#yaz WATCHED SOMEONE GET EATEN WHOLE

[swan2swan]

Kenji and Yaz as soon as they're settled in on the boat and are able to process what they saw the past few days:

[helloalycia]

photoshoot // brie larson

summary: you're working at your uncle's studio as his personal assistant, when Brie Larson is the next celebrity to stop by for a photoshoot

warning/s: none, except second hand embarrassment maybe 😂

author's note: I cringed writing this, that's all am saying lmao. But seriously, Brie can run me over with her car and I'd thank her.

masterlist

          "Think you can grab me a coffee, Y/N?" my uncle asked, messing around with his camera.

         I saluted before going to the snacks area to pour him a coffee. I was at yet another photoshoot with my uncle since I was his personal assistant. I was at a time in my life where I wasn't sure what I wanted to do – I had dropped out of university and didn't have any plans, so my parents encouraged me to work as my uncle's personal assistant at his photography agency.

         Of course, they 'encouraged' me, which meant I had no choice, but I didn't mind since I got paid for it and I pretty much got to meet celebrities every now and then. Yeah, he was a celebrity photographer.

         I had to do mediocre tasks like get coffee for him, make sure his phone would always be answered if he couldn't answer it himself, fetch his lenses when he left them in the car. It wasn't too bad and he wasn't annoying about it. Plus how could I say no to decent pay and meeting celebrities?

         So, here I was in the midst of preparation for yet another celebrity to be photographed. It was some actress – Brie Larson – who I wasn't familiar with nor seen much of, but apparently she was quite the star. I just wasn't that much into movies, I guess.

         "She's going to be huge," I heard one of the tech guys saying as I poured my uncle a coffee. "Did you know she's going to be Captain Marvel?"

         I smiled to myself, finding the excitement around set really cute. I put a lid on the coffee before going back to my uncle to give it him.

         "For you," I said, handing it him with a smile. "Anything else I can do?"

         He thanked me and took a sip before looking around. "Not for me at the moment. Miss Larson is currently in hair and makeup, so I guess you can just hang around until she's ready."

         I chuckled. "Sounds cool, but I still don't see why it's necessary to call her 'Miss'. I mean, Miss Larson, Miss Kane, Miss Cabello, Mr Mendes, Mr Horan – they have names."

         My uncle gave me an amused smile. "Fine. Brie is in hair and makeup. Happy now?"

         I grinned. "Ecstatic."

         He rolled his eyes playfully. "You're a handful, you know that?"

         "Yeah, but you love me."

         He sighed, resisting the urge to smile. "Mhm."

         I walked away with the satisfaction of knowing I had bugged him, before going to find a friend I'd made whilst working here. Her name was Yaz and she was one of the caterers. It may be a little obvious why we became friends...

         "Surprised you haven't devoured the food spread," she said when she saw me approaching her.

         I glared at her playfully. "I've eaten already, thank you very much."

         She laughed. "Of course, my bad... so, you excited to meet Brie Larson?"

         I sat in the seat beside her that looked out onto the set built for the photoshoot. "Er, I guess? I don't really know who she is if I'm being honest."

         Yaz raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? She just got announced as Marvel's new superhero."

         "Captain Marvel," I repeated what I'd heard earlier, not knowing what the big deal was.

         Yaz stared at me like I'd grown a second head. "Uh, duh! Do you know how big she's gonna be? Like, Chris Evans big. Robert Downey Jr. big. Scarlett Johansson big."

         "So, big," I agreed, snickering now.

         Yaz sighed dramatically. "You're not listening."

         I laughed. "I am! I just never got into those superhero films. Iron Man, Captain America, Superman."

         "Superman is from DC, not Marvel," Yaz corrected.

         "Exactly my point," I stated, giving her a knowing look. "I mean, congrats to Brie for becoming big. But like, what's the big deal?"

***

         "You didn't say she was literally the most beautiful human being ever," I said to Yaz, jaw dropped as I watched my uncle snap pics of the blonde goddess before us.

         Yaz chuckled quietly. "You're so gay."

         I smacked her arm lightly. "Do you not see it? She's literally stunning!"

         Yaz nodded in agreement. "I can agree to that..."

         Brie was finally being photographed for the first costume change of the photoshoot and Yaz and I, not being needed at the moment, were sat with a clear view of the shoot.

         I was used to seeing stunning celebrities being photographed all the time. Did it make me feel like a peasant? Yes. Did I always want to marry them on sight? Of course! But this was different. She was like, totally hot. And I could say that, right? I mean, I'd never see her again. No biggie.

         "When does her movie come out again?" I mumbled to Yaz, still stuck on the wonder before me. Damn, she had a good jawline.

         "It's not been announced," Yaz said, laughing at me. "Thought you didn't like superhero films."

         I cleared my throat. "If she's the lead, I'll watch anything."

         Yaz laughed at my response, but once again, I was simply admiring the blonde as she laughed it up during her photoshoot.

         Eventually, a break was called and the first thing I did was drag Yaz to the snacks table as if I was the one who'd been hard at work.

         "These mozzarella puffs are amazing," I complimented Yaz, before stuffing three more in my mouth.

         "You've told me a million times," she said, watching me with amusement.

         "And I'll tell you a million more," I retorted, grinning at her. "Never stop making them please."

         Yaz laughed and filled her plate with some food. "Glad to hear, I won't... we've got another hour to go yet. You might wanna stop stuffing yourself."

         I sighed, glancing over my shoulder to see Brie and my uncle reviewing the photos he'd taken.

         "I don't think I can watch this for a whole other hour," I said, looking back to Yaz. "I mean, I'm used to celebrities rocking up here and looking like Gods amongst us mere mortals, but–"

         "Y/N." Yaz laughed, shaking her head.

