ESSAYING AGAIN.
ONLY THIS TIME, IT'S FRANKY'S TURN. Sh-shut up, I've been doing a little more Water 7-ing recently
It's always really hard to pick a set slot for any of the Strawhats in these things. Sometimes they're his best friends, sometimes they're his siblings and sometimes his mentors, his tormentors and rivals, substitute parents, saviors, counselors, motivators and just so much more that could fill up a lot of this entry; and even then I have to add in that they're his doctor, navigator, captain, chef, shipwright and all those other occupations that make the crew what it is. It's easier in short to say they're all nakama with strong undertones of roles to serve.
And Franky is definitely one of the hardest ones to put words to, “bro” or not. I think that he wouldn't be if Usopp were actually the one doing this. It really surprised me once I actually started trying to think it over: OOC-ly, their dynamic is hard to pin down, but IC-ly it's so goddamn simple. Franky was a bad guy, then he helped save Robin and now he's nakama.
Just- agh, let's start at the beginning and work from there.
When Usopp first met Franky, he was promptly punched in the face and left to be beat the fuck up while the guy went out to spend 200 million bucks that Usopp hadn't been able to hold onto. Going into it from that, I honestly didn't expect that Franky would end up on the crew- or that I would get to be fond of him at all. There isn't a deep personal connection here at all, if you look away from Usopp's extreme anger towards him and the beginning of his arc-long trip through self-pity, self-loathing, being butthurt, and just plain growing up. I think (and take into mind that this is pure speculation on my part, and my interpretation isn't the same as anyone else's) that on some level, past the hurt that tends to cling to things having to do with Merry, Usopp understands that everything that happened was important.
So, bad beginning here. Maybe the second one garners an improvement.
...there isn't much of one. The next time he meets Franky, it's because he and Merry have been abducted to be held for ransom (of sorts).
But while maybe it's not a better meeting, it's certainly a different one. Franky's ditched the mask and cape and we're left with a guy in a speedo who makes up cheesy ballads and wants to kick Luffy's ass. And he has saved Merry from that nad-crushingly enormous tide- even if that wasn't the point. This is the point where things start taking on some actual development.
Franky is one of those no-nonsense kind of guys, especially when it comes to the carpenter trade: Usopp is...see, that's the difficult part because he's got highs and lows that are so ridiculous. Neutral is not in his repertoire of reactions to anything in canon, it seems. Mostly, he's the downer. In that everyone is doomed and there's no hope. Personally, I take up that his being “already negative” doesn't mean he's always half a step away from slashing his wrists. Because for all his screeching, there are things in the world that Usopp will never lose faith in, and even if he's pessimistic, he's very idealistic about it. For all that that makes sense.
And putting his foot in his mouth is to Usopp as a fish is to water, really. I wouldn't have been surprised if they turned up in Water 7, saw a crew arguing with the carpenters about a ship that couldn't be fixed, and he said something about knowing when to give up. It's not that he's a cruel guy: it's just that he has some small semblance of logic and occasional insight when it comes to other people. Problems in his own life are the ones he treats with a healthy dose of denial and idealism. That other random crew's ship can't be fixed- if they want to keep sailing together, obviously they'll have to let it go. His ship (yes, “his ship”- whether he intentionally held that thought or not, Merry's always been his baby) is different, though. His ship is damaged, but it can pull through. His ship is strong, his ship will be fine, he'll take care of it, it's nakama.
He left his crew and closest friends because Merry couldn't be repaired and he was in denial about it.
This tangent continues now because I'm on a roll and will get back to Franky later. It's always been my personal opinion (again, personal speculation, might be totally off the mark here) that his issues with Merry had more to them than “but she's nakama, how could you” and the fact that it really dug into his insecurities in the wrong ways. Now, those did play really big parts, don't get me wrong; without all those factors, there's really no telling where things would have ended up. My thought process is thus:
When Usopp was a child, his mother got sick. She got sick and the doctor couldn't make her better. Usopp is seven years old at this point, barely old enough to tie his own shoes and figuring out reading, and his mother is dying while he watches and he can't do anything to stop it. He can deny it, make up lies to try to keep her, but at the end of the day it doesn't change the fact that she's dying no matter what he does. Kids tend to be simplistic about these things, so the logic didn't include “no one could have helped her.” What he sees is “mom's dying and I'm not enough for her to stay for.”
