#i also posed this question to Cass and she was thinking along the same lines

[kindahoping4forever]

Just reread Remember when we couldnt take the heat and When The Sun Came Up, You Were Looking At Me again, its soo soo good!! I love it. Do you think they are still together in their universe haha?

Oh thank you! Those fics will always have such a special place in my heart omg, those are some of my fondest memories of writing thus far! Anytime I get to collab with @cal-puddies is an absolute dream but there was something about building that story that felt especially magical, it was so exciting to load up the doc everyday and see what the other had come up with! 🥰

I personally think that couple is still together. They've definitely been thru some ups and downs - and probably an argument or two that resulted in one of them staying at a friend's house for a couple days - but I think through the events of WTSCU, they better understand each other and have now learned to more effectively communicate their own needs while respecting the other's and how to let their occasional conflicts remain stimulating and tension-building in a sexy way (like in Remember When) rather than in a relationship threatening way (like in whatever happened between the two stories lol). Opposites attract for a reason and I think they appreciate and are willing to be playful with that fact because they now know that underneath their big personalities and bigger emotions, there is a genuine love and care for each other that they haven't found anywhere else. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts! 💙

[elareine]

Deaged Jaybird anyone?

Well, judging from ao3 and tumblr, I think the answer to that question is ‘everyone and amazingly so,’ but I might as well throw my hat into the ring, thank you <3

I thought this was gonna be sweet and funny. It didn’t exactly turn out that way.

rewind, fast forward, stop Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply - Childhood Trauma, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Underage Prostitution, Temporary Character Death, Angst Relationships: Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake & Jason Todd, Dick Grayson & Jason Todd Characters: Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Tim Drake, Damian Wayne, Duke Thomas, Cassandra Cain, Alfred Pennyworth Additional Tags: Age Regression/De-Aging, De-Aged Jason Todd, Family Issues, Family Feels, Loss of Trust, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Hurt with Temporary Comfort, Jason Todd Needs A Hug, The Batfamily Needs Therapy, Bittersweet, Unreliable Narrator

“If he says the words unstable molecules one more time, I’m going to hit something,” Dick muttered.

“Jason’s been gone for two hours, and you’re already trying to replace him?” Tim asked. It was a weak joke, and Dick didn’t laugh.

Nygma and Crane were still arguing at metaphorical gunpoint (i.e., genuine sword end), bent over the makeshift crib.

“I didn’t expect this to happen, either! What’s the point of posing riddles if he’s a baby?”

“Well you still fucked up and now we’re here, basically hostages—”

Bruce held up a hand. Everyone fell silent.

“So. His age will change several times?”

“Yes.”

“You cannot predict the intervals.”

“No.”

“What does he remember?”

“I don’t know. We should ask him…”

“…when he reaches an age where he can speak, yes. Will this stop once he reaches the age he’s supposed to be?”

“I don’t—”

“Then we will find out. Nygma, you have 24 hours to fix this.” He turned and looked at Dick. “Call reinforcements and start the lab work.”

Dick nodded, but whatever he was going to ask wasn’t going to be heard because Jason chose that moment to start wailing.

Everyone froze. Despite all the arguing, the fact that they know had to care for a baby hadn’t seemed real until that moment.

Bruce, though, just lifted Jason up and to his chest with the same natural competence with which he handled explosives and batarangs. “There, there, Jaylad. You’re hungry, hmm? I bet Alfred has already prepared a bottle. Let’s go find him, shall we?”

——

Dick volunteered to stay home and watch the baby that evening. Except when he returned to the crib with a freshly prepared bottle, it was a toddler staring back at him.

“Hey there, little man,” Dick greeted him.

Silence.

Dick tried again. “Jason, are you in there?”

The kid stared back at him, clearly wondering what the strange man was talking about. His eyes were so blue. “Me.”

“Yes, you’re Jason,” Dick agreed. “Do you remember me?”

Jason’s brow furrowed as if he was concentrating really hard. “No?”

“That’s okay. I’m Dick. I’m—” your brother. But how did you explain that to a toddler who didn’t remember any siblings? “A friend.”

After a minute of stern evaluation, Jason’s expression melted into a smile, and he held up his short chubby arms. “Up?”

“Of course.” Dick bent down and scooped Jason up with one swift motion, bouncing him up and down for a few seconds, to Jason’s great delight and giggles. Then he settled him onto his hip. “How about some food, buddy?”

“Hungry!” Jason declared. It sounded like ‘angry.’ Dick wanted to record that and use it as Jason’s ringtone forever.

He couldn’t very well give him the baby formula now, so: “Let’s go to the kitchen, then, huh? I like midnight snacks, too.”

“Snack,” Jason repeated. He seemed to like that word. “Snack, snack, snack!”

“Yes, snack. Hey B,” he called softly through the non-emergency line as they walked through the corridor, “listen to who woke up.”

“Baba?” Jason asked. Dick had no idea whether he meant Bruce or was asking for his own father. Either way, it was devastating.

“Jaylad,” Bruce murmured back. Dick didn’t call him out on the use of real names. “Why aren’t you sleeping?”

“No.”

Dick tried not to laugh at the sleepy pout. “To be fair, I don’t know how ‘slept like a baby for hours,’ literally, affects his sleep schedule.”

“How old is he?”

“About… two? Maybe?” Dick was not an expert in estimating the age of children, so sue him. “Maybe younger. He’s real small, and he doesn’t remember me.”

Silence. “N, we’re coming home.”

The bats had barely been out for an hour. “Sure. See you soon.”

——

It was Tim who discovered the next transformation. He’d taken over the early morning shift by virtue of not sleeping anyway. Jason’s room had been quiet; Tim had just wanted to make sure he was doing okay when he was greeted with a much larger shape in the bed than he’d expected.

Which, fuck, that couldn’t be good, right? Last time Jason had only skipped a couple of years, but now he was at least six.

The figure was also too still to be asleep. Tim switched on the nightlight they’d installed by the door and looked at Jason. Yeah, his eyes were definitely open. It was eerie, the way he held himself still as if he was trying to disappear into the darkness. Don’t notice me, his position screamed. I’m not here, go away.

It was so familiar. Tim couldn’t breathe for a second for the way it was a perfect reversal of the way he himself had spent his childhood. Notice me, look at me, don’t leave.

“Hey,” Tim called out softly, unconsciously imitating Dick’s voice. “Can’t sleep?”

“Who are you.” His voice was clear and hard, a far cry from the sweet toddler who had played with Tim’s cape when they’d come home from patrol at midnight.

That had been four hours ago. It was going to be a long day, wasn’t it?

“I’m Tim,” he said. “You don’t remember me right now because you’re… sick, but we know each other.”

The distrust did not wane. “Where am I?”

