Zolu - Blog Posts
This right here is actually why I love zolu so much. Zoro is devoted to his crew and his captain, but he isn't at all a Luffy worshipper. He knows Luffy's strengths but he's also well aware of Luffy's weaknesses and shortcomings.
Although he is similar to Luffy on a lot of ways, (I do love me a good dumb and dumber duo) he also acts as Luffy's direct counter in many situations, balancing out his personality. Telling him to step up when necessary, bringing him back down to reality when he gets carried away, and overall pushing him to be a better captain.
And the best thing imo is that he's not afraid to be harsh about it.
I am alway confused when people (generally ZoLu shippers but not only, nothing against the ship itself though) characterize Zoro and Luffy's relationship as "Zoro is so obsessed with Luffy that he would follow his orders like a living weapon, no question asked".
Because don't forget that Zoro's role in the story has sometimes been "non ironically yell at Luffy because he is doing something Zoro really has a problem with".
Like, how could you forget "If Usopp does not apologize and you welcome him back anyways, then i am getting the fuck out of here. We're pirates, not school children" ? I also remember a few "Hey Luffy you better take things seriously right now stop joking around" post time skip. Zoro is totally devoted to the Strawhat pirates and their captain, and was notably ready to risk his own death against Kuma to save him (even if at first he was like "if you stop me from becoming the strongest swordman you will pay for it") but he also has his own principles which are not always aligned with Luffy
One Piece: Defeat the Pirate Ganzack! (1998)
Please excuse the poor quality, but i'll always love this particular part cuz the way luffy clings to his first mate real tight like a monkey?? And when they were sinking, luffy's whole body should've weakened instantly, but he still didn't release his tight grip on zoro lmao😭😭
also luffy even changed his position from holding on to the front of zoro's body to the back of zoro's body
Sometimes i think about this op color spread and how luffy wears a shirt with "good shoes take you to good places" written on it, and zoro wears an apron with "good shoes" written on it.
Tbh i'm pretty sure oda just wanted to be a lil bit silly(?) here for a sec, but if i reallyy think about it... even with zoro's gag: his (lack of) sense of direction, when luffy's with zoro... they always end up where they are supposed to be? (also luffy always has the most fun when he's adventuring with zoro) So i genuinely think that "the good shoes (zoro) take you (luffy) to good places" is not entirely too far of a stretch??
And also about this other color spread.. luffy wears a coat with "every drop in the ocean counts" written on it, while zoro wears a coat with "made ripple" written on it. And well... you know what they say, "a single drop though falls into an ocean, it will cause a ripple"
Idk but i just love how sometimes they are complementing each other even through their attires?? (Let it be that the words written on their clothes are connected to one other, or something like this)
Like i just think that it's truly insane how they really complement each other?? either literally speaking (like their personalities or principles in canon) or metaphorically (like with their attires, their fav things (meat+beer), and many other things) Sometimes i think they really are like two puzzle pieces that fit together perfectly... like there really can't be the captain of the strawhats without a first mate or a first mate without the captain. What would they be without each other really? like without ever meeting each other luffy's life would've been a whole lot different and vice versa
actually one of my favorite tropes gotta be when luffy is doing something certifiably off the walls insane & dangerous (but for a good reason) and the rest of the crew is looking on in shock/horror/concern and zoro is smiling
if you subscribe to the idea that zoro sorts sex and fighting into the same mental category and also that he's been pining for luffy since day one it makes their little scuffle at whiskey peak So funny.
Like luffys genuinely trying to kill zoro and zoros like "... what Are we..?"
entering the one piece fandom was crazy bc what do you mean there's a grumpy swordsman with no friends who meets a friendly ball of energy and over time decides to devote his life to being by his side (which he verbally declares regularly) to such an extreme degree and its not even a main fandom ship?....
zolu has got to be one of the only ships that dudebros unknowingly hype up more than the fandom itself. they are the BACKBONE they are in comment sections of every platform making any video they come across about luffy n zoro. they’re writing hcs on reddit about how they don’t think they’ll ever separate, even if the strawhats disband. theyare waxing about the essence of their undying love loyalty and devotion (practically calling them soulmates). they’re unironically saying things like “luffy is the only one who can make zoro smile that way”. they do not rest and do not falter in the face of opposition. thank u dudebros
Toei animation adding an extra & specific scene to emphasize the romantic undertones being felt by specific characters in a particular scene 😊 💕
....OH—
You ain't slick Toei. YOU AIN'T SLICK!
ive been rewatching ocean's dream filler arc and that seahorse was kinda fujoshing out with the mind control sponsored divorce idk. a real zolu warrior if u ask me
I know we jokingly call mihawk an og zoro x luffy shipper but at the heart of it I fear he sees himself in zoro (and shanks in luffy). because mihawk is at the top. he’s the best swordsman in the world, he’s feared and respected, but he’s also alone. he sails with no crew. he chose his dream and ambition. and zoro chose luffy, and because of it has a family and a home.
he just unknowingly manifests everything at this point
boyfriend is unaware he was also manifested.
I know this is talked about a lot but still,
Luffy being the only one who can make Zoro laugh and smile like this means so much to me </3
@starshipcaptainjojo MERRY BELATED CHRISTMAS EXCHANGE!!!
A little smt smt based on a passage from ur fic Stakes 'cause I read that and was like... YOOOOOOO
super awesome fun collab with @loopeyfluff !!!
we each did a sketch of one character (i did zoro and loopey did luffy) and then swapped to do lineart and coloring! (so i did the lines coloring on luffy and loopey did the lines and coloring on zoro)
this was SO fun i had a blast
Posting these here now that they're all done :) Wanted to do some drawings for the short version of my zolu playlist, and was inspired by ao to make them postcard-sized. Did two versions of the last song since there were an uneven number of songs.
(Not organized sequentially / by timeline, just organized to make the playlist nice to listen to)
There’s no fuckin way Thriller Bark healed right after Saboady. Fighting constantly for 2 years without a genuine doctor around? Zoro has chronic pain and in this essay I will
mafia au with nineteen year old don monkey d. luffy and twenty one year old bodyguard roronoa zoro
random doodle i just did on paint for literally no reason why cant u rotate stuff properly