Random Friespinel headcanons since I felt like sharing them…!
— Friede is 32, Spinel is 27. Spinel generally tends to prefer getting attention and approval from people that are older than him, so being a few years apart with Friede is a nice bonus for him. Friede doesn't think about their age difference at all.
— We know Friede is from Kanto and have no idea where Spinel comes from. I like to think he's originally from Unova, since it would make an interesting parallel, as then Friede is "from the place where it all begun" and Spinel is from the nation that was a "soft-reboot" of the franchise — wastly different but still having a lot in common with Kanto, just as they are being more like sides of the same coin rather than just opposites. I'd love to explore this idea in another post dedicated to it specifically one day.
— Friede's love language is quality time, while Spinel's is gift giving. However, they share touch as a love language as well. Their situation is kinda funny because, in any relationship, Spinel prefers to be the touchy one, as it gives him a certain feeling of power and control over the partner and how much he himself can be touched by the other person. In the beginning it was the same with Friede, but soon after Friede proved himself to be even more clingy but in a more genuine way — he just really likes to hug Spinel, as his slender frame fits so nice and perfectly into his arms, he likes how Spinel's hair feels on his fingertips when he plays with it (he also enjoys burying his face in it because to him it smells amazing) and so on. Spinel had to get used to Friede suddenly hugging him from behind or grabbing his hand because he feels like so as no one else had the audacity to behave like that with him before. Friede absolutely noticed how flustered Spinel sometimes was when he did something like that and he teased the other man about it a lot. Still, Spinel loves Friede's clinginess.
— Speaking of control, they both need it, but if Spinel just wants things to go the way he likes and that the situation is in his favor all the time, Friede just tries to be responsible for everything so nothing collapses or goes wrong, especially with the crew. In other words, Spinel controls everything so he has an advantage, Friede controls everything so everyone else is safe and happy, but it can be rather draining for them both. In a relationship, they both slowly teach each other to let loose sometimes and that they can rely on the other when they feel the need to let go of that excessive responsibility. When Spinel is "in charge", he just loves being of service to Friede, when Friede is "in charge", he loves handling things for Spinel because that way his partner can finally relax for once. Surely, it takes them a lot of time to allow such a weakness to show itself, but their mutual trust significantly grows along with it.
— Friede absolutely loves yapping about Pokemon to Spinel, sometimes just casually sharing random facts, making associations and analogies related to different species etc. Spinel listens attentively even if Friede is talking about something he already knows. However, they usually have different perspective on some things related to Pokemon, so they often have discussions, quite heated even. Despite not agreeing with Spinel in a lot of things, Friede appreciates the other's view since he just likes to explore all the possibilities and sides of the topic he's interested in.
— Ever since Spinel locked on "studying" Friede, one of the first things he did is read all his research. He memorized it exceptionally well. He occasionally brings something from it when discussing things with Friede (unintentionally) and Friede gets this "I think I've heard this somewhere before" feeling until he realizes he literally wrote it himself. He's surprised at first, but then remembers that Spinel knows much more about Friede than he'd be comfortable with, so him being aware of his research is the least concerning. Friede starts teasing Spinel about him being a fan of his work. Spinel actually admits it. Friede gets flustered.
— Speaking of Spinel's extensive knowledge on Friede — it's still rather unsettling to Friede himself, and he feels like it would be somewhat fair if he gathers some additional info on Spinel "in secret" as well. But if Spinel observes everything silently from the side, Friede prefers to create certain situations himself just to provoke a reaction out of Spinel. Spinel notices when Friede does that intentionally, but doesn't really understands what he tries to do, so he just plays along.
— They battle a lot, and I mean A LOT, and greatly enjoy it. They both match each other in terms of strength, therefore trying to outwit the other. Sometimes they battle just for fun and practice, sometimes the winner gets to suggest whatever he wants and the loser has to provide, so the stakes are a little higher. Cap and Spinel's Umbreon (I hc him as male until proven otherwise) recognize each other as strong opponents as well.
— Speaking of their Pokemon, they became a little less hostile to each other when they found out about their trainers' affair. However, Cap still keeps an eye on Spinel and can't bring himself to like him (he also doesn't understand what makes Friede like Spinel). He holds a certain respect for Umbreon and just wishes for him to be a bit more expressive, teasing him when they're around each other. Umbreon is mostly indifferent to Friede and tolerates him since whatever makes his trainer happy. He finds Cap annoying at times, but he is always curious what he's capable of.
