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[rebelyelll]

Chapter 16 Author's Note

Had a great time with this one. I don't know what it is, man, but I love writing romance. I really do. If you'd have asked me at the start of posting Chapter 1 if I expected to be writing the romance between Leon and Roxette, I'd have told you: "Eh, not really". But here we aaaare! And I'm loving it! I love how freeing it feels to write romance. Albeit I take caution not to make it too mushy.

Oh, um. Uh. That... that last bit of the chapter. Uhhh lol.

(jabs a thumb at the

big reveal)

Okay. Let me explain. I DO have a plan for where this is headed. I swear it's not senseless drama for the sake of making the plot too complex or anything. I understand, this may be a point in the fic where people read it and go: "Wow, this went in a direction I don't like." and stop reading. Which is okay!

But for those sticking around, and possibly wondering: "Why though???" I promise. It will pay off by the end. You'll see. Have faith in me :)

References

The chapter's title, A Thorn Without a Rose - a song from Edguy's Tinnitus Sanctus album

[rebelyelll]

Chapter 15 Author's Note

Spent about 4 months making a backlog before this update, and I gotta say: I WISH I could keep that consistency now, but I'm usually exhausted by the time the chapter's finished that I go ahead and post it and take time to wind down. All of you authors that stick to a schedule, I salute you. Y'all built different lol.

The Keeper of the Seven Keys arc continues and also ends with this chapter. FINALLY! NOW I can talk about Canneberge! They are a hell of a lot of fun to write dialogue-wise. Their inflection actually was inspired by another OC that I made several years ago, whom I envision to sound a lot like Andy Samberg from Brooklyn 99. Though to be more specific, Canneberge's voice matches Brent from Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs (same voice actor).

In the early stages of conceiving their character, Canneberge was going to be a cis woman wearing a bat themed outfit. Eventually, I settled on making them non-binary, just like me. :) There was going to be some weird gimmick with their stand, too. Where they quote Helloween's song "Halloween" by giving the target an ultimatum: Hell or Paradise?

Canneberge still says it, but it's more to mess with Tenmei than it is to give him a clear option to choose from. However, their phrase "Hell or Paradise" can be taken as: Stay still for too long and become a mindless zombie, or find the key and free yourself.

As a Halloween enthusiast myself, I went all out with the stand's design. From its ability to its physical appearance. The stand's appearance is obviously based off of the headless horseman from Sleepy Hollow, because why the hell not? It's a Halloween themed stand for crying out loud. Also, if it wasn't obvious, the pumpkin heads are also a reference to that. Fun fact: the stand can wear the head of its target, which is a little morbid when you think about it.

Only reason I bring this up now is because I'm not entirely sure yet that I'm going to display it or just make that a fun fact for the readers. At least for what I have in mind, I don't think it'll ever show up in the story, but who knows? This fic has taken wild directions thus far that I never intended to take before lol. We'll just have to wait and see what happens.

The cold mist that Helloween emits is something I based off of paranormal stuff, like when there's a ghostly presence, you feel a cold drop in the air around you. I've always found that sort of stuff to be very fascinating.

References

Helloween - named after the band

Sony Canneberge - Sony is another electronics brand name falling in line with the naming scheme I'm going for. Canneberge comes from the name of the band, The Cranberries.

Hell or Paradise - a lyric from Helloween's song, Halloween

[rebelyelll]

Chapter 32 Author's Notes

Annnd I'm back with Act 2! Writing a summary for this chapter was hella challenging, as I'm not sure how to intrigue anyone with the act's premise lol. In any case, I'm glad to be back. I've been steady working off and on on this, even after just getting ten teeth yanked out of my skull a few days ago. No, that's not an exaggeration; I'm dead serious. The grind is real, man.

The first scene featuring Stroheim and Indila has been rewritten probably FIFTY times. Getting the description of the cyber world down was fun and rewarding, but man I'd be lying if I said it didn't kick my ass. In my head, I was trying to think of how a person navigates an actual computer and use that as a basis for mapping it out. Like Indila walking into Black Orchid equating to mouse-clicking on a software program or whatever.

