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writing-anomaly · 5 years

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Torn

Fandom: Jojolion

Summary: Yasuho's life is tearing at the seams. The volatile Rokakaka trade is catching up to them and when Josuke unravels, Yasuho is pushed to her limit. She's left more vulnerable than ever as she struggles to protect two men who barely know her.

This a story in which the protected must become the protector.

Chapter 2

After Jobin had left, Josuke and Yasuho returned to the task at hand with few words exchanged. Honestly, as glorious as his shoulder length locks had been, it hurt Yasuho to cut it.

"There! All done." Yasuho smiled as she set the clippers back on the bathroom counter. She tried not to blush as she began brushing stray hairs off of Josuke's bare shoulders.

"Well done, Yasuho! I feel a little more handsome than I did 10 minutes ago." A boyish grin stretched across his features as he gripped the edge of the counter, leaning into his own reflection. He inspected her handy-work with a keen eye, his own elegant hands brushing over the soft fibers of his hair.

She smiled softly, releasing the breathe she didn't know she'd been holding. It was a relief to see how pleased Josuke was with her handiwork. No nicks. His hairline was perfectly edged, and Joshuu wouldn't be able to do a darn thing about it.

"Hey, in the future.. if you feel like you need a cut, we can make a date out of it." It was either that, or she'd make a point of teaching Josuke how to better tend to himself. No more of Joshuu's cock-blocker haircuts. The young man simply nodded in response, smiling feverishly in the mirror.

"Ok. I guess I'll go home now." With that done, she began to gather her belongings. It felt like she had overstayed her welcome, not with Josuke, but within the Higashikata household. It didn't matter that all of the family, save for Jobin, had left for Hawaii. Maybe it was the wall-eyes, or maybe it was the awkwardness of visiting the home of a childhood friend whom she constantly rejected on a romantic level.

Josuke walked her to the front door as usual, where Yasuho grabbed the tennis shoes she'd taken off earlier and easily slipped them on. There was no need to tie them. She'd placed a double knot on her shoelaces that were never undone. They were as good as slippers.

Josuke waited patiently, never straying his eyes from her, even when opening the door to allow her to exit. However, she hadn't expected him to follow her outside and close the door behind him.

Yasuho looked up at him with a questioning stare.

"Thanks again..for the hair cut." Josuke stood in the doorway, scratching his head awkwardly. He had redressed himself in a variation of his usual sailor suit. A hesitant hand reached out to brush a stray hair from her rosy cheek, leaving a trail of goosebumps as he traced down along the curve of her neck before resting at the nape. "Sorry if I made things awkward back then..you know, before Jobin. I guess I've been feeling kinda weird lately.."

"How so?" Yasuho was relieved that he was opening up.

"I don't know... I find myself doing things that, just don't make sense." His elegant dark eyebrows furrowed. "Like, when Joshuu left his nail clippings on the dining room table. I was gonna just throw-em away.. but when i opened the trash can, my head hurt and my heart started to pound. So.."

"You kept them?"

"They're in my drawer, in the bathroom."Josuke's lips seemed to twitch, unsure of whether a smile was appropriate for the conversation. He started to drag his feet along the asphalt, grinding a dead leaf into golden brown flakes. The hand that he'd placed on Yasuho's neck, withdrew as if he'd been caught touching something that was off limits. Josuke was so close, yet he'd never felt so far away. Not since she'd first met him near the wall-eyes.

But Yasuho refused to let him run away from her. Not even her own family had made her feel as wanted as Josuke did. With him, she fit. Broken as she was, he filled in the cracks.

She closed the space between them and rested her head on his broad chest, nuzzling into his body heat with each rise and fall of his rib cage. She could feel him stiffen at the contact, pulling back slightly.

"Listen, you've been through a lot. Try not to frustrate yourself. Some of your old personality might be trying to settle itself out, even if you can't understand it." The words she spoke were tender. She could feel him tremble slightly, as he released an emotion that had mostly likely been capped for longer than was healthy. There were no sobs, just an occasional wetness that tapped her forehead as she nuzzled the crook of his neck.

Yasuho felt Josuke's arms wrap around her while she was content to stroking lines in the fabric of his cotton shirt, uttering occasional words of comfort. They stayed there, resting in each other's arms, unbothered, listening to each heartbeat, and enjoying the cool air of the evening breeze.

