#the second try

The works keep on coming, and so do the enemies of NERV... and it all started with an odd transmission they intercepted...

Hello, readers! Thank you for taking the time to read the second chapter. While the opening notes of this chapter does explain succintly why this chapter took longer to release, I feel as though I've disappointed myself for not prioritizing this exercise. Yes, it is a writing exercise (as said in Chapter 1's A/Ns) — but I can't help but feel like a father leaving behind a son to "get some milk".

Self-deprecation aside, this chapter contains a juicy amount of dialogue—the first instance of dialogue in the fanfic so far—so let's dive in and take note of my observations:

Originally, I thought of naming this chapter "Dance With The Angel / Demon", and while it would make sense metaphorically, it wouldn't work in a literal sense — they're not even dancing in this chapter. So I went with the final title. It sounds stupid, but... can I be any less stupid than our two main characters? >:D

Like the first chapter, it opens with Trish's POV, with the next scene following Giorno's. There's no promises that this format will remain intact throughout the rest of the fanfic; who knows if next chapter or the chapter following that, it will open on Giorno's POV?

While it's not fully explained (as it is part of Golden Rewind's storyline), I hope that a lot of what Trish is venting in her narrative showcases a raw sense of heartbreak over another of Giorno's greatest mistakes. Although it's a justified one—given that, by joining Passione, he has to 'cut her off' to protect her from Passione and other Mafias—it nevertheless brings her so much pain, to the point where she's trying to interrupt him before he can explain why he called her. She doesn't want to hear him out; it's only when he wants to hang out, "clear the air" with her, and start talking 'normally' that piques her interest. Because, even though she's going on these tirades about wanting to make him grovel for the pain he caused her, there's a glimmer of hope that she and Giorno will start dating for real this time. And boy, she better hold on to that glimmer long enough for his "second try" to succeed with flying colors.

One of the hardest parts for me, when it comes to writing, is describing outfits for each character without going overboard. While there's a trick to overcome this by emphasizing a unique part of a character's design, I can't help but feel like it messes up the "artist" in me. I've drawn an elaborate main design for Trish in the remake (a less sexualized version of her canon design with the addition of a jacket and stuff), and did the same for Giorno — and words cannot do the designs I've done for them justice. While I think some people will not mind, it's a personal issue that'll bug me for possibly the rest of my life. :(

Oh, boy. None of you expected that Trish's mysophobia will come into play, did you? Putting her in Spaccanapoli before meeting up with Giorno was my way of bringing back this neglected part of her character. It's such an obscure detail for her character; I'll admit that. But I think, for such a small fraction of her overall personality, it makes her unique. And does show another side of her that isn't this hyper-competitive prima donna dealing with mood swings.

Now, before I forget... did I mention that she's in a band — much less the frontman and lead guitarist? :O (It's a minor detail that isn't important in The Second Try, but it will be featured prominently in Golden Rewind; so stay tuned!)

Moving on to Giorno's POV... I've noticed a pattern starting to emerge in that Trish's POVs have slightly lower word counts than Giorno's. I thought it'd be funny to point that out. Anyways, while the first chapter established Giorno's "voice" as a monotonous entity with exceptional vocabulary struggling with his emotions, his POV in the second chapter is meant to tone down that perception a notch. Here, he's riding off the high of asking Trish out successfully — he throws a swear word every once in a while, thinks of something as childish as robbing a high-ranking Passione member's treasure... He may be verbose in his thinking and narrative, but he's still a 15-year-old under all that "intelligence". And, frankly, is one step forward to becoming "human". It might be his "second try" in becoming her boyfriend, but it's also a "second try" for him to become the boy a terrible childhood wrought with neglect and abuse prevented him from being.

While it's briefly described in the first few paragraphs: what Giorno basically went through in his first days of Passione 'employment' is the Golden Rewind equivalent to the Black Sabbath arc, Find Polpo's Fortune!, Moody Blues Strikes Back, and Sex Pistols Appears.

Here's a cool tidbit: Giorno taking inspiration from Michelangelo for his new hairstyle is a reference to a 2020 interview by Araki, where he said the aforementioned statue inspired the design of canon Giorno's iconic "triple-donut" hairstyle.

In regards to what I said about him "riding off the high of asking Trish out successfully"... Giorno is so high on happiness that, despite how far ahead he's planned this "date", there are still complicated variables in the plan that he overlooks. One of them being how he, of all places, chose to meet up at Spaccanapoli — forgetting that she has problems with mysophobia. Now, I'm not gonna say that he should be irredeemable for this (maybe Trish should kick his ass into submission instead >:D), but it should be exemplified that he's still bound to make mistakes. Again, he is still 15, so...

