[Mariana]

A lot of people hate Delphine, but are blind to the truth.

This thread is dedicated to the appreciative thoughts on Delphine.

It is also dedicated to the disagreement of Delphine's appreciation.

Delphine.

Where the other Blades were hunted down and killed off to near extinction, Delphine survived. Her skills to hide and defend herself are worthy enough to deem her one of the most skilled Blades in the history of their existence.

She's also extremely dedicated to her cause. She was one of the first to discover the Dragonborn's identity (it can be argued she knew before anyone else considering she says "So you're that visitor been poking around", implying she figured something was special about the Dragonborn). She helped Farengar find the Dragonstone's location. After finding the Dragonborn she immediately set out to find out what was causing the dragons to come back, managed to help the Dragonborn infiltrate the Thalmor Embassy and pushed the Dragonborn to find Esbern (who ultimately became one of the only two people to know how to defeat Alduin).

As I said earlier, she must be skilled given her ability to hide from the Thalmor for so long. Not to mention she is willing to charge headlong into battle against dragons. Let's not forget her skills when she retrieved the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller - a feat intended for the Dragonborn himself!

She is strong-willed, determined, and she 'gets stuff done'. She personally put the Dragonborn on the path to defeat Alduin. She helped re-found the Blades. Without her where would Skyrim be?

It can be argued that Delphine set events in motion that ultimately saved the world. And don't forget the Blades; their re-establishment clearly will clearly have repercussions in the future, and might even save the Empire from the Thalmor in the next Great War!

Without Delphine the Dragonborn would be sitting atop High Hrothgar meditating until the world ended; so respect the strong-willed, talented master of the Blades.

[Vivien]

Dat girl has courage to try to control a dragon.

But she dont know that you cant control a dragon unless you are one, which is kinda like some kind of wierd-ass slavery

[BEl J]

Spoiler

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

She thinks she controls the Dragonborn. That's a no no.

[stacy hamilton]

I appreciate her attempts to boss me around. It's cute. It is unwise to boss a Dragon around. Even one in human form.

[SiLa]

Oh boy, this will not end well.

I'll appreciate Delphine by saying that I wanted to like an older woman badass anti-Thalmor secret agent. Buuuut...

[Victor Oropeza]

Well. I had no idea she was 50-60 years old D: thats all i have to say

[Tom]

I don't think she's trying to 'control' the Dragonborn and find all of those statements entirely unfounded.

Did Delphine 'demand' the Dragonborn do things? Yes. But only for obvious reasons. 'It was just business'. Other than that, Delphine is simply trying to put the Dragonborn on the EXACT same path almost every other Dragonborn was on. The Blades look up to the Dragonborn, evident by the dialogue given by the Blades at Sky Haven.

[Kortniie Dumont]

She gives the Dragonborn an ultimatum.

It is unwise to give your employer/boss/ an ultimatum. It's a good way to get fired... in the Dragonborn's case, LITERALLY.

[Lawrence Armijo]

Must...not...disparage...

Since this is an "appreciation." thread, I'll just say I 'appreciate' having to never see her face again after Season Unending.

I doubt you'll have any friendly visitors to this thread, except Qis.

[LijLuva]

Delphine is a survivor, and obviously a very capable woman. As a man who is about the same age as she is, I can say she looks pretty darn good. But ... she is used to being the one in charge, and her failure to understand that she can't give orders to the only being capable of permanently killing a dragon (which seems to be the primary purpose of her organization) is a major failing. It never seems to work out well when you are completely dependent upon the party you are making demands of, and they have no need for you whatsoever.

[patricia kris]

Make dragon save the world; murder him afterwards.
-Delphine logic.

[Jack Walker]

I like her because she is a member of the Blades and that brings back good thoughts of Oblivion and my Blade friends in arms from the Oblivion crisis ,it makes me feel all warm and fussie inside to be with a member of the Blades again.

And she is one cool strong girl that wants to help save the world and Skyrim from the dragon crisis.

[Hairul Hafis]

She has ovaries of steel, I'll give her that.

And she can survive being [self-censor]-slapped by a dagger several times by my less than agreeable characters when she tries to order them around. For a 60-year-old granny, she's pretty tough.

[Jeff Turner]

Delphine for High Queen!