The toughest part to write about, though, was Indila hacking into other devices in order to access the vault for Stroheim. I kept stopping and asking myself: "Wait. How the hell are they supposed to hack other devices through a program that isn't in use at the moment??" Oh, my head.... oh, my head... so much to process...

I guess it can be safe to say that Indila found a loophole in the network. Please don't ask me what that is lmao! You may feel free to theorize about it if you like, but I don't know how to explain it. I'm not a hacker, so I wouldn't have the faintest idea.

Joliet backstory had me in tears to say the least. I HOPE TO GOD I nailed the aro rep correcty because if I didn't, R i P to me... I think that's the part I'm worried about the most. The hacking isn't a big deal, but the aro rep is imho. I swear to god if I got that wrong, I'm gonna bawl my eyes out.... See, I'm demi/allo. I am on the ace spectrum, but I'm very romantic. So, if you have any critique you want to toss my way about the aro scene, please! Feel free to! All concrit welcome.

I figured since I didn't expand on other elements with imperialism much in the first act, I went ahead and took it a step further. In the Seven Nations, it's mandatory that everyone learns French. That being the case, many other languages are endangered. Hence the reason Ramone from Chapter 2 in the first act spoke French instead of Spanish.

References

The chapter's title, Soul Standing By - a song from Billy Idol's Whiplash Smile album

Indila - the French singer that sings "Ainsi bas la vida"

Alain à Rome - the surname is a reference to the French 80s song, "Week-end à Rome" by Etienne Daho

Black Orchid - the song "Black Orchid" on Avantasia's "Mystery of Time" album

Scarlet Pimpernel - an instrumental by Black Sabbath

Siouxsie Capulet - named after Siouxsie Sioux (I know I intend to make this reference in the Chapter 16's author's note, but whatever)

[rebelyelll]

It's here! I'm in the midsts of posting Chapter 32, and I'm really glad to finally be done making this art lmao! Click here to read Chapter 32: Soul Standing By

[rebelyelll]

just a girl and her android friend under an umbrella! I'm in the midst of writing Act 2's opening chapter now that the first is finished. There were a lot of 'punk' aspects before I feel, so now I'm focusing on showing more of the 'cyber', which I'm excited for ngl.

(Also, I really need to draw the characters' stands so I can insert them into the ao3 chapters 💀)

[rebelyelll]

Chapter 14 Author's Note

Ah, yes. The one out-of-order arc that I have. (Referring to the Keeper of the Seven Keys arc.) Chapter 14 is a Leon pov chapter, and what it is supposed to be doing is highlighting more of his past. Which, in turn, establishes/sets up his relationship with another major ally, who is briefly mentioned in Chapter 1 during his introduction scene.

Originally, Roxette wasn't going to play a major role in the story at all. She was just a tertiary character that Avdol brings up as a means to tease Leon in chapter 1. That's... that's it. That was the original plan. Now it's evolved from tertiary character mentioned once, to secondary character/love interest that ties into the main plot.

Funny how that happens.

This is a chapter I'm pretty hesitant about sharing anywhere due to the TW content within it. The domestic abuse is there to showcase just how awful Leon's life really has been up until Ramone's death in Chapter 2. Which, needless to say, is fucking horrible. I don't think there's any more that can be said about it, other than I really do hope people who have read this chapter weren't triggered or upset by it. I try to make my trigger warnings as clear as possible in the author's notes as well as the tags.