One part about this whirlwind romance that I wanted to give at least some modicum of emphasis is the physical attraction between them. It's funny, considering that what they're wearing for the "date" will be their main designs for Golden Rewind — but I wanted to write a sense of mutual awkwardness and admiration for how they physically see each other (in terms of the 'intimate' gazes they share). They're not wrong for ogling each other's hairdo, makeup, and outfit. But at the same time, their judgment is clouded by the puberty running high on their minds.

Yes, I'm going to spoil who it was that gave Giorno that "advice" next chapter. I'm pretty sure the character tags already spoil that at the start, but... I think that stinky bastard should get jumped for what unspeakable Pandora's Box of misunderstandings he's about to unleash. >:)

Inevitably, Trish was going to say "Yes" no matter where Giorno took her for lunch. But still, I wanted to give her answer some kind of 'ticking' tension; at least from his POV. It's both the high of his happiness wearing off, and the uncomfortable feeling that he'll be persecuted by some divine entity for all the heartbreak he put himself and Trish through. Be it God, cupid, whoever... Of course, everything will go well for them in the end. But...

Next chapter is when "shit's about to get real." It'll still be *sigh* "peak fiction", but I can guarantee you: you're gonna need tissues and blood pressure pills for this.

Once again, thank you for reading the next chapter! Tune in next week or so for the next chapter's release, where Sheer Angst Attack™ is about to make its move!

Hello, readers! Thank you for taking the time to read this first chapter. This is, in many ways, something of a throwback to my first ever fanfic in AO3: that being "Fade to Black", which I consider a primitive version of the Part 5 remake manga project I mentioned in the description. While I had fun writing FTB in general, I lost all motivation to keep working on it. Mainly because I fell out of love with the project, with the glaring errors and ever-changing prose whatnot. But The Second Try in all its five chapters is meant to "unlock" FTB's potential; even though this is, as I said in the description, set in the continuity of my remake manga.

Yes, it's mainly a writing exercise for me to ease back into resuming JoJo 2029: Stardust Rebel's progress. But with all the newfound experience I've gained in the four years since FTB started, why not practice by going back to where it all started?

Before I dive deeper into the chapter's contents, I'll let you know from the start that: yes, The Second Try will eventually have chapters of their own in the manga proper. Now, let's dive in:

"The Second Try" is named after an Evangelion fic of the same name. It's one of the all-time greats, as far as I'm concerned, even if its purpose is telling the story of a time-travel "fix-it" shipfic. But it's also a fitting title for my fic's story, given it's about Giorno and Trish revisiting their old relationship and starting it anew.

As for the chapter's title, "Her and His Circumstances" is a play on a manga titled "His and Her Circumstances". Most people are likely to recognize it better as KareKano, but I thought it was a nice title to explain in a few words or so the backstory of their broken relationship. Also, switching it up would make it more consistent with their POVs.

Now, to dive into the meat of the chapter, let's establish a few things:

First and foremost, I have gone with trying my hand at a first-person POV prose, something I haven't done since nearly three years. I have stuck to third-person limited since then, but I thought going with first-person would help branch out my skills a bit, as well as add some unique spice to the narration.

Second, given that this work explores the perspectives of both Giorno and Trish and how they feel around each other, I thought it was necessary to make their narrative voice unique. I'll expand upon it later on, but the gist of it is: they're foils of each other, especially when it comes to their characterization and how I interpreted it. And I hope the prose for each of their POVs reflects that well!

Matter of fact, I'm sure it won't be as "high-quality" as my recent work in JJ29 (which I will pull out of hiatus once my remake manga's first chapter is out sometime in December), but I was careful enough to polish the draft of this chapter enough. It took me two rewrites, an extensive editing session, and a final tweaking phase (which I've done at the very last minute). But hopefully it'll all work out!

Throughout the writing process for The Second Try, I knew going into "production" that it would not be compliant to the original Golden Wind. Of course, it's because the fic proper is set in my remake manga's universe where everyone and everything is different, but I was also mindful of the fact that this version of Giorno and Trish had to be familiar with the readers; even if parts of them are different. This was something I nailed during the writing of FTB in general, given that they were the most important characters in that fanfic. So when I got back into writing content for them, the first thing I thought was tap into my mindset four years prior, go back to what I enjoyed about writing them and their relationship, and meld together what I had learned in the years since then. Sadly, it didn't go as smooth as I had initially imagined. I was scared sometimes that I was straying too far into one direction or the other. But while I'm certain that did happen in a few spots, I hope that it still resulted in a final product that satisfies not only me, but readers who will come in and give The Second Try a shot.

