#i think he is. a romantic loserboy at heart

[yume-fanfare]

good old-fashioned lover boy

[sexybabystevie]

Hi! I just saw you reply the Steve comparing hands as flirting and I had to also then check that your requests are open, they are 😂 so could I please request that one? I had a boy flirt with me in grade 7 by doing that with shoes/feet (mind you I was oblivious 😂) and that reminded me of it and I had a giggle.

A/n: Okay so first of all, thank you for this request! It's SO cute, and I planned on this being maybe 1k, but it turned into a bigger fic, which I'm not mad about lol. This is seriously one of the softest things I have EVER written and I adore it. Like seriously, this has my heartbeat skipping down sixteenth avenue type shit 😭 Anyway, enjoy some soft Stevie, Family-Video-loserboy-with-a -crush style!

Small Hands, Big Heart

Steve Harrington x Reader

Tags and Warnings: No Warnings, Pure Fluff, Soft!Steve Harrington, Semi-Shy!Reader, Flirting, Steve Harrington is a Major Dork, Family Video!Steve Harrington, Crushes, Hand Holding, Tooth-Rottening Fluff.

Word Count: 3581

Summary: Steve Harrington has a massive crush on you, but his recent lack of luck in the romantic sense has him stuck on how to make a move. Plus, something about you makes him nervous in a way he's never been – in a way he likes.

His simplest solution? Flirting via the old 'comparing hand sizes' method.

Steve Harrington Masterlist

There’s an air about you – something laid back and relaxed, comfortable and familiar – that strikes Steve Harrington every time you walk into Family Video. Hair perfectly styled even on the days when you’re in sweatpants, gliding around the store like some kind of celebrity on the red carpet, he can practically see the golden, glittering stars surrounding your body like an angelic halo. You don’t even notice though, he can always tell in the way that you smile at him as you shyly ask if there’s a copy of Pretty in Pink available, like you might somehow be imposing upon him by asking him to do his job. Like he wouldn’t set his entire workplace on fire for you if you batted your pretty eyelashes and asked him to.

Okay, yeah, he’s in deep. Deeper than he should be for some enchanting stranger, that’s for sure.

But you���re cool. Yeah, that’s it, cool, and what’s he supposed to do? Just not think about slipping a paper with his number inside the case of the latest movie you decide to rent? Not have Robin point out how he gets lost in romantic fantasies while staring at you, completely forgetting to tend to the other customers in the store? As if.

No, Steve thinks he’s not about to let this go, even if it means eventually messing things up by accidentally saying his favorite genre of movies is boobies – massive apology to Rachel Moore for that disaster, although at least Robin found new reason to start up another You Rule, You Suck chart on one of the fancy sticky notes embellished with the Family Video logo. Yeah, that was great.

So far, he’s losing zero to twelve, a score that’s humiliatingly worse than anything he ever achieved – or didn’t achieve – working at Scoops Ahoy, and he doesn’t even have to wear that stupid hat anymore. His self-proclaimed best quality is flawless and in full view of anyone around, a little messier than his high school days but stylistically so, and yet he still can’t work the charm like he could just a few years ago. If it wasn’t the ridiculous sailor uniform or the hat that covered up his hair, then did he just lack game entirely?

No, absolutely not. He still had it, and he was going to prove it. He would find some way to talk to you – really talk to you, not just the small conversation he’d make while searching your name into the computer system to charge your account – and he would pull it off. He was going to get a perfect grade from Miss Professor Robin, doctorate in the study of loser and non-loser romantic interactions. So much so that she would have to give him a million You Rule tally marks, something totally achievable and normal to want, he was certain.

Were you out of his league? Absolutely. Did that deter his persistence? Not at all.

He was going to do this, even if it turned out to be a dumpster fire. Even if his hair wasn’t looking exactly the way he wanted it to be. Even if Robin was jokingly preying on his downfall in that long-time-best-friend way that she did. Even if the doorbell was ringing right now to signal your superstar arrival, and even if you were flashing him a smile that literally made him forget how to breathe for approximately forty-seven seconds.

Shit.

