zoro and luffy being separated for approximately two weeks in canon, luffy seeing zoro from what appeared to be at least a hundred meters away, blushing, and then all but flying towards zoro who had his arms open for him to jump into.
and then they hugged like the world would crumble if they weren’t in each other’s arms, luffy quite literally needing to be pried away so zoro could breathe. and even then they stayed in each other’s arms as they talked to each other, smiling ear to ear. i don’t think i ever moved on
Oh gosh, they share the same braincell and now they sometimes smile and look the same
I mean...
luffy being akin to the sky (sun god), zoro being akin to the ground (king of hell), and them meeting & spending their lives together at sea. they complete each other, and what they lacked, they found in each other.
zoro not having a big revelation about luffy being a god, just silently digesting the information and realising that oh, this changes so little because luffy has been his god since the day he met him. all that’s different is the accuracy behind his devotion, and how everyone sees it as well as him, nothing more.
or maybe it shifts something in the air, zoro doesn’t react outwardly but a rift appears. a rift between an atheist who rejects the idea of a god and the settling knowledge that he has unknowingly worshipped one all along. and only in luffy’s refusal of the title and worship, the firm denial of becoming a ‘figure’ or a ‘hero’ does zoro continue to allow himself his unwavering faith. because luffy may never want to be a hero, but he has never minded being his crew’s saviour.
maybe he would react with pride, because luffy embodying a god was a journey. gear 5 may be nothing more than a representation of the feat of strength they have achieved through an uphill struggle. luffy has reached the level of a god, and nothing more matters than the fact he is still luffy, and he is more impressive than ever.
maybe zoro feels relief and gratitude, the first time he has ever thanked a god. because whatever luffy’s connection is to nika, he is still alive as a result. that awful moment in onigashima when the world stopped spinning, fallen off its axis, but ah, the drums of liberation beat in his heart, and luffy is okay. maybe he thanked the god that's intertwined with luffy, appreciation filling his chest.
maybe luffy becomes zoro’s god even more than before, and we see an outward reverance. maybe he acquires his own relationship with nika, who interconnects with luffy- never a follower when it comes to a god but so easily, so perfectly falling into place when following his captain. maybe he finally found his god, because his adoration for luffy would not falter in the face of anything.
i can’t wait for zoro’s reaction to nika and luffy, whatever it may be. will it be everything or nothing at all? how do you begin to predict the shock and the subsequent reaction to his captain, his lifeline, his world, being a god. it’s an incomprehensible experience, and i know whatever his reaction is will be the perfect one.
Zoro finds comfort in the sun and always sleeps soundly underneath it. While Luffy finds comfort in the moon, it makes him feel at ease every time he looks at it.
One of my favorite HC is Zoro at Kuraigana Island always dreams about Luffy.
Luffy being clingy to Zoro is basically expected of him. In my mind, Zoro had the same change in his attitude towards that clinginess as he did for Luffy’s shenanigans. Pre time-skip he’s flustered/annoyed and post time-skip he just accepts it. Knowing this I love the idea of Zoro becoming even slightly more clingy post time-skip, and Luffy becoming a flustered mess instead.
something that haunts me is how kuraigana island is an extension of thriller bark. the general aesthetic, the darkness, the hostile environment, even perona’s presence. kuraigana island is thriller bark.
zoro spent two years surrounded by reminders of his sacrifice, he left thriller bark only to return to it. his timeskip was a horrible twin to the place he barely escaped alive from.
in an eerie castle of stone walls, exactly the same. helpless in a gloomy wood just as he had been so shortly before. zoro looked out of his window to rubble and forest, thinking of luffy’s pain. he looked to the sea, past the island’s confines, and could only think about how he wasn’t able to stop luffy’s suffering this time, he failed, unable to get to him at marineford. he looked to the mist and yearned for his captain, the sun, unsure if there was even an end to the fog at all.
