I am convinced people who don’t like Viv haven’t actually taken her out much/spoken to her at Skyhold and instead are running on ‘grrr mage who likes circles bad bad’.
Vivienne was not born in Orlais. She was born in Wycome to merchant parents who were constantly on the move, though she was taken to the circle relatively early. I feel like one thing Viv gets shit for is her place in the Grand Game (despite Leliana and Josephine also being adept players). But it’s important to note that Viv is well aware her position in Orlais is not one born of friendship and that she is indeed widely hated (TW for in-game racist comment about Viv below):
“Oh but Viv desires power! That’s bad” yes well ‘power’ allows her freedom and a life beyond the circle walls. She has dialouge where she specifically talks about how you must learn to live with restrictions but adapt to give them the best life they can give you. And that’s what she’s doing! Constantly! Besides, her desire for power is one of the fun things about her character and something she has in common with plenty of other dragon age characters (Leliana, Josephine, Solas, the Inquisitor etc.) She’s just more open about the fact that that’s what she wants.
She also enjoys the game (as do Leliana and Josephine) but she’s right in the Winter Palace when she tells you if she wasn’t good at it she’d be dead. World of Thedas Vol. 2 mentions how after she began her affair with Bastien multiple bards and assassins were sent after Viv (‘half of them were returned to their employers frozen solid. The rest were persuaded to work for her instead’ shdkdkdlf I LOVE her).
Anyway, as for her views on the Circle, I also don’t agree with them. But it’s worth noting where they come from:
So, here we learn that Viv is scared of the templars in some capacity, but still believes they are necessary. Perhaps that belief is because of what happened during the rebellion and the trauma she suffered from seeing various mages and tranquil killed needlessly. I truly believe that when she calls the templars a useful ‘tool’ but accepts that there are rotten eggs among them, she means to enact reforms from the inside that would stop the sort of behaviour we see. I’m not sure this would work, but it’s worth seeing it from her side. She sees the templars as what they were founded to be: to protect magic and mages, both from those who would seek to destroy it from the outside and demons who would prey on mages. Do I agree with her? No! But! Plenty of fandom favourites hold basically the same philosophy about the mage/templar conflict: CullenandFenrisin particular.
And Viv? Viv has so many more qualities than just the above parts of her characterisation. She Cares.I find the people she will shout about if they fall particularly telling:
The two ‘youngest’ members who she has contentious relationships with, she is genuinely worried about in battle.
And then we have:
(This post is getting v long but also please see: every single Bull/Viv interaction because she basically adopts him, and every single Sera/Viv interaction because they wind each other up but Viv also does play her own ‘pranks’ right back at Sera which is delightful)
Shecares. She even cares about Cole. And she cares about the first victims of war, the serving staff, in the Winter Palace. She cares about the tranquil when you enter the hut and find out the truth about the shard skulls. She cares. But she also knows caring is a weakness that could lose her her power and position so she’s careful with it, guarded. Which in itself is such a wonderful lovely characteristic.
She’s funny, sassy, clever. She is considered an ‘exceptional scholar’ (World of Thedas Vol. 2). Just like Solas, she is actually envious if you go to adamant without her because she finds the idea of being in the fade physically to be fascinating! And just like Dorian she’s underestimated when it comes to her intelligence because of everything else about her.
(Side note: she’s was also friends with Bastians wife and there’s there’s jealousy between them which i love, and Bastian sent her enough flowers to fill an entire floor of the circle tower when they first met which is just. V sweet)
She’s just an amazing character. I love her deeply. I wish more people loved her and saw the complexities of her. Because she is so interesting, her interactions with the other characters are interesting. And, like I said before, she’s no better or worse in her views than CullenorFenriswhen it comes to mages and yet the fandom makes 12 page long think pieces about those characters and why it’s okay for them, but will vilify Viv and pretend that’s not a double standard.
Anyway. I love her. And just felt like expressing that this fine morning.
