Ari Vaughn

**Ari** is one of the potential love interests in Gilded Shadows. He also features as a major character in Endgame routes that are not his own, and can appear in some of the other routes as well.

## Appearance

Ari is a tall silver-haired man with pale greenish-silver eyes. Ari was originally red-haired, but was affected by fade at a very young age.

He generally appears in his full uniform or a white button-up with a dark vest and tie. His hair is kept neatly brushed away from his face and he is rarely seen in a dishevelled state.

When dressed casually, he wears a white button up alone or with a green cardigan.

## Personality

Ari is a stoic man who takes a rational approach to every situation. He is calm and chivalrous most of the time and it's exceptionally rare to see him in an agitated state.

He shows little emotion even in very tense situation though he has small emotional tells that those who know him well can use to gauge any inner turmoil he is hiding. Due to his unique childhood, he is used to suppressing his emotions and is uncomfortable showing others how he feels.

He gets anxious in social situations, which can usually be noticed by a system of finger-tapping he uses to help himself focus and stay calm. Because of the threat of losing control of his dangerous abilities, he tries very hard to maintain complete control of his emotions at all times.

Though he doesn't smile or laugh often, he does frequently tease his friends through dry, deadpan sarcasm. He is also capable of showing compassion and kindness to others, though he usually does it in the usual logical and methodical way.

## Abilities

* **Clairvoyance** - Like all Espers, Ari possesses a baseline of clairvoyant awareness.
	+ "Sphere" - Ari's sphere of awareness is also abnormally large and malleable allowing him to extend it much further than it would normally reach.
	+ "Cage"
	+ "Reverse Cage"
* **Telekinesis** - Like all Espers, Ari possesses a baseline of telekinesis
* **Teleportation** - As a knight, Ari is able to instantaneously (or near instantaneously) move from one location to another using teleportation. Ari uses a unique method of teleportation that involves creating micro-wormholes. These leave a visible distortion trail that can be partially tracked by anyone who sees it. Ari's teleportation range is further than any other known knight and it's unclear exactly how far he is able to teleport.
* **Shields** - Ari is able to use powerful psionic shields that protect from both physical and psionic attacks.
* **Space-time distortion** - Ari has the unique ability to distort space-time in a way that alters the perception of nearby on-lookers (usually used to 'cloak' himself and others to hide them from view) .

## Relationships

#### Caleb Zheng

Caleb is Ari's closest friend in addition to being his team mate. They spend a great deal of time together outside of work either socialising in the lounge or playing volitant. Caleb also occasionally drags him out to clubs for drinks. Caleb is one of the few people to whom Ari will open up or confide in.

#### Jack Viscer

Former friends and classmates. When they were teens, Ari and Jack were quite close. Jack and Caleb were two of the first people to get to know Ari when he was released from the lab and though Jack frequently coerced him into things that got him into trouble, he was also one of the people who helped Ari to learn to socialise normally. Ari still views Jack as an estranged friend and is always relieved to hear that Jack is doing well in Delphine.

#### Vanessa Scott

A friend of Ari's as well as a team mate. He and Van maintain a sort of friendly and lightly antagonistic relationship. She constantly teases him and he incessantly calls her 'Vanessa' despite knowing her preference for 'Van.'

#### Magnus Ulrich

Though Ari views Magnus as a friend, he is frequently confused by his odd behaviour. He's unable to understand exactly what goes on in Magnus' head but recognises that Magnus attempts to keep others at a distance. He worries for him but has no idea how to change the situation.