“At my father’s house. Wayne Manor.” Tim smiled. “Maybe you’ve heard of it?”

“Who else is here?”

“Your family.”

That did not have the expected effect, at all. Jason shrank back, hands gripping the blanket tight even as his expression remained blank.

Tim’s hand moved to his bracelet and pressed a button. He’d promised Bruce to wake him up if there was a development. Besides, he was in over his head here, and he knew it.

“I’m going to call them, okay?” There was no answer.

It took less than two minutes for the doorway to be filled with people. Bruce was first, of course, closely followed by Dick, with Damian, Duke, and Cass lingering just behind them in the hallway.

“You’re going to crowd him,” Tim pointed out. “We’re all strangers.”

“Tim is right.” Bruce stepped forward. “Stay back.”

They watched as he crouched down in front of the bed. “Hi, Jason. You don’t remember me, and I know that’s scary.”

“I’m not scared.”

Tim couldn’t see his face, but he would bet good money that Bruce smiled at that. “No, you aren’t because you’re brave, aren’t you.”

“Hmm. Where’s mom?” Jason asked.

“She’s not here. I’m sorry. You’re staying with our family and me for now.”

“Where’s dad?”

“He’s not here, either, but—”

Jason’s shoulders deflated.

Oh. Oh.

Tim could feel the tension rack up in the room as every single family member was simultaneously filled with rage.

Bruce, however, looked calm. “As long as we are here,” he said, quietly but with the kind of conviction that could move mountains, “no one is going to hurt you. Your mother is fine, and so are you.”

And Jason looked up and believed him. Tim could see it in the way he relaxed, how he slumped down against Bruce’s bulk as if it was the only thing holding him up. He didn’t say anything.

Tim felt a gentle tug on his elbow. He followed the others outside, quietly, leaving Bruce to keep vigil. It was touching, but something about the scene bothered Tim.

“Do you think,” he quietly asked Dick as the group dispersed, “that we should call someone else? His friends? You have Roy’s number.”

“It will help, being here, when he reaches Robin age. They’re strangers until he’s an adult.”

That wasn’t the point. Tim frowned. “I know you think he should be with family when he’s like this. But Dick—we haven’t been his family for a long time. We shouldn’t see this stuff.”

Dick swallowed, but he didn’t argue with that. “B already knows.”

“Not all of it. Not what will happen when—”

“Yeah.” Dick’s shoulders slumped. “But do you think you can convince B of that?”

“No.” Tim sighed. “No, I don’t.”

——

“Master Jason, what are you doing in the kitchen?”

It was eight a.m., and even Master Tim was asleep by now. Alfred had kept an ear out for the sound of a preschooler waking up, but Master Jason must’ve aged again. He looked to be about nine now.

The kid frowned. “I don’t know who you are, but I need to make breakfast, or mom won’t eat.”

Alfred took a moment to fix his apron, blinking discreetly. “Of course, Master Jason. Your mother, however, isn’t here at the moment. Would you like to help me prepare some pancakes?”

——

There was a sound like something heavy falling, then a curse. “Where the fuck am I?”

Dick and Tim exchanged a glance. They’d installed Jason in front of the tv, at first, but he’d been more interested in the few children’s books Bruce kept around for guests.

Tim had tagged along—at this point, he had somehow wound up one of Jason’s primary caretakers, and wasn’t that a sentence he hadn’t expected himself to ever think? Looked like the time for children’s books had run out.

When they walked over to the armchair Jason had buried himself in, they found a pile of limbs in front of it, scrambling to get up and look at them. The family had taken to dressing Jason in the largest clothes they could get him in without them falling off, just to spare his modesty at the next change. Not that Jason had really grown much over the last few episodes…

At least he was dressed as he woke up in an unfamiliar living room because he couldn’t remember the previous episode or his adult life, Tim thought. Honestly, this curse/science mishap/whatever seemed hellbent on making their lives as miserable as possible.

Dick advanced cautiously. “Jason—”

“And you would be?” the boy asked, his voice suddenly much lighter.

“My name’s Dick Grayson, and you’re safe here.”

“Hmm, am I?” There was something wrong with the way Jason looked at Dick. His weight was shifted to the side, pushing his hip to the front, his long lashes almost fluttering, and there was something challenging in his gaze as if he was daring Dick—as if he was—

The idea was so incongruous—so impossible—that it took Tim too long to connect the dots. It was the exact pose he saw the working girls and boys adopt, night after night when they approached a car.

The thing with Tim was: He could be thrown off a building, and his brain would still keep on working all the way down. (No, seriously, that happened several times.) It was just how it was. So he could be shocked at what was happening, at what he’d just learned about Jason, and still notice that Dick wasn’t.

Perhaps he was making a mountain of a molehill, then. Perhaps Jason had just seen too much on the streets and was trying to play along, to give Dick what Jason thought he wanted, and then he’d punch him when he got too close and get out of here.

Perhaps.

“Let’s just—wait it out, okay?” Dick sighed. “You got temporary amnesia. It’ll all be clear tomorrow.”

“Sure.” Jason looked like he didn’t believe him, but was willing to run with it. “You got some food?”

——

“Oh, hey Dick! You look different!”

Dick thought he was about to cry with relief. Finally, a Jason that knew them, that wouldn’t have to be reassured about their intentions every few hours. “Hey, Jason.”

“Is it for a case?”

“Something like that,” he said. “You’re in the future, sort of. We have to wait a few hours before you can go back.”

Jason’s eyes went wide. “Really? That’s so cool! Can I talk to myself? Where am I? What year is it? What am I doing?”

“We can’t tell you that,” Tim said suddenly. “You know. Time travel code. Gotta follow the rules.”

“Ah.” Jason nodded as if that made any sense. “But you can tell me about other things, right? What about the cave? Can I see how it changed?”

“No, not the cave—” not while that damn memorial was still there, “—but Alfred has a collection of photos in one room if you want to see.”

That would be fine. Jason wasn’t in any of those, anyway.

“Whoa,” Jason commented when he saw how many pictures there were. “This family sure has grown. Wait, who is that?”

“That’s me,” Tim said.

Jason frowned. “That’s a Robin outfit. Are you Robin after me?”

And Dick—he could see how Tim tensed up. Understandably so, they had all heard what Jason called him. “Yeah, I—I didn’t mean to repl—you were—”

“It’s okay,” Jason shrugged. “Robin is more than one person, right? Dickie here said that. You don’t stop being Robin. You just share it.”

Tim blinked once. Then again.

Dick watched in some concern, because—surely that’s what he said to him back when he gave Robin to Damian, too? Right? It was all such a blur, but he must have.

Jason was already moving on to the next picture. “Wow, are these your wings?!”

“Yeah.”

“Did you make them? That’s so cool, I wanna fly too!”

