#the black bulls | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

thoughtfullyrainynightmare · 5 months

Note

If you’re still open for these can I request 20 for all the Black Bulls… or any member of your choice :d

Hiya Cyroo! ASFSAT all the Bulls! This shall be a mighty feat /lh :P And I shall place the majority of the answer under the cut (I hope I didn't forget anyone)

will contain manga spoilers!

Luck has also already been answered, so I shall include the link ^^

20. Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn’t matter?

Luck

Magna

Similarly as with Luck, though I enjoyed the kind of "rivarly"/bickering/"you're a bastard but you're my bastard" vibe that the MagLuck duo has brought into the series, I'm not sure, if in the later episodes, they are anymore The Perfect Friends For Each Other(tm). Which is probably a hot take in this fandom, but ... I think that their friendship has changed over the course of the series. As in, they started with this destructive duo, who just constantly pushed each other's buttons, but now, I think, it's more about a kind of "rivalry" as well. I mean, as in the Luck reply I gave, when Magna wasn't admitted to go to Heart to train, he (Magna) was devastated. And Luck, he could see that Magna was really upset by it, but said something along the lines of "it's something he's gotta deal with by himself". Which wasn't meant as a "you're on your own" type of a statement, but rather that they both knew that there was something that Magna needed to do in order to grow stronger, and that something wasn't something that anyone else could do for Magna. As in, sure, someone could help Magna in that growth and development (and someone did; Zora), but from that I got the sense that Luck has been kinda driving Magna forward. Almost like... if we go via a metaphoric way, Luck would have climbed a tree, and was holding a cupcake, which Magna wanted, and now Magna is climbing the tree trunk with his sheer willpower. I'm not saying that Magna's friendship with Luck wouldn't be meaningful, I mean, they have a freaking combo spell! How rare and cool is that! But what I mean to say is that I'm not sure if the two are growing apart, and if they're The Ideal Besties For Each Other(tm) anymore. In terms of energy, I could see Asta and Magna connecting, but I doubt that canon itself will go to that direction. Personally, I see a lot of the same themes in Asta and Magna, Asta with his entire character arc from a boy with no magic, forging his way to be the hero, and Magna, the mage who does have mana, but seems to be falling behind (specifically Luck), but then created a Soul Chain, and defeated Dante. As a side note I really liked how Jack had Magna's back in that moment, and how Jack really went "this is that guy's victory! don't go ruining it!" But who then might be the ideal bestie, I'm not sure. I do, however, like the fact that Zora and Magna connected and we see bonding between other than the usual pairings in BC.

Asta

Well, Asta is the nice guy and the hero of BC. You cannot not like the guy (at least if you get past the constant yelling XD). And I think that when choosing The Ideal Bestie for him, the "issue" is that he gets along with everybody. He's always giving encouragement or advice, or just being the voice of "we can do this!", because he has to believe that they can actually do it. It's his main character aspect. "I have to believe that it's possible, because otherwise it definitely won't happen". Asta is someone who gives. So, perhaps it'd be right to ask who'd return the same to him. And while all of the Bulls do encourage and support Asta, which is returning his kindness and friendship, I wouldn't say that any of them match with him in the bestie sense. Or, actually, Lumiere. Lumiere has a lot of the same traits. He was trying to build friendships and devices others deemed impossible. They're both kind and compassionate people, and they want only the best for those around them. While Lumiere is more gentle and soft spoken, and has interests in magical technology, and Asta is someone who built his body in place of mana from the beginning, has little to no voice control and goes for straightforward thinking, I think it's also those differences that might make them closer. I have no strong opinions about this, but... I think Asta and Lumiere might get along well.

Charmy

Charmy is one of the difficult ones, because she seems mostly invested in what she's doing. As in, she does care about the BBs, but she seems to like doing her own thing a lot. She's very independent and her need for social acceptance seems to be relatively low. But... I think, for some reason, that Sol and her could get along. Sol would cheer Charmy on for her cookings, and I'm pretty sure that Sol would also be happy to eat whatever Charmy cooks. And Sol on the other hand might take Charmy out on "adventures", meaning that they'd just go on walks or see different places togetehr (Charmy would ofc find delicious noms too). But generally speaking I have no strong opinions on Charmy's Ideal Bestie.

