In an exclusive interview with esports.gg, Laurence explains the Ramyatta pairing and how fans united to create the “Journey Together” zine out of love.
Perhaps one of the most engaging ways fans of a franchise can connect with each other is by getting behind a ship, which refers to a pairing between or among characters. The Ramyatta ship features two fictional characters from the Overwatch 2 universe. One of them is Ramattra while the other one is Zenyatta. Recently, those who enjoy Ramyatta united to create the dedicated "Journey Together" zine. In an interview with esports.gg, Laurence, also known as shambalidottxt and volskayadottxt, spoke about what makes Ramyatta compelling and what it takes to create a zine.
Who are Ramattra and Zenyatta in Overwatch 2?
In Overwatch 2, Ramattra is a tank and Zenyatta a support hero. The two omnics share a history as monks at the Shambali Monastery. After the Omnic Crisis, Ramattra journeyed to the monastery and became a monk under Tekhartha Mondatta's tutelage. Later, he guided Zenyatta to the location, hoping the latter would find purpose there, too.
However, Ramattra's philosophy diverged from Mondatta's teachings over time. This led him to fight for his people as the leader of Null Sector. Ramattra and Zenyatta recently reunited under Mondatta's statue in King's Row as well. For context, Mondatta was assassinated while giving a speech about human-omnic relations.
Why fans love the Ramyatta pairing
In his interview with esports.gg, Laurence shared that his love for Ramyatta grew from those small yet meaningful moments in Overwatch 2 itself. For example, there's a voice line where Ramattra says, "I have you, Zenyatta," which is quite sincere. Both characters also recall a time when they stayed up at night and counted stars.
"Over time, Ramattra slowly crawled his way into my brain. When the Transformers hits, I'm like, wait a minute. There's some really big Megatron and Optimus vibes going on between Ramattra and Zenyatta. It's all coming together," Laurence added, referring to the official Overwatch 2 x Transformers collaboration. "And my brain has never been the same."
Laurence also observed how some Transformers fans who play Overwatch 2 are naturally drawn to Ramyatta. He explained that this is because Ramattra shares traits with popular versions of Megatron.
The aforementioned comic where Ramattra and Zenyatta reunited further inspired him and the Ramyatta fandom.
"Ramon Tikaram is always giving his most heartbreaking performance ever when he's talking about Zenyatta," Laurence said. "And Feodor Chin was also really into it. He was like, hey guys, wow, Ramattra's so cool. I bet he has a really cool, complex relationship with Zenyatta. I think it was a lot of little things that sort of built up for me. But honestly, the Reconciliation comic -- it's the best thing ever."
"Terrific, terrific actor. And just the most lovely voice, too. He was patching in from London, so I think it was probably really late for him. But we did record some things together, which was a treat because, as you know, you usually don’t get to record at the same time. I think we recorded a couple of cinematics and some in-game lines, and I’m not sure they’re all completely out yet. I think Ramattra and Zenyatta have a real history that maybe isn’t completely evident yet, but hopefully, you’ll all get to see that because I think it’s definitely very interesting."
Creating the Ramyatta zine
Back in December 2025, Laurence shared the "Journey Together" zine with the fandom. Still accessible via Google Drive, the Ramyatta zine features the hard work of 13 participants and more than 70 pages of artwork. What's also remarkable about the zine is that it's completely free to read.
Laurence shared that the inspiration for "Journey Together" came from his previous zine called "We'll Build Our Own Future." That zine ended up being about 200 pages long with 40 participants. For the Ramyatta zine, however, he wanted something more close-knit. When fellow Ramyatta fan Wong jumped on board, they both gathered artists and writers from around the world. Their goal was simple: celebrate Ramyatta with friends.
"We started talking to people on different sides of the world," Laurence told esports.gg. "I was getting all the English speakers. The thing is, there were some people that I couldn't talk to working on the zine because of the language barrier. But we were all just there because we love Ramyatta. We're all on a Discord. A lot of people don't understand what the other person is saying, but we're all just working on this Ramyatta book together. So Wong got artists from all over and I got artists from Canada, USA, some parts of Europe."
Even though the process of creating the zine had challenges like file transfers between Procreate and Krita, as well as scheduling delays due to the majority of Ramyatta shippers having 9-to-5 jobs, everyone worked through iteration upon iteration to complete the zine. The zine was then printed in limited physical copies to celebrate its contributors.
"This is just something we do because we love the ship," Laurence said. "And we want it to be out there."
As for tips on how to create one's own zine or run a fandom event, Laurence advised that having a clear timeline and submission guidelines right from the start can help resolve issues quickly. Being clear in terms of content ratings and boundaries can prevent last-minute issues, too. Of course, some flexibility is needed for exceptions. Above all, Laurence said passion for the source material is what keeps a project going and makes it successful.
Why celebrating Ramyatta matters
Laurence described that seeing the Ramyatta zine published and shared has been very rewarding for him as well. Some of the most meaningful reactions came from his parents, who enthusiastically support his art journey despite not fully understanding Overwatch 2. His mother bought him a sketchbook to support his return to drawing. Laurence also said that his father even wants a poster of his latest art piece to display in his office.
Laurence then shared that in the past, he loved an anime called "Sora o Miageru Shōjo no Hitomi ni Utsuru Sekai." However, it had little fan content back then, which felt quite isolating. He told esports.gg that he never wants Ramyatta fans to feel that way even if the interest in Overwatch 2 fades over time.
"I never want that to happen to Ramyatta," Laurence said. "Maybe 10 years from now, when I have the confidence and the time to do a booth at an artist alley at a convention somewhere, people are going to be like, this is all Overwatch stuff. And I'm going to be like, yep. And I've also got some little Transformers stuff if you want that, too."
As for parting words, Laurence said that Overwatch gave him something no other medium ever did -- it got him drawing again. He then encouraged fans to keep creating art for things that they love.
"If there's one thing that I can say about Overwatch is that it gave me something that no other game, or movie, or TV series, or book, or audio play, or webcomic, or finger puppet show has ever given me -- trying to cover all my bases -- it's that it got me drawing again. And that is one of the greatest gifts that I have ever received in my life."
He continued, also acknowledging the franchise's past while looking toward the future, "So even though I don't always agree with the direction that Overwatch goes in, I will always defend it until my dying breath because nothing else has made me want to do that, and I'm really happy that I do that now. If anyone feels like their hobby is weird or people are spiteful about it, just keep making art about the thing that you love -- even if it's controversial and polarizing."
Perhaps "Journey Together" embodies exactly this. A journey of finding oneself and building community through a shared love for Ramyatta.
That's all for now. Stick around on esports.gg for more Overwatch 2 news, interviews, and updates!