         "What? It's true!" I said, putting my plate down on the table so I could make a point. "It's like Hollywood doesn't hire ugly actors ever! They're all hot pieces of ass, ready to be served to the world through my uncle's lens! And now we've got the hottest piece of ass of all in studio!"

         "Y/N–"

         "No, Yaz, seriously, think about it," I continued, on a roll now. "The last time everyone was this excited was when Shawn Mendes was here. Yeah, he was pretty cute, but damn, Brie Larson? She looks like she could bench press everyone in this room without breaking a sweat. She makes Shawn Mendes look like a worm."

          “Y/N, seriously, just–"

         "Okay, okay, I'm done," I said, picking up my plate again. "All I'm saying is Brie Larson is hot."

         As I put another mozzarella puff into my mouth, I noticed Yaz smiling awkwardly. I was about to question her, but then I heard someone clear their throat from behind me, making me turn around.

         "Oh, shit," I mumbled, my mouth full of cheese.

         Out of all of the people who could have been stood behind me, it just had to be Brie Larson herself.

         "Hi, erm, I just wanted to ask if you guys knew where I could get some more water?" she asked, a faint pink blush on her cheeks.

         I was speechless, unable to do anything other than stare. I'd just said all of that. And she heard. Everything. Everything.

         "Yeah, I'll go get some more," Yaz mumbled politely, before leaving Brie and I alone.

         I came back to my senses after thirty more seconds of silence. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" I blurted, eyes wide with embarrassment.

         "It's, erm, it's okay," she got out, obviously a little embarrassed herself. "Technically you didn't say anything insulting, so, I guess, thanks...?"

         I scrunched my face up with awkwardness. "I called you a hot piece of ass and I'm very sorry. I'm not trying to objectify you or anything. I mean, I'm not saying you aren't a hot piece of ass, because you are, but like, you're probably more." I widened my eyes when I realised how offensive that sounded. "I mean, of course you're more! I don't know because I don't know you, but yeah, you're, erm, hot, but like, other things too, y'know?"

         Brie suppressed the urge to laugh which made me feel a little better. Maybe she wasn't offended after all.

         "Thank you," she said, her eyes meeting mine which made my heart have wild palpitations. Shit, why did she have to have such kind eyes?

         I forgot how to breathe as I said, "No problem."

         "Here you go, Miss Larson," Yaz said, returning with several bottles of water. She set them down on the table before handing Brie one. "Sorry about that."

         Brie shook her head. "No worries. Thank you."

         I smiled awkwardly as she walked away, slightly confused. I released a breath before looking to Yaz with wide eyes.

         "Why didn't you tell me she was stood right behind me?!" I whisper-shouted.

         "Are you kidding me?!" she countered, also whisper-shouting. "I tried several times!"

         I face-palmed. "Oh my god, I just called Brie Larson a hot piece of ass several times. To her face."

         "At least you don't have to see her again, like, face to face," Yaz reasoned, shrugging.

         I nodded with relief. "True. Very true."

         "Y/N?"

         I sighed as I heard my uncle call for me. I waved goodbye to Yaz before going to my uncle, who was stood on set with–

         "Oh, shit."

         "Brie, I would like to introduce you to my niece, Y/N Y/L/N," my uncle said, a proud smile on his lips.

         I smiled awkwardly, stopping by my uncle's side. Brie looked to me with a friendly smile before pursing her lips, suppressing a grin, when she saw who it was.

         "She's my personal assistant here," my uncle continued, not sensing what was going on here. "She's been here for a while now and I'm sure she appreciates you being here as much as–"

         "She knows what I think," I cut my uncle off, rubbing my temples as I felt a headache coming on. "Right, Brie?"

         Brie laughed. "Lovely to meet you again." She looked to my uncle, who was confused. "I met her no more than a minute ago. Literally." She looked back to me, an amused glint in her eyes. "Nice to put a name to a face."

         I felt my stomach turn as I grew embarrassed all over again.

         "Well," my uncle concluded, a confused smile on his face. He looked to me. "I guess I don't need to introduce Brie then. She's an actress and a–"

         "Hot piece off ass?" Brie filled in, enjoying watching me squirm apparently.

         "Huh?" My uncle was definitely confused now.

         "I'm gonna be over there," I pointed over my shoulder with my thumb, feeling my cheeks heat up. I looked to Brie, who was most definitely enjoying watching me squirm. "Nice to meet you... Brie...bye..."

         I walked away as fast I could, hearing her laugh from behind me.

         God damn it. Why did she have to be so hot?

[polandspringz]

17. "Am I going to die?" With Cammie and best sibling Val/entina?

“Say, Valentina…”

Blood ran cold inside their body as the soft hand came up to their face, missing a few times before finding their cheek and settling on it, fingers tracing towards her lips like spider crawling across. Her body was so warm, it was usually too warm, so why was the skin pressed against their face turning icey so quickly.

“Dr. Jha,” Valentina dared not look down, fearful of what they would do if they saw the child’s green eyes stricken with fear but glazing over, if the sensation running over their numb hand would turn wet and hot, “Why isn’t the Re-Gen working?”

“It’s the nanotech, it’s interfering-”

“I thought we had the code to block it? Cammie-”

The girl in question coughed just as Valentina barked out their words. Normally Valentina would have no problem scolding the girl to her face, but they couldn’t look at them. They kept their gaze locked on the floor behind and above her head, there was blood matted in her hair, they switched to looking towards the Re-Gen machine where Dr. Jha’s feet were, they could see the twitching muscles from Cammie’s torn up arm spasming-

“Valentina…” Cammie tried through her hacking, her lungs struggling to suck in air as the vaporized nanotech had drilled its way through them and then vanished, “It was a new type… I wasn’t in the Holon so I couldn’t decipher it as quickly as last time-”

“Shut up!” They practically screamed down at her, but they wouldn’t look, they refused to look. This couldn’t be happening.

