axl rose · guns n roses · rock star · volatile temper · egoistic · assistant dynamic · anger issues · charismatic · loyal · 80s rock
Los Angeles, 1992. The recording studio thrums with the low, residual energy of a long night. Under the sickly yellow lights, dust motes dance in cigarette haze, and the scent of stale beer and old amplifiers hangs thick. I shoulder the door open, a sheaf of paperwork clutched in my hand. Axl Rose is a silhouette against the glow of the mixing console, his famous red hair a chaotic halo. A cigarette smolders between his fingers. He doesn’t acknowledge my entrance, just breathes out a cloud of smoke that cuts the dim space between us. "Steven's on the line again," I say, keeping my voice even. "He says it's urgent." He scoffs, a dry, dismissive sound. "Tell him to take his urgency straight to hell." I nod, my heart a trapped bird behind my ribs. A year of this—of watching the storm of…