#jurassic snark

[mollywog]

Roommate

Fake Fic Ask Game by @vasilissadragomir

🐑 (fake set of fic tags): modern au roommates, mutual pining, jealous!katniss, hot chocolate, meddling!Prim, misunderstandings

She’s smiling down at her phone when Prim snaps her fingers in front of the screen, “Are you even listening?”

“Oh! Yeah! Sorry,” Katniss says, placing her phone face down on the table.

“Who are you talking to anyways?” Her sister eyes the phone with curiosity and Katniss covers it with her hand lest Prim resort to snooping, “are you seeing someone?! You’re giddy, it’s weird”

“God no,” she has no desire for that, “Peeta’s doing a grocery run and asked about snacks.” They were going to watch Jurassic Park tonight and he’d sent her a picture of a bag of frozen Dino nuggets.

“Sounds cozy. What does Nutmeg think about her boyfriend Netflix-and-chill-ing with his super hot roommate?”

Katniss rolls her eyes, “Clove’s not in the picture anymore.” She doesn’t get it. Peeta’s the best, but his taste in women is the worst. She’d taken to giving them petty nicknames rather than learning their real ones. The latest had been a real cloven hoofed bitch.

“Oh,” Prim perks up, “So, are you gonna make a move?”

God, not her too! Maybe she’s been talking to Finnick. He keeps insisting she’s in love with Peeta. She’s not and the accusation is annoying, “No,” She says, tone firm, “Peeta and I are friends. Just friends.”

“Hmm” her sister sounds unconvinced.

“Hmm what?”

“I think you like him.”

“Of course I like him, he’s my friend.”

“Come on Katniss. You talk about him constantly, you spend all your spare time together, and you’ve hated every girl he’s ever given a second look.”

“Yeah, because they all sucked.”

“- his dick, and you were jealous.” Prim adds.

Katniss bulks, “don’t talk like that. Who raised you?”

“We all know who raised me. Don’t try to duck the topic! So, you’d be fine with him dating someone you approve of?”

Katniss shrugs, “of course,” it’s a trick question, because she can’t imagine anyone good enough for him.

“What about me?” Prim says, as if following her line of thought, “I must meet your standards. What if I started dating Peeta? You wouldn’t have a problem with that?”

“Didn’t know you were interested.” Why does her voice sound so high all of the sudden?

“I don’t know; maybe it’s all your glowing about how great he is. Answer the question.”

“I mean it would be weird, because you're my sister,” she says haltingly, “but obviously I think you’re amazing,” she briefly imagines Peeta leading Prim to his bedroom, and wants to vomit.

“So you’d be completely fine if I asked him out?” Prim eggs.

Her discomfort is overcome by a flare of annoyance at the challenge. “Want me to put in a good word for you?” She snarks.

“Nah.” Katniss exhales, feeling a little lighter. Maybe this will finally put the whole thing to rest, but then her sister continues with a smirk, “I’m a big girl, I don’t need your help.”

Part 2 | Part 3 or Ao3

[banannabethchase]

Jurassic Sanctuary

Chapter 3: Yuta - also on AO3

~

Yuta's been in Rexha's enclosure. He hadn't woken up during the thunderstorm.

~

Yuta

He yawns, stretching as he wakes up. “Hey, Rexha,” he yells down. “Who turned out the lights?”

The T-Rex roars up at him.

“Yeah, yeah, shut up,” he grumbles. “I’ll get you dinner in a minute. What time is it?” He checks his watch. “Oh, I’m late. That’s why you’re pissed.”

He presses the button to release the goats into Rexha’s enclosure, but nothing happens. “Hello,” he says, pressing it again. “Baa baa black sheep, have you any goddamned respect for Rexha’s meal schedule?” He punches it. “Fuck.”

Careful to avoid Rexha’s reach, Yuta shuffles down from what the others call his bird’s nest and hops into the waiting pen. He fiddles with the lights, tries the intercom, the computers. Nothing.

“Damn it,” he grumbles. “Knew Kris is never wrong.”

He climbs up the side of the wall, on the wooden ladder Mox had always told him would never work as a ladder but he disagreed with, and hops down into the goat enclosure.

“Alright, you stinky little weirdoes.” He pats them on the head, giving each of them a kiss in thanks. “Tragically, the circle of life has ourobourosed for the six of you. Love you all. Thank you for your service to the dinosaur population and to Rexha.” He walks to the release gate and starts by throwing open the metal barrier. It’s about a hundred pounds, but Bryan and Claudio have been making him squat a bunch of the feed bags, so he’s only straining a little bit as he stands up. Next is the wooden door which slides open pretty easily.

He expects to go for the glass door next, since the goats are skittish enough to run out without Rexha having to see them beforehand.

Rexha’s sharp teeth and predator eye are directly in the way.

“Oh, shit,” he says, stumbling backward. “It’s me, Rex. Don’t eat Daddy. You love me.”

Rexha snarls and slams her head against the glass.

“No,” Yuta says, tripping over a goat and falling ass first into the hay. He hopes what he landed in was just rainwater and mud, but he’s not confident. “Bad girl. Be nice.”

Rexha roars again and slams her head.

“It’s reinforced,” he snarks at her. “Good luck. You can’t break through it. We’ve tried.”

It doesn’t stop Rexha from trying herself, though. She repeatedly slams her head against the glass.

“Calm down!” Yuta yells. But he’s not feeling calm himself. They’ve never been late on Rexha’s meals before. Not like this. Their feeding schedule is atypical, like it would be in the wild. Lots of goats three times a week, then one week where she gets a deer to hunt and that’s it. A week with daily raptor snacks, a week off.

Unfortunately, today is day eight of no food.

“If you eat me, Tony will kick your ass,” Yuta says. He frowns, trying to determine a way to open the gate without getting himself in the line of fire. He glances over to the emergency wall. An ax won’t do shit. Fire extinguisher, while fun to use, won’t help. He pushes some other things aside to find rope with a hook on the bottom.

He shrugs. “That’ll work.”

Rexha roars in response.

“Oh, pipe down,” he snaps. “Give me, like, ten minutes.”

Acutely aware of the giant teeth and the watchful eye on the other side of the glass, Yuta uses the hook on the end of the rope, trying to swing it into a part of the glass. He can’t get it hooked on the bottom of the glass window – the concrete won’t budge. He can’t wedge it into the corner between the walls, he can’t get it to pull off any of the planks. In frustration, he swings the rope hard against the glass. It’s bulletproof, he knows.

 He watches a crack appear, hears something, a light crackle. His blood runs cold.

Rexha roars and slams her head into the glass, the crack expanding.

“Not good,” Yuta mutters. He has a split second decision. With the leap of a lifetime, he jumps toward the ladder from before. He lets himself feel a little smug on top of the panic as he’s scrambling up. He knew this ladder was a good idea. If he survives this, he’ll rub it in Mox’s face. He jumps as the roar grows louder and there’s the sound of glass shattering. He glances, nervous, over at the underground paths. They might have been safer.