zoro having nightmares about kuma, about thriller bark, only to wake up in its uncanny lookalike; unsure whether he had even woken up, whether he had ever left, still wrapped in the bandages of his sacrifice.
and then he spent each day being taught by the man that until thriller bark had caused him the most agony, that he lost to. a personally curated island of his weakness, sacrifices, pain and shame. while i’m sure it motivated him to get stronger, it equally must’ve been an indescribable torture. surrounded by trauma and his fated enemy.
zoro, the proud man he is, threw down his swords in front of kuma and begged that day, vulnerable and desperate, anything for his captain. and he put his swords on the ground and got on his knees in front of mihawk exactly the same.
the parallels between thriller bark and kuraigana island are unapologetic and constant. what a horror zoro’s timeskip must’ve been.
zoro’s lifelong isolation and his unspoken elation to finally have a home (expressed by his unwavering protection and devotion). paired with luffy’s lifelong abandonment issues and clamber of loneliness; how relieving it must be to have someone devoted to you, to think of you as a home he cannot lose. even their issues & insecurities wordlessly assure and complete each other, zolu soulmates in every way
[The proposal]
Ussop: “SO?! “DID SHE SAY YES?!”
Robin smiled, lifting her hand,letting the light glint off the ring.
The reaction was instant.
Luffy threw his arms up in celebration. “WOOHOO!!”
Chopper's eyes sparkling:“Robin, you’re getting MARRIED?!”
Sanji looked devastated but quickly turned his heartbreak into a dramatic bow. “If I had to lose my dear Robin-chwan to anyone, I’m glad it was you, Franky…”
Franky smirked:“Damn right.”
Usopp grabbed Franky’s shoulders, shaking him: “DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU’VE DONE?! YOU JUST PROMISED TO SPEND THE REST OF YOUR LIFE WITH A WOMAN WHO CAN SNAP YOUR NECK WITH ONE HAND!!”
Franky just grinned wider crossing his arms: "And I’d die SUPER happy.”
my little headcannon
Sometimes Luffy just wants to sleep hugging Zoro, and Zoro also doesn't want to leave his side even if he has things to do. So they come up with a plan. Zoro goes about his day holding Luffy in his arm and carries him with a satisfied smile.
Goodnight, tonight Luffy did everything he could think of to make Zoro laugh because after not seeing him for two years he missed hearing Zoro's laugh, watching his body shake with it and his dimples showing as his face stretch with his smile. And Zoro, who was simply delighted to see his captain, couldn't hold his smile in.
canonically jealous tummy ache zoro is soooooo embarrassing for him and he knows it! bro knows the entire world sees him as luffy’s second hand man & first mate, that he’s been with luffy since day one, that he IS strong and loyal and fierce and these are all qualities that luffy values, that he understands luffy on a nearly telepathically linked level and their bond transcends definition……and yet the second luffy compliments how strong or cool someone else is he cannot bite his tongue fast enough to stop himself from being a little bitch about it
Luffy who's afraid to be left all alone and Zoro who easily utters the words "I'll follow him to hell if I have to." No one does it like them
Goodnight. Today, Luffy dragged Zoro onto the deck and sat him down near where he was playing with snow together with others. Whenever he felt a slight chill, he would run to Zoro, curl up in his arms, and snuggle to him. He would stay like that until he felt warm again as Zoro rubbed his body to warm him up and left kisses on his head.
Luffy pic for the night🩵
Thinking about how Zoro was the first to join, first to call Luffy “Pirate King,” first to be sent away at Sabaody, first to return to Sabaody, and always the first to go along with his captain’s craziness.
Thinking about how Kuma sent Zoro to an island called Kuraigana. Kurai — lit. “Dark,” and Zoro was trapped in the gloom for two years without his sunshine. (Kuraigana is the perfect example of pathetic fallacy.)
Thinking about how Oda probably just did it for laughs, having Zoro the directionally challenged reach Sabaody first. But he’d given us too much of Zoro as Luffy’s ride-or-die that it’s entirely probable that Zoro simply couldn’t wait any longer. He’d suffered enough.