Dick watched in amusement as a blush spread across Tim’s face. “I could show you the plans?”

“That would be fun! It could be a project.” Then he whirled around. “Do you go to school?”

“Uh, not really.”

Jason frowned. “You should. Grades are important. You can’t go superheroing forever if you don’t have money.”

“That’s true.” Tim looked suitably chastised. Dick bit down on a laugh as he watched Jason walk along Alfred’s little gallery, commenting on everything he saw and pulling Tim along.

God, thinking about the kid they saw yesterday, this Jason was a miracle. Dick knew what it meant to pull yourself up after darkness crashed down on you, how to find a way to smile after you lost everything.

And he knew, too, what a single person who cared for you—who believed in you could do.

(Maybe Dick should’ve remembered that when Jason became a miracle for the second time.)

Bruce had been that for both of them. Even now, Dick could see him at the doorway, watching Jason with such pride and unbearable longing on his face. Then a shadow fell over his expression, and he turned away.

“Dick!” Jason called over. “Tim has never heard the train story! C’mon, you’re the best at telling it.”

“He hasn’t heard it because it’s embarrassing,” Dick whined, but he walked over and joined them. Might as well make the most of this, right?”

——

“I’m sorry, Bruce,” Zatanna said. “There’s nothing I can do.”

She was magic, Cass knew, and Bruce didn’t like magic. So if he was asking her for help… Duke, next to her, looked worried, as well.

They weren’t letting the two of them see Jason, and that was okay. Neither of them had ever been close to Jason. Not that Dick or Tim had been, exactly, but they cared in a way Cass and Duke admittedly didn’t.

“Is there anything that could slow down his aging process, at least?”

“Nothing but putting him into stasis, and he would not thank you for that, Bruce.”

Duke dared to ask: “But Nygma said the effect of the gas should stop once he’s reached his proper age, right? So that should be… alright?”

“And what,” Bruce ground out, “if the next time he phases forward, he’s dead?”

“Bruce.” Zatanna put a hand on his shoulder, empathy in every line of her body.

Bruce shook her off as if he couldn’t bear the touch. “We don’t know if he’ll wake up this time.”

For a second, Cass wanted to hurt everyone who made Bruce sound like that. But she knew there was nothing she could do. Love, she knew, cut like that sometimes.

——

Damian was well aware that they would prefer to keep him far away from Todd. To a certain extent, he understood. He would not wish more people than necessary to watch him relive his own childhood, either.

However, no one in this family was prepared for what was coming next. Damian knew.

The minute the screaming began, Damian walked into the room.

Jason was convulsing on the bed. Dick was frantically checking him for injuries, and Damian clicked his tongue. “That won’t help. He is not bleeding.”

Bruce turned to him. “Damian, what—”

“He’s in pain. His body is half-alive, half-dead,” Damian told them calmly. His voice wasn’t shaking. It wasn’t. “It won’t stop until he swims in a Lazarus Pit.”

His father should not look like this. Helpless. Pitiful. Damian resented him for it, just a little bit. Father had not been there the first time. This would only last for hours, and all he had to do was wait. The crushing weight of how to fix this was not on him as it had been on Mother.

“I’m going to get a tranquilizer,” Dick murmured.

——

Duke wondered what they would do if Jason woke up in full rage mode. He had seen the files, had read everything he could the minute this started happening. Cass had told him the rest, pieced together from hints her brothers had dropped over the years. There was no way they could deal with that if they were unprepared and Jason was in their home. No way.

So he was… nervous. Just a bit. Enough so that he was camping out in front of the bedroom that they were keeping Jason for now. Sure, Jason had been medicated, but Duke had seen Bruce trying that on Red Hood before. Red Hood had barely slowed down. Whatever the Lazarus Pits were, exactly, they sure did a number on a person’s metabolism.

Duke got his answer when Bruce sent everyone out of the room. Batman would wait alone, then. Dick and Tim obeyed, albeit reluctantly.

Tim, however, returned a minute later with Bruce’s utility belt, shock full of batarangs and other weapons. The older man, however, hesitated to take it.

“Bruce,” Tim said, and he very gently touched a scar on his neck.

Bruce took the belt.

——

The next morning, Jason left.

Minutes before, Bruce watched him as he woke up.

He had known as soon as he had seen Jason as a toddler that his son would not forgive him for this. The others, maybe. They had only tried to help. Bruce was the one too selfish to let Jason keep his secrets, bring him to people he trusted.

Because that sure as hell wasn’t him anymore. Deservedly so or not, Bruce had had to face that reality a long time ago.

Still, when Jason opened his eyes and there was only a tinge of green in them, nothing like the rage of the pit, just like they had been the last time Bruce had seen him without the mask—for that one moment, Bruce allowed himself to hope.

Maybe, just maybe, Jason wouldn’t remember. Then he could use the whole thing as a learning experience—see it as bonding, even—something that would allow them to finally move on; that would help Bruce to find the right trigger to get Jason to give up his mad crusade and come home.

Then Jason blinked, and his eyes were empty even of hate.

“My phone?” was all he asked.

“In the cave.” Bruce kept his voice even because what else could he do?

Jason nodded. Then he left, and he did not come back.

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Psycho Analysis: Roman Sionis

(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS!)

Birds of Prey is a fun, silly movie. So you’d expect a fun, silly villain for such a film, right? Well, we sort of get that… but this is an R-rated fun, silly movie, so the villain is going to cuss a lot and peel people’s faces off and be a raging psychopathic manchild. Roman Sionis, everybody!

Good old Roman Sionis, known to comic fans as Black Mask (he isn’t ever called that by anyone except Harley during his introduction, and he doesn’t even wear his mask until the end), is just an absolute raging lunatic. He gets mad at the drop of a hat, is creepily posessive of Dinah Lance, has a very close relationship with his murderous second-in-command Zsasz, and is just generally unpleasant to every single person who crosses his path.

But that’s par for the course for Roman Sionis, who is never really EVER portrayed as a charming, likable guy. The real question here is, is he an entertaining villain? Well he’s played by Ewan McGregor, what do YOU think?

Motivation/Goals: Roman is a relatively simple villain, but I think this works in his favor. You see, a big issue with Harley’s previous outing, Suicide Squad, is that the mission was way too high stakes despite the cast featuring a group of people who didn’t really have any powers beyond “fighting really good.” or “has weapon skills.” You’re telling me you’re gonna put Harley Quinn, Deadshot, and Captain Boomerang up against Enchantress and her army of ancient Aztec super-zombies? WHAT? Here, we have a street-level threat much more suited to Harley’s capabilities: Roman is just a very powerful gangster, and his goal in this movie is the simple “get this diamond that was stolen back to me so I can make fat stacks of cash.” That’s really all their needs to be here, a simple MacGuffin to drive along the plot to its various setpieces.