When Josuke seemed to have calmed down, Yasuho gently brushed her lips against his collar bone as she whispered, "Give it some time."

Yasuho lifted her head only when she felt something smooth and stiff move against her thigh.

"Umm...J-josuke?" She squeaked, and instinctively moved to grab whatever had made a home between her legs. To her horror it started to vibrate.

"It's not me, this time. I promise!" Josuke looked at her quizzically, apparently having felt the same sensation. He patted himself just as thoroughly as she did herself. She separated from him and sure enough his pants fit just as well as when he first redressed himself. No tents had been pitched.

Suddenly, the theme to her favorite love drama resonated off of her and she remembered that her skirt had pockets. She groaned. None of her friends were in the habit of calling her. If they needed something, they would text. Her dad was out of the picture, and Josuke was next to her, so there was no need for him to ring her phone, which only left one possibility..

Reluctantly, she dug her cellphone out of her pocket and tried not to frown.

"Yes, Mom?"

"Yasuho, hun. It's getting late. Where are you?" Yasuho felt incredulous at her mother's choice of rhetoric. The fact that those words came out of the mouth of a woman who notoriously disappeared for weeks at time leaving her to tend to herself when she was only in middle school made her want to scream. It was true, she'd spent her childhood chasing the affections of a mother who chased the affections of strange men, leaving her in the dust, alone to raise herself.

"I'm with a friend." Yasuho bit her lip to stop it from quivering.

"Oh, is it Yumi?"

Yasuho hadn't been friends with Yumi since 5th grade when she thought Yasuho was trying to steal her boyfriend. It was untrue of course; the boy had taken a liking to bullying her and Yumi was jealous of all the unwanted attention.

Yasuho looked over to Josuke who was now leaning against the brick wall of his house, a concerned expression on his face.

"Yea, I'll tell Yumi, you said hi." Her finger hovered over the 'call end' button and her mother seemed to sense it.

"Yasuho, wait! One more thing!" The voice was slightly frantic. Yasuho waited silently for her to continue, biting her lip even harder to catch herself from snapping off. Her only response was the low sounds of her breathing on her end of the line. It was enough encouragement for her mother to continue.

"Would you mind picking up a few things for me on your way home."

"Sure."

"Thanks dear! Oh and I have a surprise for you when you get h-"

Click.

Yasuho had heard as much as she could bear.

It was bad enough she'd have to see her face when she got home. Resentment she had tried to bury began to scratch at the surface. Her eyes closed tightly to fight the sting that was beginning to draw wetness to the corners of her lashes.

She stood still. Head lowered in a way she hoped would hide the plethora of emotions she was fighting back.

"Yasuho.." Josuke's voice was heavy as he tried to piece together what had transpired.

Even though she didn't look up, she could sense him pushing off from where he rested against the wall and turned her body away from him. Just a few moments prior she had been determined to be strong for him, with what little comfort she could offer. Now she was the one, becoming undone. She wished for all the world that she had been born to someone else, yet she still couldn't bring herself to hate her mother.

She impulsively resisted when she felt his fingers wrap around her wrist. Crying was something she preferred to do in private. Blinking held her tears at bay, but did nothing to stop her quivering lips. As much as she wanted, she couldn't hide from Josuke as he gently, yet firmly guided her body to face him. His other hand cupped her chin, lifting her head so that he could inspect her.

Something was clearly wrong.

"Yasuho..." He tried again.

What had transpired, that could have broken her down in less than 30secs?

Her pale cheeks where flushed red, brows twitching with all the effort it took to keep them apart. And she still refused to look at him, choosing instead to keep her eyes tightly shut, her long dark lashes fanning across her cheeks leaving marks where her mascara entwined with dampness that threatened to overflow.

Needing no further indication, he called forth his stand 'soft and wet'. Pristine bubbles, popping where they made contact with the tears that had overwhelmed her pride. He gazed upon her fresh face, void of any make-up, smudge, or tears.

Yasuho still refused to look at him. Eyes shut as tight as a catacomb.

She felt embarrassed that he had caught her slipping.

Yasuho was the happy one.

The girl who had it all together.

She was the shoulder to lean on.

Not the other way around.

