I keep returning to this arc...
Feb. 12th, 2013 08:27 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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onepiece_300Title: The Hero's Cape
Media: Fic
Prompt: Red
Character: Usopp
Words: 224
Rating: G
Spoilers/setting: Set towards the end of volume 38
It had lain forgotten on the floor of the Sea Train, next to a colourful mask. He'd seen them both earlier, taking note of them: typical Water 7 masquerade items. Now he dove back into the car to grab the items quickly, before going up to the rainy roof again.
It could have been any colour and he'd still taken it: he was in no position to pick and choose. But it felt right that the cape was deep red, the colour of wine. In his mind, red was the strongest colour, one that spoke of great deeds and bravery and pride; of fighting strength and hope defiant. Just the thing for a made-up man in a cape and a mask who was ready to take on the World Government itself by the Strawhats' side, as a normal weak person couldn't hope to do. Red was the colour for heroes.
Luffy's vest was bright red.
Well. That was the real deal, of course. This was just the fake. Yet he knew he had no choice but to believe in the fake with all the power he was able to summon; to make this lie into an impossible truth. Or else something in him that was already tattered and torn would unravel to the very last thread. And there wouldn't be much point after that.
Media: Fic
Prompt: Red
Character: Usopp
Words: 224
Rating: G
Spoilers/setting: Set towards the end of volume 38
It had lain forgotten on the floor of the Sea Train, next to a colourful mask. He'd seen them both earlier, taking note of them: typical Water 7 masquerade items. Now he dove back into the car to grab the items quickly, before going up to the rainy roof again.
It could have been any colour and he'd still taken it: he was in no position to pick and choose. But it felt right that the cape was deep red, the colour of wine. In his mind, red was the strongest colour, one that spoke of great deeds and bravery and pride; of fighting strength and hope defiant. Just the thing for a made-up man in a cape and a mask who was ready to take on the World Government itself by the Strawhats' side, as a normal weak person couldn't hope to do. Red was the colour for heroes.
Luffy's vest was bright red.
Well. That was the real deal, of course. This was just the fake. Yet he knew he had no choice but to believe in the fake with all the power he was able to summon; to make this lie into an impossible truth. Or else something in him that was already tattered and torn would unravel to the very last thread. And there wouldn't be much point after that.
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Date: 2013-02-13 12:48 am (UTC)Luffy's vest was bright red.
This line, ohmygosh I just love, love, loooove this comparison and somehow it just hits as one of the most impacting sentences of this whole drabble! Because- it just - it, I HAVE NO WORDS TOO MANY FEELS GETTING IN THE WAY OF THOUGHT PROCESS.
But I loved it. And the last paragraph... makes me want to find Usopp... and hug him forever and cry and aaah okay gonna roll under a rock for awhile lol
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Date: 2013-02-13 07:49 am (UTC)Usopp should have all the hugs, yes indeed.
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Date: 2013-02-13 06:17 pm (UTC)And well, we should probably keep a couple for Robin. XDD
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Date: 2013-02-13 07:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-13 06:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-13 07:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-13 08:33 pm (UTC)I'd love to read more!
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Date: 2013-02-13 09:02 pm (UTC)Ages ago I made a post for my favourite fics for Usoppian Water 7 angst - some of those stories have since been locked or taken down by the writers, alas, but most of them are still fine. Here (http://serrende.livejournal.com/32266.html) if you're curious! And given my bias, a fair number of the fics on my general rec list (http://serrende.livejournal.com/115181.html) are also Usopp-centric. ^_^
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Date: 2013-02-14 03:26 pm (UTC)Especially during the Water 7/Enies Lobby arc I think he's a very interesting character. I mean he in general is but then in particular. Sadly I know a lot of people who only think he's funny or annoying but none of them, well, look deeper.
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Date: 2013-02-14 06:50 pm (UTC)Yeah, it was reading Water 7 arc and particularly the Usopp parts that led me to get into One Piece fandom, in fact. Before that I'd been an appreciative reader but not felt the fannish need to discuss the series with others, let alone read and write fics etc. (And then when I re-read the earlier volumes I saw foreshadowing moments from earlier arcs I hadn't caught before.)
I think there's often a tendency to dismiss characters who fill the "comic relief" niche, esp. when they're fairly goofy-looking like Usopp. Even though that's never been all there is to him. But some fans who aren't used to seeing depth in that kind of character probably fail to notice the nuance, seeing only what they expect to see...
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Date: 2013-03-11 10:55 am (UTC)Well the events in Water 7 have changed a lot for me as well. As much as I dread watching/reading it, I also love it a lot because it brings out so many different sides of each character. And I think without it, I wouldn't be able to appreciate Franky so much. It's not the simple 'let's help some innocent victims fight some villain', it's about staying together and keeping the crew together and facing the past and for me that's what makes this arc so perfect. There's character depth and I love it.
Yeah that's true. But I personally hate to approach a character with too many expectations because it makes you blind to their true personality and it makes them a little less real if you ignore their flaws or things you wouldn't expect.
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Date: 2013-02-13 01:45 pm (UTC)A lovely story! Great job!
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Date: 2013-02-13 07:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-17 10:43 am (UTC)Awesome work :)
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Date: 2013-02-17 07:44 pm (UTC)