“We can get her onto life support quickly if we put her brain in the Holon. It’s the safest way to keep her alive while figuring out how to remove the nano.” Dr. Jha turned to face them as she signaled for the rest of her team to come in and extract Cammie from Valentina. Hands came up and hers slipped away, and suddenly Valentina could see her. She could see all the damage that had been done while they were fighting the battle, leaving Cammie alone with Caliban in the airship, unprepared and defenseless for the nanotech that had flanked the ship while they were kilometers away on the ground defending another base or some holding line that didn’t even matter anymore to Valentina.

When they heard the screams coming through their feed, Valentina had raced back to the ship, ready to blow the whole thing open when her blood curdling cries had grown in intensity. But they saw Cammie had run out of the ship and dragged the nanotech with her, sacrificing herself to keep it away from their bodies resting inside. Valentina had wanted to go after her right away, but through her shrieks, she told them to stay back, and Yasamin and Chase had to hold Kazu and them still as they watched Cammie continue to race away from the cloud. Her sprint eventually fell into a limp until Valentina was about ready to strangle all the other Pilots in the mindframe to chase after the girl, but when the girl collapsed and the cloud seemed to overtake her, small wave of green light then shot out over the area, stopping a few ways before them. The Holons were unharmed, but the sickening realization dawned on Valentina as they watched the nanotech explode into the air and Cammie collapse into the dirt. As they raced to her, all connection to her was gone. All the gadgets she wore, all the feeds and displays, they were vanished. Valentina couldn’t get through to a single one.

They had rushed back to RTASA, Valentina abandoning their Holon as they dashed into the main lab with Cammie limp in their arms. Now, as she was pulled away from them, they could see their eyes were shut, and blood was leaking down where tears should’ve been. The computerized contacts had exploded. Valentina covered their mouth and tried not to gasp.

“Where am I going? Where did Valentina… Where’s Kazoo? Yaz? Chase?!” Camme was thrashing about, screaming as her one good arm flailed about, hitting the scientists as they rushed to get her on a stretcher and back to where the ESU had been set up in the building. Valentina jumped to their feet when they saw Cammie’s hand pause on someone’s face again, realization dawning on them once more as they took in the mangled state of Cammie’s bunny ears.

“We’ll get her uploaded as fast as possible- Valentina!” Dr. Jha reached out after as they shoved the doctors out of the way, grabbing the good hand and pressing the fingers to their lips as they spoke as slowly and clearly as they could.

“It’s Valentina. We are going to upload you. I will meet you in the mindframe.”

Valentina was shoved out of the way but followed on their heels to the pods, yelling at them to be gentle as they rushed to get Cammie inside. Valentina sent the order to Caliban to start the upload, and even though the suit was likely fried too, they prayed that Cammie would still be able to connect. They wanted to wait to see the symbols on the display turn to gen:LOCK, but Yasamin appeared behind and urged them inside.

“You’re going to meet her right? Don’t leave her scared and frightened. I’ll manage things here.”

Valentina could hardly nod as Yasamin pushed them into the pod, everything around them feeling dazed and hazy as their adrenaline seemed to keep spiking but with nothing new to react to or fight. The next thing they knew, the pod was sealing closed above them, and they were dropped into the darkness.

“Valentina? Valentina, please-!”

Val opened their eyes and saw Cammie’s figure on the floor, almost pinned down as they searched for others in the imaginary space. They swam towards her, extending a hand out.

“Cammie!”

It was such a blessing to see the girl with her eyes open, her body not bleeding, broken in half, and eaten away at several areas by the bombs and little virus that had tried to invade her. Val swore that when they finally found the creator of those things, they were going to-

“Val, I…  my body I can’t…”

Their eyes widened as they realized her words, pulling their hand back as they floated down to touch down beside her. Very quickly, they knelt down, and pulled the girl into their lap like they had done on the floor of the Re-Gen machine.

“Your body will be fine. Dr. Jha will figure out how to fix it. We will get you back in it in no time.”

“Don’t lie to me,” the girl whispered as Val propped them up against their arm, allowing the girl to sit up, “I felt it happening. I was getting the EMP out but then my other arm was going and then it was inside me and I was trying so hard and-”

“Hush, little bunny.” Val adjusted their hold and embraced Cammie in a tight hug, lifting her off the ground so they both could float in the colorful space.

“I’m guessing I’m paralyzed in here until I get a new suit,” she joked, and Val tried to smile, but Cammie seemed pained when they saw it, and looked away. Val reached out and tried to turn her head back to face them.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, Val focusing on keeping them afloat in the watery void, while also maintaining on a much quieter level their fear and bubbling thoughts. They refused to let any of their fears to reach Cammie. Then, Dr. Jha’s voice cut through the mindframe:

“Valentina, we successfully uploaded Cammie. We will be removing her body now.”

“Val, you were already uploaded for so long. You must be close to burning through uptime. You don’t… You don’t have to stay-”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Listen, you need me here, and I don’t want to have to go back out there and deal with Kazu, Yasamin, and Chase bugging me about-”

“Val,” Cammie talked over Val, taking a deep breath of nothing as she prepared herself not to cry, “Am I going to die?”

She hated herself when she saw the emotions that slapped across Val’s face. She was tormenting them with the question, but she needed to know the truth.

“Camme, what are you-”

“They’re moving my body out of the pod. I think they did it as soon as you got in, which was why I couldn’t move.”

“No, Cammie, they’re just going to try and remove the nanotech and then put you in the Re-Gen again-”

“So we already tried to Re-Gen once? So that was what was going on when you were yelling about the nanotech.”

