many look at luffy and can't help but to add a warning label on him based on what their personal fears of him are. luffy could somehow have the ability to present himself as someone's deepest and darkest apprehensions. he could supply someone with what kept them up at night and still draw them closer. people hated their terrors, but they were still drawn to luffy nonetheless. the way a lazy fly is drawn to the sweet juice of a fallen fruit. luffy not only represented what the were most afraid about of society, but what they wanted of it.
nami not only feared the greed and selfishness of pirates, but she feared the constant reminder of being shackled and forced to follow another man's oppressing unrealistic dream. luffy reminded her of the foolish self-centered "species" of pirates. but his behaviour that he showed totally contradicted her beliefs. which scared her more. she spent all her life with one sole enemy. one sole belief that remained stubborn and anchored in her heart. but the raven haired boy yanked it from the pits of her as if he were picking an apple. it terrified her how easy he changed her mind.
zoro feared the incompletion of his dream. what made the swordsman anxious and stressed wasn't the notion of death or monsters. but the inevitable reality that he may never complete his dream. his promise. when the man saw this naive boy. whose limbs were as thin and feeble as the sticks he used to practice with( as swords as a mere adolescent). it terrified him only to know of his remarkable dream. to be king of the pirates. is that what people saw looking at him? when people looked at the jaded pirate hunter did they get the first impression he got from luffy? wasting his time on an unreachable dream; it terrified zoro just to think that there were people out there who also had dreams high as his. people who actually failed and some who succeeded. of the reality of it smacked the man in the face of exactly what zoro got himself into. but it also excited him to know of the challenge.
and as well as his other nakama ,the captain reminded them of their weaknesses. but there came a beautiful balance and unsaid promise that whatever they can't do he can. and whatever he can't he relies on them to help/ compensate.
that was what truly drew his nakama to him from the beginning. sure, he managed to capture their loyalty and hearts with his own loyalty and heart. ,and quite frankly just being all around luffy. his name was a simple explanation of his character and whatever strange occurrence that was ubiquitous and continued to spread. the reasoning to chaos was simple. it was luffy.
so, a boy - soon to be man- who could draw people to him and capture their hearts , sure surprised people to know he was incapable of a romantic attraction. sure, the captain found it actually almost difficult to not apply affection on practically everyone he met. but he still held no desire of anything remotely sexual or a strong relationship with one person. many conceived that he was just too thickheaded to know any better and that his brain had simply not matured yet to that extent.
or, was that the price you paid to be luffy. to be someone with such passion and strength and devotion, you never get to experience true love. that was what concerned his crew mates. just any sign of that part of luffy would give them closure. even the grouchy swordsman wondered if his captain was even capable of telling them what a crush was. sanji would often joke that luffy simple was attracted to meat, but you could note the concern in his voice.
it wasn't that the captains dysfunctional family didn't love luffy for who he was. they just wanted luffy to experience something that all humans have been graciously supplied with. the ability to love. even the captain's family secretly wondered if there would be a continuation of the bloodline, or at least someone to pass along the family's stories and unparalleled power.
but all this paranoia could be far from the truth.
luffy was in love. he was in love with adventure. family. friends. meat. and simple being alive.
but, with all the simplistic devotion that came easy to him, all of them being of something he would die for ( especially meat)/ luffy was infatuated with something on a higher level. a secret he kept simply to himself and only himself.
luffy was in love with the sky.
to him it wasn't a thing of gender. it didn't spark him with wonders of constellations , or history, or stories of folklore. it held an unbreakable bond with luffy.
because just like the ebony sky, the raven haired boy was free. it spoke to him a promise. much like a rainbow in the christian belief. it vowed to him that he would never again be shackled to the confinements of a small island alone and ostracized. luffy wasn't the smartest or most insightful person, but he didn't need to be when looking at the sky. that was of course why he always sat at the front of the ship, while the salty spray would splash his face and a vicious cold wing attacked his face. luffy could look at the sky. the vastness and unknowable let him know no matter what happened tomorrow it would still be there. promising him the next day and another adventure.
luffy loved the sky because it contained everything else he held dear to his heart.
luffy loved it because it shone down on him highlighting the joy in his life.
what could he say. luffy made people fear, and love him. and much like people fell in and out of love. luffy had to.
but the boy would never be heartbroken by the sky. because nothing that promised him his true dream. freedom. could hurt him and his nakama.
