloch is how real everyone looks. Most of the female characters don't seem to wear make-up (sure, the actors probably do because it's TV, but it doesn't look like it) and they're allowed to make weird, real facial expressions instead of looking "perfect", and I think that's what makes them look great.

I loved everything about this scene. Because Cath is just all the way out there saying out loud that she wants other people to be turned on by her wife. When Eddie says "I don't want to muff-dive your wife," Cath gets so offended.

And I love that Dulcie's first desperate, mortified reaction is to stuff as much food into her face as possible

"I cannot speak, I am too Eating"

when you're actually a very sexual person. you radiate sexuality like a... floodlight, at an airport. they all can feel the sexual energy wafting off you. aleyna and gez have discussed it.

Deadloch fic rec list!

There's some really enjoyable fic out there in this fandom — this is by no means an exhaustive list. In fact, my whole reason for posting it is to encourage people to explore what's out there, if you haven’t yet.

That said, here are my personal favorites. I really love a fic where a character's voice has come through really well, and that's true of all of these.

Eddie, Dulcie and Cath:

north to the ocean, hotter than the sun by halfeatenmoon (explicit)

This is so hot and so funny. I love this Cath: so in-character and so completely excellent. So many of her and Eddie’s lines in this made me die laughing ("domestic"!!). And I really love Dulcie and Eddie’s vibe, here; their interactions made me flail so hard. 

Deadloch, day eight by Despire (teen and up)

One of my favorite things about the show was the way Eddie looks at Dulcie, and how it changes over time as they get closer. This fic...has somehow managed to capture that energy perfectly, and it really got me in my feelings. I love Eddie so much and I love Eddie with Dulcie so much.

Keep On Gruckin’ by kirazi (explicit)

This fic includes a lot of little character notes that feel so absolutely right, to me, particularly for Dulcie and Cath. I love how…sort of shy Dulcie and Eddie are around each other. And I love seeing what Dulcie loves about Cath; I love seeing those two in a really believable, really happy relationship. Searing hot, as well. 

house rules by halfeatenmoon (teen and up)

This has two things I love: Eddie and Cath becoming friends, and Dulcie playing the straight man/stooge who has to deal with their shenanigans. This is so in-character and so cute and fun.

despite all my bad decisions by DeanBean (explicit)

I love this version of Dulcie SO MUCH. She has a lot of overlap with how I see Dulcie, actually. I really buy her — I felt very convinced by this and like I could see the things that were happening while I was reading. Excellent, and also so hot.

In Plain Sight by applesforthis (explicit)

I feel awkward reccing my own fic. But, well — I posted it on April first, and afterward a couple people pointed out that tumblr was full of boops that day and that many people may have missed it for that reason. If you want a very character-driven, slow-build Eddie/Dulcie(/Cath) story leading to polyamory, with lots of personal growth and relationship-building and a very happy ending, then this is for you.

Abby-focused:

The difference is kissing someone you actually like by Lenore (teen and up)

This Abby is so absolutely in-character. And so is Deadloch. Can a place be said to be in-character? I don’t know but this fic has nailed it. I love seeing Abby’s ups and downs as she works on doing something daunting without the support that she’s used to. I love how much she loves her job, and I love the happy ending.

Everything Good Happens After Midnight by skyvillage (teen and up)

This is so sweet. I really liked Abby and Sharelle being friends in canon, and this feels like such a natural extension of that. 

I love that Cath is even in character X-D

It’s no mystery that we’re stoked about this news! #Deadloch is coming back for a second season on Prime Video