#about delphine

[enby-trainer]

🔮 -tell me of powers

Well, hmm. How do I answer this? Not sure.

Both my gals are pretty "offensive" battlers, with hard-hitting moves, and as far as I can tell, it suits them fairly well. I mean, I'm their trainer, I'm the one who decides which moves they hone, so it was partly my doing why they're like this.

Their powers are both of Normal typing, if that answers your question in case the above paragraph didn't.

[bananahkim]

Let’s go!!

[edenxroseyposey]

Arcane Lessons

[ehlnofay]

my tes secret santa for @anotherclassicpretence! truth be told I've been having a tad bit of writer's block lately but some of your prompts were VERY interesting (I liked the idea of writing delphine before the main quest a lot... this more or less counts) so I hope I've done them justice. hope you're having a splendid holiday season!

...

“Steady on, Hilde,” Delphine says with a brusque, manufactured sort of calm. “You’ll do yourself a mischief.”

It's a relief, she thinks, that the day Hilde has elected to barge in with world-upending news is a convenient one; it isn’t as though Riverwood is the kind of place to attract crowds, most of the time (part of the reason she chose to live here at all) but the inn is unusually quiet now. Orgnar is nominally organising something in the cellar, which means that he’s spending an hour swapping two bottles around and calling it a day, and the dining hall is warmed to a swelter with the ever-going hearthfire, and utterly empty. No-one’s come in for lunch yet. No rooms rented out last night, either, so it’s all silent on that front; it’s just Delphine and her wet cotton cloth, wiping down the stained tables till they shine, and Hilde with her hair wrapped and her string of beads tangling round narrow, hard-knuckled fingers. She’s sat herself on the chair with the wobbly leg; it needs fixing soon. Ordinarily, Delphine would herd her onto another, but right now she doesn’t think there’s anything in the world that would get Hilde to listen.

“Hark at her!” she complains to the bead-string - all marbled glass dyed blue and red and yellow, clinking together on their leather cord. “Do a mischief - do a mischief - it’s as if she can’t bloody hear me -”

Delphine swipes the cloth over the chip in the corner of the table. “I hear you,” she replies (does she ever hear her). Hilde’s hands are white where the necklace bites into her skin; her lips are pinched into a puckered line. Her eyes are red-rimmed and fierce. “Hilde. I’m going to get you a drink to calm your nerves, and then we’ll talk it over properly, all right?”

“Talk it over,” Hilde repeats, high and scornful, and then her face screws up quite suddenly as if all the fight has fled it - the wrinkles in her cheeks deepening to uneasy valleys, knuckles pressed to the thin slat of her mouth, beads digging hard into her cheek. “Nine have mercy… thank you, Delphine.”

The inner corner of Delphine’s lip snags, near imperceptibly, between the blunt ends of her canines. She nods once, and she ducks behind the bar, folding the cloth with damp precision as she goes. The cask of ale is near empty, the mugs lined up on their shelf, sparkling clean, cutlery rattling around in its tin. It's not fancy - Riverwood is a small, old town, built on the bones of an older one, and no matter how well-run the inn has been since she bought it it's not exactly a prime destination, but it's a good sort of a place. And innkeeping is decent work. Keeps you busy. Keeps your ear to the ground. Gives you something to focus on, in the meantime -

When Delphine grabs a tankard, she notes with some incredulity that her hand is trembling. She stills it. She pours the ale until the cup rim is flecked with froth.

(Gives you something to focus on in the meantime, in between real work, while you're waiting -)

(There is a feeling rising in her body, foaming like the ale; a sour, stomach-turning excitement, as if she's in her twenties again and wet behind her ears, biting back all the intrigue. Like she has an unlined face and fresh armour and is standing again in line for her induction ceremony. Like she's staring something in the face and thinking, finally.)

Delphine caps the cask. She is not in her twenties, and she is not staring anything down; bar Hilde, a seventy year old woman with tannin-stained hands and the latest in a line of tall stories. Delphine didn't get this far (how far?) (still alive, isn’t she) through credulity. She's a pragmatist through and through - won't believe anything she hasn't seen evidence of with her own eyes; and yet.

And yet.

She sets the mug down on the table; a pale and lukewarm drop slides down the pewter, just next to the handle. She'll need to wipe it all down again, after this.

Hilde takes it, absent-minded; the beads slither from where they’re strung around her hands to rest in a smooth curve over her chest. Her hands are shaking - she doesn’t seem to notice, or if she does, she doesn’t stop them. There is a look about her, all of a sudden, that seems dreadfully, fixedly haunted, like a woman looking down the barrel of a cannon, some rapid-rigged explosive, something to level the town. Like she’s caught the apocalypse’s eye. Delphine reaches out, perfunctory, and pats the back of her hand; Hilde grimaces and downs half her tankard in one long, desperate swig.

Light’s coming in through the window-slats up by the rafters, dull and gold, dust motes in the shafts of it. It makes the white wimple of cloth swaddled hastily around Hilde’s head shine in places.

“Big as the mountain,” she mumbles into the lip of the tankard, fingers wrapped tight around its handle, “black as night - flew right over the barrow like something fit to block out the sun.”

