Author's Notes:
"Feuerfest" is German for "fireproof." I think.
Well, that's the title of this fic, at least. I started this project with the simple goal of writing an unusual Dilandau fanfic. The results, as it turned out, got quite out of hand. I never intended for this fic to be this long or this involved. But it was incredibly fun for me to write. ^_^ And yes, this is the most OOC fic I've ever written. And I'm proud of it! Like I said, this fic is meant to be fun, not serious.
For those of you who have read my writing before, you know that I have a *thing* for sappy romances. Well, true to form, this IS a romance fic... but not a sappy one. This is my best attempt at portraying what *I* think a romance with Dilandau would really be like - short, fast-moving, passionate, stormy, and ultimately, doomed. And the romantic interest? Believe me, I had a very hard time creating a character who I thought could realistically capture Dilandau's interest. And I did seriously toy with casting Dil's beloved as a guy, but ultimately I settled upon a female character.
My favorite part of writing this fic was playing with the personalities of the individual Dragonslayers. Only three or four have developed personalities in the anime; that left one or two named Dragonslayers for me to toy with. Other than that, I had a bit of fun trying to figure out just how the Dragonslayers would react in the situations I threw them into. What really struck me when I first saw the anime was the fact that Dilandau and his Dragonslayers were barely over fifteen years old. They portray a paradoxial blend of maturity and immaturity. In this fic, the Dragonslayers serve as my commentators and narrators. Their remarks range from the philosophical and introspective to the immature and obscene. And, yes, they do occasionaly swear. Have you ever met a teenage boy who never used foul language?! I know I haven't.
On another note, Folken is a bit OOC in this fic. He doesn't play a major role; he just kind of sits back and watches the events unfold. Of course, at this point in time, Folken has some very weighty issues of his own to deal with. In addition, I always thought of him as the type of person who would be alternatively amused and annoyed by melodrama, pompousness, and arrogance. This is my justification for the occasional snide or sarcastic comment that slips from Folken's tongue. That, and he sometimes serves as a shameless vehicle for my own commentary in various scenes. Heck, I just had fun messing with Folken's head. The world needs more sarcasm.
BTW, this fic is spoiler-intensive. If you don't want the ending of the Escaflowne anime given away in advance, then please do not read this fic.
The unofficial theme song for this fic is "Save Yourself" by Stabbing Westward. Click here for lyrics.
-- Much love, Kotetsu. 12/22/00
