Latest Posts by threesvardstyle - Page 6

happy gay pride!! (roronoa zoro's birthday)

link to the official art

luffy may not play favorites but he WILL always say hi to zoro first

birfday!!!!

Captain’s special seat

One piece characters + taking bullets for each other

hobby includes: scrolling through a tumblr ship tag for an unhealthy amount of hours and mindlessly pressing the reblog button

tell me you’re in love with your captain without telling me you’re in love with your captain :

https://x.com/7nawon?s=21&t=55HyzerWcN_RxNpgV2Jocw

every time i see any type of zolu content with luffy wearing one of zoro's earrings [whether it's as a necklace, matching earring or ring (i prefer the ring ngl)] i instantly lose my mind because it's the most romantic thing ever

The history book on the shelf is always repeating itself and I wonder if one will get a happy ending

#rogerray #mishanks #zolu

When you love a ship so much, you go to any social media site that will let you actively search it. You let it slowly corrupt your brain to the point you start getting happy when their names are simply used in the same sentence. This is not okay.

wano has become a favorite arc of mine for different reasons and it also gave me a lot of zolu brainworms to mull over, so here I go (again). spoilers for some of the big reveals in the arc so beware

despite getting separated shortly after reuniting, yasuie's execution once again highlighted how similarly minded zoro and luffy are - like zoro, luffy gets pissed at the sight of ppl laughing at yasuie after he's killed, though they both learn it's due to the effects of the smile fruits. and despite the fact that doing so could put their plan in jeopardy (hence why sanji yells at zoro to cool his head), luffy actively cheers zoro on (from the distance) when he goes after orochi in retaliation

a nice tiny moment is also back when they're together. luffy was worried since big mom appeared in wano yet jimbei (who had stayed in whole cake island to fend her off along his former crew so the straw hats could escape) hadn't arrived. albeit zoro wasn't even part of the WCI arc events, he's quick to reassure luffy:

although I'm not certain whether law was referring to them specifically or not, there's a part during the discussion of the raid where he says there's two idiots who, no matter how much planning goes into it, are likely to charge straight in regardless. then, of course, this happens:

(so yeah. I think they're probably the idiots)

and funnily enough, zoro doesn't get lost for once. not only does he find luffy, any intention zoro had of (ironically, considering he was causing a ruckus himself) chastising luffy for messing up the infiltration goes out the window when he tells zoro about the spilled oshiruko

this is a direct callback to their interactions with tama when they first reunited in wano. it's cute how attached they got to her and yeah, they're both stupidly reckless at times but this is one occasion in which it isn't just for the sake of chaotic shenanigans - it's them getting angry at how these ppl are disrespecting what tama and the oshiruko stand for. to those present, it seems foolish/weird since they don't understand the context behind it, but it's the kind of understanding that goes on between luffy and zoro precisely bc of the moments they share together.

there's some good panels of both worrying about each other after getting hurt and zoro carrying an injured luffy to safety. they're soooo.

this was pretty good too:

their plan to jump to the roof to face kaido ultimately fails here but it's still cute that zoro's so willing now to just cling to and let luffy carry him around like this (arlong park zoro has come a long way lol). it also says a lot abt luffy's trust in both the crew and zoro that he was fine letting them in charge below while he and zoro went to face kaido together.

the x drake ordeal was kind of funny but it served to show exactly why zoro complements luffy so well. luffy tends to be very trusting toward others, even those who might've started out as enemies which usually works out fine but still. zoro's quick to remind luffy that the guy's a traitor and unreliable, and (along with some of the other straw hats) refuses to blindly accept the impromptu alliance. it's interesting though, that zoro doesn't entirely disregard luffy's opinion nor x drake's help per se - he's just understandably wary of drake's true intentions (pointing out that he's still hiding where he stands in the whole conflict) and eventually agrees to team up. love the balance of it ngl.

