hey, so, i wanted to address your post about the whole “kerfuffle” but i didn’t want to reblog your original post because i agree with your sentiment wholeheartedly on that -- to just let the fandom breathe. probably ironic, coming from me, is it not? XP i’m probably one of those “keyboard-scuffling” folks you were referring to. i’d like to explain, as briefly as i can, my own personal reasons for even making a point to reply to your post and to seemingly continue to scuffle, if you’d be willing to read.
my main point of view is vastly different than the majority of the fandom. my blog description (and URL, even) says it all. i’m a hardcore punky monkey shipper, in all aspects. that alone sets my perspective apart from the majority of the fandom. not to say that i’m a martyr or whatever, just that my opinions on the show and on certain characters and ships will be different than the majority. which is fine by me!
the fact that my viewpoint is different is important because i see the fandom differently than most in that i don’t care for cophine or delphine all that much. i’m not saying that cophine isn’t extremely important and that it doesn’t play a key role in the show (because it /is/ important and it /does/ play a key role -- likewise with delphine), just that i personally don’t care for it.
that viewpoint, unfortunately, can and has been interpreted by some as perhaps “adversarial” and that i’m trying to “pick fights” or “shove my viewpoint about cophine/delphine down other fans throats” which is extremely far from the truth! but the reason i am choosing to respond to your post now is because honestly, i am the /last/ person who actually wants to pick fights with other clone clubbers. i know there are posts on my blog and my rambles in tags on my blog that seem the opposite, but that’s just me expressing my untagged frustration. which is another reason i’m choosing to respond to your post -- because it was tagged in the orphan black tag, because it pertains to orphan black. but more importantly, it was tagged to be /seen/. i will definitely be the first to say that most of my posts regarding cophine and its fans on my own personal blog are salty and outspoken and probably brash and rather ridiculous. but i don’t tag them because the fandom doesn’t need to see it. i am glad that you tagged your positivity post (the same post i linked above) because that’s exactly what the fandom needs right now, especially going into season 5.
so where am i going with this? honestly i don’t know. but there was something about your “call out” post (i guess you could say) that just didn’t sit right with me. and i think the main reason for that was because my viewpoint on the “kerfuffle” differs from yours. i see it as a necessary discussion to have in the fandom for one simple reason -- there is division in the fandom, and it needs to be addressed. there’s an elitist attitude that exists within the fandom and, as far as i can see (and you may absolutely correct me if i’m wrong), the attitude comes primarily from cophine shippers. now, this is NOT a blanket statement saying that /all/ cophine shippers have this attitude. i know for a fact that this is not the case. i’ve met a few wonderful cophine shippers during this whole “kerfuffle” who’ve noticed the attitude within the fandom as well. and it’s for that reason that, as much as i would love to drop this whole thing, i can’t.
there are posts out there threatening to virtually cut off people’s heads for saying that delphine’s not important. do i understand the concept of a joke? sure i do. but to people like me, those of us who sit outside the fandom norm (cl/cl shippers and shaysima shippers who honestly just want to do our own thing), to see someone, even “jokingly”, threaten to essentially disown them from the OB fandom just because we would say that delphine isn’t important? even if it’s meant to be a joke, there’s an underlying, subtle elitist attitude hidden within that message that really makes people feel unwelcome. and it’s not that anyone has actually ever said that delphine’s /not/ important. she is. she’s an excellent character that fights for cosima within this morally grey area -- and it’s that moral ambiguity that truly /does/ make her an awesome character. it’s just that she’s not /the/ most important. to some people, mrs. s might be the most important. or felix. or art. or any of the clones. it’s not saying that art is the most important of the /show/, but that he’s that person’s most important.
and there’s lots of people who think that delphine is the most important character to them. which is great! it’s good to have a fave. but from where i’m standing, these kinds of fans jump the gun a little too quickly the second anyone says that delphine’s not important and unfortunately misinterpret it to be “delphine’s not important /at all/” which, for me and for many others that i’ve talked to, is not the case. there may be a minority out there who think that delphine’s not important /at all/, but to most of us, when we say delphine’s not important, we just mean that she’s not important to /us/ and that we have other faves that we care more about.
