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ship_manifesto2004-09-29 10:00 am
writingpathways.livejournal.com) wrote in ship_manifesto2004-09-29 10:00 am
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Angel and Cordelia: Friendship and Possibility
Subject Line: Angel/Cordelia (Angel)
Title: Friendship and Possibility
Author: writingpathways(Rachel)
Spoilers: BtVS through Season 3, All of AtS.
Email: raelee514@snet.net
Angel and Cordelia: Friendship and Possibility
While this is an essay about why I love the ship of Angel and Cordelia, I’m going to start with what I disliked about the choices the writers of Angel made when they decided to have Angel fall for Cordelia. Then I’m going to going to go into what it is about Angel and Cordelia that gets me thinking, which inspires ideas and compels me to write fanfiction. This will bring us back to the show itself and why when the idea of them as a couple first presented itself I became totally intrigued, and then fell completely in love with the idea. I’m a firm believer that these two characters are best suited for one another. I don’t think I’m going to change anyone’s minds with this essay but maybe it will help you understand why so many of us do love Angel and Cordelia.
My Angel watching history is very convoluted so I’m not even going to get into it. I’m just going to preface this by saying that I own Seasons 1-4 on DVD and have seen every episode more than once. I do my research when I start writing fanfic, so I know the show and I also know my Buffy, the Vampire Slayer facts when it comes both Cordelia and Angel. And blah, blah, blah…let’s get started, huh?
Canon Shmanon, What I Don’t Like: Kyerumption. Moira. Telling Not Showing.
It’s mid-season three, the episode is Offspring and everything is going along very smoothly -- I should have known this would be the beginning of the fall when I was watching the DVD that first time, and since then I keep coming back to this moment and wonder what the writers, producers, Whedon, Greenwalt or whoever were thinking. What am I talking about? Well, let’s open our Pylean dictionary since Kyerumption is a Pylean word.
Kyerumption: When two warriors meet on the field of battle and recognize their mutual fate.
Fred tells us – note that Fred tells us – that when she sees Angel and Cordelia training that she thinks about that word. Then she goes on and on about them, making Angel tell her that there is nothing going on with him and Cordy but friendship. But Fred disagrees, they have Moira…now I don’t know if this is supposed to be a Pylean word either, because as far as I know it’s a name, generally Irish. But Fred tells us this definition for Moira:
Moira: When two larger than life souls are drawn together
So basically, the audience in one scene is told by Fred that Angel and Cordelia are destined to be together because they are both brave warriors for the Powers That Be and have Moira between them. I basically say that’s bull, Angel and Buffy had the destined, ill-fated love story. Angel and Cordelia didn’t. They had a relationship based on friendship. The audience didn’t need to be told Angel and Cordelia had a special relationship and that relationship didn’t need grandiose terms applied to it. Yet that is how it was decided it should be written, instead of using what was already there to explore the possibility of romantic feelings growing from their friendship.
More examples are:
In Waiting in the Wings Lorne brings up Kyerumption to Angel, tells him he read him and knows he’s got a thing for Cordelia, and that hey Cordelia is one hell of a woman. Go for it. Fred meanwhile is hinting all over the place to Cordelia that Angel likes her. Fred and Lorne have become sledgehammers for the pairing. And it doesn’t stop with them. Groo arrives to cause an obstacle between Angel and Cordelia, but as time goes on he becomes another ‘tell the audience about Angel and Cordelia’s love’ character. He in fact tells Cordelia in Tomorrow that she loves Angel. And a few scenes later she figures out it’s true? Which brings me to another huge problem I have with the canon writing of Angel and Cordelia as a couple.
Angel knows how he feels about Cordelia – he does nothing about it -- but he knows his feelings. The writers decided to make Cordelia so clueless that the only way the audience has any clue about her feelings are a) dressing Groo up to look exactly like Angel in Couplet and b) the same stuff she’s been doing since season one, but they don’t let the character realize anything about her feelings until the very last second.
Clueless Cordelia wasn’t cute after one or two moments of it. Denial is fine but the thing with denial is Cordelia should have had some clue what it was she was in denial about. Having Cordelia not even say it until right before her ascension in Tomorrow was really bad and pathetic writing – and opens a million doors for fans not into this couple to make very strong arguments Cordelia never had romantic feelings toward Angel. I disagree, but I can see how the idiocy in the writing could open that door. (Though, You’re Welcome does effectively close it in my opinion but we’ll get to that episode in a little bit.)
It feels weird for me to say that I hate the things the show put out when they finally started writing for the idea Angel and Cordelia as more than friends. But the truth is the truth, and the way they wrote for them didn’t represent the potential for romance that I saw for the characters. The writers did a lot of telling by putting words in other characters’ mouths (Fred, Lorne, Groo) but not in Angel’s or Cordelia’s mouths, and they never built on what made Angel and Cordelia work. For the writers the idea of Angel falling for Cordelia was strictly to create conflict in the form of more lost-love angst for Angel. It’s why the night they were finally going to talk, they never meet and one ends up at the bottom of the ocean and the other in Higher Realms. I’m only going to touch on the mess that was Season Four because to me Cordelia was never there – she either had amnesia or was possessed. Therefore no Cordelia that season, plus I didn’t just dislike the Connor/Cordelia storyline I loathed it. I also feel that they never dealt with Angel’s pain over losing Cordelia to Jasmine, basically one minute he was in love with Cordy, then it was back to Buffy brooding for Season Five? The writers just never really gave the coupling what they deserved. I can honestly say, that I as a Cordelia/Angel fan wish they had never decided to write any type of romance for them because they never gave the pairing the writing or time it deserved.