She laughed, but it was dry and cracked, her voice going quiet at the end and her eyes casting down as she let Val guide their hands together so that Cammie was holding them. She couldn’t move her muscles, and if Val left, she would certainly just float to the bottom of this expanse, waiting until the next person uploaded to speak with her. She glanced over, catching a blue light flickering in the distance. She blinked it over.

“Val, you need to go.”

“Cammie, no, I won’t leave you alone here-”

“I’m not going to be alone. It’ll be fine, and besides, once you guys build me a new suit, I’ll be back to my usual self! I can decode the nanotech much easier in here anyway!”

She cocked her head and gave Val her best smile, only being able to move from the neck up did not give her as much expression as she would’ve liked to have, especially not without her bunny ears flicking about. She saw a yellow and a red light dance about closer. She blinked at them too.

Val thought that they had left behind tears when they joined up the resistance. They had seen bodies of friends, held lovers and family members alike as they bleed out in their arms, but for some reason, holding Cammie here, supporting Cammie like this as they drifted, something became unhinged.

Then another set of hands were coming up and helping Cammie push Val back, and then two more were yanking them away, separating the green and purple pilots as they drifted away from one another. Val was dragged to the surface, and Cammie was floating down, Chase’s hand curled around her wrists as they both reached towards where they had pushed Val, Cammie hands and fingers extended as if giving her the option to swim back down and take ahold of them.

“It’s okay, I’ll be okay.”

“Cammie, Cammie, no- both of you, get off of me!” They jerked about in Yasamin and Kazu’s hold, and Kazu had to swim around and wrap their arm around Valentina’s neck to get them to stop resisting.

“Goodbye, Val.” Cammie beamed just as Val reached the surface.

When Dr. Jha came by to alert them that they weren’t able to re-generate Cammie’s body, and her vital organs had collapse, Valentina thought the nanotech must have fried their brain too. Nothing, colors, shapes, words, nothing made sense anymore.

Yasamin and Kazu both put a hand around the distraught pilot, trying to offer words of comfort. It didn’t help.

“You’ll still be able to see her hologram, and talk to her in the mindframe,” Yasamin tried, “I’ve already been doing it for years with Chase-”

Valentina shoved both pilots away, and stormed off. RTASA was gigantic, smaller than the Anvil, but still too damn big, and Valentina just wanted to be back in Europe or the Ether, compressed between people on a small club dancefloor, with their mind cloudy for a different reason.

Instead, Valentina found a dark corner behind some robot, an artificial crawl space that would keep them hidden long enough that no one would bother them. They pulled the hood of their cloak over their head and ducked behind the green and white digitigrade legs and slumped down.

As the hours passed, Valentina’s voice got more and more raw, but they knew they could close the dam, not now, not yet. It wouldn’t close until Cammie came running through that door with Nugget on her shoulder or her rabbit ears twitching or her arms spread wide as she yelled about something new she had uncovered with the Doc’s brain in Caliban. At least it felt that way, but even Valentina knew that by the time Kazu or Yasamin came to drag them out of this spot too, that their tears would have long since dried up, and they would be left with only an itchy face and a sore throat to show for it. They never had been that loud of a crier either, but every hiccup, every suppressed sob that shook their body sent them another wave of cramps and spasms from their abdomen as they deprived their body of air.

Valentina was drowning, and they wouldn’t stop until Cammie broke through the surface.

[winterromanov]

she’s the sunset (in the west) - thasmin fic (2/?)

Yaz doesn’t make promises lightly. It’s one of her things. A promise should be taken seriously, carried out. If she’s promised to bake a cake for the school summer fair even though she can’t bake for shit, she’s still going to do it, layering the burnt bits in slightly sloppy buttercream. If she’s promised to take her parents to the airport at 3am on a school day, she’ll set an alarm and turn up to work the next morning on with a coffee stapled to her hands.

If she’s promised to find Poppy Smith some friends, she’s one hundred percent going to do that too. She remembers the warmth in Joanna’s eyes at the thought of it—this feels important, like she could actually change something. It might not work. It might be that in less than a year’s time Poppy will move up into year one and nothing will have changed, but she’ll be damned if she doesn’t try.

She brainstorms ideas at her tiny kitchen table as soon as she comes through the door. Ryan’s not home yet so she violently clatters all his dirty crockery into the empty sink, dragging her flipchart paper down the stairs (which she saves only for special occasions). An hour later, her whole kitchen wall is covered in bright pink post-it notes, like she’s attempting some spontaneous redecorating.

“What the—“

Yaz almost jumps out of her skin, black marker sliding out of her fingers and onto the floor. She’d been so absorbed in her new project she’d never heard the front door creak open—and that’s quite a feat considering Ryan’s just come in from football practice, the studs of his boots usually clicking on the laminate like a herd of women in stiletto heels.

“Don’t sneak up on me like that!” she exclaims, heartrate slowly easing back to normal. Ryan rolls his eyes.

“I literally didn’t, but okay,” he huffs, refusing to look away from the chaos she’s created. He squints as he expertly manoeuvres his dirty kit from his bag to the washing machine—if only he could do that with the socks he leaves stranded in the hallway, she muses. “What the fuck is duck-duck-goose?”

“You’ve never heard of duck-duck-goose?” Yaz asks, open mouthed. Ryan bemusedly shakes his head. “Did you even go to primary school?”

Ryan shrugs. A grin tugs at the corner of his mouth. “Not if I could help it, no. Mum was a pushover but Nan never believed me when I told her I had the Japanese flu or whatever.”

“I bet she didn’t,” Yaz hums, because Grace never took any of Ryan’s shit. Not even at the end.

The two of them stand in silence for a moment, like every time Ryan mentions the lost women of his family. Yaz has never felt the pain he has. She can see it in his eyes, sometimes, how it lingers like fog. Dense and dirty but fading, eventually. Slowly.