[But also, this is a convo that likely happened:
Zoro: Hawk-Eyes, it’s been almost two years. I’m leaving. Bye.
Mihawk: Ghost girl, go with him. He still gets lost trying to find the bathroom, and there are 15 bathrooms in this castle.
Perona: No way! I don’t work for him!
Mihawk: Right, but if you don’t take him, he’ll be stuck here forever, drinking all my wine and crying to you about his captain.
Perona: Then you take him!!
Mihawk, in his best sad-drunk Zoro impression: Did ya know, Luffy’s smile is bright like sunshine—
Perona: ARGH OKAY I’LL GO! STOP TRIGGERING ME!]
Lol. That was dumb I’m sorry.
I love how Zoro most of the time is like "my husbands order," but also when needed becomes the voice of reason for Luffy and its Luffy's turn to be like, "My husband is right"
One piece ships + taking bullets for each other
Carrying their bf/gf
Good night. Tonight, Nika Luffy got so excited while kissing Zoro he burned both of their tongues. Zoro threw ice inside his mouth and went back to kissing Luffy. Also here, the pic of night Luffy
Zoro and Luffy have always been my favorite characters. When I first started One Piece, I didn't ship any of the Strawhats. Like many, I view them as family, and I see both Luffy and Zoro as AroAce. Both are so simple-minded and want nothing more but meat/booze and their dreams.
But since both of them hold a very special place in my heart, I always wanted the best for them.
For Zoro, I love to see him happy and not alone. The person who always brings out Zoro's best smiles has always been Luffy. Zoro, who was mostly shown as serious and grumpy, smiles whenever he sees Luffy when they finally meet again after some time apart (when he saw Luffy in Sabaody, it was the first time he smiled, and their Wano reunion where you can really see Zoro's brightest smile). There are so many times Luffy had made him smile and laugh and I know Zoro, despite being aloof and often wants to be alone, really enjoys Luffy's company. Zoro, who also doesn't liked to be touched, still welcomes Luffy's suffocating hugs.
Zoro set sail alone with nothing but his sword and his ambitions, and for him to find someone who also holds the same impossible dream as him and holds his ambitions in the same high regard must have felt a sense of companionship for him. Zoro, who is alone, is given a companion(Luffy) who will also chase the same impossible dream together with him. Not only that, Luffy has also given him a new-found family(Strawhats). I just know that ever since he met Luffy, his life has been better.
Aside from that, Zoro has often been portrayed as someone who would never bow down to anyone. It was even shown multiple times in the series how people are surprised he wasn't the captain. He's arrogant and proud. The reason he wants to defeat Mihawk and Kuina is because he wants to stand above them and be the strongest. Luffy is the only person Zoro has chosen to stand above him as his captain, and that speaks a lot.
Zoro is proud, but Luffy is still the only person that made him bow 2 times. It only shows how much he holds Luffy above the only 2 things that matter when he first sets out to sea. Even now, Zoro is still portrayed as prideful, but with Luffy or the crew, I know he will not have a second thought about throwing it away.
For Luffy, I just want him to be loved and cherished. The Strawhats have shown time and time again how much they care, love and sacrifice themselves for Luffy. But before the Strawhats was even formed, it was just Luffy and Zoro in a dinghy. The moment Zoro carried Luffy's cage while his guts are spilling out was the moment Zoro became my favorite character. He just met Luffy for only a few hours?days?weeks?, and yet he treated him like he was important. Since the beginning, Zoro has consistently shown unwavering loyalty and support to Luffy. Dudebros even called him "Luffy's ride or die" and Zoro honestly earned it. When I read the manga, Zoro didn't even question if Luffy already had a crew or if Luffy already had a ship. He just literally went with him, no questions asked. Where are we going next? The grandline? Well I guess we'll just go there. Let's find a navigator first.