And wow, you are all probably thinking that’s a hell of a lot of negative. Why are you even an Angel and Cordelia fan? How could you even like them if you hated the writing for them on the show that much? It’s easy.
A bit of information about me as a fanfic writer. I have two reasons I write fanfic, to create what I know I’ll never get on the show – say a slash pairing like Jayne and Simon on Firefly. Or, I write to fix mistakes I feel the show has made when I don’t share the same vision for characters as the creator and/or writers do. This brings us to Angel and Cordelia.
Here is a fact, I got into the idea of Angel and Cordelia due to a commercial for Deep Down that I saw airing over the summer before Season Four premiered, I hadn’t watched Angel since Doyle died in Season One. Told you my watching of the show is convoluted. I had caught an episode, The Price and was mostly confused by Charisma’s new hairstyle, and Cordy being a demon. But did catch a lot of Angel/Cordelia interaction I loved, and I got what Groo was telling me the whole episode loud and clear. He loved Cordelia (who he called Princess for some reason) but thought she loved Angel (for some reason?) Okay, so I lied, I told you a bit of my Angel watching history after all, anyway the point is this… I caught The Price, loved the A/C interaction in it despite my confusion what the hell was going on and then I saw this commercial for Deep Down with them kissing. I saw chemistry and I got intrigued.
Then I caught up on my Angel watching and by the end of seeing Season Two, I was a diehard Angel/Cordelia shipper. Before I even saw Season Three, but Season Three once they started with all the telling and demonic words for destiny and fate…I felt let down, plus I already knew the coupling was dead due to watching Season Four. But I was still totally intrigued by the idea and had everything I’d seen Season 1 – Season 3 that drew me into the idea of them as a couple and as a result I had to start writing them and figure out just what it is that intrigued me.
I have only finished one fanfic about them, and have two works in progress, but I do know without doubt that I love them as a couple and I’ve figured out what is that intrigued me and made me dive into fanfiction both as a reader and a writer for them. It’s pretty simple, it can be summed up in one word that is not about fate or destiny. It’s all about friendship.
Friendship. It’s the foundation of Angel and Cordelia, it’s what makes them different from him and Buffy, Xander and Cordelia. And without a doubt, even if you don’t like them as a couple, I don’t think anyone who has watched Angel can deny that Cordelia and Angel became close friends. Close friends that thought of each other as family…plus Wesley, Gunn and later Fred and Lorne. But family doesn’t equal platonic, it was a built family and Angel and Cordelia were truly the center of it. They built it, together, much like Angel Investigations.
But they started out strangers. And it’s that journey from strangers to friends that I love about them. Sure when they met up in City Of… they knew each other, but it was due to a very weird shared history in Sunnydale. One time sharing a coffee at the Bronze didn’t make them friends, facts are they didn’t even share one scene together during the third year of Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. But Angel took her up on her offer to help out in that first episode because Cordelia put herself out there to help him out…because they were both lonely and they both needed something to help them find themselves. They became a boss and a secretary but more than that they learned about each other and became not only a team but friends.
But then Angel betrayed Cordelia’s friendship when he got obsessed with Darla and everything that followed in Season 2. But when he got back his senses and remembered who he was and why being a Champion for TPTB was important is when he and Cordelia’s friendship begins to morph into something new.
To me, though I have a million of canon moments in Season 1 and even earlier in Season 2 that I love and could point out to show their connection – it is the episodes following Reprise in Season Two that are the beginning of a new phase for Angel and Cordelia. Epiphany, Disharmony, Dead End and Belonging…especially Disharmony and Belonging.
First Angel has to win back Cordelia’s friendship, her belief and her trust and it’s the most important thing to him. Far above making amends with Wesley or Gunn, he only cares about getting into Cordelia’s good graces again. And Cordelia’s anger in my mind is mostly based on that fact that he fired her and turned away from her. He took all that friendship and trust they built between them and threw it away for an obsession and revenge. Like she says at the end of Epiphany “you hurt my feelings” and he did, deeply. I honestly encourage anyone who wants to know why Angel and Cordelia fans love the pairing to watch Epiphany-Belonging and really focus on the Angel and Cordelia interaction.
You will see a man who wants his best friend back, and a man who thinks she looks hot as hell in a bikini and doesn’t want people (a.k.a. directors) thinking of her as a piece of meat. You will see a woman, who once only cared about shoes and brand labels, who believes in helping people and was deeply hurt when her so-called best friend turned his back on her, and more than that was afraid he’d turn evil and she’d lose him completely. And you’ll see them talking, and interacting in ways that make Angel smile and Cordelia happy, and it’s all based not only on a friendship they built but a friendship that they healed after a dark time.