But it’s okay, he has her. He’s always got her.

(It makes her think of Joanna Smith, again. About the dad that’s not around.)

Ryan snaps out of wistful reverie first, grabbing a beer out the fridge and snapping the lid on the kitchen table. Yaz throws him a look. He knows she hates that, which is probably why he does it. “What’s all this for anyway? Because if you’ve volunteered to lead another year six team-building weekend I’m going to be seriously questioning your sanity. Especially after last time.”

“No,” Yaz tuts, as if she’s going to make that same mistake twice, “There’s this kid in my class who is finding it hard to make friends. I’m trying to…think of something to solve that.”

Ryan takes a long sip of beer, studying more of her responses. “So you think a trip to the aquarium will fix it?”

Yaz shrugs. “I don’t know. Maybe? Nothing gets five-year-olds talking more than jellyfish. That, and what they’re going to get at the gift shop on the way out.”

“I guess,” Ryan offers, but he doesn’t look too convinced. “Just… some kids don’t want to make friends, Yaz. As long as they don’t seem too unhappy, what’s the harm in it?”

“This kid is four, Ryan. It’s a very important stage in her social growth. If she doesn’t start developing those skills now when she’s little it could be a really big problem later on.”

“That’s a bit dramatic,” Ryan says, “All I’m saying…this is a lot of effort for just one kid. As far as you’re concerned, as long as they can count to ten and know most of the alphabet you’ve done your job. And don’t, uh, stick their fingers into plug sockets or something.”

Yaz just about resists the temptation to go off on just how wrong that is and just how Ryan could possibly understand anything about her job, how it’s never just one kid. Yes, she needs to teach them how to read and write and count. But she also needs to teach teamwork, conflict resolution, gratification. How you can’t hit someone with a building block or steal somebody’s sausage rolls at lunchtime. How you must listen to the people around you and acknowledge that sometimes you can’t win, whether that’s the star of the week accolade or someone’s forgiveness, straightaway. How you must be kind, always, forever.

The day she sees a kid in her class that’s struggling to fit in and she thinks it’s just one kid is the day she’ll walk away from teaching and never look back.

“Are you hungry?” Ryan asks, after a moment, “I haven’t eaten yet. Pizza?”

Yaz’s hand relaxes, flexing from a fist to loose. On an outtake of breath she runs a hand through her hair, before nodding. “Yeah, sure.”

“Cool,” Ryan already has his phone out, scrolling through the options on Dominoes. “Hey, Yaz, if you went through this much effort for a bloke maybe you’d finally get laid.”

It’s meant as a joke but—ha. Yeah. Maybe.

-x-

As it happens, it doesn’t matter how many neatly written post-it notes and mind maps you make. Children will always be ridiculously unpredictable, like they’re wired completely different to every single other person aged eighteen or over. She tries class games, seating plans, even outdoor learning in the summerhouse on the grassy quad near the upper school playground—but nothing will encourage Poppy Smith to talk to the other children, or the other children to talk to her.

Instead, Poppy becomes incredibly attached to Yaz. And that is really, honestly, the last thing she wanted.

“You know, it’s really sunny outside today, Poppy,” Yaz says, as in a new turn of events, Poppy refuses to follow the other children out onto the playground during lunch break. Instead, the little girl stays in her seat, taking her dark blue starry-patterned pack lunch box out of her draw and unpacking it onto the table. “I think some of the other girls were thinking about playing with the new skipping ropes. Wouldn’t you like to play with the skipping ropes?”

Poppy shakes her head decidedly. Silently, she removes a small peanut-butter and banana sandwich from her box and places it in front of her. Yaz watches as she nibbles round the corners first before eating the filling.

“Wouldn’t you prefer to go outside?” Yaz asks, somewhat weakly, because she has a feeling Poppy won’t give in to her hints easily. “It’s so dark in here and I have to mark your handwriting worksheets!”

“I want to stay with you, Miss Khan.”

When two little eyes blink innocently back at her, Yaz finds it very hard to resist. Technically, as long as she’s not on her own, it’s not breaking any rules. It’s just—this is not in the plan. It’s not good to let a kid become too attached. It goes against every instinct she has as a teacher, but she knows if she forces Poppy outside she’ll go back to silently stalking the edge of the playground with her book about space, lost in a world of her own.

If she’s in here—just for today—at least she’s in her company. Talking to someone.

“Okay,” Yaz smiles tightly, “As long as you promise to go outside tomorrow, yeah?”

Poppy nods happily and returns to her sandwich.

-x-

Quite by chance, today just so happens to be the day that Joanna is late. As one-by-one the kids spot their parents or guardians in the playground and head off back home, rain splattering off bright red wellies and raincoats, Poppy stands on her tip-toes and peers into the murky outside. The weather has turned somewhat since lunchtime.

Yaz looks at her watch. Quarter to four. The playground is mostly empty, other than a group of mums nattering by the gates, restless kids hanging off their arms or in pushchairs.

It’s the second time she’s been left waiting for Joanna Smith, Yaz ponders, and wonders if it’ll be the last time. She sighs, looking at the back of Poppy’s head, watching as the little girl’s eyes lock on to everything and everyone walking past the school.

“I’m sure she’ll be here soon, Poppy,” Yaz says, gently smoothing Poppy’s hair. Poppy looks back up at her, eyes wide and concerned.

“What if she’s gone to the moon without me?” Poppy asks quietly. Yaz shakes her head with a smile, crouching down so their faces are level.

“Your mum wouldn’t do that, I promise,” Yaz says, “She’d always wait for you. I’m sure of that.”

Poppy frowns. “My daddy didn’t.”

Oh. Oh. Yaz freezes for a second, like she always does when a kid says something like that. You know—something unbearably sad, something hanging and poignant, one of those things that just slips out because kids don’t hide anything. Kids have sad stories too. They carry tragedies in their reading folders, hidden under exercise books and friendship bracelets and constellations of gold star stickers.

