Author's Notes
There are so many advantages to writing in a serial format: relatively short turn-around time between installments (I say 'relatively,' knowing that there were sometimes year-long hiatuses between chapters in Flam Gush) and frequent opportunities for feedback when a newly published chapter bumps the story on Fanfiction.net or Mediaminer.org.
And yet, there are a few significant drawbacks as well: the challenge of keeping plot-threads tidy is one of the main ones (especially when one doesn't realize at the time that a throw-away comment/character/situation is going to turn into a plot thread in later chapters), but not far behind it is the ugly scene: the author knows where she wants the characters to be, but before they can get there, she needs to figure out how the hell to get them out of wherever they happen to be. Enter the ugly scene: it moves the characters where they are supposed to go, and often is 'good enough,' especially when writing is just a hobby, but it's still one of those scenes that makes me cringe every time I re-read it.
The lovely thing about internet publishing is that it allows the author to revise. Flam Gush actually exists in a few different versions. The original is published on Fanfiction.net. A revision that tidied up some of the 'ugly scenes' was posted on Mediaminer.org in September of 2007, the same year I finished the story. It is also available here. Three years later, in July of 2010, I completed the third revision. This one started as a simple attempt to clean up those pesky typos that always seem to sneak through the beta-reading and copy-editing processes. It quickly expanded into a larger project, as I realized that I could do something a bit tidier with those characters who had turned out not to be throw-aways, to clean up some plot-points that worked—but could work better, and to really revise those ugly scenes that continued to prick at me whenever I re-read the story. As I went through the story, I was forcefully struck by how much I could tell what I had been reading (or watching) around the time I wrote a chapter, just by particular turns of phrase that were very much borrowed. Many of those have also been cleaned up to make the language more consistent throughout. I also added a couple new scenes, including the Prologue. Much of the general story has remained the same across versions, however.
I'm not sure why Flam Gush, more so than any of the stories I have written, has seemed so amenable to revision. I do take comfort, however, in the knowledge that even Charles Dickens, one of the greatest serial writers of the 19th century, revised his stories between their serial release and full-book publications.
Frequently Un-asked Questions about Flam Gush
Most of these questions have not been asked. A few of them have. The truth is that I just feel a desire to tell the story behind the story!
Q: Who's POV is presented in the Prologue?
A: That's Erik. Filing Sloth urged me to write an Erik POV several years back, and I took a stab at it, although it never really went anywhere. The truth is, I don't really like Erik, so writing his POV doesn't really feel all too good. Yes, Erik was originally engaged to Lina, but due to Luna's nightmares, the engagement was canceled when both Lina and Ryan were too young to remember. As the Knight of Cephied, Luna was able to receive prophecy (see Slayers Novel 3: The Ghost of Sairaag for a description of prophecy in the Slayers Universe). In this case, the prophecy was that if Lina remained engaged to Erik, the world would be destroyed by evil, but if the engagement was canceled, Lina would suffer horribly—wouldn't that cause you nightmares if you had to deal with such information as a child of about 10?
Q: Why does Erik call himself Lina's protector?
A: Because he was the one who prevented the village lads from playing "I'll-show-you-mine-if-you-show-me-yours" with Lina when she was young. He basically beat up or threatened anyone who got too close to Lina (except for Ryan). Lina only saw his bullying behavior, not the reasons behind it.
Q: Why does Lina ask Gourry if he is implying that she is Delilah?
A: This is an allusion to the Tanak (aka Old Testament) story of Samson and Delilah. God gave Samson great strength as long as he never cut his hair. Delilah found out why Samson was so strong and cut his hair while he was sleeping. I took artistic license and decided that since so many things from our world end up in the Slayers Universe, this story could easily be a part of the Slayers legends and lore. It was around the point that I first wrote this scene that I realized the story was going to start delving into the past history of Lina and Gourry.
Q: How did Gisella and Erik meet?
A: Erik rescued her. She had escaped from Rezo's labs after Lina defeated Shabrinigdu the first time. At that point, she was already blinded and her sanity was incredibly fragile. She could defend herself reasonably well, but she was flailing around aimlessly in the wilderness when Erik found her. Originally he did not know her connection to Gourry, and they became close companions. Erik was genuinely fond of her.
Q: Why did Gisella believe Lina was responsible for the destruction of Gabriev Keep?
A: Gisella carried garbled memories of powerful magic ripping through Gabriev Keep, wielded by someone with red hair and red eyes. When Erik realized her relationship to Gourry, he encouraged her to think that her memory was of Lina. Yes, he was fond of Gisella, but everything was secondary to his ultimate goal of possessing Lina. He thought he could use Gisella to separate Gourry and Lina, and that he could keep her hatred under control.
Q: Did Gisella know that she was poisoning Gourry?