Grey

I had to think about this for a while, because... Grey does deserve a bestie. Poor girl has been through enough and her anxiety doesn't help with it. And while I do enjoy the Greyche ship, I do think that she'd also benefit from having a friend friend as a bestie. Of course all of the Bulls like and appreciate her; would go the ends of the world to get her back because she's one of the Bulls, but... somehow I also think that Finesse might be a good friend to her. I think that Finesse would be the kind of a calm, gentle, encouraging person who could help Grey shine and build her to her full potential. And Finesse could hear about the stories that Grey would have to tell her, adventures on which Finesse can't participate due to her condition, but at least it'd be a breath of fresh air from the mundane life at the palace. I could see them quietly sipping tea and just talking. Experiencing a quiet afternoon together; two isolated souls. Grey due to the way her family treated her, and Finesse because of her illness. Yeah, I think they'd get along just fine.

Noelle

I do like a lot of the friendships Noelle, too, has in canon. And a lot of them are different, and serve a different purpose in her story, but if I had to choose one to be her bestie, I'd probably have to say Kahono. Yes, this might have something to do with me recently having seen a lot of Noelle&Kahono friendship takes on Tumbly, but I think they'd have so much fun together. They'd encourage each other, and would get to introduce each other to different aspects of their own lives, because they are from two very different places, after all.

Yami

I actually like a lot of the friendships Yami has in canon. Although they're very different from each other. I mean, Jack is the type to rile Yami up, and I wouldn't be surprised if there was a time when the two of them bickering would have caused more repair work to the kingdom than the doings of any criminals/Diamond Kingdom agents/alike. And I bet they both still remind each other about those things every now and then. What the other one broke, and "at least I didn't destroy X". Yami and Jack get a kick out of it, and clearly enjoy the rumbunctious way of their friendship, but I also like the little bits and pieces of the friendship Yami had with Ryu to be shown. But Ryu seemed like the type of a friend to reel Yami in; ground him, calm him down. Ryu is the level headed friend that Yami needed in his youth, I think. With William, I like how they tease each other, but I would call them as "pals" maybe more than "friends". Out of these friendships, however, I'm liking the idea of Ryu's and Yami's friendship, which isn't without some lighter moments and friendly teasing. But I think that they'd actually compliment each other very well too. They both can be serious when need be, and they can have some light-hearted fun as well.

Nacht

Nacht, Nacht, Nacht... oh what to do with you? /lh I kinda wanna say "Yami", but I also want to say "William". If nothing else, these tree could bond over the... events in Spade XD. But seriously speaking, I think Yami is a lot of things that Nacht used to be during his punk era. Though since then Nacht has become more cynical, granted that for very understandable reasons. However, I think it'd take a long while for them to actually become friends-friends, let alone best friends. With William... Will is a lot softer person, but I think they both have isolating aspects to their lives as well. While William has been isolated due to his scar, and the curse of it (or the curse being the scar), Nacht's scars are less visible. They both also have themes of betraying those they hold dear, although more or less unintentionally. I say "more or less" because while Will enable an attempt of a genocide, I think William wanted to have no active part in it, and instead just let Patri take full control. And Nacht... well, we know the tragedy that is the fate of the House of Faust. Nacht might never forgive Patri for what he did, and might be very vocal about how he doesn't agree with the choices William made, but... Nacht also doesn't really have the moral high ground, because... he messed with devils. He honestly couldn't have been thinking for it to end well, if he was thinking about it at all, but instead went along with his curiosity. So, William went along with Patri, and Nacht went along with his curiosity. So, if not a full on best friend type of a relationship, I think that these two would at least have a very fruitful conversation, if you could sit them down with an open mind (or at least... as open as possible).

Gordon

For Gordon, I think that him and Henry could get along really well. They're both patient, caring, soft spoken people. And ... I mean, in the manga Gordon stayed behind during the Underwater Temple arc. It would've been a perfect time for them to connect. Granted that I'm... not sure if I remember if Henry's existence was revealed by then, or if Gordon would have known about Henry. Which are two very different things. But if Gordon did know, I could imagine Gordon wanting to stay behind to also keep company to Henry, because no one should be alone. I can also imagine Gordon making a transformer doll out of the BB base, just like Henry does on a large scale.

Henry

As said above, I think that Gordon and Henry would have the patience and understanding to form a very meaningful and deep friendship. Gordon would gladly listen to Henry talk about anything, even if it'd take a bit more time. And Henry would listen to Gordon, even if he'd speak in a very very hushed tone, and most would struggle to hear what he has to say. They'd both give each other space, and there'd be no judgements passed from either side onto the other. I don't think I have a better way of explaining it.

Vanessa

Honestly, ever since the friendship fic I wrote in 2022, I've been thinking about how Vanessa and Secre could really be besties. They have so much in common, both having been caged, Secre as Nero and Vanessa in a quite literal cage; both having been isolated from the world because of it, and both choosing to be free. Sure, Nessa would be the more flirtatious one and Secre the more "nerdy" type, but those are superficial qualities in comparison. Because they both have a kind of solemn outlook to life. They both can look at it, as if from the outside, at least if it's not directly about themselves, and give good advice to people. Secre's advice might be more straightforward and "logical", while Vanessa's would be more encouraging and based on emotion, I think. But they'd be working around their own strengths, and tell people things that they would have wanted to hear for themselves, while also being truthful about their opinions/advices.