Performance: I love Ewan McGregor, so, really, he didn’t have to do much with the role of Roman Sionis to make him great. Still, this man went above and beyond despite having comparatively little screentime to Harley. Roman seems incapable of going a single sentence without cursing up a storm and is the epitome of a psychopathic manchild, tormenting people for the slightest of reasons. He forces a woman to strip and dance on one of his tables because she was laughing too loud when he was upset, and decides not to spare a girl’s life because she had a gross snot bubble on her face from sobbing while he had his crony Zsasz peel off her parents’ faces. As funny and hammy as he gets, the dude is a stone-cold ruthless bastard who has no line he won’t cross to get what he wants.

Final Fate: Cass hides a grenade on him and steals the ring, and then Harley kicks him off the pier while he panics. Before he even hits the water, BOOM! Never would I have expected to laugh out loud at the sight of Ewan McGregor being blown into bits, but this movie was just full of surprises.

Best Scene: I think that the honor has to go to his establishing character moment with Zsasz, as they cut off the faces of a family who crossed Roman, and then when Roman decides to spare the daughter, he notices snot on her face, says “Ew” like a petulant child, and has Zsasz cut her face off anyway. It’s a great way to establish that Roman is an awful human being no matter how you slice it, and firmly establishes that while, yes, he is a misogynist villain in a female-led blockbuster, his misogyny is just a tiny facet of how unabashedly terrible Roman is.

Final Thoughts & Score: So, this is gonna sound weird, but… Roman kinda reminded me of Justin Hammer. Hammer is a villain who I have greatly warmed to over time (mostly thanks to Nando V Movies on YouTube), to the point where I think he’s actually pretty funny but is held back from true greatness by the sloppy nature of Iron Man 2. The film was big, bloated, and didn’t know what to do with itself. And this film is KIND OF like that… but it knows what to do with Roman.

The movie has an undercurrent of female empowerment, so why not make the villain emblematic of things women have to overcome? Roman is creepy, misogynistic, and even a bit racist especially with his condescending actions towards Dinah. And he even throws a fit when she “betrays” him and decides to murder her. But the movie is smart so as to not make this hamfisted; the movie makes it entirely clear that even if you take away his misogynistic elements, Roman Sionis is just an utterly disgusting human being. Everything about him is just so hilariously vulgar and repulsive, but the way he’s performed helps lighten it and help keep him within the tone of the movie. He’s just dark enough and just hammy enough to work.

My big issues with Roman are mostly due to his utilization and the wasted potential, which is a problem that really hits a lot of stuff in Birds of Prey. He is great every time he’s onscreen, but his screentime is fairly limited, and then he dies at the end which robs him of any chance of coming back in the future as an antagonist. He actually functions great as a more grounded threat rather than some larger-than-life end of the world threat, but the fact he dies horribly – before even having his mask burned onto his face, even! - just kind of feels like a waste of a character. To be fair, Black Mask is not the best or most interesting Batman villain crime lord; we have the Penguin for that. But when you cast  someone like Ewan McGregor and he’s clearly having a blast, it’s hard not to feel at least slightly bitter when he gets hilariously gibbed at the end.

Still, I can’t let Justin Hammer’s sacrifice go in vain; he walked so Roman could run, and Roman ran so that perhaps someday Hammer could sprint. Roman gets a nice, fat 8/10, which he definitely earns with the heaping helpings of ham he brings to the table, though he is held back at least a little by the wasted potential of his character.

But hey, if you want to talk about wasted potential…

Psycho Analysis: Victor Zsasz

I really like Victor Zsasz in this film. I really do. The angle they went with, the implied homosexuality, the actor… it’s all good stuff that helps make a disturbing character like Zsasz easier to swallow. But he gets hit with wasted potential harder than even Roman does.

Motivation/Goals: He’s Roman’s right-hand man, so basically his motivation is to do whatever Roman wants him to do. However, there is a bit of an implied thing between his boss and him; Zsasz seems undeniably irritated with the attention he lavishes on Dinah, and is very hands-on and affectionate with his boss. A lot of his later actions in the film and his cruelty towards Dinah does seem to stem from some place of anger towards her for taking Roman’s attention away from him.

Performance: I have to say, Chris Messina does a stellar job at portraying Zsasz as creepy and obsessive, and certainly showcases the fanatical loyalty he has towards Roman, making him something of a dark mirror to Harley’s former relationship with the Joker. I also appreciate that, despite not going with Zsasz’s original psychotic serial killer angle, they still made him a bloodthirsty psycho with a sort of nihilistic edge to him. Frankly, this might be the best possible take on a live-action Zsasz without things getting intensely uncomfortable.

Final Fate: This is probably the worst element of Zsasz: his death. Right before the climax he gets shot out of the blue by Huntress and then Harley just repeatedly stabs him with the arrow. And I have to make it clear here – Zsasz barely got to do anything. He never really poses any sort of physical threats to the heroines, never gets into a fight, and is never mentioned again after his death despite being very close to Roman (to the point where the two may have been lovers).

Final Thoughts & Score: As far as henchmen go, Zsasz is pretty solid conceptually. He’s established early on as a psychopathic enforcer of Roman’s gang, he has an eerie air to him, and he has a lot of elements from the comics you rarely see on Zsasz in other media, such as being blonde. Messina does a fantastic job at making the character seem like a competent killer in the employ of Roman.

But the key word is “seem,” because Zsasz frankly never lives up to his hype. Despite being introduced peeling the faces off of a family, he is just never utilized to his fullest extent. He’s kind of just there in a lot of scenes, and while he isn’t unmemorable or anything he never really does anything that makes him into a worthwhile addition to the franchise. He’s honestly just a glorified mook with a few interesting gimmicks to help set him apart.

I’ve gotta give him a 6/10. While he’s definitely a step above average, he’s really not anything amazing, mostly because the movie refuses to allow him to reach his full potential. He doesn’t have any great quotes, his most memorable scene really serves more to establish Roman than anything, and he is dumped and quickly forgotten right before the climax. He would easily be a 7 or 8 if the story treated him with a little more weight or respect, but he just ends up underwhelming despite having so much going for him, and it’s frankly a bit depressing. It’s just a very sad state of affairs for the character, especially when he managed to be more intimidating in the Arkham games despite the fact that he posed even less of a physical threat than he does here.

Well, while we’re here, let’s go over THAT Zsasz briefly.