This interaction that starts in the back end of season two, before the Pylea Arc, continues on in the front end of Season 3. Heartthrob, you see them interacting as two friends, who banter and know each other so well they rarely have to use full sentences. The amount they care about each other is very clear in both That Vision Thing and Billy and when watching the shows after the dreaded word Kyerumption is mentioned, just look for the one-on-one Angel and Cordelia scenes in any episode up to the end of the season. In those moments you see friendship, caring, depth, acceptance and so much promise for more that you want to kill Groo when he shows up at the end Waiting in the Wings, or want to freeze the last scene of Provider and keep it there forever. You want to yell at Cordelia for leaving at the end of Couplet and you are forever unhappy they didn’t meet up at the beach.
An essay on Cordelia and Angel wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the last time they see each other in You’re Welcome during Season 5. You again see a woman who has accepted her role in life (and now death) and a woman who truly cares about Angel. You see the same type of interaction and conversation between them that was so prevalent in all the episodes I mention above. And you see a man who is truly lost without this woman in his life, who truly missed her and didn’t want to let her go. It’s also clear that she truly loved him and he truly loved her even if canon-wise due to events in prior seasons they’d lost their chance. Plus the kiss is just plain hot, people! You’re Welcome gave the character of Cordelia needed redemption and closure but more so it once again cemented everything that was magic about Angel and Cordelia.
True friendship and acceptance of who the other person was – faults and all.
And trust me both Angel and Cordelia have faults, but they brought out the best in each other. They could challenge the other to be a better person, Cordelia found her heart, compassion and true purpose by being in Angel’s life. Angel learned what it was really like to have close friends, to create a family, to be among humanity due to Cordelia. They would fight and banter, but underneath it all was friendship and love as well as the promise for an even deeper love.
That’s why I write them, all that promise that was never fulfilled. Because they have such a deep foundation of a tested friendship that survived – and I’m always drawn to love stories where the couples are also friends, either before or during their romance. But also because their being a couple wouldn’t have taken away from who either one of them was individually if done right – and I hope I do it right, or will do it right some day. To me the best couples are couples that remain who they are within the coupling, that remain strong individually and don’t lose themselves in the pairing.
Angel would remain someone with a lot of guilt, Cordelia wouldn’t be able to take away the guilt. He’d remain someone who would rush headlong into things or think he had to handle things alone when he doesn’t. He’d remain a bit selfish, he’d remain someone with foot in mouth disease, and he’d remain cheap and claim it was just because he was old. And he’d remain a vampire with a soul. I admit to not having a really good grip on Angel as a character. But to me the key to writing him is and always will be he’s a vampire, but he’s also a man. To me you can’t forget two things, which seem contradictory but really aren’t: Vampire and Man. Angel is both these things. A demon but because of his soul he’s also your average man, the demon within exaggerates his faults on a lot of levels. Cordelia is the type of woman who can challenge and accept the demon, but also the faults Angel has that simply because of the Y chromosome. I do believe that when writing for Angel, you have to remember that he is a vampire, he does crave blood, he loves violence and the soul just gives him a conscience. But one has to remember that having a soul doesn’t instantly mean you are a good person. Angel works to be good, to do the right thing because he wants to be a good person when he has his soul, it’s a choice he makes. It’s not a given because of the curse, look at his actions in Season two when he still has his soul, and a lot of things he did in Season Five weren’t all good either.
As for writing Cordelia, I personally have a much better grip on who she is. This doesn’t actually make her easier to write because though I aspire to be more like her, I’m really nothing like Cordelia – except for maybe some sarcasm. The main factors for writing Cordelia in my mind are these words: Tactless, Vain, Honest, Loyal, Regal. Even when Cordelia is at her most noble, she still blurts out truths without regard for tact, sure she’s become softer but she’s still Cordelia. There is always a regality about Cordelia, she wasn’t called Queen C for nothing. She knows who she is, what she wants and she’s never going to apologize for that. And she’ll always say how she sees it, that’s the honesty factor. Cordelia doesn’t lie, sometimes she may lie to herself but once she sees the truth she’ll face it. She’s not someone who will run away from things, she’ll face fears, challenges head on. She may slip but that slip is never going to be for very long…Cordelia won’t play victim, she’ll absolutely refuse to. And once she gives you her heart, her friendship, accepts you into her sphere, she’ll be forever loyal. But it also makes her easily hurt by any type of betrayal, hence Angel having to work to get into her good graces post-Darla. And she’ll always love clothes, shoes and expensive things, she just learns that they aren’t the end all, be all. But she’s Cordelia, she loves clothes and shoes (so never give them away.)
Geesh. I’ve talked forever about them, but I think I’ve covered it all. From what I didn’t like about the writing for them, why it’s my goal to fix all of that via fanfiction and what it is from the show and the characters that makes me love them together. Hope it all made sense!
Some Angel and Cordelia Fanfic Recreations:
Beacon by Starlet
Rated: NC=17
First of all anything by Starlet is a must read but this story is my most favorite. It’s during the first season of Angel directly after the episode The Ring ends. The characterizations are crisp, true and don’t hold back on both the good and even ugly sides to both Angel and Cordelia. I love, love this story. The link for the story is right on the page I linked too.
High Rise by psychofilly and dedicated to Bertha Blue
Rated R
Again my main reason for loving this story is Psychofilly never ever backs down from the darker sides of either Angel or Cordelia and because of this they are always completely and totally in character. It’s a great story with an awesome Darla appearance and a balcony. I can also highly recommend anything else Angel/Cordelia she has written they are all terrific.