Rexha roars again and there’s metal crunching. He has no time to regret.

“Shit,” he says, finding the soft spot in the roof and punching through it. He knew it’d be handy. “Shit McDiaper Fuck, I’m so screwed.” He pulls himself through the roof, for once glad for Bryan’s incessant gym club bullshit. He knows, logically, that this entire area is locked in. Big enough to be Rexha’s two mile radius habitat. He knows, logically, he can run two miles in under thirteen minutes with an emergency bag on his back. He knows, logically, that Rexha’s big but slow, and if he can get out of range he has a half a chance.  

He also knows how goddamned huge Rexha’s head is, accompanied by huge teeth.

He gets a look at the set of gates, leading to the exit out of Rexha’s enclosure. The open field is now looking like a mistake. The trees are an option, but he hates it. The upper level exit through fake trees, specifically, is what he hates. He’ll have to crawl through the emergency vents.

“If I’m up, I’m up,” he mumbles, and he jumps into the branches of the nearest tree before Rexha’s head punches through the roof, similarly to Yuta’s first punch earlier. He laughs, a little hysterical.

“Rex, you have perfectly good goat down there. Be a good predator,” he yells. He has to leap backward and snag a branch. Apparently Rexha took that as an insult. She roars, head flashing around to track movement. Yuta presses himself up against the trunk of the tree, hardly allowing himself to breathe.

Rexha roars.

Time stops.

Her head turns toward Yuta. And he slips. She dives toward him and swings her head, slamming it into the side of the tree next to him. He falls down a few branches, hitting hard on each one, but he manages to catch one and swing himself into the direction of the emergency exit.

About two hundred meters away. Probably around a hundred trees to jump through, if his body cooperates.

And a giant dinosaur behind him, clawing at branches and leaves.

Yuta swings, jumping to the next tree. His one benefit is that Rexha has to work through trees to get to him, and he just has to duck under branches and leaves while moving. He’s scratched, more than once, by twigs. He’s pretty sure he eats a few bugs, and there’s a caterpillar that lands directly on his nose that freaks him out enough to scream. But he’s focused on the emergency exit. And he can get there.

Rexha manages to duck out into the field and run, full force, into trees in front of Yuta. Two trees fall toward him. He has no choice but to jump, landing hard on his ankle on a giant branch low to the ground.

“Fuck,” he mumbles, pain shooting from his ankle up to his spine. “Fuck.” Stumbling, he races to the next branch and jumps. Only a dozen or so more. Or two dozen. Or fifty.

He doesn’t know. Hell, he’s not even sure if he’s on target to hit the exit. All he knows is forward.

He thinks about the training Bryan’s put him through. He’s hurt more in the gym than this, hurt more when Bryan’s got his arm in a weird bend for no goddamned reason, hurt more when Bryan’s giving him another set of reps to do after the third “one last set”, hurt more when he’s racing Bryan on the trails around the campus.

He can hear Bryan’s voice in his head, encouraging him, giving him pointers.

“That branch right there – yes, now swing. To the one underneath. It’s going to hurt, but you can handle it.”

Yuta knows he’s probably insane for it, but hearing his – Bryan’s – fine, his crush’s voice in his ear barking orders and directions was helping.

“Use those biceps, Yuta, I didn’t train you to be a bitch.”

“You and I both know you could run another mile if you had to, so no telling me this is too hard.”

“If you lose your grip on this branch, I’ll make you do another dozen burpees.”

Yuta, with a visual on the door handle and the horrible sense that Rexha has learned how to use her head to take out multiple trees at a time, begins to wish he had some slightly kinder words from Bryan to hold onto. He tries to replace Bryan with Danny, but encouragements from his childhood best friend are usually, “If you don’t get jacked, then how are you gonna pull that hot old dude from work?” and it’s back to Bryan.

He thinks he can feel Rexha’s breath on his back, can feel the saliva flicking at him. He’s only a few trees away when the branch he’s on, slippery from the onslaught of pouring rain, bends enough to slide him off. He yells, against his better judgement as he slams down on the branch beneath him, moaning as he rolls down the branch until he crashes into the trunk of the tree.

It may have saved his life. The trunk of a tree Rexha had slammed into hits exactly the space where Yuta had been standing seconds before. He can see the pattern of Rexha’s skin, she’s so close. He doesn’t have time to marvel at it before he’s scrambling up the next tree. He scrambles, as quietly as he can, back up to the correct level of the emergency exit. Leaping, feeling a sting in his ankle that he can manage but proves to be distracting, he lands on the tiny ladder on the wall. He hops more than climbs, praying he can get the code to pop the door.

73942. Rexha’s name in numbers. He throws a look over his shoulder. Rexha’s closer than she’s ever been without glass between them.

Yuta should throw himself into the exit, should get out of here right now before things get worse.

“Hi, princess,” he coos, unable to resist the moment. “Hi, Rexha baby. I’m your Dad.”

Rexha looks at him with one huge eye. He thinks he sees understanding there. Even if it’s just a second.

A second it is. Rexha roars and Yuta barely manages to dive into the door and slam it shut before Rexha’s head slams into it again.

Yuta scrambles back, praying the door holds. The silence on the other end gives him no comfort.

He waits.

He braces.

The shake from inside the metal tube feels like how he could imagine it would feel seconds before a submarine would implode. He’s claustrophobic on his worst days, and this seems to be one of them. Crawling is hell on his knees as he scrambles far enough away to stop feeling Rexha’s rage. Or, maybe, she’s given up and will go hunt goats. He knows what he’d like it to be.

He exhales as he comes up to the manhole. He doesn’t know how long he’s been crawling. He hopes he’s made a decent dent in how far he’ll have to walk; his ankle doesn’t feel up to another mile. He has to steady his breathing, the adrenaline shifting to shakiness, as he opens the hatch. Gracelessly, he falls down into the next room. He collapses in a crumple, not expecting to make it on his ankle. He lay there for a moment. The adrenaline makes it hard to regulate his breathing. He still has another half mile or so to make it from this part of the tunnels to the Center.

And he’ll have to go up so many stairs.

He groans and flops over. He hopes that smell isn’t him. He’s not hopeful.

Yuta doesn’t know how long it’s been that he’s been on the floor, or if he was even awake for all of it. His body is still, but nothing but his ankle really stings.

He rolls over, making it to his feet. His journey is slow and labored. He comes up with some lists of improvements possible in this transfer hall. A clock, for one. Little mini jeep things kids play with to get him from one end to the next. Maybe some basic bitch décor, like from Homegoods. He appreciates the hand rails, though. And the grippy tread on the floor. Without it, he’s pretty sure he would have fallen over, with how unsteady he is on this ankle.