Steve’s leaning forward, his elbows plastered to the countertop, almost falling over it because he’s so glued to watching you. You give him a little wave that nearly sends him toppling backwards into the floor – now that he thinks of it, are you sure you aren’t a god with some kind of wind powers? You certainly are pretty enough to be one – before beelining straight to the romcom section. Like usual. He can’t help but smile to himself, definitely the lovesick puppy look Robin said he had mastered recently.

As you peruse the movies in stock, his mind does its typical wandering. Romantic-comedy seemed to be your favorite movie genre, but what was your favorite type of music? Favorite food, favorite color? Were you more into pop music, sweet vanilla cupcakes, and various shades of lilac, or did you prefer the darker hues of colors, savory cheeseburgers, and something a little more lyrically intense? Or were you a mix of both, maybe even neither?

Everything about you was addictively unknown; you were a package of silly little mysteries he wanted to unwrap bit by bit, saving the more intimate and personal details for later. The best for last, right? Thinking of the possibilities was driving him wild, though, because how could he not know your all-time favorite song yet? And, god forbid, your favorite ice cream flavor? Now that was something he was skilled in – he’d probably never forget the sweet but slightly nutty scent of pistachio ice cream ever in his lifetime – and maybe he could show you that. Would it impress you if he let you try the mean banana split he could conjure up? It was good enough to be the primary thing Erica Sinclair ever ordered from the ice cream parlor, even demanding that Steve be the one to make it himself instead of the other workers. Poor Robin – or maybe lucky Robin, knowing the sass of the young girl all too well. Yeah, lucky Robin, for sure.

But maybe Steve could be lucky too. He knew the moves other guys his age made, flirtatious comments that were borderline crude – and yeah, okay, he admits he has occasional conversations about boobies – but he doesn’t want to play that kind of game with you. He doesn’t want to be like all the other guys, expendable and almost disrespectful in his mannerisms and language; no, he wants to treat you right. He wants to be good to you, to treat you with all the care and love and wonder of a da Vinci painting, and if he’s finally lucky then maybe you’ll let him, because, really, what did the Mona Lisa even have on someone as beautiful as you, anyway?

Robin’s elbow crashes into Steve’s side a little too forcefully, which she seems to be aware of since she gives him a slightly serious, apologetic grimace before her eyes become knowing in that way that he sometimes is afraid of. Her head jerks to the leftt and she leans in to whisper, “Incoming, ten o’clock. Shoot your shot, dingus!”

It takes him too much time to realize that she means ten o’clock as in the direction the little hand of a clock makes, though, and he doesn’t have time to prepare his lines before you’re at the counter with a VHS tape between your fingers. He doesn’t even have time to properly wipe away his token furrowed brows of confusion, so when he turns to look at you, there’s a moment where his face is half grimace, half giant smile. Your eyes narrow a bit, undeniably trying to understand what that face is about, and Steve internally face palms. Great start, Harrington, you probably look like a total nutjob.

He quickly shakes himself out of it and relaxes his face into a kind smile, leaning off of the counter to make room for you to slide your movie on top of it. You do, but he’s too busy staring into your eyes – has he ever seen eyes as magnetic, as charming as yours? – to really notice.

“Hey,” he says, just like he’s talking to any other pleasant customer, except his voice is softer, more gentle. “How are you doing?” Unlike with any other customer, he genuinely wants to know the answer.

The way your eyes light up as he asks… he didn’t possibly think he could find them more adorable. If asking about your day did that, then how would you react to him actually making moves?

“Good,” you reply, tone matching the care in his. You then glance around the store briefly, giving Steve the chance to admire the soft curve of your jawline. He pretends not to have been staring when your gaze falls back onto him. “You must be pretty bored today. This place is empty besides me.”

Was there a hint of something teasing in that last remark of yours, or is Steve imagining things?

Either way, it’s only now that he realizes you’re right – they haven’t really had any other customers. Not very typical for a Tuesday night, but he couldn’t care less, really. Not when you’re here.

“Don’t worry. You’re my favorite, anyway,” he says, heart thudding with an annoying intensity. He resists the urge to wink at you – god, he really is a loser, isn’t he? – and his hand moves to rake across his head, fingers nervously tangling in his brown hair.