The moment Zoro joined him, Luffy was already so cherished and loved by his first mate(it didn't even matter if it was romantic or platonic. Zoro really loves him). Until now, Zoro, despite being prideful, will sacrifice himself time and time again for him.
From the beginning, it was just Zoro and Luffy in a tiny boat with nothing but each other and their impossible dreams. And I know until the end of the series, they will still stand side by side, with the family they gathered along the way and the dreams they finally reached together.
In summary to my endless rambling, their relationship has always been special to me because, as my 2 favorite characters, I want nothing more than to see them the happiest and at most loved. I didn't ship them at first, but ZoLu just complement each other in every single way that I gradually see that they deserve one another (and I can't see them paired with anyone else). Aside from having the same single braincell and many parallels, their relationship is so simple but has so much depth. They can literally just be best friends or lovers. At the end of the day, they are soulmates.
I love how Oda can't move on without matching zolu. Luffy got eye scar? Give one Zoro. Zoro has a scar on his chest that was happened on important moment in his life? Give the same to Luffy. Luffy has haki? It's time for you to get it too Zoro. Oh king of hell? Well here you go Sun God.
zoro conveniently wearing an all black iteration of his traditional outfit for the battle luffy would later activate gear 5, an all white iteration of his traditional outfit. zoro conveniently activating “king of hell” with the backdrop of the moon during the same battle luffy activated “sun god: nika.”
if you’re delusional enough (watch this), all these parallels were done with the foresight and purpose to make zoro and luffy two halves of a whole. light and dark, sun and moon, life and death, angel and demon, liberation and punishment, beginning and end, heaven and hell. i really believe these were intentional decisions to make zoro and luffy, captain and first mate, inseparable. intertwined on such a fundamental level that they complete each other, they can’t exist without one another, and wherever one is, the other will follow as if it’s as vital as ground beneath their feet or air in their lungs.
pre-TS zolu like this because Zoro would be embarrassed to ask for cuddles and kisses
Post-TS Zoro would not feel an ounce of shame tho. He sometimes would randomly get up and hug Luffy kiss all over his face and return to his nap (he got up because he heard Luffy's laugh and he couldn't stop his desire to kiss his smile)
Post-TS Luffy was not ready how Zoro let him be clingy as much as he wanted and also returned the touches. Luffy didn't understand why but every time Zoro stroked his thighs when he threw himself on Zoro's back and wrapped his legs around his waist he got those weird feelings which made him want to flee away from Zoro but also cling to him more. He didn't like staying away so he decided to do the other, he would snuggle closer than ever to Zoro and sometimes just curl on Zoro's lap while he naps and listen his heart while he plays with his fingers or doodle something on his arm. Zoro found those moments cute so he would just hide his smiling face on Luffy's hair and breathe his smell, keep 'napping' until Luffy gets bored.
You couple so hard one of you becomes king of hell at the same time with the other becoming the sun god
there isn’t a reality where i can imagine luffy or zoro existing without each other. they’ve found each other, and now they will never lose each other.
and in the same way they slept next to each other and woke up at the same time after wano concluded, in some far future, i can see them falling asleep and not waking back up together too.
cannot stand the rhetoric that’s like “zoro cares more for luffy than luffy cares for him, zoro is more devoted” BRO first off r u watching? is quiet part is very loud (luffy offering to share his food w zoro, luffy asking zoro about his time during the time skip, luffy blushing when he sees zoro, luffy saying hi to zoro & recognizing him from the glint of his hair, luffy telling him how much he misses him when they go days/weeks w/o each other, tears coming to luffy’s eyes when rayleigh saved zoro) bc while there’s been no grand gesture like “nothing happened” it’s a bunch of tiny, as natural as breathing gestures. but also it’s wild work to think luffy WOULDNT do a grand if given the chance. he’d stretch his hand into the night sky and pluck out a star if he thought it’d make zoro laugh