Yaz takes one of Poppy’s tiny hands in her own. Notices the stars she’s etched on her palms in blue biro pen. “Look at me, Poppy. Your mummy isn’t going to leave you behind. Ever.”

(It’s a big, big promise. She doesn’t realise it at the time, but it’s the biggest one she’s ever made—because sometimes, sometimes people don’t come back. Or you don’t go back to them. Maybe it’s the first promise she’s made that she won’t be able to keep. Sometime.)

Poppy’s disgruntled expression shifts into a smile, and Yaz can’t help but grin back. When she stands, still clutching onto Poppy’s hand, she can see through the raindrops on the window a shaky, grey figure running towards the door. Against her better judgement, she can feel her heart do something she doesn’t want to put a name to.

The glass door opens and Joanna emerges from the cold, her anorak dripping rain onto the floor in mad, abstract patterns. She pulls down her hood and her blonde hair is a chaotic mess of drenched natural waves—it reminds Yaz of tides and sea-salt and white-sand beaches, somewhere cluttered and rugged like the Northern coast. The kind of water that leaves you freezing but dazzlingly awake, shivering in clean, white towels with piles of seashells in your pockets.

Joanna blinks and catches eyes with Yaz. Grins. “I’m making a habit of this, aren’t I?”

Poppy replies first, dashing towards her mother excitedly. She grabs Joanna’s legs in a hug and Joanna laughs, ruffling her hair.

“Oh, baby, you’ll get all wet,” Joanna murmurs, before clearly deciding that Poppy is going to get wet going outside anyway. She scoops her up into her arms and kisses Poppy’s cheek messily, Poppy’s hands looping round her neck.

“You didn’t go to the moon without me,” Poppy says matter-of-factly.

“Of course I didn’t,” Joanna answers, before looking confusedly back at Yaz, forehead scrunching. “I would never leave you behind. Never ever.”

“That’s exactly what I said,” Yaz reassures, “Your mummy was just late, Poppy. Nothing to worry about.”

Joanna grimaces, shifting to bring Poppy further up her hip. “Yeah—I’m so sorry about that, I…”

“Don’t worry about it,” Yaz responds, smiling comfortingly. Joanna seems to take it, smiling back. “No harm done, eh?”

“No, I suppose not,” Joanna’s eyes seem focussed on Yaz’s face for a second or two, and her heart is doing that thing again, that ba-dum ba-dum ba-dum that she’s only ever really felt when Harry Styles winked at her during a One Direction concert fucking years ago.

(Was it really that long ago, huh? Have men really been that disappointing since?)

“Well,” Joanna says, breaking the silence, “I think you deserve a treat, ay, Pop? Ice cream?”

Poppy looks excited but Yaz laughs, glancing at the deluge outside. “You’ve certainly picked the perfect weather for it.”

“Mummy,” Poppy says pointedly, playing with Joanna’s wet hair, “Can Miss Khan come for ice cream with us?”

“Oh, uh—“ Joanna looks at Yaz expectantly, “I mean, of course she can, if you’re allowed…?”

Yaz pauses, because this is not a situation she’s encountered before, and she’s not sure what she’s supposed to do. It’s probably important to keep a professional distance from the kids in her class and their families. She knows she can’t show favouritism, but… this isn’t that, is it? This is just going for ice cream with a woman that she can’t help but want to get to know better. There’s a magnetic quality in Joanna. A one that makes all her wiring stutter and restart.

“You know what,” Yaz answers, after a moment, “That sounds like a lovely idea.”

(Oh, and this is when she discovers that she’ll do anything for a smile from either of the Smith women.)

[aion-rsa]

Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous – A Parents’ Guide

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The following contains spoilers for Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous.

The Jurassic World franchise is known for its PG-13 level of violence and thrill-factor, but Camp Cretaceous seems aimed for a younger audience, as evidenced by the PG rating and the current McDonald’s Happy Meal Toys. But is it right for your kids? From one parent to another, here are the things I noticed that might be triggers for your kids, as well as my experience watching the season with both of mine.

What Will Appeal to Kids

Let’s start with the good. This show is full of dinosaurs, and the animators clearly enjoyed luxuriating on the sheer awesomeness that these prehistoric titans embody. The campers get to ride among them in gyrospheres—the see-through, ball-like vehicles that are possibly the coolest conceit of the franchise—and zipline past the necks of the tallest sauropods. While in an underground kayaking river, they see bioluminescent parasaurolophuses. Several of the campers are present when a baby ankylosaurus hatches from an egg (which is a little heart melting, even for the most cynical viewer).

The cast of campers is largely likeable, and while viewers might not identify with all of them, there’s likely to be at least one member of the cast who they empathize with. Dino Nerd Darius, the first camper viewers meet, is an excellent viewpoint character for watchers who are entering this world, especially those who are as excited about dinosaurs as he is. In a familiar trope, the campers overcome their differences to work together as a team—and become friends. The trope is familiar because it works; we’re rooting for these scrappy underdogs to make it off the island and get back home.

The Cliffhangers

But it’s important to know that season one does not end with a conclusion to the story. Spoiler: The kids do not make it off the island. They’ve been abandoned by the adults and left to fend for themselves, because despite their best efforts, they miss the last ferry.

Despite this uncertain fate, the season finale does feel like it wraps up the larger arc of the season. It closes with assurances that the campers believe they’re going to make it, that adults are determined to come back for them, and that a missing camper survived (more on that below). The season certainly feels finished, even if the story is left completely open-ended.