She'd been independent since she was ten and her mother ran away with one of her lovers to God knows where. She resurfaced near the end of the school year, battered and broken after a run-in with another, younger, mistress that her rich boyfriend had left her for. Needy child as she was, Yasuho had welcomed her back with a hungry embrace. Unfortunately, that would be the pattern her life would take through to adult hood. And at this point, she couldn't afford to care anymore.

If she was honest, she'd admit that she felt an animosity toward men in general. For representing what stole her mother's affection, and how she wasn't enough for a love that should have been hers by birthright.

Yasuho's eyes fluttered open when she felt Josuke's plush lips brush against he corners of her eyes. It felt like the wings of a butterfly; soft and fleeting.

As she looked into his eyes she had to admit Josuke was different, unlike any other man she had crossed paths with. They were wide with concern, clearly alarmed at her reaction to her mother's call. It made her want to cry all over again.

"Are you ok?" He held her face in both of his hands, not allowing her to turn away.

"Yes...I should go." Her eyes pleaded with his. Silently begging him not to pick the scab of an old wound.

After a long moment, he relented any further questions he was ailing to ask.

"Let me walk you home. It's gotten dark." Josuke grabbed her hand only to have her snatch it away, as if she'd been burned by his touch.

"That's ok. I have to run a few errands first."

"I don't like the idea of you out, by yourself this late." He insisted, taking a few steps to match her pace as she proceded to exit the Higashikata property and onto the main road adjacent to it. The street lights had been triggered, lighting the path she would take. There were few people on the sidewalks. The majority, middle-aged business men returning home after drinking with their colleagues. They wobbled down the street, mostly minding their own lives. One walked straight into a sign post muttering nonsensical words about how his coworker didn't deserve the promotion.

Harmless.

Nothing she wasn't accustomed to handling.

Josuke's assessment of their surroundings seemed to trigger a deep well of irritation. He frowned, the cogs seeming to turn behind his unnatural eyes.

"Yasuho. Biologically, men feel the need to copulate and.."

oh, Jeez.

As if she wasn't already aware..

He continued, "If the wrong person caught you alone and I wasn't near to protect you...I wouldn't be able forgive myself." His dark brows knit together and his mouth twisted as if he had bitten into something sour. Her love interest was concerned about her purity being assaulted..

Yasuho's cheeks were so inflamed, she wouldn't have been surprised if she had spontaneously combusted. "Omg, Josuke. You act like some guy's waiting around to sink his claws into me." Yasuho was a far cry from what she herself, considered to be attractive. There were plenty of other girls in Morioh, for a predator to focus on if he wanted a real catch. She was pretty sure, she'd be alright.

As if to prove he was serious, he grabbed her hand tightly, determined to make sure she made it to her destination safe and untouched. He dragged her down the sidewalk like an unruly child.

"Oh, God.." Yasuho grabbed her phone.

Sure enough, her mother had texted her a list of items to fetch before she returned:

Bicardi Rum

Trojan (XL)

Tomato Sauce

Thanks Hun! ~ Mom <3 XOXO

...she wants a pack of condoms?

Yasuho looked at her phone, a ghastly expression on her face as a new realization dawned on her.

Her mom hadn't been dumped this time.

She felt like her spirit had left her body and she stopped struggling as Josuke continued to pull her hand to match his brisk pace.

There was no way she could buy a pack of XL condoms with Josuke watching!

She'd rather die.

Suddenly, her phone chimed as Yasuho's stand 'Paisely Park' displayed two options.

Head to Seven Eleven

Board Bus 495 in less than one minute

Yasuho chose the second option.

She and Josuke both turned around as headlights as bright as the morning sun engulfed them from behind. Yasuho realized they had made it to the bus stop with out even trying.

Quickly, she turned to Josuke and kissed the corner of his mouth, using his moment of stupor to take her exit, "Josuke, I'm just gonna take the bus home. It goes straight to my apartment!"

Before his lips could part in protest, she had already boarded and paid her fare.

The bus doors closed in his face.

Josuke looked upon the retreating transport with an unsettled expression.

Through her window seat she peaked her head out and waved at him.

"Nothing ever happens in Morioh, anyway."

To be continued...

