Each Other's Comfort Zone

zoro coming back after the timeskip with a red sash as a part of his iconic, base outfit is something i am fascinated by.

red, a colour so uncommonly associated with zoro; it’s the antithesis of him. the only time we see zoro intertwined with red is when he is decorated in blood, whether it’s his own or countless others. red is just not a character colour of zoro's, like we see all the strawhats lend themselves to colour palettes and personal preferences. as a character he is shrouded in black and green, with blue and white as secondary variations when the arc calls for an outfit change. he is peaceful like a winter's breeze, grass tipped in frost, and dark like the grim reaper's cold embrace.

zoro is not red, he is about as red as he is light pink or neon orange. red is, while also opposite to green on the colour wheel, opposite to his characteristics. yet for return to sabaody and onigashima he seems to wear it like a good luck charm. always when the situation is planned and monumental will we see zoro have a small token of red with him each time. quite unarguably, red means one thing in one piece. even more, red means one thing to zoro. red means luffy.

so a red sash? coming back after the timeskip shrouded in green and black, understandably for zoro, with an additional searing red sash around his middle. dressing for the final battle against kaidou and all his men, adding a contrasting red sash to his entirely black outfit. zoro wears red in significant yet small ways like it's something he doesn't own. zoro wears red like it's something to always bring with him, not like a fashion choice.

and that makes so much sense. zoro, sentimental and loving, would wear the colour of his captain at the centre of his outfit like a medal. he would long to be reminded of luffy, especially during those two years apart. zoro follows luffy with such eagerness i can see him already, choosing his outfits with purposeful swelling and devotion in his heart. zoro wears red, not because it's his own, but because it is luffy.

the situations and how he wears it are additionally significant. zoro wears red for the strawhat’s most important ordeals, like a symbol of his loyalty, a subtle sign of pride and alignment. he also wears it in his core outfit more than anything, like it’s a fragment of his very foundations. red is an intrinsic piece of his identity, luffy will always be integrated in his heart, eternally a part of him. lastly, he wears it as a sash; what holds his swords. it's like zoro's tying everything precious to him, his captain and kuina held against him, luffy holding onto wado. his two treasures.

zoro's red sash is a small detail i really love.

i adore how zoro and luffy are oftentimes put on an equal level.

like initially, their main parallels exist in shanks and mihawks. even if you remove their connections to zoro and luffy, both interpersonal and as their heroes/fated rivals/some indescribable in between, and how eventually both of zoro and luffy’s narratives will circle back to them respectively; they are blatant parallels to one another on even a character trait level. mihawk and shanks, who were always equally matched in combat, are zoro and luffy's counterparts.

next is how they are each other's weaknesses. luffy is famously, and terrifyingly, susceptible to cutting attacks. after the strawhats have achieved their goals, in concept, luffy's ultimate weakness would be zoro; the world's greatest swordsman. luffy's first mate is his achilles heel. but of course that will never matter, because what would have been his ultimate threat is his strongest companion, his most devote follower, of whom there is no one he trusts more to eternally stand by his side. zoro is equivalent; he is a power focused fighter, strong and fatal, and luffy is agile and inventive, his natural opposite.

additionally is how their dreams balance. luffy, the captain, and his dream that yearns for unparalleled freedom. zoro, the swordsman, who's dream aches for untouchable power. zoro facilitates and protects luffy's dream of ultimate freedom, using his drive of power to be his dearest soldier. while luffy catalysed zoro's direction and puts him in positions to closer attain ultimate strength every day, whereas he existed in limbo without him. luffy's drive of freedom rid zoro of his aimlessness.

lastly, there are so many small moments where they are intended to be viewed as coequal, something closer to partners. them both dying in onigashima then waking up in the same moment, them both being supernovas, kuma accepting zoro's life instead of luffy; equating them in value in thriller bark, them both having supreme king haki, etc. is there nothing more indicative of being equals than two conquerors, harmonious together?

