I just saw a take on zosan that was awful enough I had to block the person. They labelled their post "hot takes" and it annoyed me enough that I felt like hating on it from afar in a vague way would be less destructive than writing an entire essay in this person's comments section.

If you like treating Sanji like a babygirl - just say so. Nothing wrong with that. Don't act like uke-ifying him is accurate to his canon characterization though. If you don't like Zoro as a character, just SAY THAT. Don't act like your shitty understanding of him as a character should be common sense. Their premise was that zosan would work best as a non sexual relationship - sure I'm fine with that. Sounds like an interesting premise. Why tho?

The reasons were stupid.

1. Apparently bc Zoro is too much of a neanderthal and BC he doesn't shower frequently Sanji would never touch him blah blah (Sanji smokes ten million cigarettes a day, I assure you he doesn't smell good) y'all should stop treating him like a babygirl bc bleh Zoro stinky and likes drinking and where did that whole he's Nami's gay best friend thing come from, he isn't that, he doesn't deserve it. Okay??? First of all - last I checked babygirl didn't require certain qualifications - so fuck off? I've concluded that Zoro is the only babygirl and you can foam at the mouth all you want, I'm not changing my mind. Second of all, did you forget that NAMI can drink people under the table too?? Zoro does canonically have a very friendship/sibling-like dynamic with Nami. They argue and fight, but they care about each other. If there is anyone who would make sense as a headcanon of one of Nami's close friends? Zoro would be a candidate. Usopp I would argue would be a better option, but Zoro also makes sense. Third of all, Sanji spends all day cooking (often cooking SEAFOOD) in a three piece suit and then smoking like a chimney. He may shower more frequently than Zoro but I assure you he doesn't smell like a rose garden either. You also can't be a cook if you shy away from a little elbow grease and sweat. Getting dirty for your craft is something he understands. He also has atrocious fashion sense when it comes to clothes that are not suits and he's a lil crazy in the same way all the strawhats are but he hides it well. Sanji is a ridiculous man and I like him that way. Stop it.

2. Sanji isn't some fainting flower, and it annoys me that this person was trying to paint him that way as if it's a forgone conclusion. Their argument was that he screams at bugs, and they were using it as an argument on why Sanji is apparently a babygirl who could never top anyone (why in the world does sex position even play a factor here??). They also pinpointed that Sanji wears suits and swoons at women as a reason why he's likely not gonna top anyone and is gonna remain a virgin. Admittedly I stopped reading at that point bc I made the executive decision to block the person for my own peace of mind, so I perhaps misunderstood (I barely understood the argument in the first place) but I still don't see how any of these factors have anything to do with sex position, or a sexual relationship not working with zosan. I'm all for asexual zosan. But y'all need to stop treating Sanji like some frail twink. That man is badass. He has a strong enough kick to kill a man, his leg catches on fire, he can fucking fly, he gives as good as he gets when it comes to his interactions with Zoro, he survived years and years of abuse from his family and came out a kindhearted person with principles. He is strong af. Again. STOP. IT.

3. None of those reasons for why they wouldn't have sex make sense to me because they operate under an assumption that Sanji would find Zoro gross so obvi they wouldn't have sex. The person fundamentally misunderstood that most people who like zosan aren't there bc they want smut, they're there because Zoro and Sanji are equal and opposites and they understand each other in a very fundamental way from the moment they met. Yes, their relationship is antagonistic, but in the way that Brogy and Dorry are set up in that one episode. If you understand that, then you get that when it comes to rivals, when it comes to their competition and their interactions with each other, Sanji wouldn't give a shit about avoiding getting his hands dirty. That is not the type of person he is. Zoro is his one exception in that sense. He has etiquette and acts like a refined gentleman, and then Zoro issues a challenge and Sanji is there, IMMEDIATELY ready and willing to throw down. He swoons over women, Zoro says anything and IMMEDIATELY Sanji's attention is all on Zoro. I have to wonder if this person even fucking watched the show before deciding to pass a bunch of unfounded judgements.

Alright, rant done.

