#zig replied

this is inspired by a scene from the anime during Luffy's flashback post Marineford. It's the way Luffy doesn't cross Zoro's boundaries. At first, Luffy sees a lot of himself in Zoro and that's why he finds that Zoro can take the way he treated him (i.e. the manhandling, flinging around, teasing him relentlessly) and he was right to some degree, Zoro seems to tolerate pain despite not made out of gum so he does sometimes still yanked Zoro when he ran in the wrong direction and stuff like that. Zoro also does the same thing as him, pinching him, bonking foreheads, using his full power to fight Luffy, scolding or teasing Luffy back. But Luffy realizes that Zoro is an immovable force when it comes to things like sleeping or training and he stops bothering him. Sometimes he still asks Zoro to play with him as a way to share his excitement but he doesn't disturb him or poke him or steal his stuff anymore and just tap on Zoro's shoulder or his weight. Luffy doesn't even need to say anything because Zoro already knows what he wants and he also knows that his "clingy" captain likes to do this just for the sake of seeking Zoro. Sorry, it's such a small gesture but I will die on this hill because Luffy cares for Zoro as much as Zoro does for him

they call each other aibous/partners LOL either in the final saga or post-canon or when they get together. Had this idea after a Sabaody arc rewatch and saw RayRoger call each other that. Also why I find a lot of parallels between ZL and KidKiller. I find it even more fitting than right-hand man or vice-captain (but he could be all of them)

Zoro has a weird way with PDA. He doesn't do that much because he gets embarrassed by it. But he can't keep himself away from Luffy's personal space. Probably because Luffy does the same. He likes to sniff him discreetly; swing his leg on top of Luffy, acting like he was just nonchalantly chugging his beer; randomly pin Luffy down with his whole weight and falling asleep on top of him while Luffy looks so confused at first; press a palm on the back of Luffy's neck and pulling him to press their foreheads together while staring intensely into Luffy's eyes; neither of them saying anything until Nami told them to get a room; Zoro likes to bite Luffy, on his shoulder blades or his cheeks, due to cuteness aggression. He is actually the one who started it before Luffy developed a habit of biting him.

In modern AU, I really like to HC kindergarten/daycare/preschool teacher Luffy. His jobs can be pretty diverse, ranging from errand boy, to sex worker, to sumo wrestler, to boxer or MMA, to child care, to delivery service, pet sitter, warehouse operator, oil rig worker, beetle expert/scientist, and (a moot suggested) animal whisperer. Did he get a degree? maybe. Did it take him multiple tries to get a degree? could be. Did Sabo or Nami hook him up with a fake certificate? also possible. He might not even need them, this and that offered him after he helped them or something. While Zoro for me is usually pretty straightforward. A kendo athlete or teacher, anything by Luffy's side, bounty hunter or a hitman, or he gets paid to do the math equations in his classmates' assignments. At one point he was offered a data analysis or statistics job where he didn't last for a week because he got bored, had a bad attitude, and was often late due to getting lost

I have so many zl hcs I have not made any fanwork of, but these are the ones I thought abt at the top of my head so I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you think.

Bonus mature one to make this five hcs in total

frankly, aside from the snippet and my previous answer, I have nothing else. but not only do I love corporate slave kyou, I currently feel like one and maybe from this I can expand the idea a bit more.

I'm so sorry but the art request event is already closed 🙏. I've been busy with IRL but I'm still around and drawing, it's just that my lines have been... blargh. I'm kind of in an art rut because my mind is elsewhere, hopefully, October is different but who knows.

All my zl smuts are in poi and bsky as always lol

Sometimes I only share them in servers or priv and end up forgetting them so I also haven't had time to tidy things up (lowkey stressed out). So sorry these are all I had 🥺

I haven't had time to read anything new yet but I guess,

A tree grows during rain by farmhandler

dream a little dream (of me) by thischachamaru

where the shivering god rests by chininiris

The Sun's Embrace by SproutlingBaby

Escape by FlamesofJam

First and Only by Amethystfairy1

Indulgence by leafiebeanie

Down to Business by SewerWitch

🥺🥺hello, zero!! hope you have a great day and thank you for the asks!! Omg, these are some really good questions!!