so that’s why i’ve chosen to reply. because i’m not just keyboard-scuffling without thinking, without taking time to breathe, without considering that maybe i should just try to enjoy the show while it’s still around. i have been thinking (a lot -- which... would explain the length of this post. my apologies) and noticing things within the fandom. and honestly that’s why i want this discussion to continue. a civil discussion, a proper debate. i understand why there would be those within the fandom who would be/are already frustrated that this is /still/ ongoing, and i completely respect anyone who would wish to just completely block people, blacklist tags, do whatever they need to do just to enjoy OB’s last season to its fullest.
but for me personally, i still want to address this division. it’s not something i’m manufacturing just to create drama because i (excuse the crassness) “get off” on it or whatever. the division is already within the fandom. whether it’s mainly meant to be a joke between friends or not, the fact of the matter is that some people don’t see it as a joke. and i’d just love everyone to respect each other and allow everyone to enjoy what they want about season 5 without the drama.
Happy (VERY BELATED) b-day, @trylonandperisphere. Sending you some good job-search.. vibes. ;)
Also available on AO3
The thing with anxiety, Cosima thought as she surreptitiously tried to wipe her clammy palms against her dress, is that, when it struck, it made things she could do in her sleep, things she excelled at, incredibly difficult.
Take this instance, for example - all she had to do is talk to another person about something she was passionate about, a veritable no-brainer. She's chatted people up on a daily basis, making the connection seem effortless regardless of the person - mothers with cranky toddlers, hipster dudebros, teens congregating at the neighborhood basketball court. She was in turn friendly, genuinely curious and empathetic, a combination that generally cracked even the most stubborn social nut.
And yet, there were two things, job interviews and talking to beautiful women, that would make Cosima tongue-tied and stuttery, even if given a chance to expound on one of her passions.
She expelled a shallow, shaky breath, and looked around the shiny, modern reception area of the publishing company. Chairs were angular and uncomfortable, the coffee table seemed hewed out of a single piece of sharp glass, and the couch she currently perched on smelled of fresh hide. Even if her semi-vegetarian leanings weren’t offended by the astounding amount of animal that went into the making of the sofa, she felt mocked by the shiny, moist imprints her palms left against it every time she touched its surface.
She again reached for one of the magazines stacked on the table in front of her -- The Nature Conservancy, yet another in the line of previously well-respected journals saved from almost certain bankruptcy by becoming a pet interest - and a cash purchase - of a hedge-fund billionaire with philanthropic aspirations. Back when she used to have a 9-5 office job -- at some point after her M.A. in Conservation Biology landed her a cushy job in the Corporate Social Responsibility department at Procter & Gamble, but before her nervous breakdown got her to quit and instead turn to serving overpriced coffee and beer to hipsters, she dreamed of doing real conservancy work. She dreamed of working for this very magazine, with its hokey covers, earnest stories of nature’s wonders, and real, palpable work of conserving the nature.
And here she was, four years into her self-imposed sabbatical from the stresses and rigors of her profession, interviewing for an entry-level position with the Nature Conservancy. She had felt ready to rejoin that world, had missed the sense of purpose and the intellectual reward of the work, and yet -- the interviewing process, as she discovered, did not miraculously become any easier.
The fact she landed an interview at all was a minor miracle given the nearly half a decade long gaping hole in her resume. Instead of making her feel relieved, this only served to ratchet up the stakes and, by extension, her anxiety. She had shown up 15 minutes early and managed to use the extra time to work herself up into a state of acute nervousness. Vomiting was not out of the question.
“Ms. Niehaus?” The young receptionist, an overly combed white boy with an Abercrombie and Fitch outfit, looked down on her kindly. “We are ready for you - if you'll follow me?”
Cosima stood up, hands smoothing down her dress, straightening the lapels of her blazer, and nodded, following him. The short walk ended in front of a glass-walled conference room, and then she was seated at the end of a long, gleaming table, a glass of water in front of her.
“Ms. Cormier, the Associate Director of Marketing, will be with you shortly.”
The receptionist left with a smile, and Cosima primly placed her portfolio in front of her, opening it to a blank pad of paper. She took a deep breath, held it for a beat, then slowly exhaled. Her eyes flitted around the room, noting the view of the city, the bustle of the office beyond the walls of the conference room. She inhaled again, willing her shoulders to relax, the knot in the pit of her stomach to unfurl.