that said, the actual fight on the roof has to be one of my favorite parts! it's probably one of the most obvious occasions in which zoro's role as luffy's first mate/right hand man and how much luffy relies on him too shines through. there's zoro slashing big mom and kaido's fire attacks so they wouldn't hurt luffy, taking the lead in attempting to stave off kaido and big mom's joint attack (and succeeding for a bit) despite the fact that he's got three powerful captains beside him, and several panels of him protecting luffy. this one was particularly crazy

this is pretty much zoro's equivalent to "if you wanna kill him you'll have to kill ME first". insane. I love them so much. zoro may be the one to have more instances in which he gets to demonstrate his loyalty and protectiveness towards luffy rather than the opposite - but knowing luffy's the one who usually risks himself for others in grandiose ways, I find it very compelling that zoro gets to be the one to protect him in these important moments, that luffy trusts him to do it and even thanks him for it here in this arc. to me, there's a reason why, out of the whole crew, zoro was the only one to take part in this particular confrontation. mutual trust/understanding/respect etc are at the core of their relationship. it's a two way thing.

fast forward to zoro vs king and OF COURSE this mf thought of luffy when facing the guy.

I posted about this the other day, but something similar happened during zoro's duel against mihawk. when the latter asks what drives zoro to fight despite being so weak, it's this exact part of his meeting with luffy at the marine base that he recalls. zoro has certainly driven himself to get stronger for the crew's sake and for his dream, but it's clear that luffy (and his own promise to kuina) is one of zoro's biggest motivators. he's also the one person zoro has cast aside that very dream of his for so... (thriller bark zoro you live in my heart always).

when zoro wins against king, too, it's his promise to never lose that he recalls. the promise he made to luffy. regardless of how you interpret their relationship, it's obvious luffy means a lot to zoro and moments like these don't let the readers forget it.

that said, this was perhaps the most insane part to me:

just when you think zolu can't get more trope-y than it already is, the manga says: wait a fucking second. canon sun/moon, heaven/hell, god/demon zolu.

I was already spoiled about these bits, though they were exciting to read through anyway. I think it's very curious that both zoro's ancestry and his conqueror's haki reveal happened during the arc where the true nature of luffy's devil fruit comes to light and his awakening into joyboy/nika takes place. can't say for sure what oda's planning for them in the future, but wano is probably the biggest glimpse so far as to the kind of figures luffy and zoro are bound to become (or are already becoming) in one piece's universe.

joyboy luffy being considered a hero to wano only rivaled by shimotsuki ryuma is also so... oof, knowing that ryuma (also called god of the blade) is zoro's ancestor, whose zombie he faced back in thriller bark and whose sword shusui he wielded for a while after that, and that he resembles physically too (both being one-eyed samurai/swordsmen). there's a lot more parallels to be drawn between them, and zoro's conqueror's haki adds a whole new layer to their relationship, but a detail that's fascinating to me is that both zoro's presence and joyboy's awakening in wano are hailed as the work of fate at different points, by kawamatsu and zunesha respectively.

overall there seems to be a thread of "fate" that's tying the story together from the void century to roger's era to the present but choice is also an important aspect imo. zoro and luffy are an example, bc in spite of how their stories have turned out to be somewhat intertwined... it was luffy's choice to seek out the demon pirate hunter and rope him into his crew. it was zoro's choice to join him, to make a promise that'd tie his own dream to luffy's. there's a potential that neither of them could've reached if they hadn't come together to sail in that dinghy and formed an entire crew (a family!) that have all of them journeying towards their dreams, always relying on and striving to become better for one another. all of these little choices for luffy and zoro led them up to this point and onwards, which tbh is just really fucking good.

Hot Topic has a zolu shirt!!

One Piece ep. 202 || "Why can’t you ever rescue us normally?!"

Level of respect a class of teens I have to teach art to have for me when I walk in: 0%

Level of respect after I draw sasuke from memory on the whiteboard: beyond anything you could possibly imagine

(⚔️👒) 💖My first ; Captain & First mate 💖

Cover + pg01, pg02, pg03

----

artist notes: Will try to update as much as i can ( no promises ) This is mangaccentric in terms of the lines and scenario, Trying my hardest to keep it close to canon in therms of story and characterization! But of course, not everything as the next bits and pages will have my own take on new added scenario and events. basically retelling of canon but centering on ZoLu

Ok but the way luffy and zoro are the only two strawhats who were sent to one of the seven warlords of the sea by kuma, and at some point they bowed before the warlord for the sake of other people??