Half of the time, I'm not sure I'm utilizing the tags to the fullest (as i'm scared of having too many), so I resort to clarifying the warnings in the ANs to be sure that I'm being concise with letting people know there IS triggering content there. It's in all caps for a reason lol. I WANT the warnings to be seen at all costs. If you missed them, I don't know what to tell you. 😭

The game he and younger Roxette are playing together is yet another inspiration drawn from Billy Idol's Cyberpunk album, BUT is also a reference to what the song is named after, which is Gibson's novel, Neuromancer. And no, I have no idea how the mechanics of the game actually work LOL. I didn't put in that much detail other than I can vaguely describe it as something akin to Fortnite (though not a carbon copy), but with a character creation/customization feature instead of skins.

I have considered fleshing it out more, but not within the narrative. More like making a doc that entails what the goals of the game are, types of sidequests, unlockables, movesets, etc. I don't have the energy to do all that right now, though. Maybe in the future!

The narrative I wrote subsequent to the birthday disaster scene was crazy because that stuff just came to me naturally as I was writing. No outline or anything lol. I looked back on it a few times after completing it, and all I could think was: "Why is it so easy to hurt this man?!?!" But, as many angst writers can probably relate to, I love putting my characters through copious amounts of pain, be it physical or emotional.

The part where it talks about Leon phoning up his friend every day to come over for a pool party was SO me when I was 8. (Yes. I've done that lol.) Three of my friends at the time were neighbors who lived two whole blocks from me, and I was willing to go behind our parents' backs and have these get-togethers at my house just to spend time with them. Leon's just like me fr fr.

References

The chapter's title, Hold Onto My Heart is a reference to the song "Hold Onto My Heart" by WASP, which if you haven't heard, I highly recommend giving it a listen. It's SO beautiful. It was originally the ED for Act 1 of Whiplash, but has since been changed.

[rebelyelll]

Chapter 13 Author's Note

I am so sorry if this update came across as cringey in any way, shape, or form. I was having fun, okay? 😭 That line Tenmei makes on the way to the heist was something I just made up. However, I didn't know what a #0 hex machine screw nut was until this moment lmao. Ahhh, the joy of researching for fics, am I right?

Also, yes. That was a "deez nuts" reference he made... lol.

I'm not too proud with the display of one bit of the lore. The soap opera. Omg... I don't know, I don't watch soaps. Although I do faintly recall that being all there was on TV back when I was in school. I had this dinky-ass Zenith in my old bedroom growing up, and it was an antenna TV. Literally the only channels I had were 3, 12, maybe 9 on a good day, 24, and 32 sometimes. AUX was also one, obviously. Probably my most favorite of all of them if I'm being honest, because I always hooked up the SNES any chance I got.

Yeah. I'm that old. Surprise! 90s kids - if you know, you know.

Anyways, back to the soaps talk. I did NOT enjoy watching that shit. Even if I didn't sit there and consume a lot of it, I recall the fact I just couldn't get into them. So, if the soap opera scene in Chapter 13 is janky and weird, that's partially why lmao. It's because I know next to nothing about them. I didn't like writing that, but I felt like it would be a neat opportunity to expand a bit on the lore a little. In a way it serves as a little joke about the Days of Our Lives never ending.

And then there's the Gendarmes segment. Oh boy. This one is based on a personal memory of mine from when I was around 2 or 3 years old. If you are familiar with the show Cops, then yeah. You get it. My dad used to watch that show ALL the time. My mom would tell me about how every time the theme song came up on the TV, toddler me would run through the house going "bad boys, daddy, bad boys."

Sometimes I like to imagine how that scenario played out. The way my mom talked about it, I wish I could remember something like that. It's a sentimental thing between me and my dad, so it is immortalized now!

Oh right! Another thing I keep forgetting to bring up is the French translations in the fic. No, I don't have anyone as a translator. Let me explain lmao. I research the hell out of translations. Punching things in google translate and going "good enough" isn't the extent of it, either. I dig deep. I need to know it's the right one. I've taken some French courses on Duolingo, but I'm not the best at it retaining what I've learned sadly. (That's with most anything I learn about mind you.)