A: Sort of. She knew that she was drugging him, certainly. She thought that what she was giving him would weaken Lina's 'hold' on Gourry so that he would realize his true loyalties to avenging his family. She did not fully realize the damage she was causing.
Q: What is St. Anthony's Fire?
A: This was an ailment that was not exactly common but also not exactly rare in the medieval period of Europe. Now, it is typically referred to as "ergotism." Essentially it is caused by consuming rye that is infected with a fungus known as ergot (which is chemically related to LSD—widespread ergotism is thought to have played a contributory role in the Salem Witchcraze (see Linda Caporael's article in Science) and other early modern witchcraze phenomena). The fungus flourishes in cool damp conditions, and can easily infect an entire harvest in a region. The symptoms of ergotism include hallucinations, but also dry rot. The chemicals in the fungus cause blood vessels to constrict, cutting off circulation to the extremities. In the early stages, a person suffering from ergotism feels a constant tingling in the extremities, which later transitions to a burning sensation as the tissue starts to die. St. Anthony was the medieval patron saint of lost causes. Once the burning sensation started, there was pretty much no recourse, thus the appeal to St. Anthony, and the medieval name of ergotism!
Q: What ever happened to Elfred?
A: Monara had him dismissed after Erik died, since he had allied himself with Erik against her.
Q: Why were some of the mercenaries trying to kill Lina in Levahn?
A: Lucilla hired some of the better mercenaries right out from under Erik's nose and gave them different instructions.
Q: Who saved Lina from Relk (one of the mercenaries) in Levahn?
A: Garik. He threw the main-gauche at Relk to save her life. That's why Gourry's attempt to get the other mercenaries to back off by threatening Garik failed.
Q: Why did Garik have the main-gauche?
A: Erik had gotten it from Gisella. He gave it to Garik with the orders to plant it as bait.
Q: Whose hair was in the main-gauche?
A: Gourry's, Gisella's, and the hair of Gourry's brother and father. The removal of Lisielle's hair damaged a lot of the hair of Gourry's brother and father.
Q: What was the relationship between Lisielle and Gisella?
A: Gisella was a copy of Lisielle, based on the hair found in the main-gauche (this was clear in earlier versions of the story, but removed in the later version).
Q: Why do you write Gourry as faking his stupidity?
A: Because he often plays the part of the clueless guy to annoy Lina in the novels. He'll typically say, "I'm just kidding" right at the point that she blows up.
Q: Did you know that the canon background for Lina and Gourry are really . . . ?
A: Yes. I have read QP/Diana's translation of Gourry's story, "The Thing He Sees Beyond His Sword," where Gourry is about to throw the Sword of Light into the ocean and he meets Lina's father. This story doesn't explain why Gourry was about to throw away the sword. I've seen things floating about on the interwebs about a family feud over the Sword of Light. I've never seen the actual source for these stories, however, so I decided on a slightly different take on why Gourry would throw away the Sword of Light. I am also familiar with the story about Lina selling pictures of Luna bathing to make money (this is why both Lina and Ryan comment about how she got them into such outrageous trouble when she was young). However, there is also a scene in the Slayers Special Manga where Luna tells Lina to go explore the world and become strong as she ruffles Lina's hair. This scene forms the basis for my interpretation of Lina's relationship with her big sister.
Q: Who put Lina's clothes on the wall of Gisella's room?
A: Gisella. Gourry was right, it was a form of a curse. As obsessed as Gisella was, though, she didn't have the focus to make the curse as effective as the one made by Martina in Slayers Next.
This story began rolling around in my imagination in early May 2003. Originally it was a simple plot-bunny related to breathing and getting Lina and Gourry to hook up. It surprised me how quickly minor plot devices (like Deremar's activity in that first chapter) took on additional significance that led to an in-depth exploration of Lina's and Gourry's separate pasts.
I'd like to thank everyone who ever reviewed the story or sent me an email message with feedback. Often times a particularly thoughtful review would arrive just at the point where I needed a boost to encourage me to get back to the story. I'd also like to thank Pogo, who beta-read Chapters 1–6 of version #1 (and who consistently referred to the story as "Flam Flush"!), and Anika Hiner who provided the two illustrations and notified me that someone was plagiarizing me on ff.net. She also gave me various suggestions to tighten my prose, as well as much-needed feedback that helped me decide exactly what I wanted to do with Lina's pregnancy and subsequent miscarriage.
Finally, sincere thanks go to Filing Sloth, who has beta'd from Chapter 7 through the Epilogue of version #1, as well as the entirety of version #3. He's encouraged me when I haven't felt like writing, brought a critical eye to characterization, and pushed me to develop ideas that I might have let fall by the wayside. He's been a sounding board, and given much-needed advice to help me whenever I've had that sinking feeling that I'd written myself into a corner from which there was no return. Most of all, he's become a good friend, and for that I am truly grateful. So thanks, 'Sloth!