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Mages of the Inquisition!

About Vivienne

I was thinking of her the other day, she’s my mainstay mage in my Seolta playthrough and I noticed some things while I was playing

She says a lot of shit to Cole, and some to Dorian if I remember right,but if you read between the lines it says a lot about her experiences 

She’s more than suspicious about Cole, she outright doesn’t want him with the Inquisition, and I think she might be as suspicious of Dorian.  But why?  She calls Cole a demon, specifically, especially when he talks to her - and often refuses to talk directly to him, but working through the Inquisitor as a medium - and seems to think Dorian is bein foolish with his magic 

One of the convos with Cole has him speaking about her Harrowing, or so I think, and I think that’s the bi clue as to why she’s like this, why she supports the Circle so strongly, why she’s so staunchly against apostates and spirits.  In this memory, she is clearly terrified of being possessed, the event traumatized her, and i think this fear informs her entire life

Vivienne is someone who craves control, she keeps herself under such a steady leash and I think it has to do with this fear of possession.  If she loses control, she could lose herself, could hurt someone.  That fear is behind all her opinions re: mages.

It’s a lot like Bull, I think - she’s so afraid of what she could become that she constantly reigns herself in and lives by a strict code of how mages should exist that includes ‘all spirits are evil’ and ‘the circle was a good thing ’ 

which in some ways it was, but not to the extent Vivienne believes, I think in a way she copes with what happened to her by saying to herself, it was necessary, it had to happen to protect herself from demons, to protect others from her.  Because if that suffering wasn’t necessary, then why?  It opens a pandora’s box on her pain that I don’t think she wants to touch.

Vivienne is so scared, and spends her whole life and so much energy hiding it, and it breaks my heart :c

This is why I think fandom completely lacks perspective when it comes to Vivienne.  We’ve had two entire games repeatedly showing us how terrifying demons and possession are (hi Redcliffe, hey all of Kirkwall), and now that a character reacts entirely reasonably in the face of a spirit who admits he may possibly be a demon, she’s hated for it.

There is so much wrapped up in Vivienne’s fear that comes down to control, you’re right.  If you look at what Cole actually says:

There is the fear of the demon, but there is also the fear of the templars.  Failing her harrowing is just as terrifying as the templars thinking she failed her harrowing.  If she can resist possession, then the templars won’t hurt her.  Cole picks up on that, but his offer to protect her by killing templars is hardly a comfort (again, this sounds uncomfortably like the offer that many demons have made in past games–kill your enemies and everything will be fine!).

Over time, their conversations reveal that Vivienne secretly cares for Cole–and that must scare her, too.  How can she trust those feelings?  How can she trust that he is what he appears to be?  She can’t.  Everything she knows about demons tells her that her own thoughts and feelings and senses are suspect, and she will never know for sure whether what she sees when she looks at Cole is real or not.  Better to push him away than to risk it.

Solas calls her closed-minded, but that’s not it.  Vivienne is willing to admit that conventional knowledge about spirits may be inaccurate.  But she prioritizes safety–the safety of both mages and non-mages–above all else.  Rules are there to protect mages from demons and templars and peasants with pitchforks.  And rules are there to protect non-mages from her.

DAI mage squad

i don’t know why i made this but i don’t regret it

Ppl: a mage can’t be Divine!

Vivienne: ;) my dear

Treat Yo’ Self.

Wise words from Madame de Fer 

[Has this been done?]

last minute painting for vivienne appreciation month!

Apparently it’s Vivienne appreciation month. Also I just wanted to draw Vivienne in a pretty dress. I’m going to draw everyone in pretty dresses. Pretty dresses are fun.