A7 Report
Splitting up a report into what happened on what day is boring, so I'm splitting mine into themes :p
Misha on Castiel
Thought I'd start with the most important topic. It was a funny thing, really. The whole con was a very VERY pro-Castiel crowd, but the question of Castiel's apparent death in the show was one that we all seemed to be dancing around a lot of the time. It certainly didn't come up in Misha's first panel on Saturday morning at all.
Then, just before lunch, katie_f_thomas and I were part of Misha's first coffee lounge, where the issue continued to be avoided for most of the half hour. It was... interesting.
Misha was very tired at this point, bless him, what with it being the first day and early, so he was slouching in his chair almost the whole time and giving adorable, if slightly bleary, responses to questions. For my part, I actually really liked this coffee lounge - I was fairly tired myself from the train journey the day before and it was nice to spend time just chilling out with Misha and everyone else. There were a fair few pauses in conversation, but I found them quite comfortable and was happy to sit back and let Misha babble or fall silent as he chose.
Whenever a lull in conversation did occur though, the only question that DID spring to mind for me was, of course, about Castiel and what the hell is going on with him this season. And yet I persistently held back from asking, as in proper bit my tongue to keep myself quiet... partly because I was weary of receiving a spoilery response that others might not have appreciated and partly because... IDK, for whatever reason, and since it hadn't been brought up in the panel before, it felt like something we weren't supposed to be talking about.
About 5 minutes from the end, though, a plucky girl who I am extremely grateful to finally bit the bullet and asked 'do you know when you're coming back?' (or a variation thereon). And I swear, the change in atmosphere was palpable. Suddenly everyone was wide-awake and focused and holding their breath, like this was what we'd been waiting for the whole time.
I can't recall how Misha responded word for word, but the short of it is he genuinely doesn't know when or how he's coming back. The most telling part of his answer, however, was that from his perspective he still doesn't really know if he's coming back. He told us he'd heard that Sera had given a press release saying Misha would be coming back to the show but that was the first he'd heard about it. The producers haven't told him anything about Castiel coming back. He said he suspects Sera just made the statement she did because she was fed up of fans asking her about him all the time.
This was, and still is, sad news. But Misha told us in that gently smiling, jokey way of his, and did an amusing pantomime of tapping in frustration on a computer as he explained his idea of Sera's reason for her press release - so it was hard to tell what he really thought about it all.
Subsequently, with all that niggling away in the back of my mind, and after watching 7.06 on Saturday night where Cas was mentioned but not greatly mourned and Misha turned out to NOT be the freaking Leviathan boss FML, I decided 'screw it! I'm gonna get this issue out in the open, controversial or not!'
So I spent some time with katie_f_thomas drafting a question for Misha's Sunday panel. It read like this (spelling error included for hilarity): "We really really miss you! & we aren't especially enamarded [ie. enamoured] about the way Castiel seems to have been written out of the show & not really mourned by Sam & Dean (or even mentioned at all particularly) - what are your thoughts about Castiel's situation this season & when are you coming back?!"
I then spent a fair bit of Sunday morning fretting about asking it and worrying it was too controversial and something Misha might not be allowed to talk about and not wanting to rock the boat and incite hate within the fandom etc etc. Kate was fabulously supportive though and had faith I would phrase things in a way that didn't sound like I was saying 'the show sucks this season and Sera Gamble's a dick' (which isn't an opinion I hold, fyi), so I went ahead and got in line to ask. In fact, I became so determined, I camped out by the microphone a good half hour or so before the panel started to make sure I definitely would get to ask. Which, of course, meant that my question became the FIRST question of the panel.
I'm very much hoping to have a video link at some point that will give Misha's response in full as I don't want to misrepresent. Also, I've forgotten exactly how I ended up phrasing things!
What I do remember is starting out "I think I speak for a lot of fans when I say we're really missing Castiel this season" and getting a big cheer from the audience, which was really heartening. I'd been really worried I was going to get a 'mentioning Wincest' reaction of people falling into awkward and disapproving silence, so it was great to know the crowd was behind me.
