Dec 29, 2021
Josephine Montilyet x Aban Adaar
"Whatever awaits us, my lord, I know only one thing: I would never have you face it alone"
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seen from Japan
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Josephine Montilyet x Aban Adaar
"Whatever awaits us, my lord, I know only one thing: I would never have you face it alone"
Kaaras and Culture: 2/?
// Kaaras always wanted to learn about his parents’ culture and life under the Qun, but every time he asked, his mother said it was better left not spoken about. She and her husband had tried desperately to bring Kaaras up as human as possible, away from their lives in Par Vollen (even if it’s impossible for Kaaras to have not grown up with some influences since they knew nothing about the South).
To this day, his mother has pretty much kept quiet about as much as she could, and he’s still extremely ignorant on how his parents truly lived. All he can do is speculate from outside sources on how the Qunari rule and live–from mercenary tales, things he’s heard other Tal’Vashoth talk about when he was able to get information out of them, but even that’s never going to give him a lot of information.
Eventually, he sits his mother down when he’s an adult and tells her that he wants to know. He would never leave her or live a life that she had wanted him to be no part of, but he also hates that he doesn’t understand and know. He wants to, he really does, even if it’s a touchy subject for both him and his mother.
Of course, when Bull comes into the picture (as a Qunari spy), Kaaras asks as much as he can, but it’s still not the life his mother and father lived. So he gets bits and pieces from Bull, but he still can’t paint a clear picture. He wants that picture. He wants to know his history, his blood, his culture even (even if he is Andrastian and as human as a Vashoth can be). He’s lived a life being torn between cultures, never being one or the other, but a mix of both, and yet none. He doesn’t feel he fits in either because he’s too human to be qunari and too qunari to be human.
Finally, Aban is able to tell Kaaras some of their lifestyle, particularly when Kaaras finds out the truth about his father being a re-educator under the Qun and not a labourer like they’d told him his whole life (no thanks to Talan). Aban feels she at least owes her only son the truth about how they lived, and that the Qun isn’t as evil as she’d always portrayed it to be. This is something horribly difficult for her to come to terms with, as it was Kaaras’ father who lost his way and wished to leave the Qun. Aban never wanted to leave, not until she knew she was pregnant with Kaaras and had no choice if she wanted to keep her child. She gave up everything for Kaaras, and talking about what she misses feels pointless when her son is right before her, and is everything in her world now. Kaaras became her new purpose, looking after him, making sure he lives as happily and healthily as possible, even though they struggled so much being poor.
The culture in the household is definitely a strange one. Anyone could see that there’s tension between Kaaras and his mother (despite their undying love for one another). Kaaras was influenced and grew up around humans, unlike Aban, even though she’s been in Ferelden for 29 years, she’s a bit recluse compared to Kaaras’ father. She still has many Qunari qualities to her, whereas Kaaras is much more Fereldan. Their accents are even completely different (Kaaras’ being Fereldan and Aban’s being Par Vollen [American]).
Anyone could see that there are even different ideals between them, even though they also share so many of the same. Their personalities can be so different purely for the sake of the culture difference. It’s something I honestly love about them <3 Every bit of sternness within Kaaras is entirely from his mother, every bit of leadership skills, his mother, his determination to find purpose and cause, his control, all his mother. She’s one hell of a woman, and I love her.
// When Kaaras had his lip cut open from the bandits who attacked his home, it was an awful recovery. The scar on his nose was bad, too, but it was an area that wasn’t really moving unless he scrunched his nose or pulled an odd face. Of course, it was still painful, especially since there’s not a lot of flesh over the bone there, but stitching that was easier than stitching his lip.
Healing took weeks for both of the wounds, which is why the scarring is still there to this day, although it has paled and the scars are smaller with Kaaras’ growth having an impact on them. The one across his nose was a lot longer considering his facial structure was so much smaller (he was only 12 at the time).
Kaaras couldn’t eat properly for days and had to be on a liquid diet. Being poor, this wasn’t really an issue since most of the foods they’d eat were stews and soups that could last a few days before spoiling, but it was still painful.