“I can't help her.”
“I'm going to be all alone because I can't save her.”
“I'm useless.”
And then when Usopp's seventeen, his ship is damaged beyond repair. Merry is more than just a ship- she's nakama, the last real link to his hometown, proof that someone and something without insane powers can make it anywhere if they want something enough. They tell him that his ship is dying-- and he can't do anything to stop it. He refuses to believe it, he leaves the crew, fights Luffy, and at the end of the day? None of that made any difference. Usopp isn't a shipwright. And while he's old enough to know better about things that just happen, the majority of his logic tells him “Merry would be fine if I'd known how to help her.”
“Why can't I fix her?”
“I'm all alone because I couldn't take care of her.”
“I'm useless.”
...I like to thought-process a lot of his tendencies and issues back to that two-page bit of chapter we call his flashback. To me, even just that little bit of background can explain any number of things about Usopp. In fact, I also like to connect his mom to that inspiration-gasmic speech about hell that he delivered to Luffy.
UH. BUT MAYBE I SHOULD GET BACK ON TRACK ABOUT THAT CR, HUH?
So anyway, here Franky the Dismantler has this kid so far in denial that it's amazing he can even see straight. He tears off a chunk of ship, Usopp starts fixing it. He tells him it's no good, Usopp keeps fixing it. He tosses the kid under the ship to show him it's hopeless- and Usopp gets back up and keeps trying to fix her anyway. Tells him he knows that Merry is doomed. And even knowing that, because Luffy would never lie about that kind of thing or say it if he didn't really believe it, Usopp left and fought him. (This particular setting with Franky and Usopp has always been one of my favorites to tear up over, for some reason.)
Franky starts singing a ballad. Usopp resorts to token WTF-ing. And somehow their relationship has gained some semblance of both understanding and comical tendencies- it's an enormous step away from their first meeting, in the same day, and somehow it makes complete sense.
Next on the agenda: the CP9 bust into the building. Not only does this lead up to Franky's first show of some kind of concern for Usopp (as much as “They beat him! D8” can portray, anyway), it also leads to another level of understanding. Because Usopp is there to hear his backstory, and now they've got a common enemy. /takes a few minutes to sob in the corner about Merry, bawww
L-let's skip ahead to the sea train, shall we?
Usopp and Franky, tied up like luggage and left in a car to be transported to Enies Lobby, get the pleasure of meeting up with Sanji. Because the guy just can't seem to avoid situations in which he saves Usopp's bacon with style and flair. Another nice moment in CR history with Franky, this: Sanji attempts to beat the shit out of him and Usopp actually defends the guy. It's not in a “he's my friend now” manner, really- he helped Merry whether he meant to or not and there really are bigger issues at hand by now. (...though I must include how much I adore Franky effectively telling Usopp to man up when he gets all choked up about Merry's apparent fate. So much love here.)
And there's really only one other point to mention in the Enies Lobby arc that really sticks, I think. It's the simple fact that even though he had absolutely no obligation to do so, Franky risked his life to help them all save Robin. That kind of thing can put a guy over from “bad guy” to “decent guy” in a snap. This is the point when Usopp stops being completely pissed and starts kind of looking up to him, I think.
Not to mention the fact that he starts geeking out over the matter of cyborgs.
Everything just starts...going up from there. Franky becomes a good guy. We see badassery, funny moments, tearjerking flashbacks, and farther down the line he joins Luffy's crew.
I could go into much detail for Thriller Bark here, but I imagine I've tl;dr-ed at you long enough. So I will just say that Franky and Robin saving Usopp and Chopper is marvelous and fantastic and fangirl-worthy. Usopp and Franky working together to make the memorial for Brook's old crew was really touching. Later on in Shabondy, Usopp stays behind to help Franky make repairs to the ship. Plus, before that, GAON CANNON. Which is really all I have to say about that and the epic of it when I've been up so long.
Usopp has so much respect for Franky- as a shipwright, as an inventor, as a crewmate- it's almost ridiculous to think back to that first meeting. He looks up to him. He admires him. Franky is that ultra-cool older brother/father figure/weirdo favorite uncle/mentor, somehow; and while I can't really speak for Franky himself, I think he recognizes that admiration and appreciates it, too. It just amazes me, because Usopp would just as easily trust this guy to protect him as he would Zoro or Sanji or Luffy, without so much as a second thought about how things used to be.