With the place in lockdown, he’s expecting to be shit out of luck getting in to any of the Center buildings. He plans to yell the word, “Fuck” at the top of his lungs until somebody notices him. Maybe climb up the wall on the outside ladders while at it.

He pats his pockets. Maybe, if one of the towers was still functional…

He pulls out his phone. Nothing. He knows, out here, even emergency signals don’t work. At the very least, he’d managed to charge it the night before, so his phone has enough power to keep him, like, mildly entertained if he’s stuck in a hallway for hours. Watch a downloaded video or two. Maybe listen to a podcast.

He shoves the phone back into his pocket and comes upon the last of the lockdown doors. The ceiling emergency exit tunnels had helped him avoid the other four or five behind him, but this one.

Yuta groans. There’s no hope. He’s stuck in here, yelling fuck for all of eternity.

Until he sees something in the doorway.

“Is that…?”

He gets to his feet and limps on unsteady joints. “Holy shit.”

It’s something small, alright, but it’s in the space between the door and the wall. A brief inspection, and Yuta determines that the overflow stored power, designed exclusively to shut these doors, spent the last of itself trying to shove the door closed over the sparkling gem.

“Oh, Willow’s gonna be pissed,” he chuckles. He kneels down and throws back to a few weeks back, when Willow had lost the diamond earring Kris’ mother had gotten her for Christmas. “I knew it was gonna turn up.” He shoves the door open, wincing at his ankle, until it’s wide enough for him to slip through. He bends down and shoves the earring in his pocket, and leaves the door open behind him. He doesn’t know if, maybe, somebody else got trapped out there. He doesn’t want to be the reason somebody else gets stuck.

He gets into the nicely decorated Center hallways, feeling very out of place in his drenched and stained work gear. He doesn’t spend much time in here, usually in Rexha’s feeding space or monitoring her from her enclosure viewpoint. Really, he’s only in here to get to the boat or to visit Bryan.

He sighs. Bryan, who will probably mock him the second he gets into sight for getting locked out. Bryan, who will probably check him all over in a panic and it’s the most his hands will ever be on Yuta.

Bryan, who might look at least a little bit happy Yuta’s not dead.

He doesn’t let himself get too hopeful – a kind word might be the best he can expect – as he makes his way to the Center lobby. He can hear shouting.

Fear bubbles in his chest. Rexha had gotten out. Somebody got attacked. Somebody got crushed by a falling tree. Somebody got crushed in a lockdown door.

He speeds up, close enough to the door that he can make out words.

“I don’t give a fuck!” he hears Bryan shout from inside the Center lobby. “I’m done waiting!”

“It’s not safe,” Mox says, sounding tired.

“Bull shit it’s not safe!” Bryan yells. “Claudio got Mox and this dipshit out from Mox’s place. Why can’t we go get Yuta?”

“Rehxa’s different from Zoe and Emily,” Claudio says, and he’s got a slight shake to the usual steadiness. Yuta hates it. He walks faster, the doorway in sight. “Riot gear and 4 men aren’t enough protection, even if we had power.”

“Fuck it,” Bryan says. “I’ll go on my own.”

“Danielson,” Willow says, in her most serious voice. “We can’t risk another employee.”

“Don’t fucking give me that,” Danielson snarls. Yuta’s almost to the doorway. He just has to make it a few more feet. Just a few more. “We don’t know what Rexha’s done. We don’t – he’s not –”

Yuta gets to the door and falls against it, exhausted. “He’s right here,” he grumbles. Something inside him tells him to meet the shocked expressions with finger guns. “You all having a party without me?”

“Wheeler!” Willow yells, her hand flying to her mouth. He tries not to notice the tears.

Yuta stumbles into the door. “Yeah, yeah, I’m late,” he croaks out. He’s not sure when his body started aching all over. The pain could have started when he fell back into the goat poop. When he was swinging and falling from branch to branch. Could be from when Rexha swung her head at that tree he was standing in. He’s not sure.

“You’re alive,” Bryan says. He grabs Yuta and yanks him into a crushing hug, which, he supposes, is the best way he’s been injured in the past hour or so.

“I’m alive,” Yuta croaks. “You’re kind of crushing my already bruised ribs.”

“Fuck,” Bryan says. He steps back and holds Yuta at arm’s length, scanning him.

“Yeah, kind of covered in everything you could imagine.” Yuta tries for a sheepish smile, but he’s pretty sure it only shows off the bloody cut on the side of his face. “I’m kind of disgusting right –”

He doesn’t get a chance to finish his sentence. Blood and shit and rainwater and mud and all, Bryan grabs him up and kisses him like his life depends on it, holding his face in his hands like Yuta’s more fragile than he’d ever imagined.

He’s hardly aware of all the eyes he knows are on them, too busy realizing that he’s finally getting the one thing he’d thought he’d never get in his life. He pulls back, head floating. “Bryan,” he says quietly. “What…?”

“I thought you were dead,” Bryan croaks. “I thought – I thought Rexha, definitely…”

Yuta shakes his head. “I mean, she tried, but I managed to get away.” He shakes his head, trying to prove he’s awake. “I thought you hated me?”

“Hated you?” Bryan says, eyes soft in a way that Yuta’s never seen directed at him. “Yuta, I’ve never wanted anything more than you.”

“Had a weird way of showing it,” Yuta mumbles, but he doesn’t get to follow it up. Bryan’s yanked him in again, kissing him with fervor and desperation. He forgets he’s covered in filth. He forgets his dinosaur nearly ate him for dinner. Hell, he forgets that they’re surrounded by people. He wraps his arms around Bryan’s waist, leaning into it, enjoying the moment.

A throat clears in the background, and he scans the expressions when he comes up for air. Willow, grinning like she’s know it all along. Mox and his twinky dude are tangled around each other, grinning, and Claudio’s eyes are soft, his smile matching Willow’s.

“So, you got the power back on?” Yuta asks. He turns to Claudio. “Think I could get in the shower?”

Claudio chokes on air, and Yuta stares at him. “What’s wrong with you?”

“I – we can get the generators set up, but the connection might be back before then,” Claudio says, flaming red. “Nothing’s wrong with me. Go take – take a – take a shower.”

“You never blush,” Yuta says, frowning. “What’s wrong with you?”

“After today?” Claudio asks, dropping his head in his hand. “Everything. I’m taking paternity leave early. See you in three months.”

“If you’re serious, I can put it in the system now,” Willow says, holding up the notepad. “I mean, when the power comes back.”

“I don’t even know anymore,” Claudio mumbles.

“Shower?” Yuta says hopefully. “I’m covered in so much - everything.” He picks a leaf out of his hair.

“You’re going to medical first,” Bryan says, wrapping an arm around Yuta’s waist. He hopes people thinks his cheeks are red due to exertion. “Kris is still down there, unless she snuck past me.”

Willow nods. “She was checking on the medical systems. She hasn’t been back, but she also hasn’t yelled in panic, so I think we’re good.”