It's funny because it's always the trivial knowledge that sticks; seems like it's never the important stuff lmao. Learning languages is pretty hard. I'm okay with Spanish. I took a high school course and learned how to conjugate verbs and the use of pronouns. Fun fact about my school: we USED to have a French class, but that got replaced with the Spanish one for some reason. I don't know why. I'm glad I got to learn Spanish, because I've memorized quite a bit (curse words included). But I really wish we could've kept the French courses. That would have been pretty useful and fun.

I keep swearing I'll go far for writing research, too. Especially for Whiplash. To the point I'm like "I'm going to France to learn to speak the language." But I ALREADY know that if I did that, with the little knowledge I've got, it'll boil down to me saying: "bonjour! comment ça va?" and the other person will utter unfamiliar words in a long sentence or two and, I just stand there frozen. "Huh...?" lmao.

Damn, that would be cool if I could do that, though. Oh, well! lol.

I can't remember if the fic states this or not in the narrative, but Canneberge's name is French for Cranberry. I said to myself: "what if I pulled a Golden Wind and named a character after a fruit, haha". Well, that was part of the naming scheme with them, the other reason they are named that is after the band, The Cranberries. I won't go too in depth with this character's stand or character concept just yet, because the fight between them and Tenmei continues in Chapter 15. So, I'll just save that information for that author's note when the time comes. Recurring characters like Husselhoff and Tiny Dancer are back. Their dynamic's one of my favs. I do worry though that people will read it at some point and say: "Ughhh, this trope is cliche and dumb." I wish my brain would shut up, man...

If you've ever played any of the older Final Fantasy games, you may recall a couple characters named Biggs and Wedge that make cameos throughout the series. Husselhoff and Tiny Dancer are loosely based on that, because that was something I always got a kick out of when I'd play the FF games. 6 and 9 being the two that really stood out. Never played 7, so I can't say for sure if they make an appearance there. 8, I don't remember?? But I think they did? It's been years since I played FF8. Since I played any of them lmao!

I want to say 4 had a Biggs and Wedge as well, but.... ehhhh...?

References

The Chapter title, Keeper of the Seven Keys -- a reference to a song by a power metal band called Helloween.

the soap opera characters, Edith and Marko -- Edith is named for Edit Piaf, a French singer. Marko is named after the bass guitarist of Nightwish, Marko Hietala (omfg I hope I spelled that correctly...) Note: HIS VOCALS ARE KILLER IN THE BEST WAY

(I can't think of any others right now, so that probably sums it up there.)

[rebelyelll]

Chapter 12 Author's Note

I think this was my longest chapter in Whiplash. It's bordering 10k words, when usually the chapters are written roughly anywhere between 3 - 5k. I remember locking down on this one and getting it all written in one full day, too. I don't remember if I started it all on the same day or if I had some of it written before that...? But I will say it was hell getting it done.

I vividly recall sitting down at around, mmmm... maybe 10am-ish? and stuck to it until literally mere minutes before midnight, that is including my beta grinding on edits lol.

The next day I RESTED UP lmao! To clarify why I pushed myself so hard was because there was an event in the Fanworks discord server last June that celebrated each fan project on its respective day. Being that midnight marked the end of Whiplash Day, needless to say, I was booking it. And with a few minutes to spare, I DID get the chapter posted. I don't think I've ever felt as creatively exhausted as I did that day like GODDD...

I've since then gone over Chapter 12, though, and made some much needed changes both to the worldbuilding (like the name of the convenient store) and added some stronger descriptions.

This is the chapter where I started the electronics brand naming scheme. Iommi's last name was the first, which is an electronic brand based in France. Fitting, because I figured this is a cyberpunk story, and naming characters after brands of electronics seemed so right to me. Not passing up that opportunity.

The naming scheme then continues with the A.I. taking Darius's order at the corner market. I chose Dell. I mean, they're essentially a computer, but I'd be lying if I didn't say there was another reason I decided on it.

