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[thewordweaves.livejournal.com]

Title: Doubt
Rating: G
Characters: Usopp
Word Count: 300
Prompt: One Day. I'm afraid that this is a rather literal interpretation of the prompt, but it's what popped in my head.



Usopp is older now, and mostly unencumbered by the feelings of guilt that accompany thoughts of Merry and tears shed on a dock while choking out an apology and the weight of worry over not being strong heavy on his shoulders.

He trained, and he trained hard. When he looks in the mirror, he is pleased by what he sees for the first time - legs like toothpicks no more, shoulders that were once too wide for his needle-thin frame filled out, chest no longer painfully skinny but good and strong. If he left Syrup village like this, it’s not a boy that Kaya would see walking away, but the broad back of a man.

Luffy will become pirate king. Zoro will become the greatest swordsman in the very world that Nami will map, and every island Nami maps will be scoured for Robin's poneglyphs and roamed by a doctor that will cure every disease. Upon that map there will be All Blue, written reverently in Nami's unerring script and filled with all the love Sanji has for it, there will be Raftel where Franky's ship will have taken them. And there they will see Laboon and music will play as sweet and clear as Usopp imagines the waters of All Blue to be.

One day, that will happen. But what makes a warrior of the sea, Usopp wonders, and will he ever get there? It means something beyond strength. It’s something that comes from within.

He wants to look at his father in the eye someday and tell him that he too is a brave warrior of the sea, wants his father to see it too, to be proud.

But when that day comes, if that day comes, how will he know?

Comments

[thewordweaves.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much! And normally I'd say that epic Usopp icons are something everyone needs, but the one you've got is pretty darn cute ;)

[printfogey.livejournal.com]

Ahh, I really like reading this brief study on post-timeskip Usopp. ♥ I like the focus on his dream's difference to the others - inner-driven, subjective, harder to gauge.

It's true, the old guilt and worries don't really seem to be there anymore. (He might not be immune to negative ghosts these days... I do wonder what would happen if he ran into Perona now and she felt like a re-match.) He might make a captain yet, one day.

One good thing about Usopp's dream's vagueness: if he feels like he wants to keep adventuring for a long time, he can just say to the others, "I just don't feel brave enough yet, I'll just have to keep sailing some more!" ^_^

If he left Syrup village like this, it’s not a boy that Kaya would see walking away, but the broad back of a man.

Usopp, Usopp, Usopp. * sighs* I don't think the view of your back leaving her again (no matter how good it may look) is going to do Kaya all that good. I'm sure she'd rather have her strong mature man not walking away. ;_;

[thewordweaves.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much! ♥ That's one reason I find Usopp so compelling, actually - he's the only one on the ship whose path isn't quite as concretely drawn out for him, and his goal is simply to achieve something that many have achieved before him.

I'm not so sure if his worries and pessimism are completely gone, but I'd like to think that they've faded and his confidence has grown. It's a nice progression to see! And I've never considered the longevity of Usopp's dream... even once he has deemed himself a brave man of the sea, he could always just point out that to be a brave man of the sea, he needs to continue sailing.

Oh, I actually meant that particular line to mean like... if he looked like this when he left for the first time (somehow), she'd see a man's back instead. Which is probably a bit unclear since I had to cut a bunch of stuff out! But yes, I think she'd even welcome her skinny little boy back with outstretched arms ;)

[netbug009.livejournal.com]

Great ficlet!

I've wondered about this too; some of the Straw Hats dreams are so vague, especially Usopp's. I also wonder a bit of Chopper's, since diseases change all the time.

[thewordweaves.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

Ooh, I never actually thought too much about Chopper's (beyond one little fic I wrote ages ago). I had always identified Usopp's as the vaguest one, though at least Chopper may be able to assemble the foundation to adapt to new developing diseases. :|a