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    Fire Emblem [OC fanart] Lady Rhea

    February 21, 2020

    Fire Emblem [OC fanart] Lady Rhea

    [OC fanart] Lady Rhea

    Posted: 21 Feb 2020 10:44 AM PST

    for those who wondered what edelgard’s portrait of byleth looked like

    Posted: 21 Feb 2020 12:47 PM PST

    I drew Hilda!

    Posted: 20 Feb 2020 10:09 PM PST

    Lysithea in FEH style! Ready to Dark Spike T Death Knight

    Posted: 21 Feb 2020 01:15 PM PST

    Blepleth

    Posted: 21 Feb 2020 05:49 PM PST

    Recruitable Characters per Route (spoilers for characters that leave)

    Posted: 21 Feb 2020 02:50 PM PST

    Post Epilogue Concept Designs Part 3

    Posted: 21 Feb 2020 01:07 PM PST

    Linhardt has caught The Double Gay and there is no cure.

    Posted: 21 Feb 2020 05:11 AM PST

    Ashen Academy: Balthus

    Posted: 21 Feb 2020 02:53 PM PST

    [OC] The Ashen Wolves alternative cover in the style of the My Nintendo Reward ones (DL in the comment)

    Posted: 21 Feb 2020 01:58 AM PST

    casually tossing a little cathmir in the sub (oc)

    Posted: 21 Feb 2020 06:50 PM PST

    Nagata Protector

    Posted: 21 Feb 2020 03:54 PM PST

    catgirl hilda

    Posted: 21 Feb 2020 12:20 PM PST

    Saved my favorite boy for last. Here is the front side of my Dimitri charms! :)

    Posted: 21 Feb 2020 05:35 PM PST

    Cordelia-and why there's more to her than just the Chrom thing

    Posted: 21 Feb 2020 05:13 AM PST

    So, I figured I'd take a break from writing about Edelgard, the emotionally withdrawn perfectionist who puts on a facade of competence to hide her insecurities, to talk about one of my other favorites, Cordelia, who's an emotionally withdrawn perfectionist who.... you get the idea. Anyway, if discussion of Cordy comes up, it's usually in the context of her famous, or maybe more accurately infamous, crush/hero worship/obsession with Chrom.

    However, I'm going to argue something that seems absolutely insane on its surface-Cordelia's "love" for Chrom was actually not really about Chrom at all. Cordelia's focus on Chrom, in my estimation, is driven by her anxiety and poor self-esteem. It's a coping mechanism from a woman with a massive inferiority complex attempting to emulate her hero, Caeda. I've talked in the past about my appreciation for characters like Igrene whose support conversations reveal different aspects of a character that coalesce into a whole, and that's what is going on with Cordelia. It's why she stands out as a fascinating and flawed character in Awakening's expansive cast.

    1) Cordelia has a really bad inferiority complex

    Awakening's characters are very much defined by their "quirks" and Cordelia has two-how she's driven to succeed at everything, and the Chrom obsession. The Chrom factor gets most of the discussion, but really looking through her dialogue, the actual thrust of much of Cordelia's supports is her tireless work ethic-it's even brought up in her dialogue in FEH. Why does Cordelia never stop, to the point where her Libra support has her faint from overworking? Well, her Robin support gets into all that.

    Cordelia states that she was mocked from the moment she "joined the knights" for her "appearance" and she was "teased and taunted" for being a "little lady genius". She even states that she grew "accustomed to not having" any friends. Cordelia was never made to feel like she belonged in the knights, and so she became determined to prove her worth to them. Their subsequent decision to sacrifice themselves for Cordelia adds extensive feelings of survivor's guilt onto this complicated relationship. Now, she realizes that the same people who hazed her daily also considered her "the future". These expectations manifest as an almost fanatical belief in what she tells Sumia is "the power to make my own future", and a deep fear of showing weakness to others-she tells Virion that it makes her feel like she's "lost".

    2) Cordelia absolutely has an anxiety disorder

    I honestly didn't really catch this my first time playing Awakening, but Cordelia actually hits almost all the diagnostic criteria for Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Cordelia feels restless, wound up, or on edge, for example snapping at Robin in their support when he calls her a "genius" and insisting on personally restocking the entire army's medical supplies. Cordelia clearly struggles with feelings of worthiness-she even struggles to call Robin a "friend" late in their support chain. She's often fatigued, which is the thrust of her support conversation with Libra, where the army physician states she needs rest, and Libra states she looks "ashen". She has difficulty concentrating-Lon'qu states her "problem" while teaching her how to fence is she "is too worried about everything going on in this camp". Her consistent irritability is brought up during her Virion support, Virion and Cordelia discuss how she "treats others harshly" and Cordelia talks negatively about her own "blunt manner". She has difficulty controlling feelings of worry, and has sleep problems- she admits she "hasn't been sleeping well" because she "can't help thinking horrible thoughts", and she can't stop doing a job because she "see[s] a job, and then another, and then another."

    The evidence, to me, is overwhelming. Now, clearly, this is a JRPG where realism is not always a concern (insert jokes about Aversa's outfit here), but this is a surprisingly well-done portrayal of what untreated anxiety can look like, particularly some of the lines in her Libra and Robin supports. I'll add that as someone who works in a psych/medical field, usually a diagnosis of this type is dependent on the impact on the individual's ability to function socially and professionally-a very clear yes in Cordelia's case, despite how high-functioning she appears to be on the surface.

    3) Cordelia views Caeda as her idol and role-model.