Gauche

Ah, one of the (and I say this with the due affection) asshole of the BBs. Granted that a lot of his childhood, and having grown on the streets while trying to take care of his sister after their parents were murdered by some nobles, had an effect on his personality (and we talk about the manga Gauche). He wasn't perhaps the most sociable person to begin with, but having had the life he has, I'm not surprised that he's... rough around the edges. But also, his life story is very similar to Zora's, who was also betrayed by some nobles, and knights at that. And Zora has a lot of similar coping mechanisms. They're both a bit of assholes, but they also know how hard life can be. They might not be the types of friends to do all kinds of activities together, but I think that their friendship would be based on a lot of "quiet understanding", as well as maybe drinking a mug of ale and quietly (or not so quietly) judging some of the chaos that unfolds before them. They'd also, probably, give each other hard time at times, but I mean... what real friends wouldn't? Overall, I think that these two would have a great friendship. It might not be obvious at first, but when you look at them, and past the surface of things, I think that they are very similar and would understand each other very well.

Secre

Vanessa, for the reasons mentioned above. I think that these two would understand each other so well, and while they do have differences, their stories hold achingly similar themes and fates, in which both have made difficult choices. Secre had to watch her loved one essentially be encased in stone before her eyes, and Vanessa had to watch her mother try to kill her friends over and over again. While I think that Vanessa went through more from a personal view point, Lumiere was all that Secre had, too (and Secre saw basically a war between the humans and the elves unfold). So, for her, it was her one and only friend, the only one she could rely on and with whom she stayed as a bird for over 500 years, that was sealed away. And she was there, doing the sealing.

Zora

For the reasons listed above, I think that his bestie could really be Gauche. While Zora focused a lot of his energy on being snarky at and beating the knights in their own game, and Gauche didn't seem to have any real direction in where he was going, aside of just taking care of Marie, they have many similarities. They've both been stabbed in the back by the society in an awful, awful, awful manner, and I think that they could relate to each other. They're both alley cat shaped. And I think they'd be (at least nearly) unstoppable together.

#black clover #the black bulls #ask game #magna swing #black clover asta #black clover grey #noelle silva #charmy pappitson #yami sukehiro #nacht faust #gordon agrippa #henry legolant #vanessa enoteca #secre swallowtail #gauche adlai #zora ideale #lovely mutuals #phew! spent a while on this one ^^'

9 notes · View notes

acacia-may · 6 months

Text

The Caged Birds Club [Henry Legolant and Vanessa Enoteca Friendship Fic feat. the Early Black Bulls]

When Henry senses something is wrong with Vanessa, he tries his best to help or, at least, tries his best to find someone who can.

This Henry and Vanessa friendship fic was written for Black Bulls Week 2023 hosted by @blackbullswk for the Day 2: "Unlikely Dynamic" prompt

(Warnings: Hurt/Comfort. Mentioned Nightmares. Very briefly implied/referenced childhood trauma)

Story below the cut and also on AO3 at this link. Thank you so much for reading and Cheers!! 💖

Henry awoke to the feeling of water dripping onto his face from the ceiling. He propped himself up in bed the best he could and focused on rearranging the roof’s shingles in the hopes of stopping the leaking. It was a temporary fix, but the best he could manage until Captain Yami and his squad could afford a new roof.

The Captain called them his ‘squad,’ but there were really only three of them—four if Henry included himself which he often didn’t. He knew them mostly by their footsteps and by their mana, which, Henry supposed, did say a lot of about a person.

Gordon had quiet, light footsteps despite his heavy boots and his mana was calm, flowing off of him like gentle waves. This was very unlike Finral whose mana was fidgety and jittery, dramatically rising and falling based on his mood which could also be determined by the gait and speed of his footsteps and how often he was shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

In recent days, it had been spiking seemingly uncontrollably whenever their newest squad member was around which, if Henry had to guess, was only because she was a girl and Finral hadn’t the slightest idea how to handle that information. Sometimes late at night, Henry could almost hear the wheels turning in Finral’s head as his mana flipped and flopped the more he practiced the conversations he would or should have with her in order for them to become friends without him scaring her away. This had only gotten worse after the Captain had made it abundantly clear that he would be keeping them away from each other until Finral could learn how to be friends with a girl without flirting with her. It had been an ongoing struggle that, at least as far as Henry could perceive it, left Finral feeling frustrated and Vanessa feeling confused.