I also remember I altered the ending to the question and asked "how do you feel?" ie. about the treatment of Castiel this season. Misha properly ran with that phrasing, repeating "how do I feel?" followed by a middle finger. Which the audience also cheered at :p What he said next I can't recount exactly, but I know he repeated about Sera claiming Misha was coming back without telling him. He also said that he really wanted to work on the show again and that he was sad not to have a job on Supernatural anymore because he really enjoyed working on the show. He mentioned, as actors on the show often do, that the nice thing about Supernatural is that dead doesn't have to mean dead and that he's hopeful there's a way for Cas to be written back in. Um... oh god, I really can't remember much else. I think he said something about how it looked grim for Cas and that he really IS DEAD at the moment.
...it was all rather depressing really. It would be easy to take away that Misha feels hard done by or treated badly, but I'm hesitant to interpret his answer that way because I'm afraid that if word gets out that he's been expressing those kind of opinions in public then Sera and the SPN producers will take offence and do even worse stuff to Castiel's character.
...that said, in my opinion, he really did seem down about the whole thing.
edit: Video! As promised! Thank you cienna ♥ It's pretty shakey cos she was standing in line, but the sound is very good. Stick with it to the end, there were some interesting things I'd forgotten -
That idea that Misha is at least a little upset about the Castiel situation was also kinda re-enforced later when someone else asked if he knew of anything the fans could do to help get Castiel back in the show. He joked in response along the lines of 'well, I don't advocate arson, but...' and also suggested we all go on hunger strike until he was back in the show again :p But the overall answer was more 'I don't know, I don't think there's anything you can do.'
I like to think our support meant something to him. There really was a strong vibe in the room that everyone was on his side.
I dislike the way things are reaching a point where 'sides' seem to be becoming necessary though. What has always set SPN apart from other shows has been the sense of family throughout every aspect of it and the way everyone working there has been made to feel welcome and left happy. If Misha really has left unhappy then this is (as far as we know anyway) unprecedented and it makes me feel all twisty - like watching your parents fight :( And I don't want to take a side! I don't hate Sera. I actually LIKE a lot of her episodes. I even quite like the ideas she's had for the show since she took over (even if I'm not sure they were realised so great a lot of the time). But if it comes to a choice between Sera and Misha... I'm with Misha, you know?
Misha's childhood
One of the highlights of the weekend was Misha's childhood friend Darius who was around on Saturday. He kept interrupting Misha's panel in amusing ways and seemed like a really nice, funny guy.
At one point Misha was talking about Twitter and how he'd made a bet with Darius' wife about something and posted on Twitter that if Darius' wife succeeded with whatever they'd made the bet about then he'd post a picture of himself naked on horseback (or something, can't remember the details :p). Anyway, he lost the bet (or whatever) and someone on the internet made a manip of him naked on a horse. As you do. Darius' wife texted him to let him know she'd seen him naked on horseback :p
So, Misha started this story off by saying he was receiving texts from Darius' wife, causing Darius to yell out 'why are you texting my wife?!' Hee.
Darius then asked the audience if we wanted to hear stories of Misha as a kid, which, well - duh!
So he jumped up on stage, took Misha's microphone and told a story about how Misha used to have a paper run as a kid, which involved him collecting papers and secretly throwing them in a dumpster, but still getting paid :) Misha joined in and explained that his brother also got in on the action and took a paper run elsewhere and did the same thing :p Misha also said he was surprised that was the story Darius chose to tell when there were so many worse ones he could have picked. Hee hee.
Darius went back to his seat and the panel continued for a bit, until Darius interrupted again, this time with a microphone of his own, to tell us that Misha was breastfed until he was six! Misha looked somewhat embarrassed, but unsurprised, at this and said that was more like what he'd expected Darius to say. He also shrugged and said it was true!
Later on Misha recounted another childhood story. Someone asked him what the most elaborate lie he ever told was and he said he once lied to his mum that he was travelling somewhere with some National Geographic people to, err, scuba dive I think? Anyway, whatever it was she bought it. But really he was stranded and out of money, having just recovered from being really really sick. He got Darius to... either send him money or pick him up, I forget exactly. At this point he asked Darius if he remembered this story - to which Darius replied that he was pretty sure it ended in breastfeeding :p Anyway, when they got back, Darius went to Misha's house to speak with his mum (who was boasting about Misha working with the National Geographic people). Darius then excused himself to go to the bathroom, where Misha had climbed in through the window. They changed clothes. Misha went downstairs (as Darius) and started playing the piano (which makes me think Darius must have been a VERY close friend if it was normal for him to just start doing that), meanwhile Darius, now in Misha's clothes, went into the kitchen to make a drink. Misha's mum also went into the kitchen, saw Darius, who she thought she could still hear playing the piano, and freaked the fuck out, turning really pale like she'd seen a ghost.
