What's in a Name?

Vivian Masterson

Vivian Masterson- Bosnian (mother); English (father); A close friend of McKenzie Hutchins, Vivian is often viewed as a clever and intelligent, if shrewd, person with an empathetic streak towards her fellow classmates. Straitlaced and sometimes smug and obtrusively virtuous, she is often nicer than Zelda Meyer-Favela in some ways and is viewed as being kind, feminine and strong-minded in nature. She often takes on advocacy roles for social causes and serves as a moral center to the otherwise flighty Zelda since she is generally friendly and well-liked at her school, providing a voice of reason to her peers. She tries to be diplomatic and is normally the one who mediates conflict between McKenzie and Zelda, among others. Vivian is very popular and influential, as most of her female peers have approached her at some point to get advice. She is similarly not afraid to confront others for being a bad friend or relationship partner and is willing to call people out when they anger her. Unlike her most frequent female companions, she is unwilling to let her beliefs be compromised by popularity. She usually does not care about what people think and tends to follow her heart as a mean source of guidance rather than the opinions of others. Vivian parallels and resembles her female classmate Trudy with their equally strong, opinionated personalities and defined sense of morality. She is much more likely to support social and humanitarian causes however, meanwhile Trudy feels slightly more attuned to and connected to animal rights and environmental issues. She is very bright and politically aware, being both a feminist and strong advocate against racial and gender discrimination in the work environment. 

She can be quite savage, as she previously compared Kim Kardashian to a "hobbit" and once threatened to beat up her obnoxious classmate Broderick for making fun of The Smurfs movie. Vivian has started and joined many campaigns, groups, and debates over the years and until recently served as class president. As one of the top students in the school, she considers it her duty as class president to mentor and help tutor her peers. She is the most outspoken of her female classmates and passionately supports cystic fibrosis awareness after her aunt's past diagnosis with the disease. She has big dreams, as she aspires to become a gynecologist, and she hopes further research is conducted to help people who have endured similar struggles to her aunt's. Vivian also identifies as "queer", refusing to put labels upon her sexuality, and supports the LGBTQ community. Her gender is something that she is beginning to consider, although she still feels comfortable using "she/her" pronouns. She is best described as a mature and intelligent person whose stubbornness and occasional jealousy sometimes get the best of her. Regardless of her usual openness and geniality, she is not immune to periodic bouts of envy towards other girls. Vivian can appear self-contradictory and hypocritical when stressful circumstances cause her to reveal a much meaner streak. This in turn can cause her to appear blunter and more sharp-tongued once she succumbs to her quick temper. During these moments, it can then appear as though she has little control over what comes out of her mouth and can unintentionally offend people with her cruel words and actions. 

Many people claim that she is the type of person who can either be your best friend or your worst enemy, depending on which side of her you choose. Vivian is regularly seen as someone who will intentionally play devil's advocate to stir debate and test other people's arguments. Her icy cruelty can be traced back to her upbringing, and she is fiercely loyal to McKenzie and becomes jealous if she pays attention to any one else. She is the meanest to Shelby Doherty, especially after McKenzie begins acting friendly towards her and often tries her best to humiliate her any chance she gets, cackling with laughter at every one of her failures. Her dislike for Shelby mainly stems from her fear that 'Doherty', as she calls her, may replace her, and adding further fuel to the fire is Darryl Wilcox, a boy that is in their chemistry class who both girls had a crush on. Vivian has thwarted Shelby by all means possible, including manipulation, blackmail, false accusations, backstabbing and bribery. A small part of her is still kind nevertheless, and she has has been known to do something nice, although she goes to great lengths to hide it. Even 'tough girl' Vivian has a weak side, since she has a difficult relationship with her strict parents and, despite her status as one of the most popular girls in school, has very few actual friends outside of her two best friends. She uses being mean as a cover up and takes out her frustration on her classmates, especially Shelby, causing her to be left friendless when she and McKenzie have a temporary falling out. Vivian for the most part tends to get straight A's in school and also likes to keep herself and all of her belongings neat. Being slightly more grounded and moral than her most frequent female counterparts however, she is always quick to apologize for her actions and fix any of her wrongdoings. 