Portrayed in the games by Danny Jacobs (who you may know as Sacha Baron Cohen's stand in on The Penguins of Madagascar. Yes, Zsasz and King Julien had the same voice actor.), Zsasz is never really a major antagonist and is, in all honesty, a pretty weak fighter; you can always take him down in one punch. The thing with Zsasz in the games, though, is that it’s always tricky to get to him, because he usually has hostages of some kind. In Arkham Asylum, he appears twice, and you need to use stealth to take him out before he kills his hostages. In City, he gets a much longer sidequest where he requires you to pick up ringing telephones and then glide to another one across the city within a time limit. Once you’ve listened to all of his messages, Batman finds out where his lair is, sneaks through it, and whoops his ass.

I certainly can’t say he’s the best villain in either game he appears in, but he’s definitely scary. His messages and game over screens are really freaky and unnerving, and the Riddler even requires you to find some of Zsasz’s work as parts of riddles… and by “work” I am of course referring to corpses posed in life-like positions. There’s also the horrifying little tidbit that in City, Zsasz actually does kill one of his hostages and there’s nothing that can be done about it; if you switch to detective mode in his lair, you can see a corpse at the bottom of the water in the room.

I think how creepy and intense he is really helps make him stand out among the more colorful characters in those games like Joker, Clayface, and Riddler, so I think giving him a nice 8/10 for his appearances is well-earned. I feel like Birds of Prey could have learned a few lessons from this portrayal; if they wanted to make him more creepy than physically intimidating, that could have worked well and it would have made his anti-climactic defeat a bit more plausible. Instead, they kind of tried this middle ground where he’s creepy enough and intimidating enough physically that it just feels like a letdown when he’s offed.

Oh yeah, did you know he appeared in Batman Begins? He had a brief cameo and didn’t do anything significant and looked like this:

Pretty sure he’d get a low score if he wasn’t just a quick little reference.

[hippychick006]

4.15 - Death takes a holiday

Another one under the cut.  This is why Season 4 is taking me so long to get through, there’s a lot going on in each episode.  Overall another good episode that starts out as a MOTW but turns out to be stopping one of the seals.

It’s been a long time since I learned first aid, but I don’t think CPR is the right approach for someone shot point blank range in the heart.  

Oh, he came back to life.  Well what do I know.  Carry on.

Sam and Dean are pretending that the angst of the previous case hasn’t affected them so I guess I’ll go along with it too.

Bobby found the case this time.  People are not dying - along with our buddy shot in the heart, a terminal cancer patient walked out of a cancer hospice so it sounds like their kind of case. 

Oh, I was also wrong about Sam and Dean pretending that everything is okay.  Dean’s holding a grudge.   Siblings!  In fairness to Dean, I’ve been holding a grudge with my sibling since I was 3 year old.

They are interviewing the guy shot in the heart, posing as bloggers “floored by the lord dot com”.  Sam’s taken over from Dean in asking the weird questions department.  “You wouldn't have happened to have swung by a crossroads in the past week or so?” and “Maybe you met someone? With black eyes? Or red?”  They leave pretty quickly after that line of questioning.

They figure out that reapers aren’t taking souls for some reason so decide to talk to the last person who died to see if they can tell them what’s going on.  This involves holding a seance at the grave.

While Sam’s setting up, Dean argues about whether they should be doing this, since what’s the problem if good people don’t die.  Sam responds that it’s the natural order.

DEAN: You don't see the irony in that? I mean, you and me, we're like the poster boys of the unnatural order. All we do is ditch death.

SAM: Yeah, but the normal rules don't really apply to us, do they?

Dean laughs, then realises Sam is being serious: “We’re no different than anybody else!”  Sam disagrees and says they are.

They get interrupted and awkwardly try to explain they are not devil worshippers, but luckily it’s just Alastair in a different meat suit.  He TK’s Dean who goes flying into a grave and gets knocked out, and tries the same with Sam who doesn’t move.  Sam TK’s Alastair and presumably goes to exorcise him but Alastair nopes right on out of there.  Wuss.

Back at the motel, Dean’s got a headache from his head connecting with a gravestone.  He asks why Alastair couldn’t fling Sam and Sam acts shifty.  Dean says, “Sam, do me a favor. If you're gonna keep your little secrets, I can't really stop you, but just don't treat me like an idiot, okay?”  Sam tries to deny it, but he’s a terrible liar where Dean is concerned.

Bobby keeps getting mentioned on the cases now and I might have to go back and look at when that started in earnest, because it’s actually annoying now.  Anyway, they figure out they are dealing with one of the seals.  Kill a reaper under the solstice moon which is the following night.

DEAN: How do you ice a reaper? You can't kill death.   Oh Dean, in Season 10, it’ll be as easy as just grabbing his scythe.

Dean comes up with the plan to become ghosts so they can talk to the reapers (who can only see dead people or those near death).  Sam says it’s crazy but goes along with it.

Cue Pamela Barnes for the third time this season.   She seems a little grumpy this time around though.  Can’t say I blame her, do they ever visit just for a beer?

They have an argument with Pamela about the crazy plan, and I’m surprised she didn’t already have this with Dean when he went to pick her up.  After the “end of the world” speech though, she agrees to help and performs the required spell. 

She whispers the incantation to bring them back in Sam’s ear.  I’m not sure how legit it is since it’s “You have got a great ass.”   Sam laughs and Dean wants in on the joke.

Poor boys, you can tell it’s freezing weather filming this one and Sam’s in just a hoody and t-shirt. They almost get run over by a jogger and that’s when Dean decides to see if he can get inside Sam (don’t @ me because that’s what he does, I’m only typing what I see).  Sam however is not in the mood - presumably due to the whole mission thing - so tells Dean to get out of him (again Sam’s words, not mine).  Oh show.

They stumble across the house of the last kid to die in the town who appears to be the only person that can see them so they decide to pay him a visit.

Sam tries to tell the kid, Cole, as nicely as possible that he’s dead, and Cole responds with “no shit Sherlock” - not his exact words since he’s 12, but near enough.

They find out the reaper did visit but was taken by black smoke.  At that point another reaper appears and it’s Tessa from In My Time of Dying, but Dean can’t remember her.  One random kiss later and he has his memories back.  Sam seems a little cold to Tessa, but she did almost take his brother away so I think he can be forgiven.

Dean stays with Tessa while Sam goes to find Cole, who ran away when Tess appeared.  Sam lies to the kid and tells him he can keep the reapers away if Cole will help them.  It’s interesting that Sam can lie with absolute coldness to someone else but not Dean.  The scene between them is heartbreaking, kudos on them both.

Meanwhile, Dean and Tessa have a talk.  The important point of which is that Dean thinks the angels have given him a second chance. Tessa responds mmm hmmm.

Tessa’s grabbed by the black smoke.   They enlist the help of Cole to help them learn how to physically move things and fight so they can go after the demons.  Cole punches them and at first they aren’t going to fight a 12 year old, but after one punch too many, Sam soon forgets that shit and goes in for the hit.  Luckily Cole knows how to doge by becoming invisible and appearing somewhere else, so they ask him to show them that too. 

