tiafrye

[tiafrye]

The Remnant of Meridia's Light

Reimagined sketch from this post of mine.

[tiafrye]

I won't be joining Solstice p1 discourse bc I might be biased and something along those lines, but if you want my opinion there is a review I wrote for my pts run of it.

Now back to drawing stuff.

[tiafrye]

[tiafrye]

I've developed an addiction. Addiction of asking for meme redraws from @ evanjarvi (Cara/BS)

[tiafrye]

I remember my father well enough. He was a Breton, but I never met my mother. 

Another piece for magnanimous @viewtifuljay! Thank you for keeping that candle burning for so long ✨

[tiafrye]

Two bottom pics with Solavelyan and Rookanis duos here were commissioned by me 🤲💕

Still my favorites!

Just dropping some commissions

[tiafrye]

Signal boost! One of my fav people to order from has opened commissions 🤲💕

whooaa finally!! Commissions are open :з

[tiafrye]

Damoclis gladius

[tiafrye]

Your average* Breton

* - but not quite

I like to joke every now and then about Darien's clones populating Tamriel (because ESO NPCs are made with character creator and its assets, which is not much to begin with, and most of the breton are very similar; sometimes even rocking the same hairstyle), but the thing is - with Darien it's almost intended? Let me explain.

He's standing next to an NPC trader that could be his relative here!

I am replaying the base game right now and this is my second ever time letting Gloria Fausta live. I confess, I just really wanted more dialogue. On my first time 'saving' her back in 2015, I believe, I didn't catch that extra Stormhaven encounter. It's in Shinji's Scarp, which is a post-Wayrest location, and can be easily missed. Both characters being there is also tied to Gloria's survival.

(Missed opportunity to do a cameo-encounter like this in Alik'r as well IMO, since he decides to join the Fighters Guild after Rivenspire and the Guild holds the Council of Province Generals there if player is from Covenant? Unless there's one and no one found it yet.)

Back to Gloria. She has a lot to say about Darien even back in Glenumbra, but this particular dialogue scratched me because of her in-universe comment about him being average (and unfaithful but that's the fact for another day, another post, another deep dive).

And by all intents and purposes, he's average in how he looks. Given his hidden characteristics, design-wise he could've been made a blonde with striking bright eyes to match the light within but... he's just a lil guy. Hell, he's voiced by the actor who voices a huge chuck of background NPCs in TES titles. You get used to this voice even before you meet Darien.

Yet upon hearing Jon Curry's voice from an NPC in a full ebony armor (placeholder for the auroran armor) on a recording of player running trough Shimmerine during some preview event, I knew who I'm looking at. Instantly.

(What vid I could find now was from London preview and it doesn't have VO, but the one I watched 7 years ago was voiced; maybe from a different preview?)

Our average* breton has Personality, with a capital P. And style.

In case you've missed, NPCs in ESO usually have a template - one complete look they keep regardless of the situation (there are exceptions, for example Crafty Lerisa and her disguises), but not Darien. Darien has an entire catwalk worth of outfits based on his current employment and more. 3 for the Base Game, 5 if we count Northpoint disguise and its iconic half naked version + 2 in Summerset. It's way outside the box of what you'd expect from a guy who looks like half of Tamriel. But also...

He's loud, he's goofy, he's performative, he jokes around and shows-off. He's seemingly having fun in most dire situations (we'll talk about 'seemingly' part later as well). It's almost like he... wants to leave an impression. He wants to be remembered. And he is remembered. By his ex, who's smitten the moment they're reunited, even though she's the one who scolds him. By Alinon, by Skordo, by Gabrielle, by that bosmer gal in scribing questline who saw him once.

By you.

In real life you'd see a person like him across the room immediately and would be greeted with a smile. And you would see that smile first, not his average appearance.

I already mentioned his protagonist-like vibe in my previous post. This aside, Darien is just... lights up the place he occupies. I've never seen more joy from an NPC in ESO towards my own character. It makes you feel appreciated and cared for in his company. You have to earn his appreciation gradually from Glenumbra to Coldharbour, of course, but it's worth it in the end.

So... not quite average. Far, far from it actually.

Dammit, I love him so much.

[tiafrye]

Decided to dive into the base game once again before new season launches. For remembrance sake!

I have a soft spot for the base game Covenant in my heart and all those years later I still vocally recommend its quests to any of my acquittances starting ESO. Anyway! Darien. It's always about him.

It's easy to forget (with how warm and welcoming Darien is with player's character in Rivenspire and forward) that at the beginning he's extra sassy and is bossing pc around.

Darien's character has a very strong presence when you meet him for the first time - he's a main character of his own in his predicament. He refuses to play by the objective your questbook has appointed to him (letting go of his responsibility and passing the torch to his father), because he has one already and it's important for him to deal with that first. So he drags you into his own quest instead, with a promise of "eventually" giving the spotlight back to you. Which he does, unlike many others.

This introduction to Darien mirrors his later Coldharbour re-introduction (or primary introduction if you were playing for a different alliance) and sets the tone for any future interactions with him. Until pc walks into the room, Darien *is* the main character. No less special or capable if pressed (although it seems that close proximity of pc pushes him in all kinds of scenarios requiring a rescue), yet more than willing to step back and let you do your thing.

My point is that he works great as a support character while maintaining an attitude of a protagonist. It makes him stand out just enough to be your equal and nor outshine pc nor fold under the weight of their aura. One of the many reasons I like him so much.

[tiafrye]

Tamriel's next sensation on his way to Glenumbra ✨💙

[tiafrye]

you can't expect me not be baited by the plushie mention on eso live

[tiafrye]

💠You live only as long as the last person who remembers you

[tiafrye]

Year of comebacks, honestly 👀✨

oh? 👀

[tiafrye]

when your bestie is an altmer

My game bugged (making my character like 8ft tall in first person) and I think I snapped the picture of Martin ever—

[tiafrye]

MY BABIES 🫶🫶🫶

rook x lucanis doodles i did for @tiafrye back in the march

[tiafrye]

a birthday gift for @tiafrye and her Inquisitior Adeline Trevelyan