In the Dark by Nickle
Rated NC-17
This story takes place during Season 2 and has both humor and angst which Nickle balances amazingly well. I love her characterization of Cordelia because she always captures the Cordy-snark perfectly and it’s a great read.
The Broken Pieces and His Lady Lazarus
Both rated: NC-17
I have two recommendations from Daisy because the first one – The Broken Pieces -- is the first A/C fic I read and fell in love with. It takes place Season 2 of BtVS with some canon changes due to the challenge that inspired it. I just love this story, I don’t know what else to say but that you must, must read it. The second recommendation is still a work-in-progress but it’s worth reading and then groaning in frustration as you wait for the next chapter (trust me they are worth the wait). Daisy’s writing has grown since she wrote The Broken Pieces and she uses all that talent to create a truly wondrous fanfic with amazing friendship, angst, smut and since it’s a thriller a lot of worry for both Angel and Cordelia. Read it you won’t be sorry. More chapters of His Lady Lazarus can be found here (you have to register to read, but it’s free and easy): Stranger-Things
Also here are two more WIP I can’t get enough of and aren’t being updated fast enough:
Shadow of the Beast by Chelle
Rated: NC-17
It’s Beauty of the Beast with Angel and Cordelia, but don’t let that stop you from checking it out for any reason. Wesley, Gunn, Fred are fitted into the world seamlessly, and the characterizations of everyone though different from how we know and remember them are completely right and in character for the world Chelle’s created. This is a story that is a true character study of Angel and Cordelia – and even the other characters that aren’t spotlighted as often. It has the most lyrical narration and at times totally haunting narration I’ve read anyway. Brilliantly written and I love it to death which is why I couldn’t wait for it to be finished to recommend it. There are also more chapters at the Stranger-Things forum for when you hit the ‘tbc’ on Just Fic.
The Fine Line by Anne
Rated: NC-17
This is another story set during BtVS years and it’s creepy and completely engrossing. The interactions between Angel and Cordelia are wonderful as they find out more and more about each other. I really recommend it and again there are a few more chapters at the Stranger-Things forum when you finish what’s at the archive.
I could go on but I’ll make myself stop now except to say this…check out these three archives and you’ll sure to find writers and fanfiction that appeal to you. Just Fic, Volition, Go Team.
Title: Friendship and Possibility
Author: writingpathways(Rachel)
Spoilers: BtVS through Season 3, All of AtS.
Email: raelee514@snet.net
While this is an essay about why I love the ship of Angel and Cordelia, I’m going to start with what I disliked about the choices the writers of Angel made when they decided to have Angel fall for Cordelia. Then I’m going to going to go into what it is about Angel and Cordelia that gets me thinking, which inspires ideas and compels me to write fanfiction. This will bring us back to the show itself and why when the idea of them as a couple first presented itself I became totally intrigued, and then fell completely in love with the idea. I’m a firm believer that these two characters are best suited for one another. I don’t think I’m going to change anyone’s minds with this essay but maybe it will help you understand why so many of us do love Angel and Cordelia.
My Angel watching history is very convoluted so I’m not even going to get into it. I’m just going to preface this by saying that I own Seasons 1-4 on DVD and have seen every episode more than once. I do my research when I start writing fanfic, so I know the show and I also know my Buffy, the Vampire Slayer facts when it comes both Cordelia and Angel. And blah, blah, blah…let’s get started, huh?
Canon Shmanon, What I Don’t Like: Kyerumption. Moira. Telling Not Showing.
It’s mid-season three, the episode is Offspring and everything is going along very smoothly -- I should have known this would be the beginning of the fall when I was watching the DVD that first time, and since then I keep coming back to this moment and wonder what the writers, producers, Whedon, Greenwalt or whoever were thinking. What am I talking about? Well, let’s open our Pylean dictionary since Kyerumption is a Pylean word.
Kyerumption: When two warriors meet on the field of battle and recognize their mutual fate.
Fred tells us – note that Fred tells us – that when she sees Angel and Cordelia training that she thinks about that word. Then she goes on and on about them, making Angel tell her that there is nothing going on with him and Cordy but friendship. But Fred disagrees, they have Moira…now I don’t know if this is supposed to be a Pylean word either, because as far as I know it’s a name, generally Irish. But Fred tells us this definition for Moira:
Moira: When two larger than life souls are drawn together
So basically, the audience in one scene is told by Fred that Angel and Cordelia are destined to be together because they are both brave warriors for the Powers That Be and have Moira between them. I basically say that’s bull, Angel and Buffy had the destined, ill-fated love story. Angel and Cordelia didn’t. They had a relationship based on friendship. The audience didn’t need to be told Angel and Cordelia had a special relationship and that relationship didn’t need grandiose terms applied to it. Yet that is how it was decided it should be written, instead of using what was already there to explore the possibility of romantic feelings growing from their friendship.
More examples are:
In Waiting in the Wings Lorne brings up Kyerumption to Angel, tells him he read him and knows he’s got a thing for Cordelia, and that hey Cordelia is one hell of a woman. Go for it. Fred meanwhile is hinting all over the place to Cordelia that Angel likes her. Fred and Lorne have become sledgehammers for the pairing. And it doesn’t stop with them. Groo arrives to cause an obstacle between Angel and Cordelia, but as time goes on he becomes another ‘tell the audience about Angel and Cordelia’s love’ character. He in fact tells Cordelia in Tomorrow that she loves Angel. And a few scenes later she figures out it’s true? Which brings me to another huge problem I have with the canon writing of Angel and Cordelia as a couple.