Kaaras’ mother, Aban, was certainly no healer, but she knew basics enough to get him patched up, especially when it comes to stitches and sewing. This was... a big moment for Aban. As a former Tamassran, she would help stitch the lips and eyes of Saarebas under the Qun, and to have to perform such an act, even if it wasn’t the same, on her mage son, was really traumatic for her.
This was a massive turning point for Aban considering her culture. She will most likely always be inherently scared of what mages can do no thanks to the teachings of the Qun. Unlike Anaan (Kaaras’ father), Aban was quite content to live her role under the Qun. It was Anaan who had lost his purpose, and it was him who convinced her to flee with him, especially when she fell pregnant with Kaaras.
Her life has been an eternal struggle for her family, especially for Kaaras as a mage. She will ALWAYS love her son, she will fiercely love him and protect him with every inch of her soul. But you can’t just erase years of teachings and indoctrination.
Of course, Kaaras had no idea (he was too young to understand anything like that, and his parents had always tried to keep their lives under the Qun away from him). But for Aban, it was one of the biggest turning points of her life, but also in her beliefs in the Qun. She finally understood the cruelty in what those teachings did, as she saw her son, a mage, put his own life on the line to protect her husband, to protect his father. She saw her sweet, young and innocent child, putting others before himself, no matter the cost. How was it possible that he was corrupted by demons because of his magic? How could she even THINK of stitching his mouth and eyes shut purely because he could wield magic, especially when Kaaras did nothing but blame himself for Anaan’s death.
She could never look back in pride to what she had been taught and done under the Qun to those people. Because of Kaaras (and Aith when she came into their lives), Aban learned to accept mages more openly.
friend: *sends me a pic of two dudes riding horses standing up on the saddle* your adaars me: they are TOTALLY trying to convince people (Raas’ s.o.)qunari ride like this I MISSED DRAWING THESE FUCKERS <3 (for the new followers, Raas, to the right -my inquisitor- and Aban, to the left, -his best friend later discovered his brother as well)
Aban Adaar
Meet Kaaras’ mother: Aban Adaar
Some quick things I should mention:
No, she’s not a mage, I just really liked the Saarebas armour and wanted to check it out.
Aban was only 16 turning 17 when she fell pregnant with Kaaras and fled the Qun (she’s only 46 at current and was obviously a very young mother)
Aban was a former Tamassran under the Qun who taught converts the language of the Qunari people (clearly a young one in training). She can speak Common, Qunlat, Antivan, Rivaini and some Tevene.
Unfortunately, the lighting in game did make her age lines kind of disappear, she does have them around her mouth/cheeks and eyes, though.
She is not a fighter and has no in game class/specialisation. She is a mother and a teacher, and unfortunately wouldn’t know how to defend herself very well outside of instinct.
Her voice and face claim is Sigourney Weaver :3 <3333
Like mot qunari, she is muscular in nature, but she also works the farm which keeps her somewhat in shape. Outside of her work on the farm, she doesn’t work out or train to keep in shape/fight.
Personality: Aban is strict, forward and disciplined in nature. She still struggles to come to terms with some of the customs of the South despite being there for 29 years.
She is a fiercely caring mother to her children. Kaaras is her only blood child, but she is willing to take any orphan or individual in need under her wing (which is how Aith came to be a part of their family).
Aban is not an inherently violent person and does not like the thought of killing and war, however, that won’t stop her from tugging an ear, slapping a wrist or a bottom smack if needed. She believes that different techniques work with different children.It was part of her duty under the Qun to observe these behaviours and use of tactics.
Aban analyses all people she comes to meet thanks to her training under the Qun. As well as teaching converts the language of her people, she also chose specific careers for the growing children of the Qun, sexually pleased those who were in need and helped stitch the lips and eyes of Saarebas.
Anaan Adaar (Kaaras’ father) was her first real lover. It was he who lost his purpose when he fell deeply in love with her. When she fell pregnant with child, she instantly became attached to her unborn baby, and knew that there was no other way but to flee.