Delphine’s teeth scrape over that spot at the corner of her lip. She can’t help but say, “Are you sure -”

“I know what I saw,” Hilde snaps. Her knuckles and lips are blanched and colourless. Liquid sloshes over the edge of her cup with her sharp, abortive gestures. “I saw a dragon.”

Delphine is very careful not to let her face do anything at all, there.

(It’s adrenaline, she knows; the pointed, muscle-coiled readiness to move - to act - to make a plan in service of a solid end and carry it off perfectly; the comfort of seeing possibility roll out before her like a long many-doored hallway, like a road she might be able to walk instead of these four walls she’s circled for too many years. Innkeeping is decent work - keeps her ear to the ground - keeps her busy in the interim, but it’s not what Delphine does, not what she’s been trained to do; not a purpose, not something to strive for, and oh, Divines -)

(None of this is substantiated. Delphine is not a rash and green youth, not anymore and not again, and she will not start running away with silly fantasies before she’s checked anything at all; she has had her fill of disappointment, and should know better than to invite it - should know better than to start spinning grand plans, before she’s even sent out some missives to the pale cobweb of contacts she has left - over the barrow; west, then - is there a significance, to the barrow? Does she have anything about it in her side room? Nine, it’s times like this she misses the old library and the mad old codger that kept it, and, no. No.)

(Yes.)

“It’ll come back,” Hilde’s saying with fearful certainty; lips flecked with spittle and beer-foam, hands still shaking. “It’ll come back, and it’ll kill us all, and then you’ll believe me -”

“I believe you,” Delphine tells her, and it is inexplicably, regrettably true. (She’s thinking about the library. She’s thinking about the dragonlore. She’s thinking that if dragons are back, someone will have to do something about it - and oh Divines how she has missed being the one to do something about it.)

Her hands are still, but only through some effort.

She feels like she’s been dozing for twenty years and only now has been shocked awake.

Hilde looks at her, white-mouthed and white-scarved; she frowns, a tense, sour thing, and she says doubtfully, “You look like you need a drink.”

Delphine laughs. It’s a short, gruff bark of sound. Her hands are flat on the tabletop; her hair is coming loose in thin wisps from the tight knot at the base of her skull. Sunlight trickles through the windows, golden-fresh. “No,” she says. “No, thank you, Hilde, I'm good."

[tridentrans]

The little Delphi 💥cute outfit edition from heeeeere. my friend dreamt of Maverick in this outfit so obviously i had to draw it. yeah let me tell you about my OCs you'll start having prophetic visions about them it's all very normal. trust.

[whogirl42]

So fucking incredible honestly to be rewatching Orphan Black from the beginning and seeing baby Cophine like. Delphine is all adorable stuttering that she never really considered bisexuality for herself until Cosima, unaware that she's facing the love of her life who she'll legit be willing to burn down the entire world for I can't even🥺

[timelessbian]

the way i haven't even seen any part of the new ob show but i'm literally going to be thinking about glasses chain delphine cormier in her gilf era for the rest of my life

[nethertrolls]

This is Delphine Bahamut (for the moment might come back and adjust later but for now)

and she’s an oracle who along with the usual duties associated with such a title also sends along spirits before they get vicious through elegant dance.

She’s always polite and formal in how she presents herself to the public eye and most trolls tend not to look deeper than that. She had many instructors through her life from the moment her potential was discovered. Everything in life has been part of a set plan.

( @/goldenguillotines created the design and the art)

[spookyvalentine]

what the calling does to a guy

[faerune]

everyone talks about who their tav romances which is totally valid but i also wanna know who is everyone's tav's bestie

[enby-trainer]

Mew: talk about your first pokémon!

Technically, Delphine was the first pokemon that was/is really mine. The pokemon I lived with growing up belonged to my parents. Delphine is an excellent cuddly girl; if she sees you lying down or sitting, she'll climb on you and snuggle, which can sometimes be an issue since she's so big now.

Celebi: what is one thing you wish you could tell your past self?

I wish I could go back and tell my younger self everything will be all right.

Jirachi: if you could have one wish (and no wishing for more wishes!), what would it be?

I'd wish for more money -- as selfish as that may sound -- so I could afford a nice big rural property and all the pokemon I could want.

Deoxys: what trait do you have in front of some people but not others?

At work, I am professionally helpful and friendly. Everywhere else, I'm more naturally casual.

Phione: what do you think about your hometown?

New Tork is an extensive and diverse place. It's got its bad parts and its great ones. I wish I could live somewhere else after being here my whole life so far, and I'm trying to figure out how to manage that. Don't take that to mean I dislike New Tork. I don't. I'd just like a change in scenery, y'know?

Manaphy: talk about your bonds with your pokémon!

I love my gals, and they love me. I think I've done a decent job with them because they're loyal and protective of me.

Darkrai: talk about something you are afraid of!

I'm always afraid of making the wrong life choice and ending up broke and, at worst homeless.

Shaymin: what are you grateful for?

I'm grateful I could pull myself together when I was younger enough to handle having a job and being self-sufficient despite my autism and anxiety disorder -- both diagnosed, by the way.