i think a lot of it stems from how zoro's devotion is an outlier. zoro's devotion, at it's foundations, is something so precious because he doesn't need to be luffy's follower, but he wants to be. every enemy pre-timeskip is confused that zoro is the one taking orders, his sheer power and 'kingly qualities' could make him an infamous captain in his own right, and that's a constant theme in his worship. zoro wants to follow, he loves answering to and trusting luffy to make the decisions that's best for them. if zoro had the gnaw for leadership he would thrive doing so, and that makes his loyalty all the more momentous. they could be equals, and there are so many subtle moments where they are shown to be as such, but zoro doesn't want that. he happily stands on the stair beneath luffy just to have the privilege of being allowed to look up at him.

i adore how zoro and luffy are oftentimes put on an equal level, but zoro chooses to revere and follow regardless.

zoro & luffy and the historical doctrine of the divine right of kings.

the divine right of kings, the idea that a monarch's 'right to rule is derived from divine authority.' the idea that kings are chosen by god. while not to the letter because i don't know the concept well enough, the idea of luffy, a god, picking zoro, a king, is something i find impossibly fitting.

initially, to frame the analysis, the only strawhat that luffy ever sought after and wittingly picked with foresight is zoro. luffy chose zoro with only the knowledge of his name, like something unconscious within him needed to. furthermore follows zoro's uncharacteristic acceptance to join luffy, like something innate clicked within him too.

then, fundamentally, zoro only unlocked supreme king haki at the approximate time luffy became sun god nika, on the same night. to zoro nothing is more simple than the knowledge luffy is his king, yet suddenly, the subject of his worship became something more. zoro became a supreme king happily, because there is something a king can still follow. he can still be unquestionably loyal, harmoniously devoted to his captain, because his captain newly transformed into something even more than a monarch; a god.

the idea of the divine right of kings often goes hand in hand with the concept that a monarch's actions are the will of god, that they are acting out the intentions of a higher being, and their actions are justified this way, "by the grace of god." and while i definitely won't speak for real life applications of this notion, the idea that zoro acts out the will of his god is shockingly accurate. zoro is the strawhat's swordsman, he is their blade. zoro is the execution of the strawhat's intentions, he is the consequence that follows luffy's actions. zoro does act out the intentions of a higher being; each battle he faces is as a result of luffy, for the betterment of them, and to reach closer to their dreams.

then, even more, the divine right of kings says that a king will not answer to any human, assembly, etc. the only body in which said monarch would listen to would be their god, otherwise they are unanswered, untameable. and gosh, that's one of the fundamentals to zoro's character; that he only answers to luffy. near every other character pre-timeskip questions zoro's devotion, why and how, every fan marvels at how only luffy could make zoro into a worshipper. zoro only answers to luffy, he is only content following his direction.

lastly is their inhuman connection. hypothetically, a god picking a king would give the two respective entities an unparalleled understanding. that divine authority must have certain faith in the figure they enacted, their goals must align so uncannily, and their trust must be unwavering. zoro and luffy's bond is unearthly, it was instant. the day they met one another, zoro stopped an axe from meeting luffy's head while luffy stood unflinching. the depth of zoro and luffy's relationship is unfathomable, intrinsic and terrifying. they are soulmates, completely aligned, and that is a requirement of the historical doctrine. for a king to be chosen by a god, they must be aligned just the same, and zoro & luffy are.

Oh gosh, they share the same braincell and now they sometimes smile and look the same

I mean...

I bet Zoro has a thing for Luffy’s bad boy side. Oh, don’t get me wrong — he loves everything about Luffy, and he loves that Luffy is adorable and unserious most of the time. But when Luffy is being his anarchist self, challenging the Warlords or, oh dear god, the Five Elders directly, I bet Zoro gets ALL hot and bothered and can’t wait to get him alone. When he finally does, you know that man is dropping to his damn knees for his captain.

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

MOB PSYCHO CHRISTMAS ANIMATIC THAT IS DEFINITELY NOT ONE MONTH TOO LATE!!! WOOO YAAYY

attack dog roronoa zoro, owner monkey d luffy

Need modern!Chilaios and Farcille double date

I think my favorite way to look at love interests for both Falin and Laios is that both of them always got at least like two people eyeing them up and down but being oblivious to it.

Especially when it comes to ships like Farcille and Chilaios with their individual partners just having to stand guard while both of them just don’t care or even took notice.

And I just love the idea of Chilchuck having to like run off people double his size like Toshiro from Laios or Marcille just malding from the amount of people trying to flirt with Falin.