Now that i think about it, the thing about luffy and zoro that i can't help but to notice, something about some of their 'memorable/big' moments??

For luffy, i'm thinking about how often luffy sacrifices himself for (usually) more than one person, for many people in fact. Heck, even for a whole COUNTRY! (him vs crocodile, him vs kaido, et cetera) And in the panel above, luffy literally bows before hancock for the sake of his 'new' friends.

And for zoro... well, there's thriller bark... (not gonna talk about thriller bark anymore i rEFUSE to succumb to my brain and talk about thriller bark AGAIN) I think that's self-explanatory enough. And then in the panel above, he bows down before mihawk, for luffy's sake.

Ok so, i'm not saying zoro would only die for luffy (he'd also die for his crew, earlier @hellfire-fist talked about this point too), but sometimes i can't help but to think of this dynamic when i think about zoro and luffy:

I think it's pretty obvious who is who.

Like idk, but it's the way oda frames them(?) about what he shows to the audience, his storytelling. It's about the way he emphasizes on how zoro will and has sacrificed so muchhh for his captain's sake (His pride, his ambition, his life), it's about him taking on his captain's pain (which is pretty intimate btw.. if u ask me). And also how luffy will and has sacrificed his whole being, enduring any kind of pain, for the sake of sooo many people.

Like can't stress this enough, but zoro really is the perfect balance for luffy?? Luffy is so reckless, he headbutts danger right in the face, and that's why he has zoro, because zoro will be there to keep him on track.

Luffy wants to save everyone. Well, zoro will make sure that his captain is safe. And once again, they are the top 2 most powerful people in the SHC, so if anyone can keep an eye on luffy, it's zoro. They have fought the same enemies (the dragon from punk hazard, kaido, big mama, lucci, pica, hyouzou, fujitora, etc). If there's someone the closest to being on par with luffy, it's zoro. If anyone can fight alongside luffy against strong opponents, it's zoro. Zoro will do anything in his power to make sure that luffy stays alive (thriller bark, wano), in this (not) essay i will-

⚔️👒

They’re in love

this is a sooo goood fic, i cant 😭😭

ZoLu ABO fic

The amount of sweetness in the scent reminded Zoro of the time he encountered someone, an omega, who happened to be in heat. But this one was bizarredly way stronger that it almost left him crumbling down to his knees, as if it was one for Zoro to worship and cherish.

(Or Luffy had always been thought of as a beta, but it turned out wrong)

ZoLu ABO fic

The amount of sweetness in the scent reminded Zoro of the time he encountered someone, an omega, who happened to be in heat. But this one was bizarredly way stronger that it almost left him crumbling down to his knees, as if it was one for Zoro to worship and cherish.

(Or Luffy had always been thought of as a beta, but it turned out wrong)

The answers under this post on X are hilarious.

Or in other words how yet again OP dude-bros are basically the biggest Zolu truthers.

One Piece ep. 260 || "Even a monster like him isn't the leader of the group?"

+ bonus

I see people sometimes saying things like "yeah zoro is deeply infatuated but i can't see luffy reciprocating", "luffy is just too ace for me and i just can't imagine him being with anyone:/??"

[Speaking of ace luffy headcanon, begging people to reconstruct their view about ace people cuz it almost sounds like "ace people are incapable of loving/being in a relationship" sometimes:(]

People always talk about roronoa zoro and how he loves (whatever platonic or romantic, you named it) his captain. Because this is by default is the easiest thing to do. It's clear to see. You can see zoro's love, laid bare, palpable throughout the whole series. But honestly, what about luffy?

Disclaimer: these are my takes that are purely based on how i interpret zolu, so like honestly i'm just offering to share some of my (and probably other zolu people too) thoughts(?) about zoro and luffy (specifically luffy)

I think the first thing to establish is that with luffy, it's about the subtlety behind his every actions and words.