I haven't played Final Fantasy 7 (????????), not the originals, not the remakes, I don't even know if I listed the correct number for the game, but someone tell me WHY SEPHIROTH IS SO CUNTY

I just saw a clip of the dude fighting Genesis and Angeal in a simulation and !!!! HOW ARE HIS EYELASHES SO DAMN LONG

WHAT KIND OF STEROID ASS MASCARA IS HE USING AND WHERE CAN I BUY IT.

HE IS SO PRETTY. I NEED AN EXPLANATION. SQUARE ENIX ANSWER ME

I like how, upon discovering that the liquid in someone's bottle is potentially not water and some unknown substance, the teacher decided the best course of action would be to drop a flame into it 🤣🤣 that's the type of zero fucks I aspire to be in life. I think.

Might shorten my lifespan tho

MY SCIENCE TEACHER CAUGHT THE TABLE ON FIRE AND HES JUST STARING AT IT

Newest re-draw, a couple years later. Maybe I'll keep re-doing this piece periodically, it's cool to see how my skills have changed over the years

“Flowers bloom with no regret” ~ Years and Years

___

I drew a Hanahaki’s Disease fanart around a year ago, and decided to do a redraw since I’ve got some time on my hands lol (second one is the old version). He isn’t any particular character, just an OC. :)

YES THE PEI QIAN THING HAD ME LAUGHING FOR A GOOD FIVE MINUTES WHEN I FIRST STARTED WATCHING THE SHOW, ABSOLUTELY ROLLING - my man was really nerfed by his parents, there's no fighting fate my dude 😭

I NEED y'all to go watch the donghua Losing Money to Be a Tycoon, that shit is so funny (premise is this dude gets sucked into a game where he has to invest money into a company to gain money, except the conversion rate is fucked, so in order to earn money he has to try and tank his company, comedy of errors follow), good voice acting, we got a fruity lil main character with his fruity lil friend (it's not BL just warning you, but their friendship is hilarious. And fruity) and I cannot find a fandom for them I cannot live like this

LOOK AT THEM

THE BABIES

I NEED y'all to go watch the donghua Losing Money to Be a Tycoon, that shit is so funny (premise is this dude gets sucked into a game where he has to invest money into a company to gain money, except the conversion rate is fucked, so in order to earn money he has to try and tank his company, comedy of errors follow), good voice acting, we got a fruity lil main character with his fruity lil friend (it's not BL just warning you, but their friendship is hilarious. And fruity) and I cannot find a fandom for them I cannot live like this

LOOK AT THEM

THE BABIES

YES SAY IT LOUDER. The REASON I like zosan is because of their unique dynamics by virtue of the fact that their personalities and interactions DON'T fit into yaoi stereotypes.

Ignoring the implication of sex position here for a sec in these old yaoi terms and talking just about the apparent personality stereotypes that come along with these terms for some reason, the uke-fication of Sanji in particular keeps me up at night. If y'all think he'd be saying that type of shit to ZORO? The dude he spends every second fighting? I don't think people get that they don't fight in the show because of a lack of affection - sure maybe at the very beginning - but as the show goes on that's how they show affection. Zoro who likes training and competing skills with other people and Sanji who grew up with a bunch of fighting cooks? It's fun for them. Meaning in a relationship, no way would that stop. No way they wouldn't be competitive in all the other aspects of their relationship too.

And Zoro isn't a freaking yaoi seme personality type either just cause he happens to be muscular and like fighting, that man is sleepy, that man is goofy, that man is sassy, that man is kind and I doubt he would be particularly possessive or jealous. He gets Sanji, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't care about Sanji's flirting towards women (well no that's a lie, he would find it annoying, but just regular plain annoying instead of jealous annoyed) as long as they remain exclusive to each other.

Lol anyways, they can be sweet and soft with each other definitely but that comes in many forms, and it's not gonna be the case 100% of the time. And a Sanji who's meek or a Zoro who's overbearing is out of character to me.