“I guess it goes without saying that Rexha’s feeding containment chamber is damaged,” Yuta says, craning his neck to speak to Mox. “She’ll be fine, but we’re going to have to use the sky drop method from now on.”

“Works for me,” Mox says, adjusting his arms so they’re wrapped around the darker haired twink. “Never liked that containment chamber.”

“Who’s that, by the way?” Yuta asks. “I mean, you’re allowed to have boyfriends or friends or whatever here? Tony told me Danny and his boyfriend needed a whole new background check.”

The guy says, smiling. “Well, I’m a special case.”

“Sure. A special headcase,” Yuta says, frowning. Bryan laughs.

“I’m Matt Jackson,” the guy says, looking a little confused. “Wow, you guys really don’t watch anything, do you.”

“Rexha likes documentaries,” Yuta offers, but then Mox is outwardly laughing at him and Bryan’s got his hands on his shoulders, and he’s shuffled off to medical. “She does!” Yuta yells, but Bryan’s grip is iron. He steps downward and yelps.

“Are you alright?” Bryan asks, concern visible even in the miserable lighting.

“Ankle,” Yuta mutters.

“Oh,” Bryan says, stern. “Well, then.” He grabs Yuta and throws him over his shoulder.

“What are you doing?” Yuta asks, trying not to giggle. “I can walk.”

“You can, but you shouldn’t,” Bryan says. “Kris? You in here?”

“Oh, hey!” Kris says as Bryan shoves Yuta onto a gurney. “You’re alive!”

“I am,” Yuta says. “Barely.”

“And not bleeding out,” Kris says, and it’s impressed if he’s ever seen it from her. “What’d she do to you?”

“Not much to me, exactly,” Yuta says. “But, uh. The feeding enclosure. That’s busted.”

“Good,” Kris says, grinning. “Now you have one less place to hide from me.”

“That sounds so creepy,” but he lets Kris do the exam. She’s thorough and careful, clinical as she barks notes for Bryan to scribble down on a notepad. He misses the other medical staff – they’d once been best friends. But Kris and Willow have the place pretty down pat as things have changed and shifted, what with Kris’ experience and Willow’s ability to delegate.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Yuta asks, sitting up straight. “I know what that is.”

Bryan looks at him, eyes honest as they peer out through the hair falling around his eyes. “You don’t have to,” he says, preparing the vial. He puts it into a syringe, but doesn’t step again toward Yuta. “I just want it ready as an option.”

“It’s been working on my knee pain,” Kris says. “Basic analgesic with no liver, kidney, or stomach impact so far.” She brightens. “It’s like a faster acting, longer lasting ibuprofen. Fantastic on stopping cramps.”

Yuta presses his lips together.

“You don’t have to,” Bryan says again. “But I’ve been using it to combat my neck issues.” He smiles, and Yuta wants to fall into it. He settles for leaning up and yanking Bryan into a kiss. At the very least, he can taste the smile. “Is that a yes?” Bryan asks.

“This is gross,” Kris says. “Willow and I don’t kiss like that in front of other people. You guys should be more normal.”

“Shut up,” Yuta says, flipping Kris off. He doesn’t take his eyes off of Bryan before he nods. “Yeah. Yeah, I’ll try it.” He gulps, looking down at his twisted ankle. “Do you like, inject it?” He looks around, expecting a needle. “Needles suck.”

Bryan looks at him, befuddled. “This is a syringe,” he says, slowly.

“Yes?” Yuta says. “Do you inject me with the syringe?”

Bryan flicks the tip. “It’s plastic, Yuta. You’re fine. Goes in your mouth.”

Kris snorts. “Sorry,” she says, before Bryan or Yuta can say anything. “Sorry. Don’t kill me. I’ll leave.” She nods to Yuta. “You made it out of there with a sprained ankle and some scratches. You need a shower, first, but then I’m prescribing rest, an elevated ankle, and low impact for the next 4-6 weeks.”

Yuta nods.

“Go shower and then I’ll show you how to wrap it,” Kris says. “Unless…” She trails off, giving Bryan a look.

“You go upstairs,” Bryan says. “I can wrap his ankle for him. Show him how to do it.” His gaze gets more intense. “I have the training to do stitches or basic wound care, if anything pops up.”

Kris’ smile is knowing. “I’ll leave you to it.”

Yuta’s heart is racing, alone with Bryan, and it has nothing to do with the pain. “So, the medicine?”

“Right,” Bryan says. He rests the syringe in Yuta’s hand. “Just, sort of.” He holds up his hand and mimics pushing the plunger into his mouth.

“Is that a blowjob joke?” Yuta asks, picking up the syringe and resting it on his lower lip. “That felt like a blowjob joke.”

“It’s instructions,” Bryan says. “Just plunge it. It might be the cherry flavor. Otherwise it’ll be a bit bitter but fine.”

Yuta locks eyes with Bryan. “If this kills me, I’ll come back to life and take you down myself.”

Bryan rests a hand on Yuta’s thigh. “Duly noted.”

Yuta takes the medication, which indeed has a cherry taste.

“When’s it kick in?”

“Fifteen to thirty minutes,” Bryan says. “No longer than an hour.”

Yuta nods. “So I have some time to wait before it kicks in,” he says quietly, “What if, um. What if I needed help showering?”

“What if,” muses Bryan. “I suppose you might need some assistance. Balancing and all that.”

“I thought so, too.” Yuta swallows. “May-maybe you could come with me.”

Bryan looks at him. “Are you sure? You just almost died.”

“Yeah, and all I want after that is to get you naked.” Yuta smiles at him. “If you want to, I mean.”

Bryan’s eyes twinkle. “Yeah?”

Yuta nods. “Yeah.”

They walk to the bathroom and Yuta only kicks off his shoes before stepping into the water stream.

He turns to see Bryan, halfway through pulling his shirt off.

“What?” Yuta asks, spinning to get the worst of the gunk off of himself. “I’m showering.”

“In your clothes?”

“Yeah. Get rid of as much as we can here. Saves the washing machine.”

Bryan smiles as he finishes undressing. Yuta decides that staring is probably allowed, but he’s too distracted by how the water is finally getting warm.

“Here,” Bryan says, sliding open the glass door, “I can help you.”

“Help me?” Yuta asks.

“You’ll be sore,” Bryan says. “And it’ll be hard to undress on one leg.”

Yuta nods. “That’s a good point.”

Bryan’s fingers are gentler than Yuta’s ever felt them as he carefully unzips the jacket and pushes it off of Yuta’s shoulders. Yuta can’t do anything but watch him.

“I’m going to pull off your shirt now,” Bryan says, fingertips grazing the hem of Yuta’s shirt.

Yuta nods and lifts his arms. There’s achiness, but no stinging pain as the water rains down.

“Gonna check your back,” Bryan murmurs. “I want to make sure there’s nothing we could miss.”