They turn up at the funeral home (where Cole says he first saw the black smoke). Somebody has went crazy with glow in the dark sigils, which they presume no one else can see.  They tag team a demon and think they’ve got the upper hand, but other demons rush in and surround them with a chain of iron.  And if that works, why don’t they use them instead of rings of salt which blow away in the wind?  I’m confused.

Anyway, it was a trap and Alastair appears (in a different meat suit again) so he has to do the diva eye roll so we know it’s him.  Why can’t he just say “It’s me!” Alastair.”  He shoots Dean with rock salt.  He disappears for a few seconds.  When he reappears, Alastair is taunting Sam, about his mojo not working anymore since Sam’s not in his meat suit.  This news receives a glare at Sam from Dean.  Alastair then shoots Sam this time.

Dean says, “You can shoot us all you want, but you can’t kill us.”

Except Alastair didn’t move up the ranks to become a white eyed demon for nothing.  Cue back to Pamela and she hears a noise.  She gets up to lock the door and realises the window is open when she can feel a breeze.

While Alastair kills the reapers, Sam sees a light fitting above the trap the reapers are held in.  He indicates to Dean and they both concentrate on moving it with their mind.

Cue back to Pamela again who gets attacked by a demon and tries to wake Sam up.

Back at the funeral home, the light finally falls and breaks the trap and Sam, Dean and Tessa disappear, though only Dean and Tessa reappear outside.

Sam has woken up in time to see Pamela get stabbed in the gut and he’s pissed.  The demon is impressively TK’d against the motel door and swiftly exorcised.  Again, I think we’re supposed to see this as a bad thing.  All I see is a dead demon and you’re welcome world.

Sam tries to help Pamela but she can’t die right now due to the reaper situation.

Dean looks for Sam (as he has no idea he’s woken up) and comes across Alastair again who monologues for a minute and then is zapped by lightning.  Dean’s suitably confused until Mr Cryptic in a trench coat appears and explains this was a win because they stopped a seal being broken and captured Alastair.

I was about to start calling Castiel out for being useless and not telling them what they were dealing with the moment they hit town, but Dean’s doing that for me right now.  Turns out, it wasn’t Bobby that gave them the case, it was Castiel pretending to be Bobby.  He didn’t ask directly because they usually do the opposite of what he asks.  And he couldn’t help them in the funeral home because the place is warded against angels.   Fine, I’ll give a free pass this time.

Dean asks that an exception be made to the people that had escaped death and Cass says “To everything there is a season.”  Dean responds that they made an exception for him.  Cass says, “You’re different.”  This echoes what Sam said earlier in the episode, that they weren’t normal, they are different.  Cass disappears in a flash of wings and Tessa appears again asking for Dean’s help.

They go back to Cole’s house where his mother is upset looking through his baby album.  Cole realises they are there for him and that Sam lied about stopping the reapers.  He tells Dean, “Tell your brother, thanks for nothing.”  But between Dean and Tessa, they persuade Cole to move on.

After Cole disappears, Tessa tells Dean to stop lying to himself that the angels have something good in store for him.  She says he should trust his instincts.  She disappears and Pamela wakes him up.

Pamela’s rightly pissed that she’s dying and regrets ever being introduced to them.  She beckons Sam over and whispers to him, “I know what you did to that demon, Sam.  I can feel what’s inside of you.  If you think you have good intentions, think again,”  Sam’s poor face at this, because he wants to believe so much that he can use his tainted blood to do something good.

Pamela dies and Dean asks what she said to Sam.  He looks away.

Well, that was traumatic, and On the Head of a Pin is up next.  Torturer Dean and super powers Sam.  Bring it.

[ncdover1285]

Birthday Boy Blues

Jensen/Misha

If you like it check out my ao3 ncdover1285

Jensen was out on stage, he loved doing these conventions. The fans were always amazing and being around the guys was always something he loved. Yeah, Danneel was cool with the relationship between him and Misha, but he still enjoyed the alone time the conventions afforded them, with no kids around and the girls back home he could relax into Misha in a way he wouldn’t allow himself at home. She had been a little surprised when he brought it up to her, but she had been open minded to the idea and even embraced it once she saw how happy he had been after he became comfortable with his feelings toward Misha. Jensen had never thought of himself as anything other than a red blooded heterosexual american male, then Misha had came along and changed all that. He still wasn’t interested in other men, although he could admit whether or not someone looked good, this was something he had always been able to do. He wondered if he would have been as accepting if Danneel had come to him asking for a relationship with someone else, even if it was someone they both knew fairly well. He wasn’t sure, but he hoped he would never have to find out. Misha and Danneel flirted around a little bit and had even both been with him at the same time. Misha had never been with her alone though at least not all the way. They were best friends so they would goof around and sometimes after quite a bit of alcohol they would get handsy but that’s usually when one or the other would call Jensen to join in.

Jensen was brought out of his thoughts by a fan addressing him with a question. Misha smiled a little amused at him when he realized he hadn’t been paying attention. Usually when he would space out like that he was remembering something they had gotten into in the nights before the panel, or even thinking about what he wanted to do or have done to him. Misha laid a hand on his shoulder, looking at him now with a little concern and Jensen just smiled and shook his head. He looked in the audience to the fan and asked her to please repeat her question, determined to pay attention this time. “So, Jensen, you have a birthday coming up. Don’t think we could ever possibly forget.” At this the entire crowd began cheering and Jensen felt his face flame up. “Yeah, I do. I seem to have one of those every year, I just don’t understand it.” The fan giggled a little bit but seemed to focus back in on her question. “So how does it feel to be almost half a century old.” Jensen spluttered a little at this comment and turned to Misha as if to ask did she really just ask that? He eventually got himself together enough to respond to the fan after the crowd had died down. There seemed to be just as many boos as there were cheers at the question. “Well, I’m only turning forty, but I guess it is closer to fifty than it is zero, but I still feel thirty so I’m not too sure.” The crowd seemed to notice his discomfort and allowed him his time to process what he was feeling about the question. Misha was answering what questions he could and deflecting the ones that were directed towards Jensen. This was part of the reason he loved doing panels with Misha. He truly understood what Jensen needed and worked extremely hard to make sure he got it. He did manage to answer a few more questions as the panel went on but the fans seemed to avoid bringing up his age anymore and Misha kept giving him sympathetic looks like he completely understood what he was feeling right now, about the mini melt down that Jensen is having in his head right now.