/sarcasm

I think she's a good enough person, but she goes too far with the 'vengeance' thing. If she hadn't made that demand, I wouldn't have had a problem with her.

[Katy Hogben]

Delphine is a Breton, which is between elves and the other races of men in terms of age resilience, thanks to their own half-elven heritage. That's why she's 50 and looks the way she does.

[c.o.s.m.o]

Never understood the hate for Delphine. She asks you to do something, although on a questionable tone, and you have the option to do it or not. She is strong, resourceful, has ideals and a clear sense of what she wants to do to defend those ideals. It's up to you to agree or not.

I fail to see how it's different than any other interactions you have in Skyrim:

You do everything you're told to do in DB, TG, Companions, Mage College, Main Quest, Civil War, Dawnguard, Deadric quests and Dragonborn. And you follow through. They ALL boss you around. They ALL use you and your abilities/powers. But Delphine gets all the hate.

[Kelli Wolfe]

she's a washed up bar wench who had the gall to order around the second coming and not once give appreciation to the one person who made it possible for the blades to even get a foot off the ground again, you got a base, recruits, an old partner/scholar, a purpose all because of the one person you **** around with helped you.

she witnessed your power and had the BALLS to treat you like dirt effectively.

I shouted that *************************** off of the mountain.

[Kira! :)))]

There is unfortunately nothing redeemable for her character. She's bossy, distrusting, and doesn't even manage to command respect. She lets a 5000 year old vendetta get in the way of her job.

[Dorian Cozens]

Delphine is clever, I'll give you that. But brave?

She didn't have the guts to try and kill Paarthurnax herself.

And really, it isn't just about Paarthy. It's her whole arrogant personality.

Delphine: "We have as much right to be at this council as all of you. More, actually, since we were the ones that put the Dragonborn on this path."

[Alexis Acevedo]

That part makes my skin [censored] crawl.

[Ludivine Dupuy]

She definitely tries to be a blend of Morrowind Super-spy Blades and Oblivion Totally-not-Japanese-No-Seriously Blades. At about the time you reach Sky Haven, she's at odds with the Blades identity of Tradition, with the "Results at any cost" Caius Cossades attitude.

I can honestly say I actually do like Delphine before she becomes insufferable upon appointing herself as Grandmaster of the Blades.

Delphine should have stayed that same Woman we met in Riverwood, while Esbern could have served as more of the Traditionalist... Then again, that would involve narrative complexity right?

[Steph]

In those questlines you actually were following orders from a faction leader.

On the other hand, Delphine says the Blades have always served the Dragonborn and yet she does the opposite, threatening to cut off their allegiance if you don't do what she told you to.

[Hazel Sian ogden]

http://cs.uesp.net/index.php?game=sr&formid=0x0003b492

http://cs.uesp.net/index.php?game=sr&formid=0x00042842

http://cs.uesp.net/index.php?game=sr&formid=0x00042844

http://cs.uesp.net/index.php?game=sr&formid=0x000428da

http://cs.uesp.net/index.php?game=sr&formid=0x00077364

http://cs.uesp.net/index.php?game=sr&formid=0x0008304b

http://cs.uesp.net/index.php?game=sr&formid=0x000d8415

oh and this ones my favorite:

http://cs.uesp.net/index.php?game=sr&formid=0x00042841

She doesn't care if you kill Alduin. If you don't do her bidding, you are an enemy. Even though you, you know...SAVED [censored] NIRN.

[Stephanie Nieves]

Because far be it that a ranking figure from a military organization is used to giving orders. Not everybody is going to kowtow to the dragonborn, and quite a few are fully capable of holding their own or even win against him/her (game mechanics notwithstanding.)

Nah. Basic human logic.

-Uncover possibly unstable and uncontrollable person of great power and utility; Use person as a tool to defeat greater threat; Eliminate dangerous personage after threat is neutralized.

Straightforward military thinking. The mindset is very foreign, often outright alien, to the vast majority of people.

I for one, greatly like and respect Delphine, for all the reasons the OP listed, despite our disagreement on Parthy (and our general agreement on the Graybeards). Even if it all goes to hell, she'll still be on the wall doing her job and saving who she can. She's a military professional, and I find that laudable beyond most other virtues.

[Krista Belle Davis]

By the time Delphine gives the ultimatum, the Dragonborn is already at his/her apex, or close to it.(lore-wise)