Angel knows how he feels about Cordelia – he does nothing about it -- but he knows his feelings. The writers decided to make Cordelia so clueless that the only way the audience has any clue about her feelings are a) dressing Groo up to look exactly like Angel in Couplet and b) the same stuff she’s been doing since season one, but they don’t let the character realize anything about her feelings until the very last second.
Clueless Cordelia wasn’t cute after one or two moments of it. Denial is fine but the thing with denial is Cordelia should have had some clue what it was she was in denial about. Having Cordelia not even say it until right before her ascension in Tomorrow was really bad and pathetic writing – and opens a million doors for fans not into this couple to make very strong arguments Cordelia never had romantic feelings toward Angel. I disagree, but I can see how the idiocy in the writing could open that door. (Though, You’re Welcome does effectively close it in my opinion but we’ll get to that episode in a little bit.)
It feels weird for me to say that I hate the things the show put out when they finally started writing for the idea Angel and Cordelia as more than friends. But the truth is the truth, and the way they wrote for them didn’t represent the potential for romance that I saw for the characters. The writers did a lot of telling by putting words in other characters’ mouths (Fred, Lorne, Groo) but not in Angel’s or Cordelia’s mouths, and they never built on what made Angel and Cordelia work. For the writers the idea of Angel falling for Cordelia was strictly to create conflict in the form of more lost-love angst for Angel. It’s why the night they were finally going to talk, they never meet and one ends up at the bottom of the ocean and the other in Higher Realms. I’m only going to touch on the mess that was Season Four because to me Cordelia was never there – she either had amnesia or was possessed. Therefore no Cordelia that season, plus I didn’t just dislike the Connor/Cordelia storyline I loathed it. I also feel that they never dealt with Angel’s pain over losing Cordelia to Jasmine, basically one minute he was in love with Cordy, then it was back to Buffy brooding for Season Five? The writers just never really gave the coupling what they deserved. I can honestly say, that I as a Cordelia/Angel fan wish they had never decided to write any type of romance for them because they never gave the pairing the writing or time it deserved.
And wow, you are all probably thinking that’s a hell of a lot of negative. Why are you even an Angel and Cordelia fan? How could you even like them if you hated the writing for them on the show that much? It’s easy.
A bit of information about me as a fanfic writer. I have two reasons I write fanfic, to create what I know I’ll never get on the show – say a slash pairing like Jayne and Simon on Firefly. Or, I write to fix mistakes I feel the show has made when I don’t share the same vision for characters as the creator and/or writers do. This brings us to Angel and Cordelia.
Here is a fact, I got into the idea of Angel and Cordelia due to a commercial for Deep Down that I saw airing over the summer before Season Four premiered, I hadn’t watched Angel since Doyle died in Season One. Told you my watching of the show is convoluted. I had caught an episode, The Price and was mostly confused by Charisma’s new hairstyle, and Cordy being a demon. But did catch a lot of Angel/Cordelia interaction I loved, and I got what Groo was telling me the whole episode loud and clear. He loved Cordelia (who he called Princess for some reason) but thought she loved Angel (for some reason?) Okay, so I lied, I told you a bit of my Angel watching history after all, anyway the point is this… I caught The Price, loved the A/C interaction in it despite my confusion what the hell was going on and then I saw this commercial for Deep Down with them kissing. I saw chemistry and I got intrigued.
Then I caught up on my Angel watching and by the end of seeing Season Two, I was a diehard Angel/Cordelia shipper. Before I even saw Season Three, but Season Three once they started with all the telling and demonic words for destiny and fate…I felt let down, plus I already knew the coupling was dead due to watching Season Four. But I was still totally intrigued by the idea and had everything I’d seen Season 1 – Season 3 that drew me into the idea of them as a couple and as a result I had to start writing them and figure out just what it is that intrigued me.
I have only finished one fanfic about them, and have two works in progress, but I do know without doubt that I love them as a couple and I’ve figured out what is that intrigued me and made me dive into fanfiction both as a reader and a writer for them. It’s pretty simple, it can be summed up in one word that is not about fate or destiny. It’s all about friendship.
Friendship. It’s the foundation of Angel and Cordelia, it’s what makes them different from him and Buffy, Xander and Cordelia. And without a doubt, even if you don’t like them as a couple, I don’t think anyone who has watched Angel can deny that Cordelia and Angel became close friends. Close friends that thought of each other as family…plus Wesley, Gunn and later Fred and Lorne. But family doesn’t equal platonic, it was a built family and Angel and Cordelia were truly the center of it. They built it, together, much like Angel Investigations.
But they started out strangers. And it’s that journey from strangers to friends that I love about them. Sure when they met up in City Of… they knew each other, but it was due to a very weird shared history in Sunnydale. One time sharing a coffee at the Bronze didn’t make them friends, facts are they didn’t even share one scene together during the third year of Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. But Angel took her up on her offer to help out in that first episode because Cordelia put herself out there to help him out…because they were both lonely and they both needed something to help them find themselves. They became a boss and a secretary but more than that they learned about each other and became not only a team but friends.