She greatly misses her life in Par Vollen and gave up everything for her lover and her son. There are days that she mourns the loss of it, but she’d give up anything for the sake of her family, and does not regret her decision.
MODS:
HAIR / ARMOUR
Kaaras and the Qun
// Kaaras always wanted to learn about his parents’ culture and life under the Qun, but every time he asked, his mother said it was better left unspoken. She and her husband had tried desperately to bring Kaaras up as human as possible, away from their lives in Par Vollen (even if it’s impossible for Kaaras to have not grown up with some influences since they knew nothing about the South).
To this day, his mother had pretty much kept quiet about as much as she could, and he’s still extremely ignorant on how his parents truly lived. All he can do is speculate from outside sources on how the Qunari rule and live–from mercenary tales, things he’s heard other Tal’Vashoth talk about when he was able to get information out of them, but even that’s never going to give him a lot of information.
Eventually, he sits his mother down when he’s an adult and tells her that he wants to know. He would never leave her or live a life that she had wanted him to be no part of, but he also hates that he doesn’t understand and know. He wants to, he really does, even if it’s a touchy subject for both him and his mother.
Of course, when Bull comes into the picture (as a Qunari spy), Kaaras asks as much as he can, but it’s still not the life his mother and father lived. So he gets bits and pieces from Bull, but he still can’t paint a clear picture. He wants that picture. He wants to know his history, his blood, his culture even (even if he is Andrastian and as human as a Vashoth can be). He’s lived a life being torn between cultures, never being one or the other, but a mix of both, and yet none. He doesn’t feel he fits in either because he’s too human to be qunari and too qunari to be human.
Finally, Aban is able to tell Kaaras some of their lifestyle, particularly when Kaaras finds out the truth about his father being a re-educator under the Qun and not a labourer like they’d told him his whole life (no thanks to Talan). Aban feels she at least owes her only son the truth about how they lived, and that the Qun isn’t as evil as she’d always portrayed it to be. This is something horribly difficult for her to come to terms with, as it was Kaaras’ father who lost his way and wished to leave the Qun. Aban never wanted to leave, not until she knew she was pregnant with Kaaras and had no choice if she wanted to keep her child. She gave up everything for Kaaras, and talking about what she misses feels pointless when her son is right before her, and is everything in her world now. Kaaras became her new purpose, looking after him, making sure he lived as happily and healthily as possible, even though they struggled so much being poor.
The culture in the household is definitely a strange one. Anyone could see that there’s tension between Kaaras and his mother (despite their undying love for one another). Kaaras was influenced and grew up around humans, unlike Aban, even though she’s been in Ferelden for 29 years, she’s a bit recluse compared to Kaaras’ father. She still has many Qunari qualities to her, whereas Kaaras is much more Fereldan. Their accents are even completely different (Kaaras’ being Fereldan and Aban’s being Par Vollen [American]).
Anyone could see that there are even different ideals between them, even though they also share so many of the same. Their personalities can be so different purely for the sake of the culture difference. It’s something I honestly love about them <3 Every bit of sternness within Kaaras is entirely from his mother, every bit of leadership skills, his mother, his determination to find purpose and cause, his control, all his mother. She’s one hell of a woman, and I love her.
Kaaras and OCD: 1/?
// So a few of you would know by now simply by RPing with Kaaras that he suffers from OCD. Mainly, his compulsions are cleaning up and keeping things in order and finding them specific places, as well as performing daily rituals/tasks.
A lot of people see this as him generally just being a ‘neat freak’, especially because his compulsions may be obvious, but they’re not exactly out of control either. Here’s why:
Aban (Kaaras’ mum), picked up on Kaaras’ OCD when he started showing more severe symptoms with general cleanliness (specifically washing his hands a lot) after his father died and keeping things in order (rearranging things to fit specific spots and colour schemes, etc).