❤️ - what are your favorite kind of RenTan stories? (Canon, Rengoku lives, modern… etc)

definitely, Rengoku Lives stories since it's just the default. It's so fun to fiddle with it. Maybe it's because of the time period or the fact that it's directly from gtg's ideas, it just hits harder. But I've been really liking stories where one or both of them are mystical beings, whether it's the konpon au, dragon tan, fox scholar kyou~ I can't choose, they're all so gooood

🥵 - what are your thoughts about their rank difference? Did you want Tanjiro to study under Kyojuro?

I think their rank difference is interesting because they're both unconventional. Tanjirou doesn't really care about his rank, he uses his breathing technique almost pragmatically, while Kyoujurou has always been destined to be a hashira. Yet, after that, we don't know what he wanted. It was never explained even in vol 0 or the fanbook, and it might be intentional since gtg also had been using the supporting characters pragmatically, but I also love how it adds to the angst factor.

Imagine living your life not really looking forward to the other side of The Death of Muzan when your whole family, your entire life has been designed and curated to defeat Muzan. He's Sisyphus, if Sisyphus is happy.

So what I like about a Rengoku Lives spin is Tanjirou being by his side, not necessarily being the sole reason for him to live by becoming his tsuguko (since getting a tsuguko is the second closest thing we get to his life goa) just like how Tan becomes his living proof in the canon (symbolized by the passing tsuba) but by being his soulmate.

I've written both where Tanjirou becomes his ideal tsuguko (becomes a tsuguko until the end of the story and even learns a bit of flame breathing because he has a talent for adapting different breathings) but I've also written when he stops becoming one (tho this hasn't been uploaded yet I think) because they find their power imbalance a hindrance to their relationship.

In the end, these are just labels to them and I feel in any scenario, if Tanjirou gets to see Kyoujurou the next day, he'll use every excuse to see him. (this made me remember I have an unfinished fic where Kyou teaches Tan how to sumo wrestle post-mugen train)

💣 - share your most controversial RenTan take. Set your thoughts ablaze!!

BHAHAHA WHYYYYY

Kyoujurou has a fat ass!

jk.

I honestly don't know~ maybe one of the reasons I'm die-hard for rntn out of all of my ships is because I tolerate most headcanon lmfao even the darkest or dead dovey... idk. I wrote and made some questionable stuff myself so usually, if there's an au or trope I can't get behind, it's just how the author/artist executes it and if I have the energy, I'll try it with my own version. I get to make something I like and rntn gets more content

Like for example, I think Kyoujurou is not as experienced as Tanjirou just because he's older. There's barely anything he accomplished romantically or sexually around those five years gap. He's as young and awkward as Tan. But I can see why people would think that. He's adored by so many people. But so was Tanjirou and I feel, if Tanjirou becomes a charcoal burner for a bit longer, it could be the other way around since Kyoujurou is a bit intimidating.

Hey, maybe he learned everything just from three volumes of shunga and erotic novels!

💤 - what are your feelings about Enmu? Was he an effective villain in the story? Do you like him in AUs?

he's so funny, I don't think I can hate him. He's probably the funniest character gtg has ever made aside from zenino so yes he's very effective!! Overall, Mugen Train is very well made and every character serves their purpose very well. I admittedly have never read a fic with him as a relevant supporting character and I barely used him in my fics but if I ever want to write something comedic, I would love to add him.

Thank you for the ask, it's been really fun and made my morning.

trying to find a good reason to ship them aside from saying they look hot and would probably be funny together

Gyomei is a cat man and Michikatsu is three cats in a black suit. They don't have any substantial chemistry but I love the snarks they pass toward each other during the last battle. Also, they don't give the same vibe as the other demon/demon slayer, they don't really have true rivalries. They're just each other's hindrance towards their main goals and Gyoumei died you know why and definitely not in Koku's hand so it's like... they're awkward but snarky and I'm just playing dolls with them.

Esp Michikatsu, he's a blank canvas. Without Yoriichi or Muzan he literally has no personality lol but then again, his personality is that he needs someone to keep him in check so when everyone that he has fixated on stops existing I think Gyoumei, petty but soft-hearted Gyoumei, will just sigh and take in this poor man.

oof buckle up cuz this is gonna have a lot of spoilers

What got me into tanren is kinda a build-up. Yes, I think I'm first touched by the last scene of Mugen Train, where Tanjirou screams at Akaza's retrieving back and the way Kyoujurou's stunt eyes turned mellow and his voice softened in endearment as if he's surprised that a new, younger,low-ranked demon slayer like Tanjirou still tries to defend him when this is literally his job (or what he keeps telling himself that).