The conference door opened with a soft clang, and she looked up, startled, then felt her jaw unhinge.
“D-delphine?”
And, indeed, there she was, a blonde vision vividly familiar from her bartending job - a semi-regular patron at her bar, and the woman single-handedly capable of turning Cosima, a professional flirt, into a mutely efficient drink-pourer. Cosima stood up, heart pounding. If there was one thing she was worse at than interviewing, it was talking to women she had a crush on. And Delphine, the smolderingly beautiful French woman with a penchant for leaning across the bar and ordering her drinks with a flirty wink, had Cosima crushing. Hard.
“Cosima.” Delphine smiled, leaning slightly against the conference room door, and despite her shock, a part, a rather large part, of Cosima’s brain noted the sleek fit of the blonde’s business suit. “So it is you -- when I saw the name on the CV I thought, even in New York, how many different Cosimas can there be?”
“I--” Cosima faltered, arms half raised in surprise, “I-- I had no idea that it-- I thought you were--,” a French movie star, or a sexy doctor - maybe a spy. She pressed her lips together, at a loss. “I am.. surprised.”
This elicited a short, crystalline laugh, and Delphine strode into the room, holding her hand out. “Well, let’s do this properly, then. Delphine Cormier. Enchantee.”
Cosima accepted her hand without thought, noting the warm, firm grip and the smile wrinkles in the corners of Delphine’s eyes. She had noted those before, whenever the blonde would accept her drink with a smile, had made a mental note that they made Delphine look somehow more beautiful.
“I’m Cosima. Eum, Niehaus, duh. Cosima Niehaus.” She fluttered her newly freed hand awkwardly. “Sorry about that, I get clammy hands when I’m nervous.”
Delphine smiled, then bit her lower lip, another thing Cosima had noticed during her surreptitious observations at the bar, canting her head a bit. “It’s okay, I, um,” she leaned in conspiratorially, “I do, too, and was wondering if you’d notice.”
Cosima blinked, nonplussed, but before she could react to this admission Delphine gestured toward the chairs. “Why don’t we sit down?”
“Ah, yes, of course, I’m sorry.” She sat down, immediately distracted by the flex of the blonde’s calves under the glass top of the conference table. Sweet Jesus help me. She rearranged her portfolio, mercifully blocking the view. “I, uh, have an extra copy of my resume, and I just wanted again to thank you - er, your company, for giving me an opportunity to interview for the position of a marketing associate. I know I'm not very marketable these days given the lack of recent professional experience, so i am, ”she paused, winding down awkwardly, “grateful.”
Delphine placed the copy of her resume in front of her, glancing at it briefly, then leaned forward on her hands.
“I had a chance to look at your CV and was impressed by your educational background and previous work experience.” Cosima relaxed slightly, taking in the positive words. “You are certainly a very attractive, um, candidate for this position, given the whole,” she gestured toward the resume in front of her, “package.”
There was something about Delphine's body language, despite the positive tone, that revealed a certain hesitation, even nervousness; whitened knuckles of her steepled fingers, the lack of eye contact. During the last six months or so that Delphine had been patronizing the bar (and Cosima had been silently observing her) she had never seen the blonde act like that.
Cosima pursed her lips, fighting against the sinking feeling in her stomach. Not getting this job was one thing, seeing how it was a long shot anyway, but having to be rejected by the woman she'd been working up a nerve to ask out for half a year… It was gearing up to be the most humiliating experience of her life.
“Why do I think I hear a 'but’ in there?” Only brevity could salvage a potential disaster in the brewing, so why not cut to the chase.
Delphine looked up in surprise, finally making eye contact, before quickly dropping her eyes back to her hands. Cosima could actually see a slight sheen of perspiration breaking out on the blonde’s forehead.
“No, no-- no but, it's just-- I wanted--,” Delphine stammered, then exhaled, looking at Cosima's almost beseechingly. “I think what I need to say is that there are two things I should say first.”
Cosima sat mutely, at a loss. When the blonde just continued looking at her, she quirked her eyebrow. “Yes?”