As much as I love zosan I WILL say the fandom is scary bc I will often have that "HE WOULD NOT SAY THAT" if I scroll for too long

This won't make sense but wearing a sleek black facemask is somehow simultaneously "no one is allowed to perceive me" and also "I have to be the most fuckable person in this grocery store"

I was thinking about memes I could draw for ships and I came across the "sorry I'm late I was doing something" "HE PUSHED ME DOWN THE FUCKING STAIRS" meme, which is a dynamic accurate for zosan in spirit but in reality would give Zoro next level PTSD

Nicholas D. Wolfwood looks a little different here huh

I'm gonna say it.

The chapter art for when these two encounter each other is dramatic. Like star-crossed dramatic. Like enemies-in-love dramatic.

I think what drives me a little crazy (in a good way) about zosan as a ship is - ironically - that they're willing to do the worst possible thing, to sacrifice, for a necessary goal unrelated to their relationship. By that I mean that a common romance trope is an individual being willing to sacrifice the world, anything and anyone else, for their lover, and zosan is...not that. And for some reason that drives me more feral than that other romance trope ever possibly could. I find that more romantic than "I would burn the world for you" and I'll explain why.

The root of their specific willingness to sacrifice isn't a shortage of love or care by any means, but a complete trust and understanding of each other. To the absolute core of who they are. I'm going to refer specifically to that agreement between zosan (that I got spoiled on, so apologies if I get details wrong, I haven't gotten there in the story yet - ALSO spoiler warning if you haven't gotten to around Wano, so click away).

.

.

.

I'm referring to Sanji telling Zoro to kill him if he changes after his stint in Germa, and Zoro agreeing without need for an explanation, telling Sanji to survive until then - that is so fucking romantic to me, and people hold it up as proof that they don't care about each other but to me, it's anything but.

There is a burden of duty to being the wings of the pirate king, and they both take that responsibility seriously. They're both devoted to their captain and to their crew, and to the dreams of their crew. Zoro perhaps more outwardly unwaveringly so, but Sanji is devoted too, different from Zoro but equal in intensity. There are moments when you can TELL they're on the same wavelength, moments where Zoro gives a rare speech on the dynamics of their crew and Sanji is silent because he agrees. Sanji is terrified of hurting his found family, and he's terrified of becoming like his brothers and father. He loves his nakama and so he's willing to sacrifice his own life to prevent from turning into that type of monster.

Zoro is similar. He is willing to die for his nakama, and their dreams. They are in complete understanding of that point. Death itself is not something that scares either of them, there are some things that are worth the price. Potentially for different reasons ahem self worth issues ahem Sanji ahem but that's still something they both understand. Zoro would sacrifice himself in a heartbeat to save Sanji (he already has at Thriller bark), Sanji would do the same (again. Thriller bark), so it's not remotely because they don't care or love each other. They are absolutely willing to give all they are to keep each other from outside harm.

But what happens if the threat to the crew is Sanji himself?

Sanji asks Zoro to be the one to kill him, because Zoro is the only one on the crew who he trusts 100% to do so, to fulfill the promise, who understands. I personally think Luffy would try to save his nakama, even beyond what is possible, at his own detriment. The other crew members would probably do the same (then again I'm still not through the show so feel free to disagree with my interpretation).

But Zoro could do it if it came to that. It would be awful, and it would shatter and change him, irreversibly, heartbreakingly so - I don't agree with people who say Zoro would kill his nakama without hesitation and be fine with it out of loyalty to his captain, Zoro has a heart y'all and he loves his crew - but he could grit his teeth and do it if he realizes it is necessary, that there is no other option. Sanji trusts him to keep his word, to protect the rest of their family. Do you know how telling it is about the level of regard you have for your partner, to trust them to the point where you can easily place the well being of almost all you both treasure into their hands, once you realize you can't be the one to protect it anymore, and know without a shadow of a doubt that it'll be safe as long as it's with them? With knowing they're strong enough to accept the heavy burden of having your blood stain their hands for the rest of their life, the blame for your death on their shoulders, the shadow of you in every single thing they do, inescapable and marking every facet of their life forever? And to trust that they'll not only accept those consequences without hesitation because it's what you asked of them, but will also protect what you both treasure until their last breath, without you even needing to EXPLAIN that that's what you're asking to them to do, because it's the obvious, it's what you've both been doing all this time, it's something you both know so well that no words need to be exchanged, no reassurances need to be given.

