follow me into the rain

I've just rewatched the epic and highly emotional fight between Gintoki and Takasugi in episode 304 and 305 of Gintama. It made me think of other one-on-one fights I've read and watched that got me similarly by the feelings. The first one that actually came to mind was Luffy vs Usopp in One Piece, Water 7 arc. But I think you run through the gamut of emotions pretty differently in those two fights, because when you read or watch the latter you're all "nooo what are you two doing stop it STOP IT goddamnit WHY MUST THIS HAPPEN NOBODY WINS WITH THIS DDDDD:", and that from the very beginning. With the former it's more of a rollercoaster, you start by going, "All right, Gintoki stopped him in the nick of time and now FINALLY EPIC SHOWDOWN WE'VE WAITED FOR SINCE LIKE 240-SOMETHING EPISODES!!!" and by the end you're sobbing.

And so now I wonder: what's the one fight scene between two people in any manga or anime that hit you the most emotionally? Or if it's hard to pick one, which are the top contenders?

[repost from Tumblr earlier today, edited. Yanked this meme from egelantier on Tumblr]
Rules: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous.

Comment about the title that most intrigues you or interests you and I’ll post a little snippet of it or tell you something about it!

This seems like a cool meme!

I am nevertheless going to be a tiny bit secretive and not mention a couple of long-runners. Also, most of the below are old fragmentary drafts for One Piece and a couple of other fandoms that never went anymore. (Although the one titled “nami usopp cold time” was supposed to be a gift to someone, I feel bad about not having worked that one out… and I haven’t given up on it yet.)

Tagging anyone who wants to play!

ginzura businesslike or more
Fifteen years and two weeks old
pirate banchina more
Usopp wait
Want to help me hang up the laundry
blueprints frobin
Cold town
dreamlike
early timeskip
He never remembers the gunshots
It should have been easy
loose draft lusopp idk pining
love and be silent
Luffy is almost always quiet
nami snowstorm II
nami usopp cold time
mud voices in the cave
trouble zosopp
dehors en janvier
fantasio seccotine bar
City By The Ocean
till i’m gathered safely in
alchemist ryoga
or maybe
the mountain path
akane walk volleyball
akane ukyo training
for two weeks
they came upon the ruins
spectators
you know, akane
sena monta suzuna
sena pov
monta pov

Title: Don't Take The Fall Alone (Part One)
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Zoro/Sanji/Usopp a.k.a the Red Shirt Trio
Spoilers/setting: Set after Thriller Bark and before Sabaody
Summary: After leaving Thriller Bark, Usopp, Sanji and Zoro are all troubled for varied reasons. Usopp proves quite perceptive in some respects, less so in others.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Written for Martianico within the exchange seeing-color and first posted to the AO3 collection for that exchange. All my thanks to my wonderful beta tonko, who worked hard on this story and who came up with the title, too. But the responsibility for any remaining errors are mine alone. Nitpicks are very welcome, and so is feedback in general!

DISCLAIMER: The characters and situations of One Piece are owned by their creator, Eiichiro Oda. They are used here without permission. This fic may not be used for profit and should not be reposted elsewhere without the writer's approval.
( Gah, it's been so long I forgot to make a cut!! )

For tonko. One year late. I AM VERY SORRY ABOUT THAT... but hey, but now it is your birthday again! I hope you will like it. ♥♥♥

Betaed by the terrific thewordweaves. Any remaining errors are my fault and responsibility alone. Nitpicks and other suggestions for improvement are very welcome!

Title: Caught in the Rain
Characters/Pairing: Sanji/Usopp
Rating: PG-13 I KINDA REALLY WANTED IT TO GO HIGHER BUT... in the end this is how it turned out.
Word Count: Around 7,000
Spoilers/setting: This is set post-timeskip but fairly vague. No spoilers beyond Fishman Island. In terms of characterisation, I do take post-timeskip in account to a certain extent, but the bulk of it is based on pre-timeskip, as I feel their characters were more consistent and well-rounded then.
Summary: During an excursion to a new island, the rain forces Usopp and Sanji to stay in place and try to make a fire. Sanji has to deal with feelings he's suppressed for a long time.

Disclaimer: The characters of One Piece belong to their creator Eiichiro Oda. They are used here without permission. This fanfic is not intended and may not be used for profit in any way. Please do not repost this elsewhere without the writer's approval.

[Note: Apologies for culinary implausibility in terms of cooking time for a campfire stew. Perhaps Sanji is just that good.]
( Trapped by no track of hours, for they hanged suspended )

Happy Birthday, prpl_pen!

( Birthday pic behind the cut (just some de-aged fluff) )
Have a great day!

Foolish by chibi_trillian is a sweet 375-word ficlet, rated PG-15 for implications. Author's summary is "Usopp thinks too goddamn much". Set at an unspecified time, but likely pre-water 7. The prose might be a little purple at the start, but it's a good read all the same in my opinion (this is my favourite couple, though, which might affect my judgment ^_^).

Usopp worried constantly; it was part of his nature. His mind saw situations and immediately started looking for possible dangers, things to flee and hide from. This arrangement wasn’t precisely dangerous, but it wasn’t safe either. His heart said one thing, his head another, and his gut something else entirely.

Reposting something (with slight revising) that I put on Tumblr yesterday - about why I am still so darn fond of the fight between Usopp and Perona in Thriller Bark.

( more behind the cut )

Comments very welcome!

A shamefully late story originally prompted by laconic back in December when I asked for ideas for stories to write in time for the Christmas-New Year's holidays. I have no good excuses - it's not like I can say it was a tough prompt, just asking for Sanji and Usopp interaction post-timeskip. But here it is, at last!

Betaed by the wonderful tonko. Remaining mistakes are my own fault alone. Concrit and other feedback very welcome.

Title: Where We Are Now
Rating: G
Characters: Sanji, Usopp
Pairing: None
Spoilers/setting: Would be firmly set between chapters 654 and 655 if Oda had been considerate enough to indicate a time span of a day or so between them. Instead, let’s just pretend he did. Warning: Contains some of Sanji’s canon transphobia

Disclaimer: The characters and situations of One Piece were created and are owned by Eiichiro Oda. They are used here without permission for entertainment purposes only. This fic is not to be used for profit and should not be reposted elsewhere without its writer's consent.

( Adjustment May Be Needed )

Now I'm going to try to import/crosspost this to LJ or however that stuff works.

Second holiday shortfic, this one prompted by ryu19 who asked for "Nami as Santa, Usopp as Mrs. Claus". And also Usopp/Nami... which I'm afraid didn't quite happen, this is all gen and rather cracky.

For the purpose of this fic, assume that somehow the American Santa legend exists in the One Piece world. But since there's still no Jesus on the world of One Piece, Christmas is an entirely secular holiday there. (The name is immaterial /handwaves.)


( Deck us all with Boston Sally )