“Right. First, I believe there is a mid-level position in our development department that would fit your level of experience and your,” she smiled with real warmth at Cosima, “engaging personality much better than the entry-level position with Marketing.”
Cosima swallowed, feeling the lead ball of disappointment in her belly, but kept her tone even. “So, I’m ‘overqualified,’ is that it?”
“No!” Delphine looked alarmed, empathetically shaking her head. “I mean, yes, you are overqualified, but-- “ Her head hung down for a moment, cascades of blonde hair obscuring her face. “Putain de merde, Scott va me tuer, c’est sûr.”
“Excuse me?”
Delphine looked up, waving her off. Her mouth was set in a straight line and, Cosima thought, if at all possible she looked more pained than Cosima felt.
“Cosima.” Delphine’s mouth opened, then closed. Then it opened again, only for Delphine to clamp her teeth, rather painfully, against her lower lip. She tried again. “Oh-kay. My colleague, Scott Smith, has an opening for a mid-level development associate, and I believe that position would both be more challenging and provide you with a better growth opportunity.”
“But--,” Delphine held up a hand, cutting her off, and Cosima shut her mouth. What was even happening here?
“Beyond that, I must say that I have a.. personal interest in you not seeking a position within my department.”
“Oh.” Cosima sank into her chair, feeling the bloom of hurt and embarrassment. Was she called in here only to be humiliated by a woman she was attracted to? Did Delphine not want a lowly bartender on her team? “Why?”
Delphine hung her head again, hands raking through her hair. “Oh my god, this was a terrible idea.” When she looked up again, she seemed to teeter for a moment on the edge of speechlessness, but then she opened up in a torrent of words, “I am so sorry, Cosima. I saw your CV in my inbox, and I thought, this must be a joke, and it can’t actually be you, but then it was you, and you were qualified for the position -- well, overqualified -- and I know you would be such an asset to the organization - you are smart and funny, and excel at communication, not to mention that you have the right kind of background, but…”
Cosima shook her head in bewilderment, trying to follow the current of words. “But?”
“But,” Delphine’s eyes fluttered toward her clasped hands, but then she resolutely trained them on Cosima’s face. “After six months of trying to work up the courage to ask you out on a date, I could not face the possibility of becoming your boss.”
Cosima felt her jaw fall open unglamorously for a second time in less than 30 minutes. “Excuse me?”
Delphine’s chuckle came out a bit strangled. “Your application for this job tipped my hand in a rather spectacular fashion. My initial plan was just to order tequila shots from you until either you started talking to me, or I got drunk enough to pull you over the bar and kiss you, but--” she spread out her arms helplessly, “here we are.”
“You,” Cosima narrowed her eyes in an effort to understand, making a circling motion with her finger between the two of them, “called me into this interview.. to ask me out?”
Delphine answered with a vigorous nod, then canted her head in thought. “Well, really to give you an opportunity to interview for a better position. I think you’d do great work for the organization, and you and Scott would get along really well. His email should be in your inbox already.”
“I--,” Cosima slumped back in her chair, vaguely registering various symptoms of shock; confusion, clammyness, rapid heartbeat, anxiety. There was an out of body kind of feeling to it all - she knew she should be responding in some way, but her brain seemed unable to process the information before her, let alone react to it. “I-- I don’t understand.”
Delphine reached out a tentative hand and laid it down briefly over Cosima’s forearm, her warmth permeating even through the layers of Cosima’s blazer. “I am sorry, I-- I don’t know why I thought meeting you like this with no forewarning and just.. blah!,” she mimicked expelling a spew of words out of her mouth, “would be a good idea. Scott tried to talk me out of it.” She smiled crookedly, warm hazel eyes trained on Cosima. “I hope that, maybe, we can laugh about my idiotic approach over drinks sometime soon?”
Cosima pursed her lips, unwilling to give anything to the hidden camera crew that must have been taping her reaction this whole time. What other explanation could there be?
Delphine nodded her head dejectedly in response, standing up. “Bon. Cosima, I hope I didn’t completely ruin my chance of getting to know you better. If you are interested in the development position, please give Scott a call.” She placed a business card on the glass tabletop and slowly slid it toward Cosima. “In case you are interested in having a drink together, my number is here. Either way, this should not influence your decision on the job -- that position would have no interactions with my department.”