But then Angel betrayed Cordelia’s friendship when he got obsessed with Darla and everything that followed in Season 2. But when he got back his senses and remembered who he was and why being a Champion for TPTB was important is when he and Cordelia’s friendship begins to morph into something new.
To me, though I have a million of canon moments in Season 1 and even earlier in Season 2 that I love and could point out to show their connection – it is the episodes following Reprise in Season Two that are the beginning of a new phase for Angel and Cordelia. Epiphany, Disharmony, Dead End and Belonging…especially Disharmony and Belonging.
First Angel has to win back Cordelia’s friendship, her belief and her trust and it’s the most important thing to him. Far above making amends with Wesley or Gunn, he only cares about getting into Cordelia’s good graces again. And Cordelia’s anger in my mind is mostly based on that fact that he fired her and turned away from her. He took all that friendship and trust they built between them and threw it away for an obsession and revenge. Like she says at the end of Epiphany “you hurt my feelings” and he did, deeply. I honestly encourage anyone who wants to know why Angel and Cordelia fans love the pairing to watch Epiphany-Belonging and really focus on the Angel and Cordelia interaction.
You will see a man who wants his best friend back, and a man who thinks she looks hot as hell in a bikini and doesn’t want people (a.k.a. directors) thinking of her as a piece of meat. You will see a woman, who once only cared about shoes and brand labels, who believes in helping people and was deeply hurt when her so-called best friend turned his back on her, and more than that was afraid he’d turn evil and she’d lose him completely. And you’ll see them talking, and interacting in ways that make Angel smile and Cordelia happy, and it’s all based not only on a friendship they built but a friendship that they healed after a dark time.
This interaction that starts in the back end of season two, before the Pylea Arc, continues on in the front end of Season 3. Heartthrob, you see them interacting as two friends, who banter and know each other so well they rarely have to use full sentences. The amount they care about each other is very clear in both That Vision Thing and Billy and when watching the shows after the dreaded word Kyerumption is mentioned, just look for the one-on-one Angel and Cordelia scenes in any episode up to the end of the season. In those moments you see friendship, caring, depth, acceptance and so much promise for more that you want to kill Groo when he shows up at the end Waiting in the Wings, or want to freeze the last scene of Provider and keep it there forever. You want to yell at Cordelia for leaving at the end of Couplet and you are forever unhappy they didn’t meet up at the beach.
An essay on Cordelia and Angel wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the last time they see each other in You’re Welcome during Season 5. You again see a woman who has accepted her role in life (and now death) and a woman who truly cares about Angel. You see the same type of interaction and conversation between them that was so prevalent in all the episodes I mention above. And you see a man who is truly lost without this woman in his life, who truly missed her and didn’t want to let her go. It’s also clear that she truly loved him and he truly loved her even if canon-wise due to events in prior seasons they’d lost their chance. Plus the kiss is just plain hot, people! You’re Welcome gave the character of Cordelia needed redemption and closure but more so it once again cemented everything that was magic about Angel and Cordelia.
True friendship and acceptance of who the other person was – faults and all.
And trust me both Angel and Cordelia have faults, but they brought out the best in each other. They could challenge the other to be a better person, Cordelia found her heart, compassion and true purpose by being in Angel’s life. Angel learned what it was really like to have close friends, to create a family, to be among humanity due to Cordelia. They would fight and banter, but underneath it all was friendship and love as well as the promise for an even deeper love.
That’s why I write them, all that promise that was never fulfilled. Because they have such a deep foundation of a tested friendship that survived – and I’m always drawn to love stories where the couples are also friends, either before or during their romance. But also because their being a couple wouldn’t have taken away from who either one of them was individually if done right – and I hope I do it right, or will do it right some day. To me the best couples are couples that remain who they are within the coupling, that remain strong individually and don’t lose themselves in the pairing.
Angel would remain someone with a lot of guilt, Cordelia wouldn’t be able to take away the guilt. He’d remain someone who would rush headlong into things or think he had to handle things alone when he doesn’t. He’d remain a bit selfish, he’d remain someone with foot in mouth disease, and he’d remain cheap and claim it was just because he was old. And he’d remain a vampire with a soul. I admit to not having a really good grip on Angel as a character. But to me the key to writing him is and always will be he’s a vampire, but he’s also a man. To me you can’t forget two things, which seem contradictory but really aren’t: Vampire and Man. Angel is both these things. A demon but because of his soul he’s also your average man, the demon within exaggerates his faults on a lot of levels. Cordelia is the type of woman who can challenge and accept the demon, but also the faults Angel has that simply because of the Y chromosome. I do believe that when writing for Angel, you have to remember that he is a vampire, he does crave blood, he loves violence and the soul just gives him a conscience. But one has to remember that having a soul doesn’t instantly mean you are a good person. Angel works to be good, to do the right thing because he wants to be a good person when he has his soul, it’s a choice he makes. It’s not a given because of the curse, look at his actions in Season two when he still has his soul, and a lot of things he did in Season Five weren’t all good either.