You don’t answer, eyes wide with a hint of surprise. Your smile grows more bashful, something that makes Steve’s mouth grow dry, and you look down, a few strands of your own hair moving to cover your eyes. The sight of you – so shy and cute – standing right in front of him, only separated by a mere old countertop, sends his mind reeling. So close, but there’s an island between you – literally.

Seeming to overcome your brief embarrassment, you look back at Steve and smile again, this time a hint of your teeth showing behind the tiniest gap between your lips. Noticing all the small details, wondering what other little things he could find out and memorize about you, he almost feels like he’s drowning in emotion.

Get it together, dude! he thinks to himself, the voice in his head sounding suspiciously like Robin.

He’s snapped out of it by your hand meekly pushing the tape further up the counter, undoubtedly trying to get him to do his actual job instead of being ridiculously distracted by you.

Like he could help it, though; you were practically his dream. Hell, he hoped that he had dreams of you each night, that he could spend time with you even if he managed to screw it up in reality. Dreams were less intimidating, despite the fact that he had no control in them. Reality was where he held the cards, where he could choose what to say and do. Somehow, that thought’s empowering enough to bring him back down to earth.

Steve takes one look at the movie you’ve chosen, though, and laughs to himself as he reads the title. Instead of staying in his mind this time, he can’t help but speak his thoughts aloud.

“Christine, huh?” He can’t fight the amused little smirk that takes over his face even if he wants to. “That’s quite a shift from your usual, isn’t it?”

You just give him a simple shrug, unapologetic aside from the way you cheekily bite the inside of your lip. Now there’s definitely a hint of that same playfulness that he thought he saw earlier, and Steve could scream out in joy as he notices that gleam in your eye. Maybe he really didn’t lose all his charm.

“Thought I might switch it up a bit, you know?”

Steve nods and turns to the giant computer next to him, tape in one hand as his other slowly and loudly types away at the clunky keyboard. He finds Christine in the film catalog and quickly flips over the tape to type in the exact product number before his deep brown eyes glance back at you. It’s like you’re a golden statue shimmering in the sun, the only neon sign in a pitch-black forest. His gaze just naturally gravitates towards you, not that he’d ever complain about it.

“You didn’t strike me as the type for Stephen King,” Steve remarks, unable to keep his true thoughts to himself.

“Is that a bad thing?” You let out a soft giggle, head tilting in a way that reminds Steve of a parrot learning how to speak. Have you been waiting to learn more about him like he has about you? You did always seem to stop by Family Video when he was on shift, making sure to have small conversations with him about your movie choices while he added the rented tape to your account, making sure that you always were in his line to be checked out, even if there were lots of other customers…

“Oh no, not at all. It was just a little surprising,” he says, shaking his head and letting out his own small chuckle. He makes sure to look you in the eyes as he says, “I’m the kinda guy who likes surprises.”

He doesn’t mention that he doesn’t like the more world-ending, Upside-Down-related surprises that seem to haunt him and his unusual friend group. No, that’s more of a fourth or fifth date kind of thing to bring up.

Steve relishes the more prominent curl of your lips – oh god, don’t look at them, don’t think about how soft they would be, don’t do it! – and the way it makes you look a bit smug as you say, “Noted.”

He could think of millions of ways for that to come back into play, each one making his chest swell in an almost delightful way, but instead he continues adding Christine to your Family Video account. He finally gets to the webpage where he has to type in the customer’s name, and you must be familiar with the process because you open your mouth, the first syllable of your name escaping your lips, before Steve cuts you off. He says your name before you can, and he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t proud of himself for the way your mouth parted in shock.

A little cockily, he says your name again as he types it. “I remembered.”

You’re only left gaping for a few moments, your expression then changing into a smile that’s even brighter than any from before, if that’s even possible. Looking at you out of the corner of his eye as the computer processes your name, Steve Harrington feels like he’s hit the jackpot.

A part of him can’t believe that you’d be so stunned at him remembering you. As if he didn’t spend far too much time thinking about you, as if he didn’t somehow end up telling everyone around him about you despite barely knowing you. As if everyone else who knew him didn’t know he was utterly infatuated and bewitched by you and your pretty little smile.

