I come bearing a song recommendation! The song “Be careful what you wish for (the doctor said to)” by Jack Harris gives me really strong Vivi vibes. Idk how right I am but I’m sharing anyway. It’s mostly with the line “took your peace your pain your pleasure and I left you with one face forever” which reminded me a lot of Elysium.
ooh tysm for the recommendation!! it doesnt really fit for vivian, but interestingly enough, yknow who it did make me think of?
her dad.
for those who dont know, vivian's family has a history of addiction. her dad, martin, battled an addiction to a drink called ataraxia. whether he won or lost the battle, we'll never know, because he got a divorce and left them when vivian was twelve, thinking it was better that way. viv hasnt seen or heard from him since.
the reason it doesnt work for viv is that the song talks about the drugs removing all feelings. elysium doesnt numb; it does the opposite— it simulates intense pleasure. she doesnt use it to numb the negative emotions, but to pile on so many more feelings that she forgets about the bad ones for a while.
but ataraxia, martin's drug, is a numbing agent. its point is that it strips you of all emotions and puts you in this calm, detached state. it's usually only used clinically, like to relieve really bad ptsd survivors when nothing else works. in that case, "took your peace, your pain, your pleasure / left you with one face forever" is PERFECT for martin.
this is he :>