The way monkey d. luffy loves

It's about the way luffy understands roronoa zoro. Both zoro and luffy are probably the one that understand each other the most. Both can understand each other ohh so easily, i've talked about this before, here. Throughout the whole one piece you can see them exchanging glances or maybe a few words, or maybe you can even see them understanding each other just by reading each other's body language! guessing what's on the other person's mind, or what they are about to do. They just get each other. They are also very in sync and compatible (approved by mihawk!!), very comfortable with each other, and happy with each other... and really, that only makes sense, because understanding is such a key element in a relationship! Cause what is love without understanding right??

I'd say it's about the way luffy leans on zoro the most, how he listens to his words, how zoro is his sturdy rock. Luffy is a captain and he is quite prideful, but he is willing to lean on his first mate when he needs it. It's about how zoro's the one that will be strong for him when luffy himself is incapable of doing so, it's about zoro being his number one anchor. (Another 'of course i've talked about it', here).

It's also about how luffy is the one who respects zoro's dream/ambition the most (mihawk, baratie arc). But more importantly it's about how he values zoro as a person. Zoro and all the things that makes zoro, zoro. His principles, his strengths, and even his flaws. (I'm talking about shells town and the things zoro 'showed' (about himself) that made luffy so enamored with him, to the point that he needed to make this person part of his crew)

It's about the way he likes to admire and praise zoro for his skills whenever he can. How he puts so much trust in zoro. Trusting zoro with his crew and undoubtedly also trusting in zoro's strength. Trust in his ability to perform specific task, trust in his ability to lead as the vice captain, trust in his decision making skills, trust his judgement, his insight, and even so, trust in his ability to keep luffy safe (e.g. skypiea, water7, dressrosa, wano, or in every other arcs really)

(About respect, trust, & admiration, i've talked about those things here, here, and here)

At the end of the day, it's about all the little things... all the subtle little things.

It's about how luffy was willing to stay still (for once in his life) to accompany zoro during his wound treatment (here)

It's about the way luffy seeks out his first mate for literally anything.. but especially for all the mundane things (here)

It's about luffy perception of time when it comes to zoro, How he misses him (here)

It's about the way THE monkey d. luffy is willing to share his food with zoro (here)

It's about luffy's disappointment when he realized that zoro wasn't there with him at impel down (here)

It's about the way luffy cried out of worry for zoro (baratie and sabaody, here)

It's about how luffy sometimes uses zoro-tachi when talking about his crewmates (here)

It's about him getting so excited to see zoro again in wano to the point of blushing, it's about him being so worried for zoro in skypiea (after finding zoro's unconscious body) or sabaody arc (before and after zoro vanished), it's about him taking zoro seriously (in enies lobby, punk hazard, dressrosa), it's about him being the happiest and silliest when fighting alongside zoro, it's about the way he likes to annoy/tease zoro, it's the way-

Luffy and zoro's strength are literally the closest thing to equal (compared to the rest of straw hats) and they both equally stink (cuz they rarely bathe) they like to fight, they like to feast, they share braincells, they are very similiar.. but also can't be more different. They clash (personality-wise) but still blend perfectly. They are so compatible that i can't even imagine someone capable of handling them (like i'm talking about 'forever' kind of handling) if that someone isn't one of them??

god bless tama was in front of them because otherwise i think they would've just made out sloppily right there

Thinking about how sometimes people wonder why zoro's not a captain himself..

And how once zoro even jokingly said that he'd become the new captain if luffy wasn't strong enough...

But then i remembered zoro's words after luffy recovered from his fight with foxy, "if i left this ship i'd have no point in being a pirate anymore" he said.

But you know what's left unsaid? "If you're not my captain anymore i'd have no point in being a pirate anymore"

In thriller bark kuma only asked for luffy's head. Only his captain's head. But zoro would rather die than lose his captain. Throwing away his ambition (shared ambition with kuina mind you), his precious swords, and his life... for luffy.

And OF COURSE thinking about that 'moment' with kaido.

Like idk but can we talk about zoro's undying loyalty to his captain? He is strong enough to lead, to become a captain himself, but he can't just walk away from luffy... that boy saved his life, and their dreams are now intertwined.

