oh we scribblin out here

been doing a fun exercise where I find a color palette, choose an oc and song, and then just go nuts

some lavellan girls in an arlathan world

all aboard the HMS ancient arlathan

in the early days when elf babies were still a new concept, twins fascinated scholars. they know how firstborn like falon'din and dirthamen worked: they were two created from a whole. so what were flesh and blood twins?

falon'din and dirthamen held a special obsession with them and would gift their slave twins to other evanuris as fashionable presents. unfortunately, in this setting ariden's twin brother hauranor was given to gilhan'nain and his whereabouts are unknown.

The Wheel of Fortune: Describe an interesting character moment for your Inquisitor. What made this moment stand out to you?

In Your Heart Shall Burn was a huge moment for Ariden. It solidified her resolve as a leader, burning away her reluctance and fantasies of slipping away in the night to return to her clan and leave everyone behind. Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts was important because it was sort of Ariden's final frontier of leadership. She can lead from a war room and in front of a line of soldiers, but can she lead from a ballroom or in a court? She's not an insecure woman, but she's practical and knows herself well enough to be aware that the intricacies of The Game (which she despises) could easily fly over her head if she isn't at her best. What draws people to Ariden is her confidence and decisiveness, which can be a weakness as much as it is a strength. Finally, In Hushed Whispers was the final reassurance Ariden needed in trusting her companions. Before then, she always had lingering doubts and fears over their intentions and commitment to following her because of her heritage and untested mettle. Her willingness to sacrifice herself for them in In Your Heart Shall Burn was the direct result of seeing them being so willing to do the same for her.

The Moon: How does the Inquisitor's past impact their values? Does their past come with any biases or blind spots they have to account for?

Ariden is your run of the mill Dalish elf and is stubborn and traditional to a fault at the beginning of DA3. An ongoing fear of hers is that spending time away from her clan and around so many Andrastian humans will change her. She takes microaggressions very personally, which made bonding with people like Cassandra and Solas an uphill battle. Her mistrust of humans might be warranted, but it made it hard for her to even hear out thoughtful and good advice if she felt like it clashed with her own sensibilities. It takes time for her to warm up to her companions, but once you befriend Ariden she is fiercely loyal and she will hear you out even if she doesn't like what she's hearing.

The Fool: Where did their journey begin? What were they doing before joining the Inquisition?

Like most Lavellans, Ariden's adventure began with spying on the Conclave. She was incredibly excited to be tasked with the mission, as she had never been outside of the Free Marches and always dreamed of seeing the world. Deshanna hoped it would both be good practice on leading (lol) and to get her to shut up about feeling cooped up all the time.

Death: What part of them do they need to kill to become the best version of themselves?

Ariden has always struggled with emotional and physical intimacy. She's never been touchy-feely, and doesn't really like being touched. Opening up to people is a long and awkward and gruff process that usually turns people off from her simply because she can be hard to get along with at first! Being Inquisitor definitely was a crash course in learning to trust her inner circle. She always had her twin brother growing up and they were definitely a bit codependent. They did everything together and as far as Ariden was concerned she didn't need anyone else.

She had the foundational knowledge on how to lead from being trained as a First, but it was letting people in as friends and respected equals that made her become a great leader and more well rounded person.

Now imagine the emotional devastation of falling in love and learning to totally open up to someone like Solas, and then get your heart crushed. :)

Anyways here's a diagram explaining how Ariden reacts to people she doesn't know trying to touch her.