The computer finally processes the movie with a ding! and Steve reaches under the counter for a plastic bag. He takes some time packing the tape, a tiny thread of dread sewn into his heart because, while he’d certainly done a little bit of vague flirting, he still hadn’t made his real move yet, and he was running out of time. His fingers fumble with the handles of the bag as he racks his mind for anything that can help him – any line or gesture that might seal the deal.

It’s when he reaches out to pass you the plastic bag, and it’s when your knuckles brush against his that he gets a last-minute idea. With no time left to lose, he goes for it.

“Woah, you have really small hands!” he exclaims, and he’s not wrong, which is part of why it works. The other part, unbeknownst to him at the moment, is that you’ve got just as much of a silly crush on him as he has on you. “Here–” he raises one of his hands, palm facing you, “–put yours against mine and you’ll see what I mean.”

You search Steve’s eyes for a minute, a glimpse of a knowing smile on your lips, and he doesn’t even have to worry about you disagreeing or getting upset. He can just tell that you’re catching on, and that you may even be up to something when you lift your hand and press it to his.

Skin meets skin, and Steve feels dizzy. Nothing could have prepared him for how soft, how warm, it feels to have his palm against yours. It’s barely anything, an action that could be casual or friendly with anyone else, but it still makes his fingertips tingle.

He’s never felt like this with anyone else, never been quite this flustered at such a simple movement before. Not with any of the girls he knew or messed around with in high school, not with anyone else that he had few fleeting moments with working at Scoops Ahoy or Family Video. Not even with Nancy Wheeler.

He was always the cool one, always unbothered and rarely found himself blushing, never ever swooning. But here he was, feeling like he could fly over the moon because your palms were flush against each other, and despite everything, the anxiety and nerves were welcome. He likes the butterflies that gather in his stomach, that being around you puts him a little on edge, but in the best possible way.

If this is what it feels like to have a genuine, no-bullshit-attached crush on someone, he thinks that maybe he can get used to it.

He was right too; your hands are small. With the heels of your palms level with one another, your fingertips end where his finger pads begin. It’s cute, only making Steve’s heart race even faster – and if he really thinks about it, he can feel the vague vibration of your heartbeat in your thumb. He doesn’t even have to wonder if it’s pumping far too quickly like his own, he already knows it is.

His gaze moves from your hands together to your face, flickering to try and see what expression will be on that gorgeous face of yours. It’s a timid, happy smile and eyes that are staring right back at him, soft and doelike. The expression is so gentle, so special, that it makes his breath catch in his throat. He silently hopes that he’s the only one you’ve ever looked at like that.

“Told you,” he says quietly, to match the intimacy of the moment. “Small hands, but… they’re cute.”

Seemingly an instant after he says that, you shift your hand around and position your fingers between his. Before he can ask any questions or really even process it, you intertwine your fingers to hold his hand.

Luckily his body responds before his brain does, curling his own fingers and moving his thumb to rest on top of yours. Heat rises to his cheeks as he stares, and he can feel the dopey grin hopping onto his face before it’s fully there.

You giggle again, a bit louder this time, and for once his goofiness isn’t something he wants to internally chastise himself for. You actually think it’s cute, maybe even silly. He can be cute and silly for you, if that’s what you want.

Something in your eyes tells him that it is exactly what you want.

“You know,” you start, pursing your lips for a split second. “I’m used to watching all these fluffy, silly romance movies.”

You pause, eyebrows slightly risen as you wait for him to catch on to what you’re implying. He doesn’t, though; you can blame his heightened state of absence on the warmth of your skin. He’s far too caught up in that, in the fact that maybe he still does have game – thank god – to process anything you’re trying to hint towards.

The trance he’s in is visible – eyes spaced out on your face, his lips left parted so he can breathe out of his mouth slowly, and his hand gripping yours with more strength than before, like maybe you’re too good to be true and will disappear if he blinks. It’s all too much and you laugh – a real, genuine, hearty laugh that Steve immediately loves with every ounce of his heart. He’s certain that your laugh could cure anything that ails him.

“What I mean is,” you start again, taking a deep breath to recover from your short bout of joy. “I might get scared watching a horror movie.” Your eyes focus on his, giving him a little wink as you continue. “I might need someone there to keep me safe, Steve.”