As a tamassran, she’d seen things like this before in children under the Qun, though not exactly common, but was aware of it, which is why Kaaras is pretty damn good at coping with his symptoms. Instead of freaking out, she’s always been very supportive of his ‘quirks’ and helped him cope by not interfering, but by mentally stimulating him.
How did she do this? When Kaaras got compulsions, she never once teased him or forced him to stop. She let him perform his rituals, but she taught him to be aware of them in ways so he could perform a task, but concentrate on doing it once so he’d not perform it over and over again. That wasn’t always successful, but helping his mind realise he’d already done something did help. And while he’s definitely not perfect, he’s learned to deal with his OCD in many healthy ways, and is even able to reschedule a compulsion. She also taught him to write down when he felt like he needed to do something, which helped ease his mind in performing the given task.
Kaaras showed signs when he was younger, but they were absolutely intensified due to the stress and trauma of his father’s death. Kaaras also happens to be a recovering alcoholic, which the alcohol made his OCD a lot worse when he was drinking on a regular basis. Many habits became compulsions to him versus just a bad habit because of this.
Of course, once he cleaned up, he got better control of his OCD again and his sister (who travelled with him) was able to help him with those steps that his mother taught them both.
As Inquisitor, you will definitely still know that Kaaras has his OCD symptoms, particularly when he’s under a lot of stress and his anxiety is higher. He has routines, and may become stressed if they’re not performed, but he’s definitely a lot better than he used to be. Keeping crinkles out of things, making sure objects have their particular places in his area are definitely something he still struggles with, but thankfully his OCD doesn’t affect most other people and he IS very aware of them, which allows him to take the steps to reevaluate the situation and cope and control it.
He can still be very fussy and he can still have episodes that make him frustrated if something isn’t performed correctly, but the best thing to do is allow him to perform his task. Kaaras is aware, and if your muse ends up letting him do what he needs to, then he’ll appreciate it. He doesn’t want people to coddle him when they see him doing something like fussing over dust or a book that needs to be put back in place and made to stand perfectly. He IS, however, embarrassed when people point things out and make him feel humiliated by his behaviour.
If your muse ever meets Kaaras’ mum and they end up seeing Kaaras do something unusual or it simply comes up in conversation, Aban will gladly inform them of his compulsions and how to help him cope with them better. Because she fully believes that berating someone for such things will never help them, but you must understand them instead and support them wholeheartedly.
// Something that I’ve always loved and respected when it comes to Kaaras’ mum is that she’s never been a punisher, but an understander when it comes to dealing with children and discipline. Her techniques as a tamassran meant she understood the meanings behind behaviours (or tried to) so she could get the best outcome for the child.
Honestly, it’s probably why Kaaras has grown up to be a very self aware person. There was a period in his life where he was very low, yes, but he was also away from his mother then, and also pushed her away during that time. I think Kaaras felt ashamed of the person he was, but also was in serious denial and acting out after his father died. That was his way of grieving, and he didn’t do it healthily, no, but he needed to figure it out himself as well. I think Aban KNEW that her interfering with his grieving would have only pushed him further way. But also that Kaaras felt guilt every time he looked at her, blaming himself for the loss and her loss.
Now their relationship is very strong that Kaaras is more self aware and grown, that he’s a much better and stronger person, that he can allow himself to be emotional and accept his feelings and understand them.
Aban has always been an analyser. She was a very good tamassran because of this. She’s not the type of woman to raise her voice when she’s telling someone off, she’s the kind of person to get to the point, to understand why this child is acting that way, because the way she sees it, is that all behaviours have a reason, and thus a remedy. The only time she will raise her voice is if that’s the only way to get the point across, if that’s the only way the child will respond, but it’s a pretty last resort, the same as any physical punishments (aside from maybe a little hand slap if someone’s going to touch something they shouldn’t etc).
I just really love Kaaras’ mum. She’s not without her own faults (she sometimes doesn’t understand the privacy Southerners have--and in turn some of the customs Kaaras grew up with despite having been there, too--and she thinks everything is her business), but she’s a good tamassran and her purpose suited her well.