it was inevitable.

[evercelle.livejournal.com]

Title: Alter Egos, or Self Empowerment via Bluffs and Cheap-Ass Twenty Beli Masks.
Rating: PG
Media: fiction
Pairing/Characters: Usopp
Word Count: 263
Prompt: Fear
Notes: I tried avoiding the obvious. Obviously, I failed. 8D;



There is no magic in the mask. It's flimsy wood with cheap, garish colors. You know it won't fool anybody except for Luffy and Chopper, and certainly not you. You still have your doubts. You are not transformed.

On this island there's nowhere to run but miles to go and you guesstimate your chance of survival to be somewhere around like, oh, negative eighty percent.

But you'll shoot the flag, face the wolf, and pot that ugly Spandam bastard in the head. Normally your knees'd be shaking through all this except for the fact that the special Sogeking Pose Of Victory doesn't afford that. And therein lies the beauty: the mask will break and bend in at the corners but somehow, somehow it saves you from your not-so-secret identity. That's its power, you realize. You don't have to be Usopp: you don't have to be afraid.

And at the end when you're not ready to face them, you'll keep the mask on and scale your voice an octave lower and pray for the strength you imagined earlier. You're still not fooling anybody but Luffy and Chopper, and in the aftermath of this adventure you've still the very hardest, scariest part to go: the moment you've got to be Usopp again and own up to the mistakes you've made.

So in the meantime, you figure it's okay to be a hero for a little while longer, even if Nami sighs and Sanji rolls his eyes. You also know that you are totally not bullshitting Zoro. But because you're Sogeking and fearless, you keep calling him "Zoro-kun" anyway.

Comments

[printfogey.livejournal.com]

Terrific stuff. And second person, too - so hard to do well, but seems to fit like hand in glove here. (It would be wrong if no-one wrote Usoppian stuff for this prompt, I think.)

You don't have to be Usopp: you don't have to be afraid.

*sniff* I really liked this. Good in a painful way.

He didn't have the mask on when he taunted Lucci, though. That didn't take courage?

[evercelle.livejournal.com]

To be honest, I didn't go back and double check EVERYTHING Sogeking/Usopp did in Enies Lobby so I prolly missed some stuff. 8D; But even then, I dunno, I feel like taunting is in his typical liar-routine, but "Sogeking"'s identity gives him the power to actually do things, especially when he technically had no obligations to the Strawhats anymore.


oh! and thank you♥

[printfogey.livejournal.com]

"Sogeking"'s identity gives him the power to actually do things, especially when he technically had no obligations to the Strawhats anymore.

(nods) I agree. Also, after posting the first comment it came to me that maybe it didn't take any (additional) courage, because he may simply have felt it was the only thing he could do, trying desperately to save Luffy.

Anyway, I'm definitely saving this one. <33

[alice-and-lain.livejournal.com]

On this island there's nowhere to run but miles to go and you guesstimate your chance of survival to be somewhere around like, oh, negative eighty percent.

I really liked that line a lot! Nice drabble! I like that the scariest part of Usopp isn't putting on the mask and facing danger, it's taking it off.

[slaughterchichi.livejournal.com]

Argh, I think you totally nailed the idea of Sogeking in this with one go. I have no other words!

[silverwolfcc.livejournal.com]

Awwww! So much love this! Poor Usopp, he's the only one that truly feels fear yet he still manages to suck it up and cope. And very nice job on the 2nd person narrative. Truly love it ;) Best part imo: "So in the meantime, you figure it's okay to be a hero for a little while longer, even if Nami sighs and Sanji rolls his eyes. You also know that you are totally not bullshitting Zoro. But because you're Sogeking and fearless, you keep calling him "Zoro-kun" anyway." because you really have to figure that's the only reason he keeps it up.

[dethorats]

Beautiful! The dichotomy between Usopp and Sogeking is captured so well here, as is what is Usopp's biggest fear of the moment. And the second person worked really really well!

[dried-frog-pill.livejournal.com]

This is just so freaking awesome. I'm a sucker for Usopp fics and for well-written second person POV fics, and this hits all the right buttons. Love the title, too XD And I adore the repetition that he's only fooling Luffy and Chopper and that the hardest thing he has to do is apologize for the mistakes he made. Love it.

[evercelle.livejournal.com]

I think the title was, quite possibly, my favorite part to write. xD

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it so much!