It's a bit silly, but as stated in my past notes about Whiplash's original concept, and what the story was originally going to be, Leon had an 8 year old sister named Delphine, but everyone just called her Del. There was this running joke in the planning stage I had where she'd ask Polnareff, their dad, why he named her Delphine.

I planned for him to have named her after some flowers Sherry had planted at their old home in the countryside, but for some reason past me felt like he'd tease her a bit and tell her he named her after a computer brand. I have no idea why I thought that was funny, but then again, I don't ever understand why past me thought/said/did anything...

So, in hindsight, I was like: "huh. yeah. I could draw the name Dell from two things here. Win-win.

Getting into the groove, where I establish Drive a bit more during Darius's fight with Angus, was pretty fun. Looking back on it, there's times I feel like the power system can come across as corny and lame, though I'd like to think it's fine. My mind is just unnecessarily mean to me.

The scene with Avdol and his grandfather at the gravesite was actually added on much later after the chapter had already been posted, but I've already talked about why in a past note. The details about souls here will come back later on. Please trust me, I have a plan lol.

I cannot describe to anyone here how TIRED I was after I posted this update. If I remember correctly, I conked the fuck out that night as soon as I lied down lmao. Writing do be like that sometimes. It's funny because I can sit there and write a couple thousand words, feeling just fine and dandy. And after that it's like I have to stop right now or else the words will not flow; brain beavers will build a dam to stop it up.

In Addendum

On an unrelated note here, not pertaining to this chapter but a past one, every time I look back at Chapter 3, a little part of me shrivels up and dies from embarrassment. I don't know why I thought making a sentient stand with a creepy laugh was a good idea...?

I just liked the thought of including a photon manipulating stand that forced the main character to utilize his environment. Annnd maybe have a personality of its own to make it interesting? Again, maybe that's my brain being a jerk, but I almost believe there's a teeny bit of truth to my fears somewhat. Readers, I would appreciate brutally honest thoughts on Gamma Ray, if you would like to give any please! Send 'em my way, and don't hold back. I mean it.

[rebelyelll]

It's happened. I've reached the end of Act 1. I'm a mix between exhausted, relieved, happy, and "omgthisneedsastrongerverbAHHHMUSTEDIT". This chapter took me, I shit you not, an entire month to write. I've been writing Act 1 since the start of last year. That's approximately a year and three months now. God... there's three more Acts to conclude, and I'm not sure I'll be finishing it THIS year anymore lmao!

Hell Patrol and Quiet Riot go to war in this epic conclusion to the first quarter of the story. Underground. I can't begin to tell you how much research I've put into the writing, but it feels good to have done it. I'm happy this fic has gotten this far. It's been quite the journey! And I hope readers are just as eager for the next Act. I would be, but I'm tired lmao. I'm going to be taking a much needed break now.

In the meantime, read up on the conclusion to find out if Leon can outsmart the villain and save his comrades, or die trying.

Edit: OMFG I forgot to draw Vicious's braid... 💀

Chapter 31: Act 1 Finale - Clash On the Home Front, Dead or Alive

[rebelyelll]

Chapter 11 Author's Note

Added Note: If anyone hasn't noticed, allow me to explain: Chapter 10/11's epigraphs ARE playing around with Newton's laws lol.

So, Chapter 11 was a bit of a weak spot in my plot progression at the start, because it came to my awareness (thank you, leafy!) that it didn't really make sense to have a flashback dedicated to Avdol's father when Avdol is the one facing off with Joliet in the quarry's living space.

See, the funny thing about that is that I wanted to focus on his family's heritage where Drive (which chapter 10 left off on) is explained a little better/shown to give the reader a peek into the power system, but also into Avdol's family backstory. Though, that was my intent, it doesn't feel quite that relevant to the previous chapter at all.

That is when I decided to write in a scene in the next chapter that concludes this whole thing in younger Avdol's perspective. I mean, maybe the disconnect isn't as strong now that I've added it in? I don't know. Nobody has told me if it feels that way, so I will take the criticism if someone wants to hash it out lol. I'm cool with that! Every little bit helps. While scary to read, I am a little critique starved.

