the difference between zosopp and sanuso (romantic OR platonic) is that Usopp is Zoro's specialest little guy and Zoro is someone Usopp hangs out with and looks up to and hides behind when things get scary, but Sanji and Usopp are best friends. They horse around, they beat each other up, they confide their worst fears trying to one up each other. Usopp hides behind Sanji sometimes, sure, but idk, Sanji's weaknesses are more obvious (bugs, fighting women, etc) so there are times when Usopp has to stand in front of Sanji too, yknow?
Like, how do I say this, all the crewmates are equal- Usopp and Zoro are equals- but with Sanji it feels like more... comradery? Zoro's a rock in a terrible storm- even rocks tend to get weathered and chipped and worn down, but they overall stay strong and steady. He has trouble being vulnerable and there are times when the burden he's placed on himself to keep the crew safe is crushing his chest. Usopp would help with that and be very understanding, but the point I'm trying to get with that is that those moments are few and far between. So I feel like Usopp, especially after Water 7, would take Zoro's lead on something like that, and keep most of his worries to himself or only talk about them sparingly unless they're really bad and/or he can't hide them.
Sanji is like a tree in a storm; he can be strong, yes, but it feels like he bends and sways with the storm, and has more obvious breaking points. He can relate more to Usopp's struggles rather than resorting to blunt honesty that might border on callous like Zoro. And while, with Zosopp, I tend to think of scenarios with Zoro being blunt like that as a good thing- because sometimes when you're spiraling, it's nice to have someone say exactly what's great about you and shoot down all your worries with straight facts that you can't argue with- I can also see this as being a bad thing. Anxiety can really twist up your brain sometimes, you know? And despite the words, the tone could still mess someone up if they're already feeling like a burden on others in some way.
With Sanuso it's a lot more understanding and thoughtful words. It's distractions and comfort food and patience- the kind reserved for Usopp- until Usopp talks about whatever's troubling him. Compared to Zosopp, it doesn't take as long for Usopp to open up, since he's done the same thing to Sanji at times and it's more familiar to him to talk and commiserate with Sanji about his worries and doubts and such. However, there are times stuff like this has absolutely no effect and Sanji will end up at a loss, no idea what to do or how to help over the course of several days with Usopp being quiet and keeping his distance, and he'll end up working himself up about it which will only serve to make Usopp feel worse and. yeah. bit of a vicious cycle with them.
So it's like. Usopp can be weak with both of them, but since I see Sanji as the type of guy who'd be more open with his worries (at least compared to Zoro), there's less of a need to 'perform' and be his best self around him. He's comfortable around Zoro, yes, but he is constantly wanting to show that he won't be a problem to him. On the other hand, while he's more open with Sanji, and Sanji with him, they tend to relate a bit too much with each other and they both have issues with causing trouble for others and being 'deserving of love' so failed attempts at consoling one hurts the other and creates an unpleasant cycle of misery and avoidance before some other crewmate (Zoro) tells them to quit being stupid and just fucking talk to each other.
A super short clip of Disconnected from TMHT Nashville but it was when I first saw Ash's Unbuttoned Vest so I need to post it for the historical value, you understand 😌
Video courtesy of @cal-puddies, please do not repost!
The "yeah I showed up at your party" chapter is also interesting because Betty / The 1 / Mirrorball / TLGAD / Invisible String / Cardigan also have a recurring theme of being misunderstood and/or punished for your choices, wanting desperately someone to see you for who you really are, never quite feeling accepted and seeking love where it might not ever be fully returned in the way you wanted or hoped...
i wear a lot of skirts and pink and whatnot as my style has developed with me & my personality but when one of those age regression girlies latch onto me....i do not like that
Even if Eight never returned to Intelligence work, he'd be fine. He originally joined the SIS to have a finger in every pot, but now I think he'd just use it for leverage to keep him (and Jadus) safe. Not that he'd ever let them know about that last part, which would guarantee both of them a fat target on their back.
I headcanon his final mission-- regardless of whether he took Nine's place on the Dominator-- is to go after Jadus if he escapes. An agent needs to keep an eye on that rogue Sith, and all their work is for naught without a final backup if Watcher 2's plan is considered too costly. He is the only one with the right mindset and strength of will to bear such a mission, and it's the only "out" he would willingly take. Keeper wouldn't approve, but he loses that bet 9 times out of 10. (I also seriously doubt a jail cell would hold Jadus for long, given the amount of secret allies he has in the Empire).
No matter the way you swing it, Eight has enough reasons to commit to Jadus as his life's mission. He's only partly there to make sure he doesn't pull another Doomsday, and if anything, he's more likely to redirect his purposeful anger towards one of their enemies rather than prevent it outright. His power is needed to him. But he doesn't even want to use Jadus solely for war. He's come to love the way he exists in the Force and his understanding of the Sith in his eyes, and he's willing to give his life if it means this wound, this extant form of death and life remains free to be. He hops mission to mission solely to show him the fires of conflict and the swells of peace in every part of the galaxy. He wants to show him the world outside of the Empire, that cage that used to trap both of them.
Jadus was and is his way of understanding and existing next to forces he never would've loved otherwise. Imperials as a whole have forgotten how to see Sith with their own eyes, buried under mandates of abuse and unquestioning worship, and even fewer feel knowing the Force to be a worthwhile undertaking as the burn of being rejected by it in life is a pill too bitter to swallow.
Eight considers himself lucky, to love and know the Force at its height in such a soul. Its embraced him too, and he never wants to be without it again.
guys did i ever tell u abt my bestie in 8th grade. we were so fucking close genuinely attached at the hip and then we went into ninth grade and covid, and then i saw him again at senior hoco and it was great and then i saw him at senior prom and it was fucking nasty he ain’t even greet me even though we hung out w the same group of people the whole night.