The gears click in his brain, everything falling into place, and he becomes the embodiment of smugness with that signature smirk of his.

With a chuckle, he shakes his head and replies. “Well, what kind of guy would I be if I denied you that?”

The smirk fades down into a heartfelt smile, and his voice softens as his hand gives yours a brief squeeze. He can tease, but he also wants to make sure that he is being serious. “I’d love to.”

Half an hour later, after a little more conversation, you leave Family Video with a movie, a Family Video sticky note with Steve Harrington’s phone number on it in swoopy penmanship, and a promise to meet at his house tonight for a movie date.

Robin makes a reappearance from the back room, smirk on her face – Steve doesn't even have to ask her if she was watching the whole scene on the grainy security cameras, he knows her too well to already know that she was – as she marks a line and writes ‘You did it!’ under the You Rule portion of her notepad in congratulations. “Maybe you can be pretty lucky sometimes, Harrington.”

Steve can’t help but agree.

[valentine-writes]

i just rly wanna luv u !

「 tws + notes: no tws, unserious asf, atsv ben reilly having kenergy (CREDS 2 @//KAIRISCORNER THE GOAT for this), ben is mad silly, reader is a spider-person, unedited, ooc (?) 」

↳ ft. scarlet spider/ben reilly

「 oblivious gn!reader, romantic relationship <3 」

author's note: im having so many thoughts about him in the movie always. bro had bare minimum screen time and i still go AWOOGA thinking of this stupid stupid guy </3 im gonna b real here, i luv my bitches silly!!! (*ﾉε｀*)

▸ you were teamed up w/ ben reilly on your first mission!!! this was the first time you ever interacted,,, which was. interesting to say the least

"scanning the area..."

"who are you talking to–"

▸ you just kinda have to get used to his narrating while you hunt down the anomaly miguel sent you two after. but!!! just because he's talkative (more to himself rather than you) doesn't mean he's incompetent

you end up locating it and capturing it in about an hour and a half. quick as hell.

▸ you seem to work well with him!!! progressively, you notice that you're paired up with him quite frequently.

this isn't strange– itz actually fairly easily rationalized this by the fact that you just seem to work more efficiently as a duo

▸ eventually, you two become friends and spend time together beyond just doing missions

▸ it's relieving for the rest of the spider society to know he does more than just ruminate over his harrowing past and distressing memories when he's not saving the multiverse

▸ but it becomes just... a little peculiar. you may be oblivious, but you're far from stupid. everyone notices how he's spending more time around you than anyone else– he follows you like a lost puppy

you ask him about this,, and he fervently denies it

"following you? pft. no. not even. you wouldn't get it–"

like... ok dude. um. anyways.

▸ you pick up on little things here and there, but you just figure the poor guy doesn't have a lot of friends.

▸ you are the only person who's allowed to call him "benny" (though he will feign distaste for the nickname, he letz it slide)

▸ you are the only person who distracts him from his dramatic monologues, the only one who draws his thoughts away from whatever he's brooding about

▸ you are the only person who he ever actively seeks out

"has anyone seen them today? they haven't been around–"

"searching for them... hm... nowhere to be seen... checking frequent hangout locations–"

▸ and all of a sudden, you're the only person who he wants to show off to. not like you notice this part. you just assume he's grown accustomed to talking to you about everything

"check it out. i've changed my arm routine."

and he's jus.. flexing.

you hit him w/ the "cool dude, it's really showing!!" and he immediately takes +5 dmg from u tugging on his heartstrings

▸ ur compliments just mean everything to him

▸ the littlest things about your appreciation get to him. even just you smiling because of him seems to make him a little weak in the knees though he tries not to show it too much

▸ he's... trying. again, he really isn't incompetent but sometimes he's straight up making himself a cringefail loserboy around you

"THIS ONES FOR YOU!!!!" tries to shoot a basketball into a hoop

it hits the rim hard

bounces back

hits him square in the face

he tried.

▸ so maybe you haven't noticed much. however, you've definitely noticed he's been trying so much harder around you. and though you reassure him always that he's just fine the way he is– he still always attempts to be more.

you don't understand why.