Yuta’s heart races faster as he feels Bryan’s hands on his back. It’s so careful, so tender. Yuta’s body is on fire. “I should probably take off my pants, too,” he says, over his shoulder. “Check my legs.”

Bryan nods. “Hold on, first.” He turns Yuta, examining his face. He runs his thumbs along Yuta’s cheekbones. “Nope. No more dirt on your face.”

“Yeah?” Yuta breathes.

Bryan pulls him in to kiss him again. At first, Yuta doesn’t know where to put his hands, but he settles them on Bryan’s hips, dying to touch him more.

“Pants off,” Bryan says. “I’ll help you.”

Bryan lets Yuta lean on his shoulder as he kicks his pants off. He expects Bryan to go in for the kill, but instead he gets a washcloth.

“You need to tend everything,” Bryan says. “Clean every place, just to be sure.”

“You can’t wash a sprained ankle.”

Bryan huffs. “Just let me take care of you.” Yuta stops complaining at the sensations, at how good it feels. He feels embarrassed, briefly, that Bryan will inevitably see his hard cock, know he’s getting off on it. But Bryan clearly notices and blushes. His gaze turns up to Yuta as he continues with the washcloth, diligent.

It’s like a slap, and Yuta realizes this is how Bryan has always been with him. From spotting him while lifting, to running with him to set a brutal pace that Yuta kept up with, to encouraging him to add more and more weight while doing pullups. He’s been taking care of Yuta. He’s been taking care of Yuta this whole time.

Bryan’s in the middle of wiping down Yuta’s stomach with the sudsy cloth when Yuta blurts out, “I think you love me.”

Bryan’s hands still, and Yuta regrets the day he was born with a mouth. “What?”

Yuta shrugs, wobbling only slightly. “You’ve always – you love me,” Yuta says. “You don’t hate me.”

“How many – no, I don’t hate you!” Bryan says. “Why would I spend all my free time in the gym with you or letting you hang out in the lab – god, you’re fucking stupid.” He yanks Yuta in for a searing kiss. “Of course I love you,” he murmurs against Yuta’s lips. “I’ve always loved you. Since the day I met you.”

“You never said anything,” Yuta complains. “You never told me.”

“I didn’t know I was allowed to,” Bryan says, tone aching. “I didn’t know I – that you...”

“I do,” Yuta says. He reaches up to brush hair off of Bryan’s damp face, to make sure Bryan can see all of him when he says, “I love you.”

“God damn it.” Bryan drops down to his knees and looks up at Yuta from the ground. “Hold on to the ledge. I’m gonna suck your dick.”

Yuta whimpers. “Okay. I think – I think I might –” Yuta doesn’t even know what he’s saying. “Just, yes.”

Bryan leans in and starts at the head, gentle licks hesitant. His eyes flicker up to Yuta from time to time. Yuta keeps his gaze locked on Bryan’s blue eyes. He’s determined to keep this moment in his memory for his entire lifetime.

But, as Bryan’s mouth sinks further down on him, he remembers who he is at his core.

“So does this make you a meat eating vegan?” Yuta muses.

Bryan glares at him as he pulls off of Yuta’s cock. “Really?” he asks. “I’ve got my mouth on your dick, and that’s your response?”

“Sorry,” Yuta says, not feeling it at all. “Sorry, please go back to sucking me off.”

“No romance,” Bryan mutters, but he leans in and Yuta’s head spins.

He wants to have a more responsive demeanor, wants Bryan to feel how into it he is. But he’s achy and tired and his ankle is fucked up, so he sticks with words.

“God, that’s good,” he gasps. “Like, really good. Just – like that.” He spins into the sensations. It’s rare, he thinks, that you can have your best day and worst day happen at the same time. He hadn’t realized how much he wanted Bryan until now, when it’s clear Bryan wants him back, when Bryan’s got his mouth on his cock, when Bryan’s hand is making up the difference where his lips can’t go.

“Bryan,” Yuta chokes. “Bryan, can – I want to – .”

Bryan’s gaze flickers up to Yuta and the laughter there is the end of it all. Yuta moans Bryan’s name as he comes, into his mouth. He can feel Bryan swallow around him. And he wonders, maybe, is this is his reward for surviving the rest of the day.

He doesn’t realize he’s slipping down the wall until Bryan’s got him around the waist.

“Whoa, there,” he says, voice wrecked. “Stand up, baby.”

Yuta’s whole self sings with the nickname. “Only got one ankle,” he says, grinning.

“Impossible,” Bryan says. “You’re impossible.” This time Yuta can hear the fondness on the other end of it. He kisses Yuta, tongue and all, and it’s too much exactly in the way Yuta likes it.

“Bryan,” he says, pulling back, “I’m gonna get you off.”

“You don’t –”

“If you say I don’t have to when I clearly want to,” Yuta says, hopping over to the little seat built in to the corner of the shower, “I will kick you.”

Bryan shuffles in front of Yuta as he sits.

“I can make this work,” Yuta says, and he dives in.

It may be the most comfortable blow job of his life, despite the crick in his neck. He doesn’t hesitate, just goes for it, intent on tasting and feeling and maybe not breathing.

“Holy – Yuta,” Bryan says reverently. His hands go to Yuta’s hair, not pulling but present. “Jesus. I didn’t expect…” He trails off.

Yuta doesn’t respond, just keeps up. He knows, from multiple sources, he has a bit of a skill in this area. Getting his partner to lose the ability to speak is the end goal, he thinks.

“Jesus,” Bryan repeats. “Oh, my god.”

Yuta lets the praises wash over him like the water. He’s been dreaming of this opportunity for years, since he got to Jurassic Sanctuary. Bryan, sweaty after runs. Bryan, critiquing his pullup routine. Bryan, creating a meal plan for them. Bryan, Bryan, Bryan.

“You keep moaning like that, this isn’t gonna last,” Bryan laughs. “Well, either way, it won’t. But you’re, uh. God.”

Yuta pulls off, hand on Bryan’s dick. “It doesn’t have to last.” He grins up at Bryan. “We can do this whenever we want.”

He dives back onto Bryan’s dick with a fervor, and Bryan curses again, hand tightening in Yuta’s hair. Bryan gets louder, shouting Yuta’s name and various other things that feel like praise.

“About to come,” Bryan warns. “I’m –”

Yuta doesn’t let him answer, just swallows Bryan down as he comes with Yuta’s name on his lips. He pulls off gently, when he’s sure Bryan’s done.

Bryan drops to his knees in front of Yuta again. “I can’t believe you want me,” he murmurs, pressing his forehead against Yuta’s.

“I can’t believe you didn’t know I’ve wanted you for ages,” Yuta replies. He tilts to kiss Bryan, only breaking it to yawn.

“We should get you dressed and warm,” Bryan says.

“I’m not actually tired,” Yuta mumbles through another yawn. “That’s just the adrenaline wearing off.”