As for writing Cordelia, I personally have a much better grip on who she is. This doesn’t actually make her easier to write because though I aspire to be more like her, I’m really nothing like Cordelia – except for maybe some sarcasm. The main factors for writing Cordelia in my mind are these words: Tactless, Vain, Honest, Loyal, Regal. Even when Cordelia is at her most noble, she still blurts out truths without regard for tact, sure she’s become softer but she’s still Cordelia. There is always a regality about Cordelia, she wasn’t called Queen C for nothing. She knows who she is, what she wants and she’s never going to apologize for that. And she’ll always say how she sees it, that’s the honesty factor. Cordelia doesn’t lie, sometimes she may lie to herself but once she sees the truth she’ll face it. She’s not someone who will run away from things, she’ll face fears, challenges head on. She may slip but that slip is never going to be for very long…Cordelia won’t play victim, she’ll absolutely refuse to. And once she gives you her heart, her friendship, accepts you into her sphere, she’ll be forever loyal. But it also makes her easily hurt by any type of betrayal, hence Angel having to work to get into her good graces post-Darla. And she’ll always love clothes, shoes and expensive things, she just learns that they aren’t the end all, be all. But she’s Cordelia, she loves clothes and shoes (so never give them away.)
Geesh. I’ve talked forever about them, but I think I’ve covered it all. From what I didn’t like about the writing for them, why it’s my goal to fix all of that via fanfiction and what it is from the show and the characters that makes me love them together. Hope it all made sense!
Some Angel and Cordelia Fanfic Recreations:
Beacon by Starlet
Rated: NC=17
First of all anything by Starlet is a must read but this story is my most favorite. It’s during the first season of Angel directly after the episode The Ring ends. The characterizations are crisp, true and don’t hold back on both the good and even ugly sides to both Angel and Cordelia. I love, love this story. The link for the story is right on the page I linked too.
High Rise by psychofilly and dedicated to Bertha Blue
Rated R
Again my main reason for loving this story is Psychofilly never ever backs down from the darker sides of either Angel or Cordelia and because of this they are always completely and totally in character. It’s a great story with an awesome Darla appearance and a balcony. I can also highly recommend anything else Angel/Cordelia she has written they are all terrific.
In the Dark by Nickle
Rated NC-17
This story takes place during Season 2 and has both humor and angst which Nickle balances amazingly well. I love her characterization of Cordelia because she always captures the Cordy-snark perfectly and it’s a great read.
The Broken Pieces and His Lady Lazarus
Both rated: NC-17
I have two recommendations from Daisy because the first one – The Broken Pieces -- is the first A/C fic I read and fell in love with. It takes place Season 2 of BtVS with some canon changes due to the challenge that inspired it. I just love this story, I don’t know what else to say but that you must, must read it. The second recommendation is still a work-in-progress but it’s worth reading and then groaning in frustration as you wait for the next chapter (trust me they are worth the wait). Daisy’s writing has grown since she wrote The Broken Pieces and she uses all that talent to create a truly wondrous fanfic with amazing friendship, angst, smut and since it’s a thriller a lot of worry for both Angel and Cordelia. Read it you won’t be sorry. More chapters of His Lady Lazarus can be found here (you have to register to read, but it’s free and easy): Stranger-Things
Also here are two more WIP I can’t get enough of and aren’t being updated fast enough:
Shadow of the Beast by Chelle
Rated: NC-17
It’s Beauty of the Beast with Angel and Cordelia, but don’t let that stop you from checking it out for any reason. Wesley, Gunn, Fred are fitted into the world seamlessly, and the characterizations of everyone though different from how we know and remember them are completely right and in character for the world Chelle’s created. This is a story that is a true character study of Angel and Cordelia – and even the other characters that aren’t spotlighted as often. It has the most lyrical narration and at times totally haunting narration I’ve read anyway. Brilliantly written and I love it to death which is why I couldn’t wait for it to be finished to recommend it. There are also more chapters at the Stranger-Things forum for when you hit the ‘tbc’ on Just Fic.
The Fine Line by Anne
Rated: NC-17
This is another story set during BtVS years and it’s creepy and completely engrossing. The interactions between Angel and Cordelia are wonderful as they find out more and more about each other. I really recommend it and again there are a few more chapters at the Stranger-Things forum when you finish what’s at the archive.
I could go on but I’ll make myself stop now except to say this…check out these three archives and you’ll sure to find writers and fanfiction that appeal to you. Just Fic, Volition, Go Team.
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However, I find that if I watch S3 and ignore Lorne, Fred, and Groo's comments about Angel and Cordelia, I see a lot more of actual relationship building.
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It would have made much more sense for Cordelia to be well aware of her feelings (let's face it, she was attracted to Angel right from the start) but be too practical and decisive to follow a path she already saw Buffy tread with disastrous results. A relationship with Angel would be problematic for anyone. Nina can be forgiven for not understanding how challenging it can be, but Cordelia can't pretend not to know.
Many good points raised, nice job!
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See, that's a great already built in conflict for the pairing since so many of the reasons Angel isn't with Buffy had nothing to do with Buffy -- what would make them risk it with the curse, or just their friendship, also the mission, and how would they end up working around the inherent problems? It's great internal conflict from both their perspectives. ..personally I want them too. I think them as a couple would have been a fun, fun ride. Romantic, wild, hilarious.
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How do you think one can deal with the curse when writing Angel/Cordy? I mean, it's fairly clearly demonstrated in AtS that "perfect happiness" is much more than just a euphemism for orgasm, but it brings a pretty dark overtone to the relationship, that Angel can never be allowed to become too happy in it.