Now, to expand on the uniqueness of their characters and narrative voice:

Trish is a beast of her own. She is, as said in the A/Ns of FTB #2, "She is very much a foil of Giorno's unexpressive personality—her arrogance, her explosive personality—everything about her is the exact opposite of Giorno." But I wanted to make sure she was still an immature 15-year-old going through an intense bout of puberty-induced moodiness. Her angst is off the charts and whatnot. Her POV's narrative voice, her phrasings and how she words things... All of them reflect that. Still, she has room for love in her heart, and she decided that Giorno was the recipient of such love; even if she roleplayed it per her agreement with him. "Opposites attract" is a trope I have a respectable fondness of, and something others are fond of as well. So I hope this fic sates those tastes well. At the same time, though, she is hopelessly romantic. She's pined for him hard (not realizing he too, was falling for him), refusing to think it wouldn't end well. And it didn't end well. I felt sorry for her writing this, knowing the pain of having your first love end in heartbreak. But she has nothing to worry about, at least... she won't be so hopeless at the end.

And then we get to Giorno. The one character I stressed to get right, even if I had to make him very stoic compared to the original. Ironically though, removing a chunk of his emotions ended up improving his character. He might appear smarter and more mature on the surface with his sort of 'machine-like' thinking and vocabulary, but he is still the same age as her. His subtle hatred of humans and their vanity, his refusal to form 'external connections' until Trish came into his life... And the stupid decision of self-diagnosing his pain medication, for example; I might go on a tangent here because he could've gone to any doctor. Any fucking doctor, and he just decided to prescribe his own cocktail of medicine for the pain. Wow. Yes, his parents wouldn't allow him to go to a doctor; but as horrible as they were, I'm sure they wouldn't have allowed the self-prescription either. Anyways, back to Giorno... Him being this sort of "wounded animal" is sadly not a somewhat decent focus on his arc in the fic, but I hope hints of that remain the deeper the chapters go.

I thought it was important as well to showcase in this first chapter how much the breakup hurt them. They, again, are 15-year-olds unsure of how to navigate such a relationship. And as painful as it sounds, they've both misunderstood what to do now. A simple conversation laying out why they broke up and the closure they seek would've helped; but, while there would be no Second Try if they did that, it just wouldn't feel right if they suddenly gained the mature mindset of an adult. That's the point of why they've thought of childish things such as Trish going through a year-long "transformation" and Giorno zig-zagging wanting to 'fix' her by brokering the "quid pro quo". They may have justification for their motives in the relationship, but they're still young and inexperienced. As I've said, it'll all end well; but the journey to get there is a tough one to get through.

Some of you might wonder the similar descriptions in some of their narration (i.e. the "When I met X for the first time in a year" bookends, them describing how his likeness was carved into her heart). It would be stupid of me to come up with a 7-page long explanation for this *ba dum tss*, but I'll just say it definitively: they're not coincidences. They're meant to reflect that they love each other to the point of having similar lines of thinking. It's just as Giorno said in his POV: "I guess love could make you do that. Share a few traits, peer at her face..."

While it would've been nice if I actually wrote specific scenes of their backstory, I chose to summarize them with very minimal dialogue, in order to ensure that the first chapter concise as possible without having too much fat.

Next chapter, hopefully we'll get to experience proper dialogue between them for the first time. And in the third, fourth, and fifth, it'll escalate and become-- *sigh* why must I say it like this... "peak fiction".

Once again, thank you for reading this chapter! You'll see these two again next week or so for the next chapter's release!

Hey Martina and thank you :) so I just wrote these loooooong answers and tumblr decided to delete it -.- but anyway, here is try number 2

4: Did you grow up in a small or big town? Did you like it?

I grew up in a small town, and sometimes I really enjoy it bc I have the forest next door and it’s not so loud, but other times I wished I’d live in a big city, bc it’s very difficult to go out without a car.

9: Most embarrassing moment from your high school years?

It’s not long ago, just last month tbh. So, I had a free period and just sat in hallway, read a book and listened to the music on my ipod. You have to know that I have the habit to sing and even dance along to the music without really realizing it. Well, suddenly Rather be came on, and I really love this song, so I was rather loudly singing along and made some pretty weird moves with the book still in my hands. And then I saw a movement in the corner of my eye and I totally freaked out. When I calmed down, my english teacher stand infront of who happened to be the most coolest and hottest teacher in the entire school, and he had a hard time to bit back his laughter. I shocked and couldn’t do anything except blushing like mad. When he was back in controll he just smirked and said: ” Well, no need to be scared. I’m not this horrible, am I? Oh and btw, I like your voice and your moves are pretty cool” and he winked at me. He WINKED.

I just nodded, blushed and mumbled a thanks and was unable to meet his eyes. But I could still see his smirk and then he continued his way to the teachers room.

I know this story is probably lame, but I was so embarrassed and I don’t know how to survive the next english class.

10: Pirates or ninjas? Why?

Pirates, bc they get to see the world and I love to travel.

43: Coolest thing you've ever been for Halloween?

We don't really have halloween in Germany, but Carnival? My best carnival costume would the one time I was this punk rock princess mix. it was so cool! 

50: Post 5 awesome things about yourself. BRAG AWAY!

I stay positive in most situations

My eyes look like chocolate

I'm very supportive

I would do anything for the people I love