“Either way, you should lay down.”

“I don’t want to!” Yuta fusses, but he stands up when Bryan turns off the water and accepts a towel from him. “I need to know what’s happening in here. I need to know if they learn more about the dinosaurs or something. Or the power!”

Bryan huffs, running a towel through his hair. “Fine. You’ll lay down on the couch in the lobby.”

“Deal,” Yuta says. He grins as Bryan stares at him drying off. “What?”

“Just thinking about all the things I can do to you when that ankle heals up.”

Yuta feels himself blush. “I’ll hold you to that one.”

“I hope,” Bryan says, handing Yuta some of the extra Jurassic Sanctuary branded clothes they keep in medical, “you do.”

“Wait!” Yuta says, suddenly flooded with panic. “Where are my pants?”

“Are you freaking out?” Bryan asks, frozen in place.

“God, no,” Yuta says. “Not at all, about you. I found Willow’s diamond earring. It was the only thing that let me get in through the lockdown doors.” He sits down as Bryan hands him the pants and he fishes in the pockets. He can’t help the fear that he accidentally washed the earring down the drain in his horny daze. But no – his fingers skitter across something hard and cold and he pulls it out, cradling it in his fingers. “There it is,” he breathes. He holds it up, showing it to Bryan. “See?”

“You’re fucking incredible.” And Bryan leans in to kiss him again.

~

Chapter 3: Mini Playlist Out Alive – Kesha Run, Don’t Walk – Hey Monday St. Patrick - PVRIS Look After You – The Fray

[appendingfic]

John Hammond: Welcome...to Jurassic Park Drs. Grant and Whipple: *too busy snarking at each other to notice the dinosaurs*

[hologramcowboy]

I know you’ve already posted on this at length, but I was thinking about Jensen’s branding again. And it brought me to thinking about Chris Pratt. He’s been in some big movie franchises (Jurassic world and Guardians of the Galaxy) but his characters are very similar in that they’re the snarky but likable outsider/rebel who can rally and lead people to do the right thing against tremendous odds and somehow pull it off. I feel Jensen could fit into something similar fairly easily but for some reason he’s not going in that direction. And with some work/stretching could become more of the wise mentor to the younger hero. Id be interested to hear your opinion because you have a much better understanding of this than I do. Thank you for sharing with us! 💝

This is so beautiful! 🧡🧡🧡

You touched on something that moves me deeply, Jensen could absolutely be a mentor or a leader in his roles. In fact, he could be absolutely iconic in his full strength as an artist. Though, I don't think his snarkyness is organic, it is rather artificial, he needs to drop the fake voice, fake snark, fake comedy tries and just be himself. I believe he is meant to tell deep stories that people can resonate with. He has that in him, the issue is that instead of exploring that depth he is clinging to shallow perceptions and trying to please those that do not fit his buyers demographic when the only person he needs to focus on is himself. Bringing out his essence. There is an inspiring hero inside him just like there are a lot of layers some of which are dark. He could have an inspiring range, if only he would take the time to know himself as a person and as an actor. He's the kind of actor that could inspire people to higher choices yet he takes that for granted and sacrifices it for shallow perceptions. Unfortunately, I think being objectified so often and from such a young age has caused him to believe his value is based on his outside instead of his powerful soul. He thinks he is a one trick pony and doesn't care much for exploring the depth and importance of his craft and range. Which is why I don't foresee him having a breakthrough role anytime soon and that's a lot of wasted potential. My hope is that he will at least self produce something in line with his actual essence and range.

Thank you for this beautiful post, I got moved to tears reading it and it's so amazing to know there are people who value him and see the real him. Thank you 🧡

[laughterbynight]

Le Comfort Tags

this is going to be long

these tags are brought to you by @burntotears

Comfort Movie(s): 2005 Pride & Prejudice, Jurassic Park, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, A Little Princess, The Secret Garden, and Under the Tuscan Sun. Can't remember how well some of those aged...

Comfort Food (s): (okay so for about 9 months I had long covid before we had vaccines, which means, weirdly, my body developed allergies to a lot of foods I could tolerate previously. Old faves have *)

Cheese, big glass of Milk*, Pizza*, Tortellini Alfredo*, Miso Soup, Diet Coke*, Oat Milk Ice Cream, Teriyaki Salmon, Petit Fours*, Pastry Cream*.

Comfort Clothing: A very oversized T Shirt and nothing else or baggy pants and a velvet crop top. Very specific but it's my favorite thing to wear when I'm being cozy. I do like big sweaters but if I get overheated the feeling is ruined immediately.

Comfort Song(s): I apologize in advance but there's no way to make this short. Daydreaming means I'm always switching between a line up of songs that transport my brain to other places or set off specific feelings. Some probably don't sound comfortable per se but the familiarity is what gets me. A few have been my go-to escapism songs for well over a decade. And of course the line up is always in flux. Also, like, fanfic mood music is a must yo.

BZY-The Earth Laughs In Flowers Jean Dawson - Pirate Radio The 1975 - Happiness Great Heart - Johnny Clegg & Savuka the verve - bittersweet symphony Deco - bittersweet symphony New Radicals - You Get What You Give Tracy Chapman - Crossroads Temple of the Dog(aka soundgarden and pearl jam) - Hunger Strike ODESZA - Line Of Sight Steve Conte - Call Me Call Me The Midnight - We Move Forward Savage Garden - I Want You Stewart Copeland (yes from the police) - Misty Bog (spyro the dragon) Angels & Airwaves - The Adventure Broke for Free - A Beautiful Life Cressida- 6am (Kyau & Albert Remix) Niklas Harding & Arcane- Ice Beach Michael Cassette - Wateresque Nitrous Oxide - North Pole Fire Flowerz - Sugar

Technically you could probably put any intro and outro from the og toonami line up on this list. I stg it's like getting smacked in the face with nostalgia to hear anything from that time.

*if a song is like 8 minutes jump ahead 2. That usually gets you past the warm up.

Comfort Book(s): The Birth of the Firebringer, Vol 1. of the Sailor Moon manga, Pride and Prejudice (specifically the audio version by the sleepy bookshelf) which is also on spotify, and probably ACOMAF (the rest can rot but I still love that ONE book.)

Comfort Game(s): Spyro the Dragon (I know this game too well), Tomba 1 & 2, Stardew Valley, Harvest Moon DS Cute, Dewprism/Threads of Fate.

Comfort Streamers:

Tbh although I check in with a handful of streamers from time to time Ray is probably who I watch the most. Quick wit, sarcasm, and snark are my favorite things, so Ray is my go-to. (yes, that Ray. He escaped RT a long time ago. It's a whole thing that's been talked about by him. He's a safe one, don't worry.)

RayNarvaezJr.

dude plays pretty much anything and everything but if I had to rec somewhere to start go with either pokemon or stardew if you want chill vibes, or watch his plays of any of the resident evil or yakuza games for fuckery.