Not that it doesn't make sense. They are nakama, after all.
It's always really hard to pick a set slot for any of the Strawhats in these things. Sometimes they're his best friends, sometimes they're his siblings and sometimes his mentors, his tormentors and rivals, substitute parents, saviors, counselors, motivators and just so much more that could fill up a lot of this entry; and even then I have to add in that they're his doctor, navigator, captain, chef, shipwright and all those other occupations that make the crew what it is. It's easier in short to say they're all nakama with strong undertones of roles to serve.
And Franky is definitely one of the hardest ones to put words to, “bro” or not. I think that he wouldn't be if Usopp were actually the one doing this. It really surprised me once I actually started trying to think it over: OOC-ly, their dynamic is hard to pin down, but IC-ly it's so goddamn simple. Franky was a bad guy, then he helped save Robin and now he's nakama.
Just- agh, let's start at the beginning and work from there.
When Usopp first met Franky, he was promptly punched in the face and left to be beat the fuck up while the guy went out to spend 200 million bucks that Usopp hadn't been able to hold onto. Going into it from that, I honestly didn't expect that Franky would end up on the crew- or that I would get to be fond of him at all. There isn't a deep personal connection here at all, if you look away from Usopp's extreme anger towards him and the beginning of his arc-long trip through self-pity, self-loathing, being butthurt, and just plain growing up. I think (and take into mind that this is pure speculation on my part, and my interpretation isn't the same as anyone else's) that on some level, past the hurt that tends to cling to things having to do with Merry, Usopp understands that everything that happened was important.
So, bad beginning here. Maybe the second one garners an improvement.
...there isn't much of one. The next time he meets Franky, it's because he and Merry have been abducted to be held for ransom (of sorts).
But while maybe it's not a better meeting, it's certainly a different one. Franky's ditched the mask and cape and we're left with a guy in a speedo who makes up cheesy ballads and wants to kick Luffy's ass. And he has saved Merry from that nad-crushingly enormous tide- even if that wasn't the point. This is the point where things start taking on some actual development.
Franky is one of those no-nonsense kind of guys, especially when it comes to the carpenter trade: Usopp is...see, that's the difficult part because he's got highs and lows that are so ridiculous. Neutral is not in his repertoire of reactions to anything in canon, it seems. Mostly, he's the downer. In that everyone is doomed and there's no hope. Personally, I take up that his being “already negative” doesn't mean he's always half a step away from slashing his wrists. Because for all his screeching, there are things in the world that Usopp will never lose faith in, and even if he's pessimistic, he's very idealistic about it. For all that that makes sense.
And putting his foot in his mouth is to Usopp as a fish is to water, really. I wouldn't have been surprised if they turned up in Water 7, saw a crew arguing with the carpenters about a ship that couldn't be fixed, and he said something about knowing when to give up. It's not that he's a cruel guy: it's just that he has some small semblance of logic and occasional insight when it comes to other people. Problems in his own life are the ones he treats with a healthy dose of denial and idealism. That other random crew's ship can't be fixed- if they want to keep sailing together, obviously they'll have to let it go. His ship (yes, “his ship”- whether he intentionally held that thought or not, Merry's always been his baby) is different, though. His ship is damaged, but it can pull through. His ship is strong, his ship will be fine, he'll take care of it, it's nakama.
He left his crew and closest friends because Merry couldn't be repaired and he was in denial about it.
This tangent continues now because I'm on a roll and will get back to Franky later. It's always been my personal opinion (again, personal speculation, might be totally off the mark here) that his issues with Merry had more to them than “but she's nakama, how could you” and the fact that it really dug into his insecurities in the wrong ways. Now, those did play really big parts, don't get me wrong; without all those factors, there's really no telling where things would have ended up. My thought process is thus:
When Usopp was a child, his mother got sick. She got sick and the doctor couldn't make her better. Usopp is seven years old at this point, barely old enough to tie his own shoes and figuring out reading, and his mother is dying while he watches and he can't do anything to stop it. He can deny it, make up lies to try to keep her, but at the end of the day it doesn't change the fact that she's dying no matter what he does. Kids tend to be simplistic about these things, so the logic didn't include “no one could have helped her.” What he sees is “mom's dying and I'm not enough for her to stay for.”
“I can't help her.”
“I'm going to be all alone because I can't save her.”