Then again Jensen thinks, he might just understand. After all Misha is even older than Jensen is. He forgets about that quite often. Misha is so outgoing and full of life that Jensen sometimes forgets that he isn’t some twenty something year old running around set being a goofball like the rest of them. Speaking of Misha, he keeps giving Jensen these looks, like we are so talking about this when we get back to the room. The guys on set of course know about their relationship, but they keep it pretty private because all the fans would go nuts, I mean they already have hundreds of blogs and thousands of fanfiction accounts dedicated to cockles, which he found out recently is a “ship” between him and Misha. Now that doesn’t include all the ones for Destiel, but these are based on them, the actual actors and not the characters and this makes him just a little more uncomfortable. While they are in the green room with only a few fans around because they have to sell tickets back here as well, no time for the actors to actually unwind and turn off their public persona, Misha comes up and lays a hand on his shoulder gently rubbing his thumb over the spot where his neck and shoulder come together. Jensen doesn’t really mind the fact that the fans are back here normally, but this has hit him hard and today he would really like to just curl up next to Misha for a few minutes before autograph sessions begin.

“Hey big guy, what’s going on? You still upset about that one fan’s question?” Misha always seems to know him so well. “Nah, well, yeah just a little. I guess I just sort of forgot that I was that old. I don’t really feel like I should be ‘half a century old’ but I don’t know. Do I act like it to you? Do I look like it?” Misha looked around and noticing that the only fans that had been back there had already been lead back out to the main room of the convention, sat down on Jensen lap. This of course made Jensen laugh and those little laugh lines that Misha was so in love with showed on his face. “First of all, she said ALMOST half a century, and second of all, you definitely do not look or act like an old man. I should definitely know since, you know, I am older than you. Also, because well, I don’t think old men would be able to do some of the things we do in bed.” This last part was said in a whisper against Jensen’s ear and sent a shiver down his spine. Misha would need to behave or they would be late to autographs. As it turns out that wouldn’t be a problem as Jared came bounding around the corner and plopping his long frame down onto the couch next to the couple. “Hey hey, none of that now, someone might see you, because you know, you guys are so awesome at keeping this whatever it is between you both secret. Oh, so get this, I saw something online the other day about you two. It was one of those fan story things but it was about you all not Dean and Cass.” “Don’t tell me you read those Jared that’s a little scary since, you know, you actually do know us and don’t have to just make up some stuff to post online.” Okay, so maybe Jensen was not in the best mood today, sue him. “No for real, some of them actually sound like they KNOW you. There was one I found it was called something about Cockles and it had stuff in it I swear they had to have had cameras because it was so true. That or maybe you guys just don’t keep as good a secret as you thought. Anyway just wanted to let you know, oh and I was told to let you know autographs were supposed to start about three minutes ago. Okay bye!” With that Jared bounced right back out of the room leaving it so much quieter than it had been only seconds before.

“You know those people who write the fanfiction seem to get his personality down pretty good too. He really does seem like an energetic puppy sometimes. Thank god he doesn’t pee on the furniture though.” This made both of them laugh and Misha just shrugged like he hadn’t just been talking about their friend peeing inside, just ew. Jensen and Misha then stood up to make their way to autographs and Misha stops him and leads him around the corner into a room that was just a little more private. “You know that whatever they say, you are still an amazing person and someone I want to spend the rest of my life with right?” This made Jensen blush and smile so big he thought his face would break. These are the smiles that Misha loves and the sparkle in Jensen’s eyes that he hadn’t seen much of today was slowly starting to come back. “You are such a cheese ball you know that? Of course I know that though, even if I share you with the ladies, I still love you and you keep me sane sometimes when I think I would lose my mind otherwise.” Misha gave a thousand watt smile back to Jensen and then kissed him starting around the corner back through the green room they were really late now. “Yeah but you like this cheese ball.”

So finally when they made it to autographs they were separated again, Misha had a table off to the side with Mark and Alex. Apparently they were playing up the two dads thing at this convention. Jensen of course was in the center with Jared who was waiting with his dopey grin already on display. “Have fun?” He quietly questioned as Jensen slid into his position behind the table. He just looked at him as if to say really? You want to talk about us keeping quiet? But instead he just rolled his eyes at the big puppy and started talking to the first fan in line. This was going to be a really long day. The autograph session actually went faster than he thought it would at first. There were fans there who were helping the different actors with their respective charities. He thought this was pretty awesome and actually wished he could talk to the one girl a little longer. She was the one who started it and while they were named after a certain blue eyed angel they still helped all the different charities supported by the cast. She had a beautiful pendant for him and a book. The book was a compilation of notes from different fans describing what he meant to them. This made his eyes get a little damp and he had to put that away for later, couldn’t be crying in front of everyone again.

After autographs they went to photo ops. These were always his favorite, well most of the time, because the fans always had some really out there ideas for how they should pose. He looked over to see Misha talking to Alex and waiting for their photo area to be rearranged. The photos they were doing now were the ones with him and Jared both in the pictures and believe it or not they actually had puppy ears for the big dope to wear to make him really look like a puppy. The fans in this op had also brought a net and instructed Jensen to be the dog catcher, he was sure there was some meaning behind it that he wasn’t going to think too hard on. He knew that not everyone “shipped” him and Misha and that there were quite a few who thought him and Jared were together as well. Those he didn’t understand at all. He could see that maybe he and Misha acted like they were more than just friends on occasion, those occasions were blatantly labeled on youtube, but he and Jared had only ever been friends. Granted they were best friends, on the verge of brother type of friends but lovers? No way even the thought was hilarious to him and he started grinning. The girls eat that right up, commenting on how his smile made him look so much younger. This however caused the real smile to slip right off his face and caused him to have to put the fake one back on. He really didn’t want to think about his age anymore today. His birthday wasn’t even for another few days and already he was dreading it. Finally, the photo ops with Misha came around. He definitely preferred these to the ones that he had to do with Jared and the ones with him and the fans alone. The fans usually wanted something cute with them holding hands or acting like they were kissing and he always had to act like he thought it was horrible, when in fact, these were the best. They were able to be close and semi intimate without anyone saying anything about it. Yeah, he could definitely see where they got him and Misha being together. Oh well, it was too much work to try and hide it any better.

Photo ops finally finished and away from the prying eyes of the public, Jensen was standing in the bathroom of his and Misha’s motel room. He was just standing there looking into the mirror like it held the answers to all his questions. Questions such as where did all the time go? What happened to the young guy who started out on this crazy show fourteen years ago? Hell, where was the guy that was so flustered over the cute new quy that he couldn’t remember his lines and all the other guys gave him grief over? He was starting to wonder what made Misha still want to be around him. He definitely wasn’t the attractive young actor that he used to be, and with the kids and wife at home he wasn’t able to devote very much time away from work and conventions, not nearly as much as he had once been able to. Speaking of kids and a wife at home, Jensen needed to call Danneel and let her know that his head wasn’t completely in the game tonight so if he seemed distant in his text messages that was why. She would worry about him otherwise. He really did have an amazing family. He had three great kids that thought he hung the moon and stars, an amazing wife who loved him more than anything on the planet, and Misha. Misha was a part of his family that he had never expected, but he wouldn’t know how to function without him in it now. Misha had introduced him to polyamory when Jensen had never even thought to know what it was. Why would anyone want to share their relationship with anyone else? Well it turns out that you can love more than one person without it taking away from the other. When Jensen was at home with Danneel they had family time, which sometimes included Misha and even Vickie, and these were some of Jensen's favorite times. He was able to have not only his wife and kids but Misha with him, his kids and Misha’s kids didn’t see anything wrong with all of them getting to spend time together. Holidays especially were a big thing to Misha, so they all got together and had big celebrations for even the silliest holidays.

