Sir Aran's Development Diary

Clarine and Dorothy

Named after Clarine, an Eturian noblewoman and Troubadour, and Dorothy, an Eturian commoner and Archer. Their support was based around the normally snobbish and haughty Clarine taking a shine on the homely and passive Dorothy, and trying to make her more lady-like, the two bonding and becoming fast friends through it, although with only modest success in Clarine's original goal. Since then, there have been several instances of a haughty or stand-offish girl taking a more timid and shy partner under their wing, almost always to overcome their timidity, and sometimes to improve their appearance. This is usually a humanizing element in the telling of their character, and is usually a fast indicator of their kinder side, whereas in other supports, it may take until the second or even the third and final support that their kindness finally shines through. In the archetype, the Clarine is usually immediately seen to be a kinder person because of how she immediately dotes upon the Dorothy. Usually the Clarine is of noble blood, or at least of the upper class, while the Dorothy is a commoner.
 
Notable Clarine and Dorothy pairs (in that order) are:

• Clarine and Dorothy (appearance and timidity) (FE6)
• Serra and Florina (just timidity) (FE7)
• Calill and Nephenee (appearance and timidity) (FE9/FE10)
• Maribelle and Olivia (just timidity) (FE13)
• Maribelle and Lissa (neither/special case) (FE13)

In the FE7 example, it's the Dorothy (Florina) who approaches the Clarine (Serra), whereas it's usually the other way around.

The last one is more arguable; Lissa does not fit any of the requirements to be the Dorothy, except for allowing Maribelle to be the Clarine. It still fits in that their friendship is an immediate sign of Maribelle's better, kinder nature.