07-Sep-2000
The Paragraph series. I was thinking about having a series of these where the pilots express their opinions and thoughts about each other. This is the result of a brain misfire while reading a challenge.
How do you describe Duo Maxwell? I guess it's like trying to describe a sunrise or sunset. You do the best you can only to realize that no words will ever be adequate. I suppose one could start with the physical.
Duo has beautiful chestnut hair. He binds it in a long braid that he says holds all his memories. If you are lucky enough to be around when the sun hits it just right, the braid becomes a silken cascade. One you just want to sink your hands in. I know I do.
His eyes are violet set in the middle of a heart shaped face. Violet. Such a simple word to tell you about them. It doesn't begin to really cover them. His eyes reflect all his emotions so clearly, they are like true mirrors to his soul. Nothing he feels is hidden from any who care to look. Those incandescent pools are the only real break in the mask that hides him from the world. Ah, but I am getting ahead of myself.
Duo's body, you ask? He is slender and well to put it truthfully, short. Too many years of malnutrition as a child guaranteed he will never grow very tall; yet, not a word of complaint will you hear from him. His skin is a cream color and soft to the touch expect where battle scars mar its perfection and even those marks only add to the beauty. Like marks of honor; that's how he caries them anyway.
So I have covered his physical beauty and covered less than half of what makes him so very wonderful. It is his personality that sets him apart from the rest of humanity and makes him so easy to love.
You see, Duo never had an easy life. Duo isn't even his real name, but he loves it just the same. He's lost so many loved ones, seen so much death. There are times I wonder how he can still laugh. Oh, you say, that is merely his mask. Perhaps, but I see more.
This young man is brave, honest, and determined beyond his years. He throws himself into battle after battle, trying desperately to give people a future brighter than his past. Even when the colonies abandoned the pilots, Duo never gave up. He was willing to die hated, hunted, and feared by those he cared for if it meant they were protected.
I have seen him suffer so readily for others, burying his own pain and then taking theirs on top of it. His joy and laughter aren't lies, for Duo never lies. He sees the irony in life and in death. He relishes the moments he has with friends and takes what pleasure life offers when it offers. And he is determined to teach others to do the same.
Still, there is more to him. The things he clings to with such a grim grasp that it almost strangles him at times. Never letting what was overwhelm what might be. Calling himself the Shinigami to hide the pain he feels because he would never burden anyone with his pain. Standing between the war and its chosen victims, thereby setting himself up as the sacrifice. How amazing is that?
So you say, am I done? For now. There is so much more to tell you. Really, there is. About how he never leaves a friend in need. How he never gives up. How he holds onto life with a joyful smile, manic light in his eyes, and an insane laugh. How he brought life into all our lives and saved us from our own darkness. So much more. But I am out of time and energy. I tire so easily these days.
Oh my name? Well, if you must know. Yes, I suppose you must. My name is Chang Wufei, the head of the Dragon Clan. And I was honored to call Duo Maxwell my friend.
End teaser
So what did you think? Continue or trash it.
Phoenix
Please send comments to: lina.inverse@verizon.net