Comfort Youtube Channels:

I'm adding this because I use a few when I'm overwhelmed and need something familiar or gentle to watch. Separate from gaming stuff.

Kennie JD - Bad movies and a beat playlist (kennie is just hysterical anyway but omg these reviews. The Twilight ones in particular get me every time.

Anti-Chef - Watch Jamie attempt to cook through Julia Child's cookbooks. It's very charming and you're always rooting for him. He's very real about the process which is nice.

Dominic Noble - Lost in Adaptation. Exactly what it sounds like. Books vs Film and TV but he's also not an ass about it so it's a pleasant experience.

nigiricco - Bento videos like every three days it's wild but imo soothing to watch.

Sophia Phan - Movie Commentaries. She's adorable.

Imamu room - MORE BENTO

Joconde's baking - Really soothing baking videos imo as long as you don't mind the sound of it. Like almost asmr if that helps.

Chocolate Cacao - The master of baking chocolate I stg

José - Video essays and damn good retrospectives including scrubs, that 70s show, boy meets world, the golden girls, cheers, the fresh prince etc.

The Movie Budz - More great film commentary

PBS Idea Channel - Okay so this channel has been dead for 6 years now but it's STILL full of amazing videos that I have yet to see matched in their depth and scope. Plus it's nearly all pop culture which keeps it fun an accessible. If you aren't familiar with PBSID I highly suggest sifting through the archive. There are videos on everything from The Pokemon War Theory to How Does Night Vale Confront Us With the Unknown?

Hbomberguy - The dude with the Pathologic video. His other stuff is really good too.

Folding Ideas - Video essays and commentary plus some really good deep dives into other subjects like NFTs, Flat Earthers, and the Ralph Bakshi Lord of the Rings uh adaptation?

Primitive Technology - Okay, you know those videos YT recs where it looks like two guys built a hotel out of bamboo or something but it's clearly fake? This is the guy they're mimicking.

Peaceful Cuisine - Mostly vegan and/or gluten free cooking. Most videos have an asmr version and a version with soft music playing.

Was all of that necessary? Probably not. I am now tired. To think I trimmed down what I was going to add.

Tagging folks but like everyone feel free to do it, and no you don't have to do all the categories I did. I added the youtube videos and went kinda wild with music.

Going by my activity page again otherwise this will be too long

@loveayeti @corpsefluid @deviess @metaphysicaltelephone @cobaltbluepub @kerrykhat @doommsatic @isixdream @aetheling @thesoilofblackpepper @blue-shale @thematurescholar @ghost-proof @pixiereadsb00ks @dreaminginspacecowboy @truculentbantam @tfisathoughtfulnickelbakeryfire Zuloo Idk why I can't tag you but I see your ass on my activity page so consider yourself tagged.

[mere-vanilla]

...The raptors in 3001 The Final Odyssey feel like a nod or snark toward Jurassic Park or something.

[stupidjewishwhiteboy]

I appreciate that Antsy’s reaction to Kade and Sumi making constant references to the events of previous books in the series is to snark about how they should really start handing out orientation sheets to explain all their little injokes

Also how the first thing Kade does when they realize they’re on a Dinosaur world is to make a reference to Jurassic Park, and basically everyone else’s reaction is to groan and roll their eyes

[ifuckinglovedinosaurssomuchjesus]

For the 30th anniversary (which was a couple months ago) they're releasing Jurassic Park in theaters for a couple days, and given it's my favorite movie ever and I had never seen it in theaters before, I had to watch it. At 10:00pm. On a Tuesday.

First things first, it was in 3D, all the showings are the 3D version unfortunately. Like, I understand why they did that the last time they gave it a theatrical run in 2013, but this is 2023, the gimmick has worn off. On the topic of how it actually looked, it was fine. Less like I was there in the movie and more like an animated pop-up book. I can't really compare because I never watch 3D movies, but the whole thing was just a little blurry. I would have preferred watching it in standard.

Besides that though, I mainly was there to experience the best movie ever with the theater experience, and boy did it live up to everything.

Seeing it on such a big screen let me pick out details I had never seen before, like the writing on Nedry's shirt or the little snacks Malcolm was eating.

Likewise, hearing the sounds on those huge speakers was amazing. Everything from the little things I could never hear like the background actors talking at the digsite or Nedry muttering to himself before the Dilophosaurus attack. The surround sound too, oh boy, there's one point before Tim runs from the Raptors in the kitchen where they play the dinosaur's breathing from the back, so it really feels like it was behind you. And of course, every time the T. rex roared it shattered my eardrums. Pure bliss.

There was a couple behind me who laughed at every joke, which was so surreal because I've seen this move 500 times since I was a toddler, so some things didn't even register as jokes to me anymore. Apparently this is a funny movie, because everything from Malcolms antics and Tim's snark garnered a chuckle. It was really fun. That and a guy walked out of the auditorium with me while singing the theme song, we struck up a short conversation about how we all were nerds for watching an old movie at such an ungodly hour in the night. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy.

Overall, I loved it, it was over too soon even though I'm starving. They still have showings for the next two days, so I might go again tomorrow. It really is such an amazing movie. Check your local theaters before it's too late and you have to wait another decade to watch it again!

[gaykarstaagforever]

I haven't even seen the newer Jurassic World movies because they look like an embarrassing betrayal of the entire point of the original. So I barely understand what the heck the Indoraptor even is. But damn if she isn't the sassiest doll in my house.

More like Jurassic SNARK!

[papermonkeyism]

Now that I think about it, I'm not sure I've drawn a sauropod before.

Anyway, here's a quick attempt at Apatosaurus.

[badhatsaleswoman]

My favorite correct quote from tlw

Levine: Why are we waiting here?

Malcolm *over the radio to Thorne*: It would never occur to him to thank you for saving his life.

Thorne: Evidently not.

Levine: Who are you talking to? Is it Malcolm? Is he here?

Thorne: Yes.

Levine: He's agreeing with me, isn't he? 

Thorne: ...

[flysafepapi]

I apologise in advance for the person I will become when the new Jurassic Park movie comes out and I get to see Alan, Ellie and Ian snarking at each other again.

[intosnarkness]

I’ve gotten like 25 new followers this week and the last “about me” I wrote was 6 years ago, so here's a rundown;

Name: Lauren, but I answer to Sam or Snarkness

Age: late 30s

Location: Maryland

Send Money: ko-fi.com/intosnarkness Please don't feel like this is something you "need" to do. But if you want to, you sure can.

Housemate: tagged as “cancerkidroommate” “ckr”, “casa del Hawkeyes” (yes this is incorrect and I don’t care), he is my best friend and has been dealing with cancer for almost 10 years now.