But while the season finale isn’t a true cliffhanger, a large chunk of the episodes are. This is not a one-a-night before-bed TV show. This is a show that’s designed for binge watching. Episodes 2 and 4 end at relatively safe places, where the action isn’t imminent, but those are about the only two that offer a decent pause. If you’re planning to watch this as a family, leave more time than you think you need. (Parents like me will be just as eager as their kids to see what happens next!)

The Jump Scare

In the tradition of Jurassic Park movies starting with the very first one, Camp Cretaceous relies heavily on the adrenaline pumping of the jump scare. The opening scene of the first episode places viewers in a first-person video game perspective as Darius plays the official Jurassic World game—something not revealed to the viewer until a T-Rex’s jaws come closing down to black out the screen, just before a “Game Over” symbol.

There are plenty of moments throughout the series where the main characters think they’re safe, and danger appears out of nowhere, threatening everything. Sometimes the viewers share the sudden revelation of danger—that surprising shock of teeth and claws right at the forefront of the screen. Some kids thrive on this type of action; mine (five and ten) ended up attached to one arm on each side as we binge watched the last four episodes. Compared to superhero action, where the impact always affects someone else, Camp Cretaceous’s intensity comes from putting the viewer right at the center of the action.

Death

It should be no surprise to anyone familiar with the franchise that people get eaten by dinosaurs in Camp Cretaceous. The animation is handled very delicately. Viewers never see any of the details of the fates of these usually unnamed park employees. The one named adult who is eaten, Eddie, has just stolen a vehicle from the campers, which is likely to make viewers feel substantially less sorry for him. His scene is fairly dramatic: viewers watch him try to escape from the Indominus rex, who ultimately prevails in getting a human meal, and his screams, though quiet and faraway, are certainly audible.

Read more

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How Camp Cretaceous Connects to the Jurassic World Canon

By Jennifer Lee Rossman

But it’s not just seeing people get eaten, or knowing that the kids are finding what’s left of those who were attacked, that makes death loom large over the series. Much of Darius’s motivation comes from losing his father to an illness. The pair had promised to visit Jurassic World together, until Darius’s father’s sickness got the better of him. In one of the most touching episodes in the season, viewers see Darius’s father in his hospital bed, fighting for his life—but losing. Viewers don’t see his death, but Darius’s loss feels palpable. We needed a box of tissues to deal with those scenes, but for kids who fear losing parents to illness—particularly in the midst of a worldwide pandemic—it’s important parents are ready for those scenes going in.

There’s also the tease of the death of one of the campers. In the last episode, camper Ben plummets from a monorail into the jungle below, his fate unknown to the other campers. By this point in the series, the campers have survived a number of long falls before this—zip lines are supposed to be one of the fun features of the camp, but when the campers are using one to escape the Indominus rex, the fun gives way to fear. In one episode, Camper Yaz jury rigs a zip line to evade a leaping Mosasaurus in a horror version of a Sea World aquarium. So it’s not a certain thing that Ben died in the fall—and the fact that the campers choose to continue their escape without looking for him is one of the big, ethical moments in the series, where the kids choose the chance that the five of them will survive over the likelihood that, if they search for Ben, all six of them could die.

Ultimately, Ben survives; his fingers twitching as his companion dinosaur discovers him are the last things viewers see in season one. But that moral question has no easy answer, and sometimes it’s those bigger questions that challenge younger viewers, even more than the scary parts.

Romance 

There’s no explicit romance in season one, which is more focused on friendship than other teen drama. Kenji, the oldest and richest of the campers, makes several comments about impressing girls, and once claims to describe himself as a “tall hot drink,” a comment met with groans and one, “Gross.” (Brooklynn, a social media star who has a deep love for her espresso machine, tells Kenji, “You could never be coffee.”)

One close friendship does develop between two girls, and while fans of other Dreamworks shows like She-Ra and the Princesses of Power may start shipping them, budding romance at this point is only wishful thinking.

My Family’s Takeaway

All kids are different. My ten year old found the intensity and the jump scares much more upsetting than my five year old, who was all about the cool dinosaurs. Both relied on me to assure them that things were going to be all right at the end, which was a bit of a leap of faith on my part, since I was also watching the series for the first time. Thankfully, Dreamworks did not let me down: all the kids made it out alive, and if all of us dropped our jaws that the kids actually failed to get off the island, it just whet our appetites for a second season.

Some kids, especially those who have watched other parts of this franchise, will handle the show’s intensity like champs. There’s almost no gore (the kids get dirty, but I can’t recall seeing any blood in the entire first season), which makes it slightly tamer than the cinematic parts of the franchise. The trailer is a good indication of the tone of the show, giving examples of how the music heightens the tension, and how danger lurks around every corner. If you’re still not sure, the first episode makes good use of all of those elements, and while the stakes are absolutely higher as the season goes on, if you think your kids can handle the first episode, they’ll probably be fine for the whole season.

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That said, I’m really glad my kids didn’t watch the show on their own. We’ve had no nightmares, but I think that’s in part because they watched it with a parent, who could help them feel safe in spite of the intensity. As it turned out, watching it with them really enhanced my experience as well. My vote? Make this a family night watch and share in the awe and wonder of dinosaurs together.

The post Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous – A Parents’ Guide appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[swan2swan]

The Yaz attack episode SUCKS because it's basically "campus shooting, but with dinosaurs", so it's really not that Fun.

Like...cowardly scientist gets eaten on his birthday abandoning kids? That's kinda funny.

Guy gets pulled apart by T. rexes while saving our heroes? Sad, yes, but he went out like a hero. A champ. He was pulling a gun! He fought to the end!

Babysitter gets eaten trying to rush her charges to safety through a mass panic? Not funny, very sad, but noble and spectacular despite the horror.

Bunch of mercenaries get torn apart by a freak experiment? Yeah, that's what they get for stealing dinosaurs and selling them.