And the implication of Sanji wanting Zoro to do this task too, of being okay dying by Zoro's hands because they're equals in every way. Especially since their fighting dynamic is mostly a competitive, I'm stronger than you, I'll never lose to someone as weak as you, blah blah. This is proof that that's not what Sanji and Zoro actually think of each other. Sanji knows that they could kill each other if either of them truly tried for one - wouldn't have asked Zoro to kill him otherwise. Sanji is also fine with Zoro being the one to defeat him. There is an inherent (kinda fucked up) romance to that notion. 'If I have to die, let it be by your hands.'

And on Zoro's part, there's an inherent fucked up romance to keeping your lover close forever because your fingers are stained with the necessity of their blood.

fUCK.

(here is a caveat that I'm viewing this in a scenario where Sanji and Zoro have established that they love each other and are potentially in a relationship. If it's before that you could also flavour it with Sanji's "I love him but I think it's unrequited, actually I think he may hate me, so it would hurt him the least to be the one to kill me" which is JUICY, but just for this post I'm viewing it where they've already established that they're valuable to each other, that they care)

How am I supposed to look at that and not fucking die. It's so much more nuanced and romantic to me personally than "I would burn the world for you" because that trope at its core is a selfish sort of protection. I can 100% see how people find it romantic, don't get me wrong, I'm not judging you if you like that trope, that's so valid. It's "I can't live without you" and "I would choose you above all others" which is romantic, but it's romantic in a different way. Depending on the characters, it's also, I would go to extremes to make sure you're alive, even if there's nothing else left after the carnage except for each other, even if everything else that makes life worth living has been destroyed for survival, and we can only ever rely on each other for the rest of time. I only care about you but not anything else you care about. I won't try to save it, even if you tell me to, even if you want me to, and won't forgive me for all I've done because I can't bear the burden of you not being alive and around anymore.

I get why it's compelling, but that trope could ignore (depending on how it's written) everything else that person could hold dear. Ignores potentially, the agency of the person being protected, a character who could have accepted the consequences and have not wanted the world to burn for their sake, who is strong enough for that burden. And true, maybe the character isn't like that, maybe they just want simply to live a life (valid of them, people are allowed to want happy endings for themselves), but my point is, it's a different archetype of romance for a different archetype of character, but it seems to be more accepted as a romantic trope then zosan's dynamic and I think it shouldn't be that way.

Zosan is the opposite. It suits their character type perfectly. For them, it's "there are things that are worth more than even you and me. I love you, knowing who you are and how you view the world and what other things you value. I love you everyday on purpose, not hopelessly or illogically or blindly, even knowing you may not always choose me. I'm willing to accept the pain of that, just to be next to you. The time we share isn't any less valuable for being fleeting and impermanent. I care about the things you care about and our lives are also worth living because of those things. It would tear me apart irreversibly to hurt you, but I would do it if you asked it of me, I would do it if that's what this life demands of us. I know you can protect what we both love, even if I'm not beside you. I respect your choices. In this, we understand each other perfectly."

THAT is my shit. That's the fucking deranged ass bs that has me staring at my ceiling at 3 am, pacing the floors at 6 in the morning, gnawing on conkcrete like a rabid dog. Brain rot brain rot brain rot.

why would you like media that is good if you can like media that is bad instead and pace around your room like an insane person thinking about What If It Was Good

I made the mistake of putting the Trigun Stampede theme song into my work playlist.

Sanji playing with Zoro's earrings is my Roman Empire

IF YOU'RE NOT GIVING YOUR CRINGEFAIL BF FOREHEAD KISSES THEN WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING

The thing about Sanji angsting and being like ohhh I’m cursed I’m doomed I’m rotten All I am is a Weapon Nobody should Love Me etc is Zoro will just look to where Kitetsu and Enma are actively hanging from his hip and be like. “Yeah somehow I’m not super worried about that”