“I'm useless.”
And then when Usopp's seventeen, his ship is damaged beyond repair. Merry is more than just a ship- she's nakama, the last real link to his hometown, proof that someone and something without insane powers can make it anywhere if they want something enough. They tell him that his ship is dying-- and he can't do anything to stop it. He refuses to believe it, he leaves the crew, fights Luffy, and at the end of the day? None of that made any difference. Usopp isn't a shipwright. And while he's old enough to know better about things that just happen, the majority of his logic tells him “Merry would be fine if I'd known how to help her.”
“Why can't I fix her?”
“I'm all alone because I couldn't take care of her.”
“I'm useless.”
...I like to thought-process a lot of his tendencies and issues back to that two-page bit of chapter we call his flashback. To me, even just that little bit of background can explain any number of things about Usopp. In fact, I also like to connect his mom to that inspiration-gasmic speech about hell that he delivered to Luffy.
UH. BUT MAYBE I SHOULD GET BACK ON TRACK ABOUT THAT CR, HUH?
So anyway, here Franky the Dismantler has this kid so far in denial that it's amazing he can even see straight. He tears off a chunk of ship, Usopp starts fixing it. He tells him it's no good, Usopp keeps fixing it. He tosses the kid under the ship to show him it's hopeless- and Usopp gets back up and keeps trying to fix her anyway. Tells him he knows that Merry is doomed. And even knowing that, because Luffy would never lie about that kind of thing or say it if he didn't really believe it, Usopp left and fought him. (This particular setting with Franky and Usopp has always been one of my favorites to tear up over, for some reason.)
Franky starts singing a ballad. Usopp resorts to token WTF-ing. And somehow their relationship has gained some semblance of both understanding and comical tendencies- it's an enormous step away from their first meeting, in the same day, and somehow it makes complete sense.
Next on the agenda: the CP9 bust into the building. Not only does this lead up to Franky's first show of some kind of concern for Usopp (as much as “They beat him! D8” can portray, anyway), it also leads to another level of understanding. Because Usopp is there to hear his backstory, and now they've got a common enemy. /takes a few minutes to sob in the corner about Merry, bawww
L-let's skip ahead to the sea train, shall we?
Usopp and Franky, tied up like luggage and left in a car to be transported to Enies Lobby, get the pleasure of meeting up with Sanji. Because the guy just can't seem to avoid situations in which he saves Usopp's bacon with style and flair. Another nice moment in CR history with Franky, this: Sanji attempts to beat the shit out of him and Usopp actually defends the guy. It's not in a “he's my friend now” manner, really- he helped Merry whether he meant to or not and there really are bigger issues at hand by now. (...though I must include how much I adore Franky effectively telling Usopp to man up when he gets all choked up about Merry's apparent fate. So much love here.)
And there's really only one other point to mention in the Enies Lobby arc that really sticks, I think. It's the simple fact that even though he had absolutely no obligation to do so, Franky risked his life to help them all save Robin. That kind of thing can put a guy over from “bad guy” to “decent guy” in a snap. This is the point when Usopp stops being completely pissed and starts kind of looking up to him, I think.
Not to mention the fact that he starts geeking out over the matter of cyborgs.
Everything just starts...going up from there. Franky becomes a good guy. We see badassery, funny moments, tearjerking flashbacks, and farther down the line he joins Luffy's crew.
I could go into much detail for Thriller Bark here, but I imagine I've tl;dr-ed at you long enough. So I will just say that Franky and Robin saving Usopp and Chopper is marvelous and fantastic and fangirl-worthy. Usopp and Franky working together to make the memorial for Brook's old crew was really touching. Later on in Shabondy, Usopp stays behind to help Franky make repairs to the ship. Plus, before that, GAON CANNON. Which is really all I have to say about that and the epic of it when I've been up so long.
Usopp has so much respect for Franky- as a shipwright, as an inventor, as a crewmate- it's almost ridiculous to think back to that first meeting. He looks up to him. He admires him. Franky is that ultra-cool older brother/father figure/weirdo favorite uncle/mentor, somehow; and while I can't really speak for Franky himself, I think he recognizes that admiration and appreciates it, too. It just amazes me, because Usopp would just as easily trust this guy to protect him as he would Zoro or Sanji or Luffy, without so much as a second thought about how things used to be.
Not that it doesn't make sense. They are nakama, after all.