(For clarity: I mean HONEST critique; the kind that tears my work down in the most brutal fashion, but also doesn't overlook the strong points nor what can improve the story. I love that shit.)

So, for Darius's backstory I learned about a term called "asylees". Never heard of it before, but you bet your ass I used it lmao. Writing during a time period set before Avdol's birth, where I also dove a little deeper into the lore of the on-going war (on-going in the sense that it is still happening in the present, not within the flashback chapter itself), had me going nuts with research.

As a person who has no clue how applying for asylum works, yeah. I spent probably a good six hours scouring the net for anything I could find, as well as checking my sources to see if they were accurate. You know, the fun stuff. I'm half joking... I actually don't mind doing research, but I can't help but be taken back to a time during my high school days where I grew up in a home where I didn't have a way to look things up. My parents didn't get internet until I was 18 lol.

So, when I DID have the opportunity, I had no idea what I was doing, and it was... I don't have a word to describe it. Culture shocky maybe?? I don't know. Something like that. It didn't occur to me that online sources could be presented as genuine, but in actuality were misleading and untrue.

Now I know better! But still a lingering worry of mine when I do research. One thing I don't want to do is get something wrong and then make a massive mockery of myself. (Big fear of mine for... reasons...)

I don't really have any way to explain the newer characters's conceptions? Like, they just showed up in my head one day and I said, "Yup. Time to put 'em in." It really was that simple spur of the moment thing LOL. There were no in-depth character sketches beforehand or planning for them. A lot of the characters I conceive just show up on the page and I'm like, "oh, hey. Welcome aboard, good to see you...

...now how would you like to die?" Cue me whipping out a clipboard and pen like a professional.

Though I should probably cook with the stand designs a little more often, because I can't shake the feeling that mine look like straight up trash to the everyday consumer lmao. (Hence one of the reasons I don't draw them very often...) The only reason I say this is because I want to include pictures in the chapters dedicating attention to them, but not too confident on whether the designs will look too complicated or plain stupid........ you know what fuck it, I'm going all in. You have been warned.

References

Darius doesn't really have a reference for his name. I simply looked up Egyptian names on a website and said, "yeah, that'll work."

Mariya - the one and only Mariya Takeuchi, of course!

Douglance Quaid - LOL it's just the dollar store version of Douglas Quaid. Yeah, the protagonist from Total Recall.

The Chapter's title, Do Not Stand in the Shadows - Do Not Stand in the Shadows by Billy Idol

Pascal isn't a reference either, I just needed a name.

Devereux, who is briefly mentioned, I named after a landmark in my current hometown, called Devereux Hill.

[rebelyelll]

Chapter 10 Author's Note

I hate how far behind I am on typing up author's notes with the chapters. There was a major fall off point way back when, mostly due to irl stuff. But I'm here still making them, so I will do my best to make them interesting.

So, the epigraph you see at the top of the chapter? Yeah, I didn't add that until later. I got to thinking about how I can incorporate little tidbits of the lore throughout the story into the narrative WITHOUT detracting from the writing in the chapter and jarring the reader. I love epigraphs, they're really fun to include.

There's one typed over the first chapter, which that one is supposed to set up the overall lore behind the power system, Drive. The one in this one and the chapter after it is something also added from ancient scriptures that probably won't be read aloud by anyone in the story, but you, the reader, will know when Drive comes into focus for the plot later on.

Basically for Chapter 10/11's epigraph, it's there to establish Drive's rules, but without blatantly saying: "Oh it works like this and this and not like this", because... I don't know, it felt more interesting to do it this way. I like it!

This is the chapter where Drive makes its first appearance. While I DO have a lot to go over in future chapters, (which there's going to be A LOT), I kind of hate how I haven't shown its usage THAT much yet. There's just SOOO much to establish plot-wise and character-wise that I am struggling while I sit here and think: oh my god, people want to see Drive and stand fights, not whatever is going on here.