Cosima reached out for the card, sliding it over closer with the tip of her finger. She quirked up an eyebrow at Delphine who stood up straighter in response, then focused back on the card. “So…,” she paused, then looked at the blonde thoughtfully, “six months?”
“Hah,” Delphine chuckled with relief, then nodded, smiling sheepishly. “One could say I resorted to extreme measures.”
“I see,” Cosima nodded gravely, standing up as well. She gave Delphine a probing look, then stepped up, extending her hand. “It was good to meet you, and thank you for your time. I’ll be in touch.”
She could see Delphine’s eyes widen with surprise, but then she grasped Cosima’s hand warmly, her grip firm. “The pleasure was all mine. I look forward to it.”
When you get this, answer with five things that make you happy then send it to the last ten people on your recent activity :) P.S.: Lobster. Definitely lobster.
Cats, happy elderly people, bassoons, Susanne Sundfør, well written textbooks!
“I don’t have time to do a Cophine Week!” *has several Cophine recommendations lined up*
The Swan and The Dove by trylonandperisphere ( @trylonandperisphere) summary: “Paris, 1944. Delphine Cormier has taken it upon herself to work undercover against the Nazis. It's a dangerous decision, as she puts her own body on the line to gather intelligence for the Allies. Little does she know, she will find help in a voice coming over the airwaves from England. Cosima Niehaus makes contact with her, and everything changes.”
My thoughts: A great work. What can I say, I’m a sucker for wartime AU’s.
Delphine works as a spy while living amongst the Nazis. She chose this path as a brave effort to help the Allies anyway she can. In the day, Delphine is close to important Nazi figures. But when she is alone, she transmits information via radio to the Allies. One day a different voice answers. A woman who goes by Dove.
Soon the personal lives of Dove (Cosima) and Swan (Delphine) trickle into what was supposed to be “business only” transmissions. Their friendship grows and they become closer. Eventually, Delphine’s cover is blown. And Cosima decides she needs to rescue her.
It’s a fantastic read with plenty edge-of-your-seat moments. Read it, love it, feel the Cophine.
*Remember, the femslash list is here (x) for more femslash-y goodness of all pairings*
A few weeks ago I deleted my tumblr because I was getting too obsessive but also feeling shitty all the time about Delphine. Then I was like… no, fuck, there is too much fic to read and vids to make. So I tried to get the same name but I couldn’t! And delphemeral I suppose reflects where I’m at in the fandom a little more lol. BUT YOU FOUND ME. [points to slot where trylonandperisphere fic can be inserted] … why can’t anything NOT sound dirty anymore? this world is dark.
Congrats on your next 100! Fic prompt for you: have you done a take on cophine post s3e10? I obvi want Delphine alive haha. Thanks, buddy! I love your fics and always look forward to your stories. :)
Oh gosh, I’ve been so terrible at responding on tumblr lately. Forgive me. :( But to belatedly answer your question, I have been in the planning stages of a post 3x10 fic with trylonandperisphere and kind-of-always-late.
I’m pretty excited about the ideas we’ve been brainstorming and outlining. But on my end at least, I can’t devote as much time to writing lately because of a lot of RL stuff that needs to be resolved before I can focus on fiction to my heart’s content like before (which is why it’s taking me forever to finish even short prompts). It also doesn’t help that I’ve had a case of Cophine writer’s block after that depressing finale.
I can’t make any promises that the fic will ever see the light of day, but we’ll do our best and hopefully it’ll be worth the wait. :)
I was tagged by caveatsomniator to post my 10 favorite characters and then tag ten more people. (I tried to only include one character from each fandom but y’all can do whatever you want)
(In no particular order)
1. Delphine Cormier - Orphan Black
2. Patsy Stone - Absolutely Fabulous
3. Luna Lovegood - HP
4. Brienne of Tarth - Game of Thrones
5. Deanna Troi - Star Trek TNG
6. Mackenzie “Kenzi” Malikov - Lost Girl
7. Regina Mills - Once Upon a Time
8. Penelope Cruz - Criminal Minds
9. Michiru Kaiou - Sailor Moon
10. Zotoh Zhaan - Farscape