She is described as having straight black hair that she often straightens into a sleek, shoulder-length style, cat-like amber eyes, and a light, creamy complexion, along with a thin, perfectly straight nose. She formerly had long dark hair, yet her cousins cut off a small amount of it as she slept as a "fun" prank during a family visit to Lake Forest, Illinois. Vivian takes her role in life very seriously, and her fascination with Shelby began as an experiment to see how the other half lives and eventually blossomed into a real friendship. She eventually looks to her as someone she can turn to when she needs help or advice from someone other than her mindless followers. While her other friends McKenzie and Zelda virtually worship the ground that she walks on, Shelby seems to do just fine living independently from her shadow. In fact, Vivian actually longs for the tight bond her rival shares with her best friend Naomi due to being aware that she would stick by her no matter what, while her own chosen company would only be there as long as her reign of popularity endures. Zelda is described by Vivian as the typical ditz who is spoiled and not very bright, but also beautiful, adorable, sophisticated, and occasionally kind-hearted. She always had an interest as to how things worked in the world of middle-class citizens, such as the time in which she was puzzled as to how a vacuum cleaner works. When her mother has to stay in the hospital after she gets an infection after getting liposuction, she then spends more time with Vivian's mother as a temporary replacement, resulting in her staying a few nights at the Masterson's residence. Despite this, even she receives the occasional "Zelda-ism", considering that her associate has a whole group of friends to manage. 

Vivian gave herself a pixie cut the next morning and handed the bag of hair to her cousins, allowing her hair to grow out since and donating it to charity. She is seen as pretty and ladylike, with a somewhat preppy fashion sense and bright amber eyes that appear to almost glow in the right lighting. She plays volleyball for the high school alongside McKenzie and is considered the most powerful spiker on the team. She is also a seen as being a member of her school's lacrosse team, in addition to her participating in diving competitions. Vivian displays a talent for ice skating, being able to perform a figure-eight, salchow, triple lutz, and twirl endlessly while keeping balance. She has an artsy side to her personality as well, as she enjoys watching foreign movies with her friends and has created a few short films of her own. She once watched a beautifully profound Indie film with McKenzie that moved her to tears, leading her to stay up all night researching the film's director in an attempt to determine whether he or she was married or available to fall madly in love with them. She is a surprisingly good singer, as she managed to impress her classmates once she and Vivian decided to sing "I Touch Myself" by Divinyls at a party. Vivian's peers described it as legendary and insist that there are many people who would literally pay to have a recording of it. She is a rather poor cook however and decided to drop home economics in favor of wood shop once she started high school, which she was very happy about. She is currently dating Chris Naparstek, much to the surprise of everyone with their opposing personalities, since Chris is somewhat of a nerd meanwhile Vivian is captain of the debate team and worships Marina and the Diamonds. The two are very much committed to one another, as Vivian admits to still getting queasy from excitement whenever Chris tries to kiss her.

Vivian's boyfriend describes her as "the type of person who scares the hell out of people while simultaneously turning them on." They frequently go on outings to the Valley Stream Pond, which is considered the most romantic location in their town. She is nonetheless pressured by her well-to-do family, which consist of Princeton University graduates, to follow in their footsteps and continue the family legacy. She secretly hopes to study biology at a smaller college in the area instead, despite her family's having encountered some financial struggles due to her father's loss of his job. Vivian comes from a wealthy family and even played a part in Zelda being accepted into Idyllwild Arts Academy by sweet talking her relatives who were on the admissions board there. She still keeps her family's recent struggles with unemployment secreted from everyone except McKenzie and her long-term boyfriend Chris. She loves to shop and gladly accepted money from McKenzie to continue her shopping, with her once again being seen with long, waist-length dark hair, purple lipstick and pearl earrings by the time she is 17. She works as a hostess at Lo Scoglio, a local high-end Italian restaurant that serves chicken scarpariello in South Valley Stream, for the time-being to help her family and make ends meet. Vivian does become a little more mature over time and is seen being rather hands on when involved in projects she's passionate about. Although she shows great dedication, she often goes overboard and attempts to place herself in charge of things which brings out her officious side. During those times, she will try to keep her connections in tact however she can, at times having to use underhanded methods. Upon entering college, she has calmed down a bit regarding these issues as she focuses much of her attention in trying to take part in a triathlon. ESFJ 1w2