There were times when he and Danneel would need a reset, some time just for them or for them and the kids. These times Misha never seemed jealous of, he understood because he and Vickie needed these times as well. When they were away from home however, like at work in Vancouver or at the conventions, that was Jensen and Misha’s reset time. They always stayed together while they were away, going so far as to have a place in Vancouver where they both lived while filming. Of course with Danneel being on the show there were a few weeks where they had to share the house in Vancouver but it had definitely been worth it. This had been one of the funnest times during filming recently, not only did he and Misha get to pick on her on set but they made it all better when they would return home at night. Jensen wasn’t jealous at all watching Danneel with Misha. It almost felt like home, the two people he loved the most loving each other and responding to him together, that was why he found the whole polyamory thing to be their best relationship choice yet. Jensen realized he had been off in his own head again while standing in front of the bathroom mirror as a strong set of hands made their way around his waist and up under his shirt to rest on his chest. Misha rested his head on Jensen’s shoulder and continued gently tracing the muscles on his chest. He had kept his figure because, well, Dean was a hunter. Dean was a hunter who for some reason enjoyed going topless, so Jensen kept his physique quite nice. Even for an old man, he quipped in his own mind.

“Quit that, I can tell you’re doing it again. Don’t let it get to you. You aren’t that old, and I’m not the only one who finds you sexy as hell. No, I’m not talking about Danni either, even though that’s true she does also. No, I’m talking about the hundreds of fans that came to see you today. They waited in line for hours for the photos and the autographs, even just a chance to speak to you one time for a couple of minutes. That made their entire lives.” Jensen raised his hand and placed it on Misha’s through his shirt. “God complex much?” Misha laughed and nuzzled even closer into Jensen’s neck. “Nah, just a little character bleed. Remember, Castiel was like god for a while.” This made them both laugh and Jensen was once again reminded that Misha was perfect for him. “I was about to go call Danni want to come with me out of this bathroom, I mean I know they are actually pretty clean but I just realized that I’ve spent way too much time in here tonight.” Jensen started toward the bedroom pulling Misha by the hand and when Misha pulled him to a stop and pushed him up against the wall between the bathroom door and the one that lead out into the hallway he easily fit between the smaller man and the barrier behind him. Misha unbuttoned his shirt while Jensen kept his mouth attached to Misha’s neck, just below the collar line. This was his area, the part where no one but himself, Misha, Danneel and Vickie ever had access. If they ever did a shot where misha didn’t have a shirt on they would have to cover the slightly varying shades of bruising left from Jensen’s skilled tongue and lips, but for now he wasn’t worried about it at all. They were starting to let their bodies carry their minds away as Jensen heard a sound from further into the room. Misha groaned as he leaned back to look Jensen in the eye. “That’s her ringtone isn’t it? We were just getting started.” He put on a pouty face that Jensen knew was just for show. Misha enjoyed talking to the girls as much as he did, but it wasn’t Danneel’s ringtone going off. “Nope, that’s Vickie’s new ringer on my phone. Now, why pray tell would your wife be calling me at a convention?”

Misha honestly didn’t know so he just shrugged and stepped out of the way to allow Jensen to get to his phone which had been dropped on the nightstand when he came into the room before his long stay in front of the bathroom mirror. By the time he got there it had already stopped reading and as he picked it up it beeped signaling an incoming text message. He held it out for Misha to see what had been written.

Hey sorry if I’m interrupting your all’s guy time, but have you seen my husband? I can’t seem to get him to answer his phone. Danneel was wanting to see if we could all get together after this convention and do something for your birthday. Maybe invite Gen and Jared too. It’s been forever since we all had the chance to hang out, and Sarah agreed to watch the kids for us so we could all have a few drinks and be adults instead of just parents for once. Well, anyway if you see him please tell him to call me. Thanks.

    “That actually sounds like a great idea. We should totally all get together and have a huge celebration for your birthday. Might make you realize that you do still have people who care about you, and I have no idea where my phone went, if Jared took it I’m going to kill him.” Misha then went off to supposedly look for his phone so Jensen figured he’d go ahead and message Vickie back.

Sorry, he has no idea where his phone ran off to, and you can message me anytime, you know that. As far as the party, that sounds great whatever you and Danni want to do is fine with me. As far as Gen and Jared, well that will probably depend on if he took Misha’s phone or not. If he posts anything else on Misha’s twitter I’m not sure the fans are going to believe him when he says it wasn’t him.

    He put the phone back down on the nightstand while laughing at his friend and boyfriend’s silly antics and went to his bag to get some fresh night clothes out. While he was getting dressed for the night his phone began ringing again. Guess people really do love him. He laughed out loud at the silliness he was feeling after spending a little while with Misha. This time it really was Danneel, she was calling because Jared told her that he may need some special attention. Jensen rolled his eyes at this, yeah that sounded like something Jared would say. He explained to her what the fan had asked him during his and Misha’s panel that afternoon and how he felt about it. She calmly sat and listened and gave support where it was needed. God he was one lucky man. He was laying on the bed still talking with Danneel when Misha came back into the room. Apparently he had found his phone as he was furiously typing away at the screen as he walked through the door. “Stupid Jared, so help me he is nothing but an overgrown child. He doesn’t have any respect for other people’s things. Can you believe this? He did it again. Why does it have to always be something stupid on my twitter feed?” Finally Misha looked up from his phone when all he received from Jensen was a low snicker. He mouthed it’s Danni as Misha sat down on the bed beside him. “Oh sorry, hey Danni! I miss your beautiful face!” She giggled at Misha’s silly comment, “miss your ugly mug too,” and he continued to type away as he stuck his tongue out at her when she clearly couldn’t see it. Jensen did let her in on the response though. He finally hung up the phone and Misha finally finished explaining to his minions about Jared’s stupidity, AGAIN. “How did I get so lucky to have you in my life?” Jensen asked laying his head on Misha’s chest. “Don’t know, but I feel like the lucky one most of the time.” He wrapped his arm around Jensen and they just laid there enjoying the quiet and each other while Misha’s phone was chiming continuously in the background.