Dedicated to one of my favorite characters

I know he's not real. Just a character from a tv show, and my love for him is just an exaggerated admiration. Just a fictional person of someone else's creation. I only get to see him on the pages of my manga or on the screen of my TV, but still I feel the way he has influenced me. How the story of his life and journey has impacted me and I know without him I would never be the same. How many times has his journey made me laugh, smile, or cry. The rollercoaster of emotions I have felt following his trail.

So simple his eyes look. Just a couple black dots in two white circles that seem so round and bright like the moon when it's full and all the wolves can't help but howl. Sometimes when he laughs or smiles with a carefree look, his eyes arch into the shape of crescent moons on his face as if there is no worry in sight or in mind. His eyes, wide and bright filled with childlike curiosity. They look so innocent just like his smile, but both have a hidden double side filled with a driven passion for freedom.

His smile, a bit on the side of being too big to be possible but it still shines like a diamond and the sun. It is both tough and fills the people close to him with a warm feeling, spreading comfort and joy to all. Like the sun it shines but it never lasts. The sun goes down and the smile can fade but you know it always comes back, it seems like it is just a fact. The sun is hot, ice is cold, and Luffy's smile will return even if things are looking bad. For a diamond, it is almost indestructible but it is not impossible to break. "To do any damage to a diamond, it would take a major blow or a hard impact. (lisbgnet.com)" It is not often that Luffy's smile fades but it is seen a few times. Some of the most memorable times that Luffy lost his smile are when angered for his nakama, fighting against nakama, or when losing someone precious.

Reading One Piece and following Luffy's journey makes me want to be a kid again. When my dreams soared freely through the sky with no fears of gravity, walls, or chains to stop my endless possibilities. When the chains of reality, society, and self-doubts did not apply to the little kid with big eyes, a bigger smile, and a mind brimming with creativity.