Guy on a scooter gets chomped in the middle of mayhem? Sad for him, but also funny, especially because you know the guy won a contest for that role (probably won the scooter in-universe, too, making it Ironic).

But three random people killed and/or wounded in an almost-indiscriminate attack on a refuge? That is...not cool. It's Too Real. I Do Not Like It. There is A Thing there.

[swan2swan]

Okay I should have been updating on the Camp Cretaceous panel as I watch:

1. They didn’t want Bumpy to be Scrappy-Doo

2. I’m onto Josie, who was in charge in the writer’s room, and she wanted a little bit of Breakfast Club and character bonding, and putting them on the run let them thrive

3. Sheela was super-excited to write for...or rather...she had no idea what to do with them: and it was hard to get a handle on whether “she was likeable” in regards to (I’m guessing Sammy? Or Brooklynn?).........and she was very concerned about the messages sent to teen girls...no! It was Yaz! But she was happy about how much the internet loved Yaz!

4. It’s because Yaz was surly and defensive at first. And that really helped...gosh I love.

5. Josie really relates to Darius. “We’ll all bring our dinosaur encylopedias that we all own--” oh wait. 

6. 

Loving Josie’s merch.

7. Sheela: “Two glasses of wine in, we are all Sammy.” 

8. “We’re all Sammy, deep down.” --Josie

9. Once they landed on the fact that Brooklynn was losing followers, it made her sympathetic. There were problems. 

10. Rick Williams really liked that they wanted to figure out what they were gonna see. The show is about more than kids running from dinosaurs (looking at you, Phoenix), but it’s all about the themes of bravery and loss and such.

11. Eddie is “pretty much the worst dude on the planet”

12. Bethany loves the “Rosencrantz and Guldenstein stuff”, as Josie calls it (Bethany calls it the Back to the Future Part 2 stuff).  Liked “getting paid to watch the movie”

13. “Who doesn’t love an adorable dinosaur?”

14. Josie or someone wrote the line about how nobody knows how to drive and there was the line “THAT HAD A JIMMY FALLON TUTORIAL!!!”

15. Yeah, the moderator’s right--the emotional impact of the Masrani crash is SO GOOD in Camp Cretaceous. It all ties together so well.

16. Colin knows he has to make his stories evolve with ages of kids and people

17. They had to re-record the kids screaming because “there’s a difference between Saturday morning cartoon screaming and ‘I’m going to get eaten and DIE’ screaming.” 

18. Josie relishes the afternoon of “No, but...like you’re dying.”

19. “The second half of Fallen Kingdom is...staight-up Gothic Horror.” The moderator gets it. I’ll have to watch that movie.

20. He loves how they get muddy and messy.

21. Colin loved being in a room with so many creative people. 

22.  Josie “loved having Colin in the room”. They spent about two hours talking about each character. 

23. Sounds like everyone got along with Trevorrow and had fun with him.

24. They did study the movie and mapped everything out to the Indominus’s course, so yes, everything does line up.

25. Colin loved that they were able to put the whole kayak ride into the show, and that they made up new parts of the park.

26. Question to Zack: Anything that made it into the series that you always wanted to see in the films? His answer is yes, because there’s a lot of worldbuilding, and he loves the satire of modern theme parks and how they work. He loved showing off the mechanics behind the scenes--and the fact that the kids get to go into the tunnels and go beneath the attractions is neat. 

27. Colin interjects by showing that they put the research facility in as part of the show--based on ONE SHOT OF THE SIGN IN THE MOVIE. That’s great. 

28. Question about diversity. Zack really wanted it to be a diverse cast because “THAT’S THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY, BABY. It’s not five white kids and their one racially-diverse friend.” 

29. “How did you approach the inclusion?” Sheela takes that one saying that good representation starts with good character development (yup). There’s no tokenism here. Everything is just realistic and solid. “Even if we covered the many conversations that we have about race and about culture and how that informs these kids...when a writing staff looks like this, kids can be assured that these conversations are being had.” 

30. Bethany loves the monorail episode. 

31. Colin was responsible for “chocolate is nature’s chocolate.” 

32. The moderator loves the diversity in dinosaurs. Toro is the villain, Bumpy is the cute dinosaur...new stuff, what are your favorites? 

33. Bumpy was originally a MAIASAUR. That’s fantastic! But the writers pushed for Ankylosaurus, which is honestly so superior...and it works with the Indominus. 

34. They knew Indominus couldn’t be the nemesis because the kids can’t beat Indominus, so they needed others. They had models on-hand, and Carnotaurus was terrifying. It’s just a mouth on a body, chasing them through the camp!

35. Sheela is a Compy. She’s always snacking. Compies are adorable.

36. Mosasaur love. Fun with the Jaws storyline.

37. Now we’re on to dealing with the TRAUMA. Scott wanted them to end up at a point, so while things are “infinitely worse for them”, but...they’re kids, and they’re resilient. 

38. “:They’re a family now.” YES, FOUND FAMILY, YES.

39. Future seasons? Let’s have another one come out, I think they’re about to drop the trailer. “If people like what we’re doing, we’ll certainly do more,” Colin says. 

40. THIS is where the show starts. The show STARTS now. And, yeah. They don’t know what the timeline is or where it’s going (Netflix, please). 

41. Josie and co. probably know more about Dominion than most other people...so they know. They know things about the next movie. They know what is coming, to an extent. That’s neat...and keep your eyes on the show for future stuff, I guess! (I’m guessing Mantah Corp...). 

42. No spoilers but there is something to consider that there is a three years between (yeah, I don’t expect tie-in to Fallen Kingdom), but this is NOT a show about adults coming to save kids. This is about kids alone having to save each other. 

43. Colin assured them that it was their show. It was more limited in the first season, when they were playing inside the movie, but now...it’s their show.

TRAILER!!!