the standard logic of cormag is inconsistent

[queenlua]

I got this random urge to write some Cormag fic, so I started digging through the Sacred Stones script and support conversations to get a better sense of his character (been years since I last played FE8, so my memory's a bit hazy)...

…and I discovered that the writing with respect to Cormag is irritatingly inconsistent.

• Sometimes, Cormag seems to have a rather pronounced independent, iconoclastic streak-he insultingly tells Seth that he thought of the Silver Knight as a "loyal dullard," and he gives a little speech about his motives for serving under Ephraim/Eirika:"I believe in myself. Therefore it matters not where I am. So no matter where I go or what I do, I'm sure my brother would understand… And besides, General Dussel, you're here in this army with me. There's no shame in fighting alongside the man once known as Obsidian."
  Okay, cool. That sounds like the mentality of a independently-minded guy who lives strictly by his own principles, and perhaps by familial loyalty...
• …but, other times he seems ultra devoted to, not just his country, but to soldier-y ideals and subservience toward royalty in general. He tells Tana at one point, "We'll need you to help rebuild our shattered nations, after all. We soldiers are expendable, but you regal types aren't"-which is way more the sort of thing I'd expect out of the mouth of, say, Seth, rather than a dude who's just been forced to ditch his country because his "regal type" went batshit.
  
  Then there's his B support with Seth. Seth tells him, "You will find a ruler worthy of your loyalties too," and Cormag's answer is, "I hope so." I could be reading too much into this, but I found it a bit jarring that his first reaction is, "yeah, that seems like a good idea" when things with Vigarde turned out so badly. Is he really already hoping for another royal dude who could screw him over? Such a desire seems indicative of someone with a pretty big soldier complex, or something to that effect.
  
  And I mean, sure, maybe I could buy that he's just that devoted to service and all... but that doesn't quite align with the part of him that thought of Seth as a "loyal dullard" and such.
• Cormag also seems to oscillate between being lost/disillusioned and stalwart/dutiful. When he's talking with Tana, he angsts pretty openly about lacking a purpose:"I can think of many reasons why a man would fight. Atonement, revenge, entertainment... For power... For fun... But I don't know the reason I am fighting anymore... What more would you expect from a man who's lost his faith? A man whose emperor has gone mad, whose homeland is collapsing?"
  He also says to Tana that he may just become a carpenter somewhere once the war is done-and, though I'm not sure how serious he's being when he says that, I do think it's reflective of his disillusionment with soldiering and warfare. (I have a running joke with my friends that I'm going to graduate and run away to live with gypsies-and while it's unlikely I'll actually do that, the joke's funny because I'm so adverse to the idea of working in the corporate world and such. So, I read it as that sort of a joke.)
  
  ...but, plenty of other times, Cormag seems to have a clear sense of duty and purpose. He tells Seth, "Emperor Vigarde is my only lord. My duty now is to correct the mistakes he has made." He tells Natasha, "Our country has set the world on its ear, and it's up to us to right things." He tells Artur, "My only dream right now is to undo the damage Grado has done. I want Grado to be a peaceful nation again, ruled by a gentle man." And so on.

I can think of a couple reasons why Cormag seems to be all over the map:

1. FE8's writers are bad and they should feel bad. Potentially valid, though not a very satisfying explanation.
2. Cormag's personality is different depending on the Eirika/Ephraim path. Cormag has really different reasons for joining your party, depending on which path you take, and it makes sense that his behavior would be really different depending on why he joined. In Erika's path, it's all revenge (at least at first):I don't care why you're fighting. I've not interest in your goals. I want nothing but revenge, and I will have it. If I can kill Valter with these two hands, what care I if Grado brands me a traitor?
   That's the sort of perspective that aligns more easily with an independent, impulsive Cormag. In Ephraim's path, though, he's persuaded to switch sides by Tana's plea and by Dussel's presence-which aligns with a more measured, controlled, dutiful Cormag. So, even though you can technically support Cormag/Dussel in both paths, it's more likely that you'll support them in Ephraim's path, because it aligns with Ephraim-path-Cormag's character better. I like this explanation quite a bit, to some extent-though this doesn't really explain inconsistencies when he's speaking to the same character at different occassions (i.e., with Tana, he's either lauding the importance of royalty in their B support, or confused about why he's even fighting in their A support-what?).
3. Cormag's just going through a rough time, okay: Cormag's conflicting statements could just reflect that he's a conflicted, all-over-the-map dude during the game's timeline. He's having trouble reconciling his devotion to Grado with his apparent betrayal of Grado, so he ends up putting on a soldier-y facade for Seth, while angsting more openly in front of Tana, and so on and so forth.

So, let's say we're reading Cormag's personality as a combination of (2) and (3)-the dude behaves differently depending on the Erika/Ephraim path, and he behaves differently around different people at different times, due to inner conflict and such. Given all this, I think he's got enough inconsistency/conflict going on that his A support with Dussel (during which Dussel gives Cormag the lance that drove Valter insane) is really disconcerting:Cormag: ...Valter's insane because of this lance. ...... Sir Duessel, if it please you, would you let me have this lance?
Duessel: What? You? B-but...
Cormag: Are you worried that I will end up like Valter?
Duessel: N-no... ......
Cormag: This lance--someone needs to master it. It's just a feeling I have. A weapon is only as good or evil as the man who wields it. In the hands of someone just, it can be a righteous weapon. In the hands of the wicked, it's a danger to all. Believe me, I have not been seduced by this lance. I merely want to see it used for the purpose for which it was forged.
Duessel: ...... I understand you, Cormag. I'm going to let you have it.
…dude, I love Cormag and all, but if Dussel the super-grounded-devoted-loyalist-general didn't feel brave enough to wield that lance, then seeing Cormag wielding it-who confesses that he doesn't know what he's fighting for, who flipped an all-caps shit when his brother died, and who made Valter's death "slow and agonizing"-sounds like it could only have disastrous results. Even if we're going to say Cormag's nobler, more controlled moments are more indicative of his overall character, even if we're saying this is Ephraim-path-Cormag-I still think Cormag may be overestimating his ability to wield this thing properly.

tl;dr: Cormag's characterization is rather inconsistent and finnicky, which is probably best explained by the fact that Erika-path-Cormag and Ephraim-path-Cormag probably behave pretty differently, and by the fact that Cormag's conflicted in general. But, no matter what reading you take of his personality, I find it really difficult to believe he's really balanced and controlled enough to be wielding that lance Dussel gives him. Creepy.