▸ "ben, this... really isn't necessary, y'know? you're cool as you are." you tell him. it seems like he's relentless in his quest to impress.

you make it simple:

"i like you." you tell him.

ben pauses, taking a moment to look at you. his gaze is focused on you, your face– he hears the sincerity laced in your words. he feels his face heat up just a little. "...really?"

you grin and for a moment, his heart skips a beat. he feels his breath catch in his throat

"of course! ben," you say, his name on your lips being akin to the sound of a choir of angels, "you'll always be my best friend, dude."

+50 dmg to ben reilly

he cries HARD that night into his pillow IAHWOEHDJW

▸ you two are free entertainment for the rest of the spider society. people are placing bets on whether ben's gonna stop pussying around or if you're gonna put two-and-two together before he actually confesses

▸ and they are DIVIDED abt how this is gonna end for you both

after all, you still seem to be absolutely clueless about the fact that ben was the one practically begging miguel to be teamed up with you on each mission.

▸ and now, he's REALLY trying

▸ shows up with your favourite flowers at your door

"oh!! benny, that's so nice of you! you really are such a great friend–"

+60 dmg to ben reilly

▸ "inadvertently" (aka: TOTALLY ON FUCKING PURPOSE) tries to cuddle up to you on the couch or put an arm around you while watching a movie

"are you cold?"

"no, i–"

"here, i don't really need this blanket anyways"

+65 dmg to ben reilly

+5 warmth

▸ STRAIGHT UP TELLS YOU HE LOVES YOU

"i love you too, ben! you're irreplaceable. the absolute sweetest friend i have."

UR KILLING HIM

▸ you two r just:

▸ atp the spider society is in SHAMBLES. it is no longer entertaining it is torturous watching ben reilly now lament over his "unrequited love burning like a wildfire in his heart" (his dramatic ass words probably) and you have no clue it's about YOU

▸ one day, he's decided he has to do something. he needs to make it completely and undeniably clear that he's in love with you.

-

you're hanging out as usual, in the cafe not touching the miguel burger that they're serving there for some reason becuz eating the face of your boss feels... wrong and he clears his throat

"no backing out now..." he declared to himself, narrating while sitting Right In Front Of You

he clears his throat, making you look up from your fries.

"so..." he begins.

"benny, what would you do if someone didn't like you back?" you suddenly blurt out.

he looks up at your face. you've been pouting this entire time, head held low as you pick at your food.

how did he not notice? his attention is constantly on you. he mentally beats himself up for this

in the anxiety of his plans to confess, he somehow completely disregarded how you were feeling. he was so in his head.

"switching directive–" he mutters to himself, now focused on what you wanna say.

you give him a weak smile. "look, i just... i dunno. maybe this is bad timing."

there's a beat of silence between the two of you before you speak up again.

"ben. i really like you. like... more than a friend. it hurts. so so much. because i know you only think of me as a friend and i just–"

everyone within earshot nearly explodes hearing this.

-

▸ like ok plot twist i guess. so the pining went both ways and you were both completely oblivious to it.

▸ the other spider-people who were betting on how this would end are all SHAKEN

but are also so relieved they don't have to walk past ben loudly declaring his anguish due to a broken heart

▸ ben is astonished by how you even thought that he saw you as just a friend. he did EVERYTHING to get through to you

but hey. something worked. finally, after the yearning, and the trying, and the fear of rejection– he finds himself on a date with you :3

[habizuh-studios]

Hi....if you don't mind me asking, who are your top 7 favorite romantic relationship's couples in books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series (can be canon or non-canon) and your top 10 favorite characters ever from any media? Why do you love them all? Thanks if you want to answer my questions....

OHH my god thank you so much for this ask!!! hmm let me think about this- here they are in no specific order! spoilers for svsss, tgcf, zhen hun/guardian, and omori!