Family: if you’re not into kids, I tag the nibblings as “bleep and Blorp and trip” or “auntshit”

You know me from:

AO3 (samalander)

The cello post

The muppets post

Spencer the soup cat

ignore the fun police

yelling about voting

Jurassic enrichment

Feed Your Friends

Tumblr’s 2nd favorite sci-fi dad

Cat:

Hercules, the most beautiful of cats. He is specifically named after Hercules Mulligan as the character in Hamilton, not the real dude who owned human beings.

Asks are open, chats make me anxious but if you send one I’ll probably read it.

Trans women are women. Trans men are men. NB people are NB. TERFs, radfems, and gender critical folks fuck directly off please.

[the-liberal-lion]

How One Scene Changed Josh Lyman’s Characterization in The West Wing

Everyone who watches The West Wing has their favorite character. Mine is Josh Lyman. But I didn’t expect that it would be, nor did it seem that Josh was going to be such an important character in the first few episodes of season 1.

We the viewer are introducced to Josh as he wakes up on his desk, telling the audience that he’s so dedicated to his job, he just slept in the office, or that he’s that much of a goober he just fell asleep at his desk. Likely right after hanging up the phone, only to then pick up the phone. While this is the first time we see Josh, we’re already understanding that he’s supposed to lose his job. He did something very bad, and now everyone in DC thinks he’s going to be fired. 

Now, it’s important to note that one of the strengths of the casting in the show was in its casting of character actors. Yes, the show had big names (Rob Lowe and Martin Sheen) to bring it attention, but  you also had very skilled lesser known actors, who, even though they weren’t celebrities, were familiar to viewers. People in 1999 knew Toby as the guy who was killed in Jurassic Park (1997), people knew Allison Janney as the erotica writing guidance counselor in 10 Things I Hate About You (1999). People knew Josh Lyman’s  (Bradley Whitford) face, but unfortunately it was as the asshole from Adventures in Babysitting, the asshole in Revenge of the Nerds 2: Nerds in Paradise, the asshole in Robocop 3, and most notably the asshole in Billy Madison. Very assholic in the public consciousness, and the first three episodes didn’t do much to negate that, sure it’s cute when he dances in the cold open of Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc and the “I really am quite something” is an iconic moment that is good at capturing the boyishness of the character, at the same time. The moments are likely why when WIN TV (AU) promoted the shows premiere they did so in the following fashion. 

Episode 2 he is whiny that his ex-girlfriend is going to work for the house, even though he himself was almost fired. 

Episode 3, “A Proportional Response” opens with him encountering CJ over hiding the fact that Sam had slept with a hooker, and manages the make himself look like the sleazy one out of it, though CJ stood up for herself, and it’s a very funny scene considering how much she dwarfs him. 

At this point, Josh has been positioned as the saracastic comedic relief of the series, the Chandler of the show, if you will. The comedic relief doesn’t necessarily have to be good or bad, but his scene interviewing Charlie that comes later in the episode serves to show his softer side, but it’s not instantaneous. There’s a build up to it from Josh absentmindedly beginning the interview while also ordering around Donna then telling Charlie to take a seat, even though Charlie already said that he would rather stand. From their, Josh, in the most Josh way possible tells Charlie about the job. It is not until Josh tells Charlie that the latter is being interviewed to be Bartlet’s bodyman that the assholism starts to fade. Josh tells Charlie “You don’t have to call me’ sir.’” This is paired with him intermittently bossing around Donna so that the audience continues to see the traditional characterization while showing a side of him that can be like a big brother rather than just a wisecracker. 

It is when Charlie tells Josh about his mother dying in the act of duty, that Josh stops drinking from the water bottle and for the first time ever stays quiet as the scene fades to black. It’s not until Josh talks privately with Leo and sings Charlie’s praises that we see that there is more to Josh than dimples, hair that needs to be fixed, and snark. 

But by the end of episode 3 there are peculiarities about Josh,Yes, Josh has that whole boyish thing that has won the hearts of the Lyman Hoes, but we don’t understand how he is an asset to the administartion. That is until episode 4 where Josh does more than walk around the west wing playing hot potato with files.  

The cold open has Josh on the phone, You know, his default setting. Well, right before this Sam is talking with him before receiving a crucial phone call. Sam’s “bucking him up” acts is funny but also gives exposition as to why this is a crucial call. Josh had a previous interaction that didn’t go too well. But once he receives the phone, he swiftly and assholicly quells Sam’s fears that Josh is gun shy. It still keeps Josh as a comedic character, but we see him taking charge and not just being the narrative punching bag. (x) 

In the next scene Josh tells same “We need to win and I mean win. We need to take a curtain call and a victory lap and that’s how we get momentum. We get it by being tough and we give away nothing.”

Here we see the victory-obsessed side of Josh that will be as much of a defining characteristic of his character as his sarchasm and his relationship with Donna. It’s also a primer to the the scene that the title of this post has been referring to. 

Until the Katzenmoyer scene, Josh has been the comedic relief, a lightning rod for problems with his near-firing in the pilot and the hiring of Mandy. He’s also been shown to be the loverboy with the ill-fated Mandy storyline and his groupies. He has also been a messenger relaying information to various members of staff that acts as exposition for the audience sake, but in the scene with Katzenmoyer, he’s taking charge in a way that the audience can understand. Bartlet’s rhetorical tools are knowledge  and sentimentality, Toby and Sam, as his speechwriters, have a similar form. Josh’s form of rhetoric is disorientaiton, where you talk so quickly and confidently, inundating the listener with so much information that they are likely to explode like a fembot in Austin Powers. I cannot say how this method works in real-world politics, but as far as television goes, it’s gold.

is notable about the Katzenmoyer scene is that Josh has his tie in his pants while he is giving his “That’s what he pays me for” speech. It’s understandably something done because of how windy it is from a directing standpoint, but in the universe of The West Wing it makes sense for Josh’s character in that he embodied the comedy-drama aspect of Sorkin’s writing. Any dramatic moment will be followed by a funny one. Any funny moment will be followed by a dramatic bitchslap. 

In this episode, we also have other Josh Lyman trademarks being established:

* Fixation with numbers

*Seeking approval from Leo

* Sunglasses

What is important about the Katzenmoyer scene in the long-run is that for as great as Bradley Whitford’s performance is in “The Crackpots and These Women” which is a siminal episode in the first season, it’s a character shift that was only believable because of the groundwork laid in episode four. We had to see him as more than the goofball, for one thing, but we wouldn’t have understood as an audience why he was being sent to a bunker if we didn’t even understand why he deserved to be in the bunker or his job for that matter. Therefore, the only reason Josh’s storyline in episode 5, a storyline beloved by many Lyman Hoes and reguar Wingnuts alike, is because of the complexity to his character that was added in episode 4, specifically in the scene with Katzenmoyer.

He said a lot of cool shit and he looked good saying it. 

[swan2swan]

My only real disappointment with Jurassic World is when I think about a what-if scenario where Diego Luna played Owen Grady.