He will do anything for his captain and i know that in fics sometimes people highlight(?) on his 'obedience', but that, to a certain degree is true, because he loves to please his captain and follow his orders, i mean.. just take a look at his conversation in wano with marco.

Like ughh he is so ill, i am so ILL, and you ask me why i can't imagine zoro being with anyone else other than his beloved captain? I mean just look at him???

Reminder that they are like almost if not equally strong? especially during pre-ts era

力 = power/strength

Like literally everything about zoro screams dominance but god he just loves his captain so muchh, that it's okay to obediently listen to luffy's orders. He will follow that rubber man anywhere, that's his compass, that's his captain, his (future) KING, i will shut up-

most romantic lines in all one piece btw

it's dressrosa time for more zolu rambles. there were some really good and funny bits like zoro being (unsurprisingly) on board with luffy's idea of fighting the emperors

luffy charging right after zoro when he gets his sword stolen bc it looks fun (though he ends up in the tournament instead)

zoro getting absolutely sidetracked from his very important mission of going back to the sunny to help the others bc he saw luffy participating in the tournament, then again when he saw luffy in person (he wanted to be invited too!)

luffy happily and without hesitation agreeing to zoro's crazy plan for the lift

cheers to luffy's casual, unwavering faith in zoro!

zoro just letting luffy do whatever he wants and manhandle him around with a simple "yeah sure where we going" compared to law who is decidedly Not Even Remotely Used to this kind of treatment

their gremlin braincell once again shining through as they both laugh at pica (much to law's continuous exasperation)

I also liked how confidently luffy decided and told zoro he'd continue ahead while zoro chose to stay behind and deal with pica, yet again demonstrating luffy's casual but firm trust that zoro can handle things and protect others in his stead, while he takes care of the biggest threats. zoro's own taunting and smug "our captain wants nothing to do with a pebble like you, so you have to make do with me" at pica was good too lol.

when zoro finally defeats pica and side characters, in awe of his strength, are baffled that someone so powerful is luffy's "henchman"? also peak.

two other things I enjoyed, albeit not necessarily involving zoro and luffy directly, were:

- zoro taking the lead, attempting to stop doflamingo's birdcage by force and doing so by asking for ppl's help (showcasing his willingness to guide as much as rely on others when it's needed) which drove folks to actively follow him in a similar fashion to how they tend to do with luffy. in a way, zoro's determination uplifted ppl's spirits + the whole thing helped keep civilians and others safe while luffy recuperated enough to finish off doflamingo. it's no wonder zoro was one of the few straw hats to stay behind in dressrosa, since that's the kind of feat someone like him (as luffy's first mate/second in command) can accomplish. really highlights zoro's role in the crew and why luffy's belief in zoro's reliability, of him being able to handle dire situations and protect ppl on his own without luffy having to worry abt/over him is a recurring and important part of their overall relationship. usopp desperately asking zoro to save him back during the pica ordeal and hugging him afterwards in relief as other characters thanked him too, was a funny and sweet way to acknowledge this as well.

- this interaction between luffy and rebecca:

can't say whether it was intentional or not, (probably not since these chapters are wildly apart from each other) but it made me think of luffy and zoro's first meeting, and how luffy ultimately decided to make zoro part of his crew after he asked to be fed the stomped riceballs and for luffy to tell rika they were delicious. these two are so very similar on a fundamental level, even if they still retain certain differences and distinct approaches depending on the situation, and it was nice to see another reminder of it. both luffy and zoro are, at their core, strong and kind characters (though in a curiously selfish manner) who don't hesitate to acknowledge and repay the kindness they're offered in turn. imo it's cool how these shared traits have allowed them to understand and stay alongside each other to this point.

edit: forgot to mention but sabo entrusting the crew with luffy's safety and giving them luffy's vivre card (handing it to zoro specifically) as zoro fondly remarks how he resembled ace back in alabasta was just. really really good as well. esp when you consider how much the crew loves luffy, and what zoro himself has done to protect him.

UGH I have the whole zolu tag on my likes PLEASE GIMME SOME MORE

Ou! the sun isn’t the only thing burning