Vanessa’s mana was incredibly strong but warm and inviting—not at all like the powerful yet somewhat frightening waves that practically oozed off of their Captain. Her footsteps were soft, careful and almost curious as she explored their hideout barefooted and propped on the balls of her feet, but sometimes when she was alone, Henry could feel her footsteps skipping and fluttering across the floor as if she was dancing, which he often suspected she was. He sometimes thought of her twirling around her room, overjoyed at having finally been set free from that cage she had been trapped in before she had found her way to them. Henry wasn’t sure of all the details, but he knew she was free now when she hadn’t been before. He could feel it in her mana—could feel the relief, the joy, and the sense of possibility.

Henry wondered what that was like, wondered what that freedom felt like. He tried not to think of it. After all, he’d never really get to know. He was nothing but a caged bird. But Vanessa…Vanessa wasn’t anymore, and he was happy for her. He always tried his best to look out for her and always made sure her room had lots of big windows in it and was close to the exit, so she’d never feel trapped again. It had been working well, for the most part, or at least he would have thought so…until tonight that is.

He could feel her mana now, frantic and panicked. It sparked and stung with a certain desperation as if it was trapped again.

Trying his best not to panic himself, Henry began rearranging the house. He wasn’t sure if it was best to try to help Vanessa out of her room himself or try to wake someone who could better assist her. When his attempts to open up the doorway to her room did little to calm her mana, Henry decided to move Captain Yami’s room to the top floor, right under the leaky roof in the hopes that he would wake up.

Within moments, the Captain irritably called out, “Damnit, Henry. It's soaking wet in here.”

Pursing his lips together, Henry sighed apologetically, even though he knew the Captain couldn’t see him. Still, he rattled the doorway and tiles into the hallway to get his attention, and though he could hear Yami grumble, that spike in his mana helped Henry know that he was finally catching on.

The Captain checked on Finral first, probably because he was closest with a room right down the hallway, but Henry couldn’t help but suspect it was because the Captain knew he was the most fragile.

“The roof is leaking again,” he heard Finral’s weary voice say with a yawn.

“You think I don’t know that already?” grunted Yami. “It’s on my to-do list. Why don’t you and Gordon fix it?”

Henry couldn’t hear Gordon—though to be fair, no one could hear Gordon. However, Finral’s scream followed by “Gordon! You can’t sneak up on people like that” and the waves of his mana coming from the hallway outside of Finral’s room let Henry know that he had joined his squad mates.

Henry sighed in relief. That only left Vanessa, and they’d realize it soon enough.

“You morons are going to wake up the girl,” grumbled Yami.

“Do you think she’s okay?” asked Finral, followed by Gordon’s mutterings.

“I’ll check on her, alright? Go back to bed.” Yami grunted, and Henry could hear his footsteps stomping through the hallway until they stopped abruptly. “I said I’ll check on her,” he huffed through his teeth. “Why’re you following me?”

“We want to come to,” Finral insisted. “We’re…worried…”

Despite Yami’s nonchalant huff of “Whatever…”, Henry could tell he was concerned—could feel that panic creeping into his mana. The Captain cared much more than he let on.

After the race of footsteps down the back staircase and several hallways to Vanessa’s room and the sound of the door bursting open, Finral, Gordon, and Yami’s footsteps lunged forward, Henry presumed, towards Vanessa.

“Vanessa!” exclaimed Finral, his jittery mana spiking in a panic as the Captain interjected, trying his best to sound calmer than the stormy, tumultuous waves of his mana would have one believe.

“Vanessa, are you okay?”

“I can’t—I can’t go back there…” she cried, her voice garbled by sobs. Henry’s chest ached. She was crying, terrified. “I don’t—don’t want to be trapped there again.”

“It was just a dream. No one is sending you back there…” Yami reassured her until Finral cut him off.

“You can stay here forever if you want. We’ll make sure nobody hurts you ever again.”

As Vanessa sighed in relief, Henry could feel her mana start to calm as her squad mates’ mana warmed and stretched, almost wrapping itself around her like a blanket—protecting her. Vanessa sniffled, and Henry imagined that Finral, Yami, and Gordon had pulled her into a tight hug. Henry had never been hugged before, but he had always dreamed it was really nice and he wanted that for Vanessa.

It wasn’t long before her mana had calmed—once again becoming warm and steady.

Henry’s face softened, and a slight, kind smile tugged at his lips as he whispered, “You’re safe now.”

#blackbullsweek2023 #henry legolant #vanessa enoteca #the black bulls #early black bulls #one of my favorite unlikely & underrated friendships #i might add to this someday but we'll see...#thank you for reading!!

15 notes · View notes