#vivyabout

Despite moving to Texas quite young, Vivienne spoke mostly Mandarin in her family home as the Lais still maintained many overseas operations so it was important to them to keep culture and language. She speaks perfect Mandarin-accented English, so there's a lot of soft sh-sounds against her upper teeth/the roof of her mouth.

A Negroni, or a Manhattan. She liked the tiniest hint of fruit in an otherwise punishing drink

Her showering routine is standard, but Vivienne scents soap for her own use and moisturizes assiduously; she also concocts mud masks and grooming oils

She still has her two suitcases of fancier clothes and wears the very expensive leather walking shoes she'd been wearing when she arrived in Redwood

Right now, she sleeps on "her" side of Zack's bed

Vivienne likes Lunar New Year and kept up with the practices even after the zombiepocalypse

can they use chopsticks – Of course. The Lais prided themselves on being cosmopolitan and Vivienne also knows how to eat with her hands in a way appropriate to say, Indian or Ethiopian dishes.

what do they do when they can’t sleep – She will never admit to having trouble sleeping, because Ixora peddled many aids for sleep hygiene and restful nights. Vivienne will lie there angry until she's worn herself out enough to fall asleep.

what would they impulse buy at the grocery store – soap. The more outlandish the wrapper claims, the better.

what order do they wash things in the shower – Face first with just water and her fingertips, then the rest of her downwards with soap. Intimate areas last.

what’s their coffee order – flat white. Never any deviation.

what sort of apps would they have on their smartphone - All the apps that teamed with Ixora, of course. Mostly wellness and organization.

how do they act around children – Vivienne would've been good with her own babies if she'd had any, but otherwise she has no particular fondness for children.

what would they watch on tv when they’re bored and nothing they really like is on -- she'd turn the tv off.  

Vivienne has made a business of neither seeing nor focusing on physical flaws -- quite literally, as this was one of the guiding principles of her company Ixora (once again Lucille Bluth comes in handy here):

She is especially pleased with the way that her diction shapes her mouth when she speaks, and she feels her eyes are very expressive. She also maintains her body strength and flexibility and finds nothing to critique there.

@zackastor

"They're talking about divorce."

Vivienne looked up at Zack from where she was sitting on their bed, examining a run in her pantyhose. Her husband was adjusting his turtleneck in the mirror, and she watched as he folded and refolded it, searching for a configuration that wouldn't show the livid marks on his throat. It had been a long night. It had almost been the sort of night that would have their handler demanding a meeting within forty minutes of failure. They'd achieved their goal, but at some physical expense. And Zack couldn't go in to work at the travel agency with the raw line left by a garotte wire along his neck.

"Obviously that can't be allowed," Vivienne said, and he gave her a flat look in the mirror because yes, obviously, but Mother Russia had seen fit to furnish her with a partner-husband thirteen years her junior in experience, as well, so she continued: "We need them intact or you won't be able to play them off each other so efficiently."

"You could always take over with one of them," Zack said. He had stopped fiddling with his turtleneck and was just looking at her, now, as she cursed and stripped off the cheap pantyhose. L'eggs, they were called. She'd been charmed by the plastic egg they came in. Now she just felt foolish and pissed.

"And how would I do that, Zachary? The senator's wife likes what you have to offer. The senator likes the other side of what you have to offer. I don't think he'd accept a substitute." She was knotting her fists in the pantyhose and pulling it taut, Vivienne realized, when Zack's gaze slipped downward. A garotte, in her hands. His mouth was pulled tight. She slackened her grip and let the ruined hose flutter to the ground.

"Let him have you over his desk again," she said, standing and going into their ensuite, turning on the shower. "Smoke a joint with her again before you take her to bed. Those seem to be the methods that work best. This is what you were trained for, Zack." Vivienne paused at the door to the bathroom. "We were called to serve our country. Don't forget that."

Steam was billowing out before she closed the door, but it didn't quite obscure the sight of Zack stooping to pick up her discarded pantyhose, wrapping them tight around his fist.