➝ @ofthewildes said: in which ways do you think kieran is most like morrigan? and in which ways does he differ a lot from her?
There is, I believe, two ways to answer this question. Firstly lets focus on how others perceive Kieran in comparison to his mother: Like Morrigan, Kieran is often seen as weird, mysterious, both in a positive and negative sense though far more frequently it is seen as something overal NEGATIVE. It marks both him and Morrigan as strange and sometimes untrustworthy, as supsicious and weird. While Kieran was blessed ( if you want to call it that, it is certainly debatable ) with a more normal childhood which allowed him to be far more well adapted to the ' normal ' world with much less effort than his mother he still has odd habits and interests that make him stand out even when he tries to fit in. However, he also has little desire to fit in. While his mother observed nearby villages and dreamt of being able to live a normal life, Kieran never saw his weirdness as something to be corrected. He is aware that there are situations in which it is necessary to appear like someone else but he has far less trouble putting the mask DOWN again when possible.
Furthermore thanks to his appearance he could be Morrigan's doppelgänger, both because he is very clearly her son and because he moves and dresses in similar ways. Anyone who knows Morrigan will be able to tell he is related to her even if they should be unaware that she has a son ( and that is something I imagine Morrigan tried to counteract during their time in Orlais ). There are differences even outsiders observe of course. Kieran smiles more than his mother, there is always a spring in his step and he is far more OPEN in a way that is clearly more genuine than when Morrigan interacts with others.
On the inside things get more complicated. Kieran shares his mother's intense thirst for knowledge and desire to preserve all kinds of magic, he shares the notion that things such as blood magic are tools to be used rather than being something that should be categorically forbidden and looked down upon as unethical. The love Morrigan has for her son is clearly reflected in how much he loves her and their bond is likely as equal as any mother-son relationship CAN be regarding the respect and love shared within it. But Kieran is not a carbon copy of his mother and a lot of that is directly influenced by Morrigan's work! It is because of her loving, guiding hand throughout his life that Kieran does not share her bitterness or her suspicion of the world at large. He is far more willing to help strangers and more likely to expect the best of people rather than the worst as his mother would. He is far more soft spoken and even somewhat shy compared to Morrigan because unlike her, he was never challenged with the same hatred and mockery that she experienced in her formative years ( and beyond ). In a lot of ways I imagine Kieran is a reflection of who Morrigan could have been if her mother had loved her properly and if the world had been a little more kind to her. Kieran has his own problems of course, he is obsessive at times, marked by June's influence in a way that he will never shake fully but — he also was raised with unconditional love, grew up in what he experienced as incredible SAFETY and comfort and was encouraged to pursue his interests and hobbies in ways Morrigan never was.
Ultimately, I believe Kieran is most like his mother when it comes to his search for knowledge and even his tendency to grow obsessive over his research. When it comes to the ways they differ from each other, a lot of it comes down to Morrigan deliberately refusing to inflict the same damage upon her son as her mother inflicted upon her which allowed Kieran to open up himself to the world a lot more than Morrigan. He has far less trouble accepting help or admitting he needs help in the first place, he can talk about his feelings without worrying about appearing weak, he is not afraid to love and never has been. His differences are a direct reflection of Morrigan changing as a person too.