    One of the less-discussed aspects of Cordelia's character is how much of a fangirl she is for Caeda. This isn't brought up much in the main game, but her support with Donnel deals with it extensively. Donnel and Cordelia bond over stories about Caeda, and interestingly, what Cordelia admires most about Caeda is not her skill as a knight, but her ease and grace in social environments, an understandable goal for someone who clearly struggles socially:

    "But she was more than just a warrior. She had the courage of a demon, yes, but the heart of an angel. They say the people loved her even more than she loved the exalt. In fact, for every foe she defeated, she won two more to her side with her charisma."

    I'll add that Cordelia specifically has a support in Fire Emblem Warriors where she geeks out about meeting Caeda, so this is clearly a trait the writers wanted to continue to emphasize.

    4) This idolization leads to a warped view of her relationship with Chrom.

    So, Cordelia who admits to wanting to be a "pegasus knight of legend" and who admits to Donnel she "dreams of becoming just like her" models everything in her life based on Caeda. One of the most defining aspects of Caeda's story is her relationship and deep love for Marth. To Cordelia, a young person with a deep fondness for romance novels who was forced to grow up much too quickly, this proves to be an irresistible idea. Chrom, in Cordelia's mind, is a stand-in for Marth, and if she is to measure up to her idol, she must be able to woo the brave, kind prince who once saved her life (per Cordelia's support with Ricken), just as Caeda did. This perseveration on a specific idea, in this case matching an idealized figure, is again a hallmark of anxiety disorders.

    We see in Cordelia's Summer Scramble dialogue with Chrom that she turns into a frantic, flustered mess whenever she converses with Chrom. As Chrom says, "every time I try to talk to her, the conversations end up turning weird". Cordelia even admits that "it'll never work" because of her inability to actually talk to Chrom. Doing so would change Chrom from being the idealized and romance-novel derived Marth stand-in she pictures in her head, to an actual person with flaws and foibles-similar to those Cordelia cannot accept in herself.

    5) All of this has a tragic impact on her relationship with her loved ones

    Cordelia's Summer Scramble conversation with Robin is first and foremost, absolutely adorable. But it also demonstrates that even after being married, Cordelia still feels unworthy of Robin's love, and is constantly worried that he is "disappointed" in her. She even expects him to annul their marriage when he discovers her harmless lark of collecting seashells. Cordelia's anxiety prevents her from expressing vulnerability, and this leads to disaster with her relationship with Severa.

    Severa feels bitter for "living in the shadow of someone who's perfect at everything." Severa pushes everyone away because she cannot emotionally handle losing another person she cares about. However, what Severa does not realize is that Cordelia's own feelings of inadequacy, glimpsed in her other supports, kept Cordelia from talking to Severa about her own fears and insecurities. Tragically, Cordelia's closed-off nature leads Severa to assume that future Cordelia died for Chrom, a notion that "our" Cordelia dismisses immediately:

    Severa: Then why'd you leave me? You said you had to go off to fight for what really mattered, and you never came back! You picked Chrom over me!

    Cordelia: You have me at a disadvantage, Severa. I can't answer for my future self. But when I said I was fighting for what mattered, I probably meant you. I'd want nothing more than to build a world where you could grow up happy and strong. At least, that's what I want right now.

    It's why their A-support is a massive sign of personal growth for them both-Cordelia says "You can trust me with anything, and I'll do the same in return." For a woman as afraid of expressing her true feelings as Cordelia is-she's even afraid of telling Severa why she originally became a pegasus knight- this is a huge step forward. Without being hampered by misconceptions and impossible-to-meet expectations, both of them can express the emotional honesty needed for a functional, healthy relationship.

    ​

    Cordelia's a great character, whose flaws and strengths flow beautifully together into an interesting and multi-faceted whole. Her loyalty, steadfastness and drive are both the cause of her greatness and the reason she's such a sad and isolated person at the beginning of the game.

    I really like how her flaws aren't sugercoated-she's allowed to be portrayed in an unlikable manner, despite overall being a very compassionate and brave individual. It's also well-done how even in her married chain with Robin or her supports with Severa, her character flaws don't disappear. Instead, she's shown to continue to have to struggle and overcome them. It makes her feel real and lived-in, and if, as I suspect, the anxiety angle was intended, is a really nice portrayal of how mental health problems don't disappear through the power of love. Anyway, Cordelia's great (and Severa and Morgan are awesome as siblings-just saying).

    submitted by /u/captainflash89
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    Continuing Hidari Style Study w/Navarre

    Posted: 21 Feb 2020 04:36 PM PST

    the 3 houses logos with their respective flags, now in full glory!

    Posted: 21 Feb 2020 10:14 AM PST

    “No students want to compete in the White Heron Cup? Sigh, guess I gotta take things into my own hands!” (Dancer M!Byleth)

    Posted: 21 Feb 2020 01:09 PM PST

    Sitri, bedridden, and with a very necessary dead anime mom hairstyle

    Posted: 21 Feb 2020 07:06 PM PST

    Chapter 20.2 now available!

    Posted: 21 Feb 2020 05:32 PM PST

    I made a portrait viewer for all the 3H characters! Open the filters to see which 18 characters have non-standard portraits (might take a while to load)

    Posted: 21 Feb 2020 11:07 AM PST

    Azure Moon

    Posted: 21 Feb 2020 09:55 AM PST

    [Spoiler]Saint Indech

    Posted: 21 Feb 2020 07:15 PM PST
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