Explanations and Thoughts on The Completion of Death
Hello and nice to see you. I am quite pleased that someone took time out to read my little rant on this story. Mainly, this will be only what I was thinking when casting each of the characters, because even I, as the writer, had some doubts on what I did. (I am my own worst critic), but I had fair reason on what I did. However, as the reader, you aren’t allowed the same glimpse into my head and thoughts (and you should be thankful for that; I have some pretty twisted thoughts), which leads me to here and writing everything down. So, I hope you enjoyed “The Completion of Death” and this may answer and questions or disputes you may have.
Heero: I
tried to portray Heero as close to the real thing as possible, however, in no
way do I mean to call him soulless. Although I will admit he does have
emotions, he does burry them behind a thick wall, shunning all things that make
him human. In the flashback Duo has to the time when he and Heero were lovers,
I wanted to show the change between the old angel and the new one, so I gave
him a lighter attitude, however never throwing him overboard. At the end, when
he is about to accept his soul back, I want to stress that it is not to seem as
though he wants to be with Quatre. His reason for his apparent “affection” is
simply because he feels “one” with Quatre, being that his soul is inside him. I
mean, how much closer can ya get to a person? ^_^
Duo: Duo
kind of starts off sounding a little “prickish”, shall we say, which I
apologize for. However, after his reunion with Heero, he starts to lighten up,
and especially delights in the fact of tormenting Wufei, which is usual for
him. He loves Heero more than anything and would do whatever it took for him to
reclaim that affectionate side of the angel (“I am willing to do anything to be
with you, Heero, even kill God himself!”). At the end, he may have sounded weak
or like he was overreacting when he thought Heero refused his soul, but I want
to say this: This was something he had been working towards for 10,000 years!
If I got dumped after working that long, I’d be upset to! ^_^ He is utterly oblivious to the crush that
Wufei has developed for him.
Quatre:
Quatre was difficult to work with, of course nowhere near as hard as Trowa. I
tried to portray him as an intelligent, caring individual who refused to be
ruled by the system. I made him a little rebellious (sneaking out of the
castle, denouncing his title to Trowa, ect.) and tried to stay as far away from
the “wuss” that many people make him out to be, however I think I made him
sound mean when he yelled at Trowa for calling him “my lord”. I just wanted to
show that he didn’t want to be divided by social classes, especially since he
just made love to him. The only time I have him weaken is when he runs away
from Trowa and Wufei near the beginning. I purposefully made him strong in his
dream (when he’s confronting Heero and that other part of himself), hoping to
show the inner strength he possesses. His love for Trowa is as deep as Duo’s is
for Heero, and he would give up his kingdom for the man he loves (“I did not
ask to be king. I did ask to be with you, however.”)
Trowa:
Trowa, as I said before, was a pain to write. Don’t get me wrong; I love the
guy, it’s just that I’m not used to writing on emotion-lacking people. I wanted
him to seem a tad submissive; I don’t think he’s the overly assertive guy that
some people do (personal opinion there). He feels a need to accept the division
of social classes (“Is it my lord’s will for me to return to my own room?”),
even though he knows Quatre loves him. He gives up all of his beliefs for that
love and the peace that it gives him. He feels his worst when waiting for
Quatre to return with Heero, when he is unable to protect his lover and king.
Wufei:
Wufei was fun! At first, I was afraid I was making him sound too much like a
prick, but after I played with the poor boy later on, I realized that the
beginning chapters with him were just his hardened exterior. He wants to
protect the king at all costs, even his own life, and upon seeing that Trowa
had “seduced” him, he felt his lord’s honor and virtue was tainted. He has
never felt love in his life before, so he has a difficult time accepting that’s
what’s going on between Quatre and Trowa. When he meets Duo, though, his entire
world gets turned upside down. Duo was the first person to show him relaxation,
recognition, and a sense of friendship as his equal. I make this evident by the
way he opens up to him in the forest, talking and explaining his past. However,
his walls remain up, his guard always evident, waiting to be betrayed by the
braided demon (“Tell me what happened to Quatre, you bastard!”). At the end
though, as he watches Duo’s fate, he realizes just how much Duo meant to him
and recognizes the feelings within himself. That is why he spends the rest of
his life spreading the truth of Duo and Heero, hoping to clean their names and
absolve them in the eyes of the people. One last thing: Wufei’s past probably
would have suited Trowa better, however, I needed a way for Wufei to be both
closed off and utterly devoted to Quatre, and saving his life from slave
traders was the quickest idea I could come up with. ^_^
Relena:
All right, the only person harder to write than Trowa was her. I’m not a big
Relena fan, as you might be able to tell (“You Don’t Love Me Anymore”, “The
Thin Line”), however in the recent stories (“The Completion of Death”,
“Touched”) I have desperately tried to put my personal feelings aside and write
her as a strong woman. It comes out in “Touched” more than it does here. I know
at the beginning, she sounds annoying, however as time goes on, when she’s
talking to Zechs, I wanted to portray her sense of determination and will. She
doesn’t see the truth behind Heero and Duo’s relationship until Quatre tells
her, but as they state at the end, she accepts it and fights along Wufei’s side
in an attempt to spread the truth of the angel and the demon.
Zechs: His time is very limited in this fic, I must admit,
however I really didn’t know where to put him. I attempted to make him the “big
brother” type to Relena without being overbearing. He’s not there to kill her
spirit but to open her eyes to the truth before her. He maintains his character
by referring to her “relationship” with Heero as a war.
First off, I want to say that I have a strong affinity to angels and demons; I think it’s the wings. The beauty found within the wings of painted angels has always amazed me, and I think that was what made this story so fun to write. Heero was a great, tormented angel, and in effect, he became the antagonist that everyone loved. I especially loved the final scenes, with Heero’s bleeding wings, and the one-winged Quatre; they bore the weight of the world on their backs, and in those scarlet feathers, it was shown.
I was afraid I put too much love and seductive scenes in this story. Heero and Quatre, as I stated before, were not lovers nor ever intended to be (not that I have a problem with that pairing, ::wink, wink::); they were, in essence, two halves to one whole and thus, showed their connection that way. It is also Heero’s way of showing Quatre just what a soul truly is: all the emotion within a human being. He wanted to see how it affected Quatre before he took that weight back onto himself.
I don’t know why I wanted to write that “almost-kiss” scene between Wufei and Duo, but it came to me like a tornado and held a gun to my head until my fingers typed it all out to its liking. ^_^ I always loved the idea of 2x5, but 1x2 is my favorite. I also think it allowed Wufei to grow as a person, beginning his acceptance to his feelings for the demon.
When I started this fic, I wasn’t sure how I was going to end it. I’m kind of shortsighted in that respect. I just allow my fics to write themselves. I had no idea that they would die in the end until about Chapter 9, but I agree with it. Some deaths are tragic, heart-wrenching pieces of art, (“Touched”), however this was meant solely as a release and their claim to happiness and peace. Sometimes, as horrible as this may sound, people have to die to make something have the impact it’s reaching for (I still have debates with my best friend over whether the guy in “American Beauty” should have died or not…he hated that movie for that reason alone and I loved it because of it).
One last note: I would love fanart for this. I unfortunately, cannot draw stick people and thus, have taken up writing as my hobby of choice ^_^. Any and all would be appreciated. Thank you and Bye bye!