Arceus: are any spiritual or religious rituals vital to you?

Well, I'm loosely spiritual, as I've said before. I don't really follow any doctrine, though. So I guess not?

Victini: talk about a significant personal victory or triumph!

Successfully moving out from under my dad's thumb and becoming independent.

Keldeo: talk about a belief you feel very strongly about!

People should adopt pokemon from shelters or rescues or buy them from breeders more often instead of catching them wild.

Meloetta: what kind of music do you like?

A little bit of everything, but primarily rock/metal!

Genesect: what is something you still have after a very long time? How has it changed?

My stuffed toy mabosstiff, Beethoven, who I've had since I was like three years old. He's significantly worn, and his coloration has darkened, but I still love him dearly and keep him on a special shelf along with my other knickknacks.

Diancie: talk about something you think is beautiful!

I love Galarian ponyta and rapidash! They're just so gorgeous and mystical.

Hoopa: what is something you really, really want for yourself?

A romantic partner worth marrying.

Volcanion: what is something that makes you mad?

Abuse of people and pokemon, willful ignorance, and bigotry.

Magearna: talk about something you have made yourself!

I'm not the best cook, but I like making fideo noodles with chorizo meat, red pasta sauce, and mixed-in seasoning. Sound boring? Too bad!

Marshadow: talk about something you learned from someone else!

I don't know if learning from people's messages on the Internet counts as this, but I've learned things just from being online.

Zeraora: what is something you have protected or is important to you to protect?

Myself and my gals. They've protected me, too. I am not very assertive most of the time, so it can be challenging to stand up for myself.

Meltan: how do you express affection for someone?

Usually verbally, less often physically, with hugs.

Melmetal: talk about a legend or story you like!

I really like the tale of shaymin in Sinnoh.

Zarude: how are you with children?

I'm not that great, especially with small kids. The older I become, the less easy it seems to me to imagine myself being a parent...

[bibliosims]

pierre guillaume

[kara-knuckles]

As much as I liked the Darknights bits in Episode 13, on the whole I found it pretty frustrating, because it kinda devalued every storyline from Episode 12.

Amiya once again gets an arc about generational Sarkaz bullshit. The Revenant is barely mentioned, despite being a really damn big deal.

What about the Dukes? Last chapter has shown that they are willing to become more involved in the conflict, and now that their forces barely avoided getting hit by The Shard, surely we will get more from them? Nah, the Duke of Windermere probably holds the record for the shortest amount of time it took an established character to die, the biggest impact her forces did was GTFO-ing for the sake of Siege's arc, and the most the other Dukes managed was finally lifting their asses and telling us to tune again in half a year for Episode 14, where they maybe will do something. Maybe. Probably.

Speaking of Siege, remember all the introspection she did in 12? Morgan's realization that they aren't some heroes of legend? Who cares! Let's go full superhero comic, complete with hyper aggressive fighting, deep wound in a polluted area with no consequences, being given a convenient banner to rally people around, and even returning a fallen friend we knew for a week and mourned deeply!

…Baird who? Her buddy Delphine doesn't even get a line connecting her to Glasgow, let alone actually include her with the group in the archives. Nice CG with the real heroes, though!

Last time we saw Paprika she was with Manfred, one of our main antagonists. Will we learn more about him? Will it have some kind of effect on her? LOL. LMAO, even.

Remember all the soul searching Damazti did? How the climax of the chapter was their death? Forget it, we got not one, but two of them, complete with reset personalities!

Obviously, this means we don't get more insight from them about Golding, and Heidi is long forgotten by the narrative, but look! Lettou's arc is hitting rock bottom, perhaps he can spare some thoughts for his old friend he drove to suicide? Maybe even do some elegy about how it ties into Gaul's fate? Nope! His catalyst is actually some rando with a dementia (which I loved on a thematic level, but, you know *gestures at the list*).

Even Ines, who frankly barely did anything in 12, got her injured state completely ignored in favour of telling us Hoederer got a haircut, so that she could do some acrobatics atop a flying skeleton a few days later. But hey! They actually acknowledged her big moment of jumping from the airship, now that's a progress!

[kimberlyannharts]

Ya know I actually like the idea that different “color manifestation” of the morphin grid having subtle specializations but dislike the idea that being any particular color completely overwrites a person skill set.

I honestly do get the logic behind it both out-of-universe (it makes sense from a branding standpoint, for usage like the "what Ranger color would YOU be!" quiz they made for Ranger Academy) and in-universe (it makes sense to have some distinction between colors because otherwise, why would the powers manifest as different colors?). It's just the way the franchise goes about it, especially in the modern day, that feels so awkward and clunky.

And it's especially awkward when they doesn't even apply as early as Rocky, Adam, and Aisha. Rocky didn't become a leader figure, Adam didn't become outgoing and charismatic, and Aisha didn't become........like Trini. At least Rocky not being a Red leader was kind of an arc for him, but it's still kind of awkward when compared to how other Reds are immediately considered leader just by nature of being Red (except for the ones that don't, because ??????????)

[vox-off]

i love how 99% of conversations with paarthurnax are had mostly with his nostrils

[tridentrans]

our brave cringe loser