#jojo no kimyou na bouken #jojo #yasuho #yasuho hirose #kira yoshikage #josefumi #jobin higashikata #stands #Jojo stands #Jojo's Bizarre Adventure #drama #jojolion #jojo part 8 #josuke 8 #josuke higashikata

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kelanfilms · 3 years

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Stop Signs: The Joys of the Edit

Due to the everchanging weather onset, continuity for our film was looking to be a big task to maintain. As AD I was onset to note these changes/mistakes and write messages to my editor self, but there was a couple of times I was dealing with other things and in post have realised somethings happened, for example: Georgie’s hair flowing wildly in the wind, shoes and feet appearing, clouds changing and necklaces jumping in/out of jumpers, and the bench... we don’t talk about the bench. So my first day was spent noting down cuts that would be used only where necessary and sorting out my workflow.

After each day on set I’d been transcoding and logging the files ready for edit but unfortunately by day3 I was exhausted so left it for the train-ride home. Unfortunately this is when Avid decided to stop working for my laptop. The second Avid opened my laptop became so slow it barely worked, and the program wouldn’t allow the day3 footage to transcode. With editing at home I didn’t have room for error with Avid, so decided to do what I really didn’t want to, and turn to Adobe Premier Pro. Thankfully this program was working quickly and for now, working well with the files. I am concerned about issues presenting themselves in the exporting process so have booked a tutorial with Kieran to discuss the workflow and exporting issues that may need amended to ensure there’s no error. Because we are working quickly our crew has left a lot of room for issues and resolvement in the post-production process (there’s always something), so I’m not feeling too stressed.

Due to the wind on Day 2 of shooting a lot of the camera and sound slates aren’t matching. When shooting in the wind we could barely hear each-other so it’s no wonder the slate numbers got lost. As well, on the day the wind was so high that the clapper board would become another instrument getting blown away, and nobody had hands free to hold it, especially during the boot shot. [I think in future as a team we check the wind as well as rain, and during recces, don’t choose wide open spaces as the primary location, we should have a backup that’s as sheltered as we can from the weather]. So in post I’ve had to sync where I can for these outdoor shots, but as they don’t contain dialogue I think Anne-Marie could foley/SFX these sections easily enough. To ensure we both know what’s going on and that she’s prepared for any issues I’ve had with sound during the edit (Sound’s my least favourite thing to deal with unless I’m completing it myself, I can understand my mess of an audio track, other people... not so much, so I’m having to ensure that Anne Marie can understand what I’ve done and what’s where and any issues that may arise).

The Edit Process:

The First Cut: 15th April

As always with my first cuts I set to work on initially blocking out the story on the timeline, going through each cut and finding the moments of the performances that told the story for me. Unfortunately with Hollie’s full script in there the film was 7.5mins (1.5mins over the limit), so I requested her to cut pieces of dialogue she was willing to part with. After a discussion we decided to make it more of a rant from Georgie, and take away the bits of Brodie’s dialogue that she was ignoring anyway. The first cut as always is a bit untidy so it needs work but it’s good to get into the flow. One thing I’m struggling with so far is the continuity in the shots, due to the weather cuts are interrupted by moving hair, wind, water getting rough then still, and due to our location quite a few trains and dogs interrupting. So it’s a case of trying to build a good edit around the perfect bits of dialogue and performance to create emotional moments. My aim with the edit is to prepare a new cut and build on it every day, and send uploads to the director and sound designer so that issues are resolved before a picture-lock attempt. By feeling the changes with each draft I feel my faith growing in my abilities and also connect and think about the film more, so it’s a process that really works for me too.

Link for first cut: https://youtu.be/PeZvG8euYWc

2nd Cut: April 17th

The 2nd draft was completed 2 days later, and will be tidied into draft 3 for rough cut tutorials. I’ve included a temporary phone ringtone to get the atmosphere of the phone there so that I can attempt to include the tension I saw in the script, however these shots aren’t as jumpy as I’d imagined so that may have to be rethought. Lines have also been cut, but I’ve been careful where to do it. Georgie is now on less of a rant with Brodie and it’s now a flowing conversation, so I’m intrigued as to what Hollie will think of this. For me, I feel like I get the story more when Brodie’s not interjecting, everything we understand is coming from our protagonist now. We are also now back into the 6min mark which is a good sign, as the original draft went over by 1.5mins, and I’m really feeling the story coming through the edit a lot more.