I guess it all boils down to me wanting to get to a specific part of the story that just clicks and it's like: "yes. yes. this is where the plot is truly taking off" as opposed to building my way towards it. Not to say there ISN'T a plot going on right now, there's just.... it's... there's a lot I have to establish for each Act lmao!

The plot for Act 1 is mostly set-up and character development. Act 2 is where I'm hoping to pick up the plot's pacing a bit and really hone in on the major villains's POVs more. Act 2 will also have better thought-out fights rather than one-offs here and there. I think I'm starting to see how writing stand battles that isn't part of a visual medium can be especially tough when you're writing how you see it on the screen.

And I wish I had figured that out sooner rather than just trying to emulate what I was watching, because writing fiction for people to read, and animated series' where you can actually SEE everything happening, are two totally different things. Heh. Here's my sign...

But hey! I'm learning! :)

(I'm not really sure what else to talk about, sooooo...)

References

Avantasia - named after the German metal opera supergroup (not opera singing btw) that goes by the same name. Probably one of my most favorite bands out there; their music is so immersive, and each album has its own unique story. Yes, this is a recommendation. No, I am not ashamed. Go check them out! Really cool stuff.

(I can't remember if I've already listed this reference... oh well.)

Uh, I think that's it?

[rebelyelll]

Chapter 9 Author's Notes

Okay, this was my favorite chapter to write since chapter 1 and 4. If there's one thing I absolutely adore writing, it's character interactions! And you know I can admit that when it comes to storytelling, character driven writing is my jam.

This was the very first chapter in Whiplash that was beta read, and I got to give credit where credit is due here: polysincronize is an amazing beta/writer. They took bland prose and tossed some spice into the mix. All I could think when I got their feedback was "huh! this actually reads much more clearly! wow!" So, shoutout to poly for their help. I can never thank them enough.

Characters Meeting for the First Time

The chapter opens on Joliet finally waking up after her system reboots. Her surroundings start off unclear, and then eventually get less pixelated. That's when Tenmei (the readers' favorite lol) pops up with a tool in his hand and jovially announces to her that he's just finished fixing her foot.

She screams, he screams. Okay, I know this is a cliche you see in every movie ever made, but I really wanted to go with something a tad humorous and I couldn't resist. She grabs the power drill nearby and interrogates him, the first question being: "why did you fix me?"

Now, keep in mind her own personal thoughts during her "death" scene in chapter 4 when she says this here. Joliet would like nothing more than for Death's sweet embrace to take her already since she's been carrying the same pain for 300 years. But then here comes Tenmei with his knowledge on engineering and mechanic know-how, and snatches that out from under her like a rug... she thinks.

(She doesn't know how Jean-Marc's stand works in regards to souls, nor how they can't leave the object they're in even though it has undergone physical change.)

Still, to her Tenmei is nothing more than a third-party mechanic tinkering on her without her consent being given. As aggravating as that seems, she sees that he doesn't pose much of a threat and lets her guard down a little bit. Though her suspicions of him installing illegal hardware in her system is still quite prevalent.

Remember how I said she thinks all people outside the capital in general are just low-lives? Yeah... let's just say her treatment of Tenmei has garnished some distaste for her character from some readers LOL! And I don't blame them! That was the intent. Joliet's behavior in this chapter isn't supposed to be viewed as 'in the right' exactly. In fact one could even say it's... kind of rude. Which let's be honest. She is being rude, although I can understand where is coming from also.

To this day (I wrote this chapter MONTHS ago), readers are holding out for the moment she will finally own up for her actions and apologize to Tenmei for her unwarranted comment about his parents, whom we are led to believe are deceased regarding Léon's sudden outburst in response.

This moment ignites the beginning of their rocky relationship. Léon is NOT hesitant to stand up for Tenmei, as he is who he refers to as his 'bro'. The reason he refers to him this way I think is kind of obvious. Léon feels for Tenmei not having any family and considers him a little brother. Avdol shares the same sentiment, though he isn't vocal about it. At least not in this scene.

