"I Always Have Time For You, My Dear" (Vivienne Discussion)

I absolutely love Vivenne.

One of my comments from before:
"Vivienne (melee mage!) gets a permanent space on my squad. She even beats my romance out, by being in the party more often. I love her sass, her attitude, her clever machinations, her flair, her style, her confidence, and so on. I like putting her in heavy armor and having her blast people with a crafted Blade of Tidarion"

...and:

"For me, I simply don't see all of that negative side of her. Vivienne likes my Inquisitor. Sure, she is still manipulating the situation for her gain, but, in my Inquisitor's case, they are friends. My Inquisitor is an Andrastian that is finally being allowed to "stand tall" and sing the praises of his faith. Being typically excluded, my Inquisitor is actually trying to reconstruct the Chantry as it was, not as some sort of new, progressive, evolved form of the institution. Besides hoping other races can participate, and that mages should be included, he comes from a pretty traditional platform. And he relies on Vivienne for guidance in many things. So, despite dissolving the organization in the end, I always envisioned my Inquisitor being Divine Vivienne's Right Hand.

Obviously, this alters the dynamic of the relationship. Whereas other players can rightfully despise Vivienne due to their interactions, I adore her."

Vivienne deftly carves a place for herself in the changing landscape, and I am happy to share my journey with her.

It's a shame that the writers set up to make her unavailable to have a romantic relationship with her, she has the perfect qualities of a LI to be. And I personally believe that the writers put the Duke for Vivienne to make her unavailable, and I personally believe the reason why they intended to make her not available to have a relationship is because they don't want a black woman as a love interest. Sad really I was looking forward to it.

Ahhh, Madam Vivienne. Wow, where to start.

Okay, I fall into the 'love to hate' camp more than anything. She's condescending, self absorbed, and no where NEAR as smart or as cunning as she makes herself out to be. She's also bigoted, and racist (though to be fair, most everyone is Orlais is, so you kinda have to expect that). From the moment my Dalish First met her, she immediately began talking down to her as if she were less than. Her attempts to display her usefulness only works if you don't actually look to hard at it...which, was why she approached you in such a fashion. At no point did I feel that she was 'necessary' as a party member or as part of the Inquisition. Dorian and Solas provided more insight and knowledge into the events than she ever did. I mean, I absolutely adored her trolling of Sera, but her lack of humility and utter contempt for magic and cultures outside Orlais and the Circle were rather shocking. I did enjoy watching her seethe as I took her to the Arbor Wilds, and how Morrigan dismissed her with amusement (then again, if your mother was an ancient witch like Flemeth, nothing Vivienne threw at her was going to do anything other than make her homesick, or amused).

Now, that being said...Vivienne DID impress me in specific ways. First, she is an unchanging, relentless and ruthless individual. She had to be. At some point, she made a specific choice to NOT be defined by what others would make of her. She is, in fact, an incredibly powerful and savvy self made woman. Her accomplishments, be they incredible or repugnant, were her own. She did it. She's also loyal. Assuming the Inquisitor assists her in her endeavors, she proves to be a steadfast and canny ally. Once she is able to rebuild her power base, she appears to put it to good use on the Inquisitors part. After Trespasser, she rebuilds the Circle through wit and will. While I do not see her as being sharper than Dorian OR Solas (both are clearly at the top of their respective games and have being involved in magic that went beyond theoretical), she is cunning and brave enough to dive into the thick of it for the Inquisitors cause.

As a character, I enjoyed how she was IMMENSELY different from both Morrigan and Anders. Morrigan was a snarky, selfish witch trained by Flemeth. She possessed immense knowledge, but was about as social as a recently stepped on rattlesnake. She was devious, and clearly out for her own ends, but in the end, could be warmed up to become a lover...or a very close friend to the Warden. Yet it took three games for her to get a decent serving of humble pie (or crow...wait, that's funnier). Anders was also a snarky mage who came from the Circle and basically had the worst possible experience you could have there. While Morrigan was outwardly prickly, Anders kept most of it hidden...until he and Justice decided that two heads were better than one. Which, at that point, as far as I can tell...'Anders' died, giving way to whatever that thing was that turned Kirkwall into a mass grave. Unlike Morrigan, Anders warmed up quick...and then as whatever sanity he had slipped away, grew distant and fanatical. Vivienne on the other hand, stuck to her guns (or staff?). She was snarky, proud, and unchanging. From the start, you pretty much knew where she stood, and that WASN'T going to change. Very few unknowns came with the First Enchanter. She wanted the Circle back, her power base rebuilt and control over the Circles (and to an extent, the Templars). You KNEW she was in it for the power, she told you so. She delighted in being the 'villain' amongst the 'heroes'. You had to respect that.

Now, she was close-minded, dismissing Solas but to be fair, she REALLY, REALLY couldn't have know who she was talking to (by the way, she MIGHT want to watch her back, and hope he doesn't hold a grudge...she'd last no longer than the Viddisala). She was out of her depth, but that really wasn't her fault...time magic was theoretical, and Rift magic was rather new. Nor could she have known that the Wardens were necessary (though that lately has been put into doubt, even Morrigan hinted that it might not be true), or that the Veil was a creation rather than always having existed. She's basically up against Dragon Age's version of Revan (or close enough).

I REALLY hate her...but I am so glad she's there as a counterpoint to the previous mage companions (pro=Circle Wynne, swamp witch Morrigan, unlucky Sketch, vengeful Velanna, rebel Anders, blood mage Merrill, pariah Dorian and...Solas). She like nothing we've had, and I'm GLAD she's in the game. I'm NOT fond of her, but why should we ALWAYS have someone we can bend to our will, or turn to our favor. It would have been wrong if we could just talk her into being a different person...that ISN'T who she is. She made herself, and refuses to be 'remade' into what someone else wants. Good. Again, hate her, but respect the character, and think its awesome that she was put into the game. Though, if the trend follows, she MAY get some comeuppance in future titles...rule of three, ya know?

She isn't my favorite but she is alright. Personally I like her better then solas. Throwing up a barrier now.

Bioware has made multiple love interests who are black women. There is even one in the Dragon Age series: Isabela. 

I like how the very next post is N7. It's as if they are like Beeetlejuice, Candy Man, etc and if you say their name they are summoned.

*Why people always throw Isabella on the plate?* I want to have a relationship with Vivienne because, she's an interesting character and she has class and demands respect that made me attracted to her. That gives her an edge over Isabella because she doesn't give a damn who she sleeps with and that's a shame that they didn't made her available as a romance option.

And that is a perfectly valid want to have. However, just because she is not an option does not mean Bioware has some agenda against you or a certain race.

Oh, trust me I know. I've had several discussions with them on the old BSN. However, I like to do it sometimes 

The only thing Bioware has done plenty of times regarding this is prove you to be objectively wrong. 

I agree that BioWare wasted potential of Vivienne's character development and it just seems suspicious to me.