#vrfz

💧: How well do they comfort each other when they’re upset?

For Viva Riot, it's very awkward. They attempt to do (secret) acts of kindness like leaving him little notes (which is very obviously from them) or playing songs he likes where they know he can hear it. But they'd never admit it outright that they're doing it for him. It takes a while but he does eventually pick up on what they're doing and it makes him feel better, and it helps him feel a little less confused about where they stand as a duo, too.

Fleta Z is more direct and likes to do more open gestures like compliments and gifts. He knows Viva Riot well enough not to prompt them to talk about their feelings directly, but he'll lay on the affection/kindness a bit more to make them feel special when they're upset (or more upset than usual). They act like it's a bother but they don't tell him to cut it out either. They'll tell him "you're ridiculous" in the most flustered tone but still keeps every flower he gives them until they're all dry and gross.

💔: Do they have any previous relationship experience from past partners? How does it reflect on how they handle their current one?

Viva Riot personally never had that. They've had admirers before, but they themself had never actually had those kinds of deep feelings for someone else like that. They're used to a degree of separation between them and another person, where they're the one who's put on a pedestal. Being on the “same level” as someone else is entirely new and they don't really know how to navigate it at all. They barely even know how to have friends, so they're taking shots in the dark here. With Fleta Z, this means a lot of prickly behavior and overall just being difficult and a bit rude because they don't know how to approach or interact with him on a normal casual level. 😭 It gets better, eventually. But not yet.

Fleta Z never pursued romance or relationships much at all prior to Viva Riot. I headcanon him as being on the aro spectrum (greyromantic, maybe quoi) so he's not usually someone who gets into those kinds of relationships. I think he's had people he was emotionally close to or admired, but given how he tended to stick to himself, combined with the way he processes his own (limited) attraction, I think he's more keen on building general emotional closeness without romance as a focus. He tends to come off more forward and flirtatious than he means to, which has given him a bit of a rough reputation at times. In the case of Viva Riot, he's definitely much gentler with them compared to others but it takes a bit before he's able to fully understand the full implications of his feelings for them and what it could mean. (I don't think I really answered the question for him, but you get it.)

TL;DR, no relationship experience on either end. It's a bit of a disaster.

🦋: How long did it take them to get out of the awkward early relationship stage? Have they gotten more confident around each other?

I don't even think I've gotten up to that point yet. 😭 They're kinda gonna be stuck like this for a while. Even after they get more comfortable and casual with each other, it still takes a bit before Viva Riot warms up entirely and Fleta Z realizes what he's even feeling at all. They're content to stay as good friends for a while. After Fleta Z realizes though, he's a bit of a mess himself though, and he's just as clueless as they are in how to navigate it. Maybe give it another season or two.