bingqiu (SVSSS, canon) -> mainly i love this one because first of all it's canon and second of all i adore the dynamic- not between teacher and student ofc, but like the fact that shen yuan literally died on accident and still made it his lifes purpose to go against what is basically a god to make binghe's life better and the fact that binghe adores shen yuan for it even without knowing it just bc he showed him kindness!! it's so amazing and that's the tl;dr

cumplane (SVSSS, not canon) -> okay i mainly like this one because shang qinghua and shen yuan are the only two transmigrators which strengthens their bond and their avid shitty novel reader/writer dynamic is so interesting to me. i also think they can work together really well, especially considering that you could stretch it so that shang qinghua is kinda like binghe in the sense that they both kinda. are pathetic and will cry so they can get what they want but can be secretly manipulative (obv binghe has the more "favorable" traits and is more exaggerated since he's the protagonist) and shen yuan and mobei jun are kinda like the. icy cold kundere/tsundere ahh beauty thingies. ehhh

hualian (TGCF, canon) -> sorta similar with bingqiu with the whole god and kindness thing but!! i adore the fact that they literally saw each other's whole (not whole but most of their) lives and lived through part of it together and saw all of their faults and still loved each other. it's like you fall in love with the one who saved you and they fall in love back hundreds of years later and then they find out that their lives are literally intertwined. and their dynamic is so fun too hehe

lang qianqiu/xiao mengyou (TGCF, not canon) -> ngl i really like the way their personalities and roles work together. lang qianqiu is brash and prideful but still really kind and noble and he's a prince,,,, xiao mengyou is more mellow and keeps lang qianqiu's impulsivity in ccheck and he's the servant,,, and they seem to trust each other more than anything as lang qianqiu involved xiao mengyou in where he buried the guoshi after defeating him which is really personal to him but he still chose to do it and augh!! it's all really sweet- not to mention that they probably grew up together <3

guo changcheng/chu shuzhi (ZHENHUN, not canon) -> okay i mainly ship this one because i love love love love LOVE guo changcheng and he's closest to chu shuzhi BUT their dynamic is also really cute!! pathetic loserboy who literally does things out of the kindness of his heart and nothing else despite having all of his good karma go somwehere else x cold-ish mean-ish zombie who doesn't really understand but softens with him........ tbh it's honestly similar to hualian if you stretch it. and obviously you need to understand their characters and shit. BUT OH!! theyre so cute!!

zhao yunlan/shen wei (ZHENHUN, canon) -> reincarnation. okay this is kind of similar to hualian in the sense of living live(s) together but this is different because reincarnation. basically shen wei watches zhao yunlan throughout his lives and even gets with him a few times despite his vow not to get close after zhao yunlans first life as a god(ish, i dont remember but i think that was it) saves him and makes him divine/immortal :> they dooo have a little issues with communicating (shen wei hides a lot from zhao yunlan, but since it's from his perspective, it makes a lot of twists and shit) but in the epilogue they promise to talk it all out, so that's sweet <3

sunflower (OMORI, not canon) -> okay this is sunny x basil and the main reason i ship them is because i think that from a young age their friendship was super super close and i ADORE friends to lovers- another thing is the trauma bonding. the experience they went through together is something that cannot be replicated with literally anyone else and it's really special between them, and it also showed that basil would do almost anything for sunny to be safe and that's beautiful and allat :> also they look good together and in the true/good ending, when they tell the truth (their traumatic experience) it's like. another thing. they will always be together type shi......

OKAY NOW ON TO FAVORITE CHARACTERS!!! also in no specific order!!

shen yuan -> okay i really want to study him under a microscope. like this man- he's hilarious and reads the prn for plot. literally the only man who has done so, LMAO- not to mention he's just so!! like he downplays his achievments but in actuality he does a lot for the story, for others, and just for everyone in general but he downplays it all because??? BECAUSE WHY??? idk i just like that!! he's humble and we love that!! we also love his denial!! like- idk man he's just a sweet guy who could insult you back into the stardust that you came from if he wanted to!!!! and he's funny!!! personality and his humanity (like he makes mistakes and doesn't communicate and is like, kinda flawed but that's what makes the story the story) >>> and he's cute what who said that

luo binghe -> ngl i have a teenie weensie thing for the mc's of media i ✨consume✨ so he probably caught on. he's also so so sweet and nice but he could and would defeat you in a heartbeat because of his stallion protagonist core. he's just a sweet little kid with so, so much trauma and i love that for him. his personality is really chefs kiss to me <3 he was changed by kindness and i think that means a lot. ik i talk about humanity and kindness a lot in this post but augh it means so much to me. plus he would do anything for his shizun and tbh i would too. i would also do anything for his shizun. shen yuan save me shen yuan- also +1 for orphan