Below: Draft 2 Timeline (17th April):

Link for 2nd cut: https://youtu.be/Odk2UCY1LSE

3rd Cut: 19th April

Following notes from my producer (which I heavily agreed with), we decided to cut the car sequence down (3 shots for 50secs was always too long), and adjust the shoes being taken off. Klaudia wasn’t a fan of the necklace sequence, but I think after tidying it has potential. The closeup is a nice shot too and gives a bit more dimension to the complexity of Georgie’s turmoil. She says she doesn’t care for her mum, but that moment is a nice sense of connection whether she likes it or not. So in draft 3 I went to work doing this, this cut is now 5mins 30secs which gives room to bring back more of the dialogue especially for Brodie now. It’s just a case of finding his key moments, as he was a younger actor sometimes you can see him thinking his lines so the performance is lost or the lines come out a little one note, so it’s just a job of finding his key moments (and there are a few lovely moments from Robbie so it’d be great to bring these back). I’ve also noticed the 180 line is being crossed in the edit far too much so I’m going to need to use the wides and Georgie’s CU to amend this. I think this problem has arisen as the film was not shot with the 180 line in mind onset, when I asked where we were working from/where the line was I was told “I don’t know” by a crew member so I think maybe that’s why a lot of our shots contradict themselves in this sense. So the next draft will really focus on solving/hiding the 180 problem to make the space more understandable to the viewer. I think because we see the full scene in the master shot when Georgie walks over it isn’t confusing to a viewer, but does make the edit look a bit lazier.

Below: The draft 3 timeline. (Blue audio is camera, audio tracks need to be tidied).

Link for 3rd cut: https://youtu.be/gu5Tb3z7a14

The 4th Cut: 20th April

I’m feeling confident in how this edits now coming together. I’ve sorted a tutorial with Andrew for tomorrow and am preparing 2 more drafts for then, so that following his comments we can picture-lock tomorrow evening, giving Anne-Marie enough time to get her sound done. (And for me to colour-grade).

Below: The Draft 4 Timeline (the tracks that are displaying “out of sync” were a few frames out when they synced so they are correct).

Link for Draft 4 Cut: https://youtu.be/kISNk4BKCMA

The 5th Cut: 21st April “Potential Picture-Lock Day”

With the 5th cut I’m feeling more confident we’re there with locking picture. Small tweaks and issues have been resolved and I’m hoping to fine cut and lock it today to send to Anne-Marie for sound. Currently I believe I’m colour-grading so with the programs I have it will be done on Premier, so I’ve been touching up the colour in drafts as I go to get them all similar. Then if Hollie wishes for specific LUTS/Looks then I’ll apply this week, and hopefully be done with the project this weekend to give me time to finish assignments for other modules.

This cut is definitely the strongest, I’m feeling more of a tempo and having the temporary phone in there is giving me a feel for the story. I’ve highlighted points of Robbie’s performances more, and given a little more reaction time but unfortunately due to wind the actors couldn’t hear each other (so that emotive reaction is often absent in all our shots from day2).

All in all though, feeling strong for our tutorial with Andrew today (that feeling may change after that...)

Below: The Draft 5 Timeline, undergoing colour correction for one of the brighter shots.

Link for the Draft 5 Cut: https://youtu.be/3wCQtG6lU5Q

Picture Lock! Draft 6 & 7

Following comments from the lecturers and team we have moved to do a quick redraft before picture lock. The first redraft focused on the lecturer’s comments and ensuring the film didn’t sit on the line of action.

Draft 6: https://youtu.be/v5ZaEA6e0Qo

After this redraft I decided we needed to get rid of the Georgie close-up because it was too jarring being on the line. The pacing was amended too but due to shot choices and continuity (wind going through folks hair, and movement, was spoiling cuts), so I created Draft 7 - the picture lock.

Picture lock (draft 7): https://youtu.be/54AvA3lFxMg

I am happy with the picture lock but wish I’d had more time. In order to upload the AAF and MXF files to our sound designer that took 2 days off of our schedule due to my internet, so even an extra week on this would’ve allowed me to perfect it. Apart from that I am happy with the film and it’s definitely an improvement on some of my other edits. We’re still awaiting the recordings for the start and end to close up the story for the viewer, and reduce the narrative questions, so I’m intrigued to see what that’s like. I’ve mentioned to the director that these voicemail recordings have to hit the mark, as I’m worried they’ll be too vague and won’t answer the questions needing answered (are they going to the funeral? is it a funeral? legit what is happening in this world?). But we shall see, for now though, that’s my primary role as editor done.

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