i like darius and sharline from evergrace because straight from the premise they are a very normal set of protagonists you might see in a normal rpg except they’re in a kusoge adjacent launch title action RPG from the people who made several game of the years. that gap enough is just fucking hilarious and just a little heartwarming, that games like elden ring got direct influence from a dinky game like this.
secondly, it’s hard to compare their wonky time relationship to anything in real life, so working through such a thing and trying to think through how they’d feel towards each other is both fun and a source of neverending questions. how would you feel if you saw your sister the same day you lost her? how would you feel if your little brother grew up in a matter of seconds, living a life you never knew? it’s an enthralling concept, a warped sense of time. i’ve seen it in other places, like erm, zombieland saga and nier but for some reason it just grips me here
thirdly, the lack of anything in the game that details who they are and what they are to each other is like. you either get confused… or you accept it as is…. or you want to know more… a lot more…. that’s me the third option. which is why the supplementary stories, which detail the human relationships in evergrace so deeply, are so damn good they are like vitamins to my brain. and the fact that my assumptions about them line up so well with the actuality is very lovely and makes me happy
fourth, they are a bickering found family duo. it’s funny. i like to think about an idealized concept of family through them, and it makes my heart warm. i like the scenes where sharline treats little darius with the kindness he deserves, and is like a knight in shining armour to him. i like the scenes where darius works out his guilt and dedicates himself to making up for it, not by killing himself, but by facing sharline properly and protecting her like she once did. and i like it when they have sibling telepathy and can finish each others sentences, to which sharline is like ;P you cannot escape my mind reading. i like them very much and all the ways the story explores their touching moments, stupid fun bits, and their future together. even if that epilogue reads like a fanfiction, it’s a wonderful gift and i like it.
fively, i forgot where i was going with this. they’re so normal it’s pleasant, but also their relationship is very touching to me while also being a source of funny delusions i can have. and it’s a fromsoftware game from 20 years ago that people think the music is the best part of. so yeah
i like them a normal amount
oh this essay was in reference to an art i saw on the wayback. don't think too hard about it. art is here
okay so i was freaking about this to cookie earlier so my heart is prepared to make a 500 word essay to this right here right now. the kindness, the sweetness, and the extremely important dynamic of "darius and sharline sitting on a rock together" is the world's most wonderful treasure, a callback to the official evergrace art... but that one had sharline sitting on the grass beside the rock, so this is infinitely better, plus sharline cutely leaning nuch more against darius. this is already very lovely and shows her charm of being a pushy and caring big sister.
and of course who can forget little baby darius in the front. i love the addition of him being here, as someone who's always like "hmm... how can i incorporate the Scrunkly into group drawings" there he was. my heart... the glow and translucency of his appearance leads me to think, is this perhaps like demon darius, a temporary reincarnation that is simply happy to know that they will have a happy ending after all? or maybe it's a reflection of darius's inner emotions = bursting with happiness? awwwww. either way, thank you for including the little baby scrunkly
and also how he sits right in front of where you'd see darius and sharline's hands :) clever composition, allusion to fromsoftware's way of making lore just vague enough out of reach but enough to help you form some conclusions. or is it? either way it makes you want more. and that's sure what the game did to me. the ambiguity... the mystery... oh but they're holding hands for sure. btw. or else why would darius be looking away trying to hide his red face with his hand... his moe ass i need to squeeze him like a stress toy... for this once i give it the benefit of the doubt okay. let this man experience human affection
lastly, i think this is so charming, but the composition and background of the image... the always incredible sunset orange world of evergrace is very much present in this piece. the grassy fields, the rocks, the autumn scenery. 100% i have zero complaints and it's perfection. i would like to draw special attention to the lovely touch of darius's scarf fluttering in the wind... it's long huh. that reminds me of this one chapter in Maiko—san chi no Makanai-san/kiyo in kyoto where a red scarf literally connected the three childhood friends together... okayyy maybe there was a love triangle intermixed with platonic love so maybe not that. but you know what i'm talking about. fated meetings. bros for life. that kind of thing. at the very least, having darius's scarf cross over to sharline's side of the composition makes a very nice completeness to the piece. perfect triangular composition with the nosey cute imbalance of sharline, the "oh god he's so moe i have to bite this bitch" darius, the happiness of the little baby darius... peace in the heart.... you understand why i slapped my fucking bed with such a lovely piece. thank you OP. thank you so much