lang qianqiu -> bro lang qianqiu is literally the most underrated character ever, he literally has almost 0 FANDOM i'm not even joking. try to find one lang qianqiu centric fic i fucking dare you. anyway he's really sweet too and he's a prince and noble and he has a bit of pride and a tiger and he's just so nice and he has trauma and he's great. i made a post basically rambling about him here if your curious! +1 for orphan

guo changcheng -> pathetic loserboy. pathetic kind loserboy who really does good for the sake of doing good and no other reason other than the fact that doing bad is bad and he can't idle away doing nothing. he's one of the side/main characters of zhen hun and his pov is always so fun to read. he's so so human and in the whole SID you have all these different characters representing different things and he's the only human but he also acts like it? like he makes mistakes and he embarasses himself and allat but he still does good and that's so. mmmm!!! he's also orphan core!!! +1 for orphan

sunny -> his trauma >>> probably one of the realest characters ever lmao, this is half a joke but my point still stands. none of this supernatural trauma is happening. it's all in his head. and his humanity is also so nice! i also rlly like his kinda quiet personality, i think it really suits him and it provides for so much good and juicy angst. also inherent kindness is a plus. him living in his own head is so nice to me and idk why, he just wouldnt be him without it lol. no idea where his dad is but his mom is technically still around even if his sister isn't.

xie lian -> ohh boy. his trauma is so thick it can fit two books. also his love. inherent humanity shit i already mentioned but this is basically the moral of tgcf. your kindness mattered. it did not change your life for the better (immediately), but it mattered. you trying mattered. and he's also a scrap collector!! he's not a doormat but he's polite and he does things for the sake of getting them done. his inner voice is so snarky at the most random times and it makes you laugh. he is truly one of a kind and i think reading the book makes your insight on him so much better because oh my gaush. trauma and humanity galore. +1 for orphan

feng xin -> he's so sun core but not in the normal sunny way. sun core in the way that he burns himself out to give light to others and everyone else takes it for granted. he is also just so warm and kind and he tries really hard!! he is an archer and i love that for him, archers need more love and i like the fact that he's the archer and not his rival even though one would think it makes more sense, lmao. feng xin is also such a good foil to hua cheng and a beautiful childhood friend for xie lian, and his loyalty is almost UNMATCHED. we have no idea how his upbringing was either, all we know is that he was friends with xie lian, trained a lot, and probably lived in the palace. i don't headcanon him to be an orphan, but you never know...

kel -> hoooo kel is so amazing. he's the sun- not only is he warm and bright and infectiously joyous and funny and tries to bring everyone together, but also in the way that feng xin is- burning himself up and hiding everything other than happiness so that everyone around him can be happy, even if it's just for a little bit. he's not the favorite child and he has so much going on but he hides it and tries dealing with it even when not everyone realizes it and that's so good.

zhao yunlan -> also got infected my main character disease. not to mention he's sarcastic and funny and literally THE rizzler. he's also really genuine and a smart worker, he's kind even if he doesn't show it in his usual way and does NOT run his department corruptly despite being a part of the government!! i knowww it sounds bad,,, but he's still so cool! not to mention his time as kunlun,,, that opened a whole other can of worms that i dont really feel like yapping about rn. he's not an orphan but his dad is sometimes posessed

kaveh -> where the fuck do i even begin. bro is an architect and an ARTIST, thats the main thing, but he's still smart and empathetic. his trauma is so amazing like genuinely it's so well done, i think he's super real especially for all the creators out there- his empathy and drive and guilt is what drives him to destroy himself in the end even when he needs saving and he's trying so so so so so fucking hard. he's so babygirl he's just a little guy. tf you mean he's 25+ not to mention his personality! i feel like in genshin (i dont actually play so idk) everyone's personality varies by what dub/sub your listening to. i know they translated some of his lines so he sounded more rude/snappy in english? which was a weird decision imo, but he's still so lovable so artistic so smart and so <3333 +1 for orphan

ALSO all of the character designs are amazing!! i love looking at them they are all so well done :D thank you so much for the ask!!! i cannot thank you enough for enabling me to YAP!!!