And then comes my FAVORITE PART. Joliet expects someone to pick up the chair she inadvertently knocked over before, and Léon is annoyed beyond belief by her haughtiness. He yells for her to just pick it up herself, but Avdol does it for her anyway.

The two contemptibly lock eyes. I loved writing their back and forth dialogue so much it's not even funny. I was giggling the entire time thinking: "oh my god, he's being such an asshole! heehehehe!" Even better, is that it's met with Joliet being equally as snarky. All the while I'm just gleefully eating it up as I go lmao!

They have a political spat, but it's pretty brief. Some may not like their quarrel with one another, but rest assured it doesn't last forever. In fact, [SPOILER] by chapter 29, it's pretty much resolved, and the bickering will be seen a LOT less.

For now, what I've got in mind is for them to have political differences that the reader can understand from both perspectives. I felt like it would give their character some depth as well as build on that immersion the reader will feel with the worldbuilding aspects of the story. What we're supposed to understand about Joliet right now is that she's a little naive to the damage her father is causing on an economical scale. (Economical?? I think that's a word.)

She also puts much of her trust in the Imperial Forces above the Skid Row prefects which will be explored in due time. (Probably by Act 4 rather than any time soon, considering the plot structure I've got in mind.)

By the end of the chapter, Angus confronts Léon about leaving the quarry when he gave specific instructions NOT to prior to the events of Chapter 1. Léon does his best to convince him that he didn't participate in the shootout that afternoon, even spills the details about there being a clone of him, which he fought in the dark hours of the morning following the event.

Angus decides to put a pin in it and jumps straight to business, letting them in on their next operation which he feels will put the Motorhead gang at a disadvantage.

This is where the chapter ends, and the details about the operation are further explored by Chapter 13. I LOVED the way this chapter played out, and while it isn't my strongest, I'm proud of the characterization in it even though it isn't the characters at their best. But we'll get there!

References

The Chapter's title, A Nice Day to Start Again, is a reference to lyrics from the chorus of Billy Idol's song White Wedding.

As far as I'm aware, that was the only reference used in this chapter.

[rebelyelll]

Chapter 30, prelude to the Act 1 Finale, is finally here!

And as such, a new opening sequence/ending theme have been added at the beginning and end of the fic.

The tension is ramping up. Hell Patrol and Quiet Riot are on the cusp of an all-out war; the last gang standing will be the one to conquer all territories, though while this is happening, you may be asking: "What about Motorhead? What about the Empereur? What about Edguy and Siouxsie?" Look. One thing at a time here. Act 1 needs to come to a close first before I can dive into stuff from other Acts (which, there will be a total 4). Each Act is structured thusly:

Act 1: Focuses on the introductions, where the plot starts, etc. Act 2: Focuses on gang politics Act 3: Focuses on corrupt corporations (feels like I typed an oxymoron there) Act 4: and lastly where the main plot comes to a close, involving the last stand against the French Empire

Idk, I felt like I needed to elaborate on this in case people thought I wasn't going to rightfully shine the light on the major villains. Please trust me lol. (God, I hate my anxieties...)

ANYWAY! Without further ado, click here to read Chapter 30: Like A Record Reprise! Mr. Vain is back and he's out for blood.

[rebelyelll]

Who is it?💕

[rebelyelll]

Oh, Heroin especially goes hard no doubt! That song has been on my mind lately lol.

Im sure ive posted about it before but i must once again express how fucking hard this album goes

[rebelyelll]

valentines day AND play with his wires wednesday? how fortunate

[rebelyelll]

finished them within a day of each other. I don't know what's going on with Element's hair with the lighting, but whatever. Let's roll with it. Drawing strand by strand is a little tedious, but ultimately rewarding I feel like. May try different techniques for longer hair because WOOF that is time-consuming LOL.