AtS made it pretty clear that the curse isn't about sex, you are correct. In fact AtS made it very clear that the curse isn't simple at all. Also canonly, in Season Five he slept with Nina without losing his soul and though I didn't get the relationship and felt he was using her, it is clear he did care about Nina.
My main theory on the curse is that counts on ignorance of it's loop hole. The gypsies didn't want Angel to have peace, to feel he could be forgiven for his past actions as Angelus -- they never wanted him to forget what he was -- a vampire. When Angel met Buffy, it was the first time in his life that a) he fell in love and b) he truly started to do something GOOD with his soul -- to me Angel saw Buffy as a salvation and with her he could forget he was monster.
When he and Buffy made love, it wasn't just Buffy's first time, it was also Angel's. First love. With Buffy he felt like a guy, and left the vampire behind -- a main factor of B/A's relationship is that she never really accepted he was a vampire and I think at first it was what he wanted, because he wanted to a man for her and not the monster he felt he was. Take all these factors in mind, when he and Buffy made love, he wasn't thinking about his past or that he was vampire, it was their first time, hers and his in way and wham you have perfect happiness...I call this theory Ignorance is Bliss.
By the time Angel starts to have feelings for Cordelia -- he's been Angelus again, he's tried to save Darla, failed, went on a revenge streak and embraced his dark side with the soul, nearly lost all his friends, found peace with Buffy's death (for that brief time she was dead) and went through a lot of things. He changed, he grew, and with Cordelia, Wesley and Gunn, he's accepted as both a vampire and a man.
Perfect Happiness...elusive thing to grab, especially for Angel.
Second love, never exactly the same as first love no matter what.
And wouldn't it damage Cordelia's pride to be with a guy who she knew achieved "perfect happiness" with another woman, and not with her?
One can be happy without it being 'perfect'. But I'd honestly write it so Angel proved Cordelia that he loves her and only her -- Cordelia's been third best in her lifetime (Xander) she's not going to want to be second best you are correct -- Angel would have to show her she's not. Cordelia would have work through her own issues on the subject and worry/jealously about Buffy.
But it's all part of the conflict and the story -- it's all part of the wonderful potential and possibility of Angel and Cordelia. And I personally feel that their friendship, their relationship could move forward and face all the above challenges and create a truly wonderful, loving, sexy, adult romantic relationship.
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Should read like this: My main theory on the curse is that it counts on the subjects ignorance of it to have its loophole.
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But I agree with most of what you say here, and think that the curse can be worked around so long as you don't just ignore it. I thought in canon the Baby Connor stuff was more problematic in that sense than the shipping could have been.
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The idea of A/C really snuck up on me because I never even thought of it until I heard it was happening -- but damn do I love it. Heh.
Also, totally agree with you on Baby Connor and the Curse. How in the world did having such a precious little baby not cause the end of the curse? It really should have been addressed.
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I'm one of the rare few (I think) who don't believe that the words spoken by Lorne, Fred or Groo could actually effect their feelings for each other. The feelings were either there or they were not. I know someone telling me I was in love with my best friend wouldn't *force* me to be in love with them.
IMO, and as you described, the relationship built over several years and no amount of friendly advice could make it or break it. However, I do know that many believe it was those words that ruined it or at least put a damper on it, so it's a point that has to be discussed.
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I agree with this 100%, I just feel that it should have been shown, on Angel's side a bit more and way more on Cordelia's side. I just really hate, no matter if I'm for or against a pairing, writing like A/C got with so much telling from other characters and not relying on the already strong and wonderful foundation A/C had that started building from that first meeting in City Of... heck you could even argue it started during Buffy Season 2, they just caught up in High School crap (which is kind of beyond pathetic for Angel, LOL.)
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[I would also like to point out that Lorne is anagogic and can read true feelings and, therefore, what he read in Angel and Cordy were their "true feelings." Yes, it's telling and now showing, but if someone needs proof that they loved each other his readings should suffice if they can't see it on screen.]
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I agree it's truly stupid to ignore the relationship that Cordelia and Angel have -- and the destiny/fate argument against it does make no sense considering B/A. LOL.
I agree with you on Lorne as well, I actually think he should have been the only one to say a word to Angel and wish he'd had some conversations with Cordelia as well. He's the only outside character that should have been used because he's the only one who can read auras.
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I really wanted to root for this pairing on the show, but I was also really distracted by the constant dropping of anvils on our heads. Scenes like the one with the two of them in bed with connor, planning their fairytale future. No anvils required, it was just sweet. If only they'd played that aspect more I think the writers could have avoided the fan-backlash they received.
I appreciate the fic recs too, I'm putting together an Angel resource and was in desperate need of more links so that's great.
I'd also love it if you would allow me to archive this essay at the site (Deep In (http://www.fangedfour.com/deepin). This could really help writers identify a few of the canon problems with the pairing and avoid them in their own writing. A great resource.
Kudos!
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Kisses!
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This essay broke my heart. Not because I disagreed with it or hated it, but because of the opposite. It really made me remember the first time I watched the show, and how wrong Angel/Cordelia went in S3 and S4. This essay is great and really points out everything I adore about this ship, but it also makes me realize things I don't necessarily want to think about, like how canon screwed it up a bit.
Anyway, thank you for writing this! =] I need to go watch more Angel...
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