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Vivian

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This article is about the comic series character. You may be looking for her video game counterpart.


“ You think I wanted to be this person? Wanted to do what I did to Faith and Lily? And every day I have to look the others in the eye...Hans, Gwen...sweet Nerissa. And know what I took away from them. You do that long enough and you learn to hate yourself. You reach a point where you just can't pretend anymore. Where the only choice you have left...really is no choice at all. „
~ Vivian to Bigby Wolf and Georgie Porgie, Fables: The Wolf Among Us #43 — "Chapter Forty-Three"


Vivian is a Fable who is a prostitute at the Pudding & Pie strip club, where she works with the owner, Georgie Porgie. She first appears in Fables: The Wolf Among Us #22 — "Chapter Twenty-Two."

Synopsis

Lily's funeral

Vivian is seen attending Lily's funeral, along with Nerissa, Snow White and Holly.[3] She and the other women stand back while the Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum show up uninvited and confront Holly. She charges at them, but is quickly shot down and falls to the floor while Vivian the others watch in horror.[4]

Crane's arrest

Later, Bigby and Snow show up at the Pudding & Pie looking for Ichabod Crane. After breaking into the back room, they find Crane violently shaking Nerissa while Vivian tries to get him to stop. Bigby separates them and questions Crane while Nerissa and Vivian watch. When Snow starts to doubt Crane's involvement in the murders, Vivian reacts with anger. She emphatically declares that she and Nerissa could very well be the next ones targeted.[5] She and Crane exchange insults, and stands by while Bigby places Crane under arrest and marches him out of the building[2]

Crooked Man's lair

Amidst a gathering taking place at the Crooked Man's lair, Vivian, along with Georgie Porgie and the Crooked Man's henchpeople, experiences an unexpected intrusion when Bigby forcefully bursts into the scene.[6] She witnesses Georgie's confession to the murders.[7]

Death

In the ensuing fight, Georgie is fatally stabbed by Bigby. Vivian escapes with Georgie through a portal[8] to the Pudding & Pie.[1] Bigby follows and finds Georgie extremely injured almost to the point of death.[8] Georgie elaborates that the Crooked Man placed magical ribbons around Faith, Lily, and the other girls' necks to prevent them from speaking. He explains that Vivian is the original "Girl with the Ribbon," and all of the subsequent ribbons were made from hers. If Bigby takes it off her, the spell will be broken, but Vivian will die. He tries to force the sheriff to remove Vivian's ribbon and kill her.[1]

Bigby refuses to end Vivian's life, but she backs away and states that the girls that were killed were like family to her and no one was supposed to die. She admits that she hates herself when looking at the other employees at the club — Hans, Gwen and Nerissa — as she only sees the pain she's caused them through her curse. She pulls her own ribbon off, committing suicide. As her head separates from her body, the enchantment is broken.[1] Georgie, on the verge of death, tenderly holds Vivian's decapitated head while grieving for her loss.[9]

Original source

The urban legend

Vivian is based on the woman from the popular urban legend of the velvet ribbon, a ghost story of known under a variety of names, such as "The Velvet Ribbon," "The Red Ribbon," "The Red Satin Ribbon," "The Yellow Ribbon"[10] and "The Green Ribbon" from Alvin Schwartz's In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories from 1984.[11] The story has existed in oral tradition since at least the 1800s, and certain accounts trace the tale's origins to the French Revolution.[12]

Literary versions

Besides Schwartz's version, there are other notable adaptations in literature: Horace Smith recounted a variation of the story in his 1823 story "Sir Guy Eveling's Dream," while Washington Irving presented it as "The Adventure of the German Student" (1824). Alexandre Dumas wrote a version called "The Woman With the Velvet Necklace," released in 1849.[11] Gaston Leroux published yet another version[13] in 1924, called "The Woman with the Velvet Collar."[14]

The story

In this eerie story, a woman wears a velvet ribbon around her neck that she refuses to remove, keeping the reason behind it shrouded in mystery. In the end, it is revealed that her head is solely held in place by the ribbon. As soon as the ribbon is taken off, her head detaches as well, and at times, it continues to speak while lying on the floor, illuminated by the moonlight.[15]

Sex workers' ribbons

There is quite a bit of symbolism behind the choker in the story:[15] In the aftermath of the French Revolution, red chokers assumed a darker significance, serving as a poignant reminder and a show of support for those who tragically lost their lives to the guillotine.[16] In the mid to late 19th century,[15] sex workers began to distinguish themselves by sporting black ribbons in a matching fashion;[16] a clear parallel to the ribbons worn by Vivian and the other prostitutes in Fables: The Wolf Among Us.

