Lore drop on Vivian, please? What's her story & relationship with the band? The role she plays and the story of her and Murdoc. I want an essay level of rambling 🤍✨
FUCK FUCK I FORGOT ABOUT THIS SWEET LITTLE ASK- sits down. So you wanna know about Vivian...well that is if you still *want* the lore sniffs about...
Vivian's 23, and she joins the band as a photographer with a various collection of hobbies. Her favourite however is painting, and as she's assigned as one of the lead photographers for "Gorillaz" (a big break in her career) she excitedly dons on the new opportunity. Nothing crazy or too special lore wise for her 'joining' the band, honestly, but in her world this was a dream and a break in an industry she swore she'd never be able to touch.
So when she joins of course the first man to get the immediate hots for her is Murdoc. A right stunner with an upturned attitude for him to try and break? Call him slick he is ready to try and wriggle in on her and capture her attention. Plus she likes art and music, and for Murdoc on a personal level when he finds out she paints he's secretly enamoured with this aspect of her, and her creativity.
2D is intrigued by the pure nature of her, her humour and of course the hair and how she manages to dye it in such a manner. Simple stuff, he just likes her for who she is and the two are actually decent friends - they would be close if Vivian didn't later down the line feel so heartbroken because of what happens (Not even 2D's fault, but it aches her so much it turns her slightly against him)
Noodle might just be her favourite all in all because of the cool relaxed personality, and they get especially close once Noodle's grown up and can appreciate Vivian further and the two are hooked on one another as best friends and Vivian actually looks up to Noodle as she gets older because of how she adapts to her strange environment and manages to be herself despite it all. Cool stuff between the two but not really too fleshed out other than that :)
Russel err...she's a touch off put by with the spiritualistic talk, not of his own fault but she does find a joy in talking deep with him about the state of the world and the impacts it has on us and others, and he drags her into his spiritual talk sometimes and they actually have a good time out of it.
Now here's my fun part. Murdoc and Vivian are a complex relationship. I won't delve into phases because honestly I don't think much about the phases unless someone specifically asks or it applies to the narrative (Like The Now Now or any other important plot line Murdoc goes through). Its always hard to explain exactly how they work to people who dont hear my usual rambles in my discord server BAH but I'll try my best here. Vivian is enamoured by Murdoc, and Murdoc soon starts to gain complicated feelings for Vivian. There's this charm to her, this funny vibrant very outgoing girl who loves life for what it is and tries her best to keep her head up. (Vivian was written to be everything I couldn't be, actually.) Apart of him is disgusted by it but she's a light at the end of his tunnel- a light he never knew he actually needed to see before. So once they get attatched to one another it signals the end of a good thing very quickly. As sad as it is, as much as they're in love, Vivian puts Murdoc on this pedestal that Murdoc cannot get off of and doesn't want to. Keep this in mind for later.
They're very much in love with one another. Murdoc will bicker with Vivian over small things she likes then surprise her with those things. (Trinkets- she love trinkets so much and he calls them stupid. After each show he does he collects a trinket and slips it to her. She got her seashell necklace from him and her chunky star earrings. Murdoc thought they were tacky until she expressed how much she loved them and he stared at her and agreed just because of her pure excitement. He said "I love it too." Referring more to her than the objects </3) He hates her music taste but makes sure to get her special signed vinyls since he "has connections" and she gets him special innings for private photography shots exclusively for him (he adores the limelight from them). They'll sit on the couch and smoke joints and giggle about stupid things, she'll listen to Murdoc vent his frustration, pretty much anything.
Their relationship had potential to be positive. Unfortunately Murdoc is a very troubled individual and Vivian has her own issues. As positive as I make it seem there's also this toxic side where Murdoc will often manipulate Vivian into staying by his side. It's akin to 2D but worse, because its something I had to go through. Horrid words slung like "I could be with anyone, but I'm here with you." "I could leave at any moment, you know that?" He'll say things like that against Vivian. It's not entirely Murdoc's fault, he's horribly ruined by years of neglect and abuse and it hurts him to a serious degree which Vivian thinks she understands and tries to help but its beyond her, of course. But again, he's on a pedestal and to her this is all normal. What he's saying is simply just fact to her. So she suffers from emotional abuse from him so badly that she presses her hand into his despite all his thorns and she *bleeds* for him. She loves him so much it's what she "needs" to do. She needs to help him, to make him see reason and reality that he can do better and be better but he just instead holds her hand tighter and draws out more blood. As much as it hurts they're bound now and it would hurt for Vivian to rip away from it, so instead he does. He hurts her over and over, jamming pain back into her again and again, breaking up with her because he knows where it'll go until he gets so alone he drunkenly calls her and sobs that he needs her, and shes by his side again. She should leave but she knows how hard it would be for them both.
To save alot of story and boring blah blah blah she watches him change finally during The Now Now. Not because of her, but because of 2D. She's happy for them- for him. As much as it hurts seeing another person change for someone else but not you when you did so much for them. But by that time she had already left, taking on a different project and knowing that he couldn't change in time to save her she moves on, leaving him and the memory of him far behind to try and heal. She never does. Not even remotely after what he did to her.
Its based off something I went through with a "best friend." We do alot for those we think we love and I was dragged into a person who was so unique and charming I got enamoured quickly. I pushed alot of my friends away and focused purely on them and in the end when we had to part ways they confessed they were jealous that I was spending time with those friends and they felt left out despite me doing things I never done before with strictly just them and shoving anyone else away for them. It was toxic, but I needed it so badly- and this isnt for a pity grab but this is what Murdoc and Vivian are, they're this manifestation of "whatever you do for me just isnt enough. I love you so wholly, why wont you strictly just be mine? Sure, I have a surplus of fans and friends but luv I picked *you* tonight. Doesn't that mean anything to you?" Shivers. You feel special after that. Vivian felt special, and he would hurt her constantly to then apologize and do it again to see if she would stick around. And she did until the end where it broke her seeing him change for his best friend. Not that she didn't want that, but why did he make her stay for so long if he would just leave her to change for another when thats what she wanted for so long?
Anyway here's art of them heh
andulkaphoto
yousharknotpass
2087
prguitarman