Appearances

Fables: The Wolf Among Us

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Fables: The Wolf Among Us #42 — "Chapter Forty-Two"
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Fables: The Wolf Among Us #31 — "Chapter Thirty-One"
  3. ↑ Fables: The Wolf Among Us #22 — "Chapter Twenty-Two"
  4. ↑ Fables: The Wolf Among Us #23 — "Chapter Twenty-Three"
  5. ↑ Fables: The Wolf Among Us #30 — "Chapter Thirty"
  6. ↑ Fables: The Wolf Among Us #39 — "Chapter Thirty-Nine"
  7. ↑ Fables: The Wolf Among Us #40 — "Chapter Fourty"
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Fables: The Wolf Among Us #41 — "Chapter Forty-One"
  9. ↑ Fables: The Wolf Among Us #43 — "Chapter Forty-Three"
  10. ↑ Red Ribbon, July 8, 2008, Scary for Kids."The Red Ribbon is a short scary story for kids about a girl who wears something around her neck that she refuses to take off. It is also known as The Red Satin Ribbon, The Velvet Ribbon and The Yellow Ribbon. A version of this story appeared in Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark."
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Gutoskey, Ellen (September 20, 2023). The Girl With the Green Ribbon: A Grisly History of 'Headless Woman' Stories, Mental Floss. "The story, colloquially known as “the girl with the green ribbon,” is a tentpole of Millennial folklore, passed from friend to friend at sleepovers and in schoolyards throughout the late 1980s and beyond. Though it's often misremembered as an entry in Alvin Schwartz's Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, it's actually from a different collection by the same author: In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Stories, published in 1984 and meant for younger readers. (Technically, the title is just “The Green Ribbon,” and the girl is named Jenny.)"
  12. ↑ Jensen, Kelly (October 29, 2021). "The Girl With The Green Ribbon": A Tale of Many Lives, Book Riot. "“The Girl with the Green Ribbon” has a long history. Some origins date it back to the French Revolution, though there's no question the story has been around in oral tradition since at least the 1800s. Alexander Dumas told a version of the story with "The Woman With the Velvet Necklace,” and years later, Washington Irving told it as “The Adventure of a German Student.” Scholars note that many readers might be familiar with Dumas's title attached to Irving's version of the story, as it was anthologized with both over time."
  13. ↑ Lewis, Jonathan (June 24, 2016). JONATHAN LEWIS: Stories I'm Reading — GASTON LEROUX “The Woman with the Velvet Collar.” Mystery*File
  14. ↑ Title: La femme au collier de velours, Internet Speculative Fiction Database. "Title: La femme au collier de velours Title Record # 1597175 • Author: Gaston Leroux • Date: 1924-07-06. (...) Translations • 1929 • English • The Woman with the Velvet Collar."
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Radford, Lyra (april 16, 2020). 10 Psychological Reasons 'The Velvet Ribbon' Is More Horrifying Than You Thought, Ranker.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Garber, Megan (October 10, 2016). The Long (and Short) History of the Choker, The Atlantic. "In the aftermath of the French revolution, women took to tying red ribbons around their necks in silent remembrance of those who had lost their lives to the guillotine. But the semantics quickly evolved: Soon, prostitutes were identifying themselves according to the black-ribboned versions of the same style. "


See also

Fables
Series Fables • Jack of Fables • Fairest • Fables: The Wolf Among Us • Everafter: From the Pages of Fables
Specials Fables: 1001 Nights of Snowfall • Peter & Max: A Fables Novel • Cinderella: From Fabletown with Love • Cinderella: Fables Are Forever • The Literals • Fables: Werewolves of the Heartland • Fairest: In All the Land • The Unwritten Fables • Batman vs. Bigby! A Wolf in Gotham
Characters Bigby Wolf • Snow White • Rose Red • Prince Charming • Beauty • Beast • Boy Blue • Flycatcher • King Cole • Frau Totenkinder • Geppetto • Snow Queen • North Wind • Jack Horner • Bufkin
Video games The Wolf Among Us • The Wolf Among Us 2 (unreleased)
Fabletown
Governing body King Cole • Snow White (formerly) • Prince Charming (formerly) • Beauty • Ichabod Crane (formerly)
Inhabitants Beast • Bigby Wolf (formerly) • Flycatcher (formerly) • Trusty John • Grimble • Bufkin • Cinderella • Mowgli • Hobbes • Pinocchio • Briar Rose • Doctor Swineheart • Rapunzel • Kay • Edmond Dantès • Crispin Cordwainer • Thrushbeard • Fairy Witch • Frau Totenkinder • Ozma • Fairy Witch • Morgan le Fay
Places Grand Green Florist Shop • Chateau d'If Fencing Academy • Edward Bear's Candies • Ford Laundry • Nod's Books • Lewis Antiques • I Am the Eggman Diner • Yellowbrick Roadhouse • Web 'n' Muffet Market • The Woodland Luxury Apartments • The Glass Slipper Shoes • Branstock Tavern
Unique items Magic Mirror
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