Seriously - wtf? Just when I think I've grasped Misha's insanity he hits me with a whole lot more :p
Darius was also with Misha at the Jason Manns + Louden Swain concert on Saturday night and the two of them looked so damn happy and at ease with each other. Honestly, they spent almost all evening laughing together with their arms round each other and stuff. It was great to see them both having such a good time. I always worry that the guests secretly don't enjoy conventions, so it was nice to know that wasn't happening that night at least.
...also, I, ah...I couldn't help wondering, what with Viki's book and everything, if maybe her, Misha and Darius... because if I was RPS inclined then Misha/Darius would have totally become a pairing for me that night *blush* But anyway...
Misha on his relationship with Viki
In his Sunday panel, someone was saying they knew Misha did some carpentry and wanted to know what he was most proud of making. He answered that he was most proud of a bed he'd once made for Viki :) He told the story really well though, because he didn't mention Viki's name at first - he said he decided to make a bed for his college girlfriend and cut down a tree for the wood and everything. He then spent ages sanding it down and getting sawdust all over his college room until eventually he was done and he presented it to her. He described the moment as one that must have been both cool and kinda creepy :p But that she'd later married him, so she must have liked it :)
The funniest part about it was that Viki's parents were very Catholic and had bought Viki a promise ring. Only when her and Misha moved in together they took the bed and as they were carrying it inside Viki's hand got trapped between the bed and the wall. Viki wasn't hurt, but her promise ring got split in half. Misha said he thought it was funny that it was the bed he'd made, and hoped to [insert amusing noise indicating sex ;p] her up on that broke the ring. Lol!
Right after that, completely out of the blue, Misha asked if he'd ever told the story of his and Viki's engagement. We all said no. He um-ed and ah-ed for a bit, saying that actors were told not to tell personal stories, but decided to go ahead and tell us anyway.
This story is probably the sweetest, most lovely and romantic story I've ever heard that isn't fictional!
He started off by explaining that he and Viki had been together for a long time at this point and that because Viki didn't really like the institution of marriage (because gay people couldn't get married and for various other reasons) it had become something they didn't really discuss. Only for some reason it was important to Misha, particularly then (this may have been because they were going through a rough patch, I think he said), and it had reached a stage where he was starting the think that if they didn't get married he was seriously considering whether there was any future for them.
It was coming up to their ten-year anniversary while he was thinking all this and he was shooting a film on a small island off the coast of Maine. While he was there he happened upon a small jewellers. Someone who worked there had recently died (or left) so their desk was not being used and Misha, being Misha, on impulse managed to get the people who ran the place to let him use the vacant desk. He then spent a couple of weeks or so learning how to craft metal and made Viki an engagement ring. He had already made a wooden box for the ring a year or so ago and been carrying it around with him, having been thinking about proposing for a long time, which he put the ring in.
By this point I was already blown away by how romantic all this was and how much effort and love Misha had put into this. But oh, it gets better.
He called Viki over to the island on the day of their anniversary and had an elaborate picnic set up for the two of them, got down on one knee etc etc. saying 'I know you don't like the idea, but we've been together ten years, I'd really love to marry you.' ♥
Viki looks down at him, unsure, and says something like 'ten years? no, no it's nine years.' Misha answers along the lines of 'um, no it's ten, is that a yes?' and Viki says 'well, I guess...'
It's not exactly perfect, but he slips the ring on her finger and they spend the night together.
Only then... oh guys, I'm getting all wibbly inside remembering, made all the stronger by the fact that at this point Misha himself started tearing up (No lie! He actually got up from his seat to turn away and wipe his eyes!)... It got so emotional in fact I can't quite remember how events unfolded. I think he said that he woke up and found out that during the night while he was sleeping Viki had slipped a ring on his finger.
Because it turned out that, unknown to him, Viki had been making her own ring and intended to propose to him! She was planning on asking the following day, Misha had just got there first! The thing was, her ring had nine dots around it, one for each year they'd been together, so when she found out she was wrong by a year she was all 'oh shit!' hence why her response had been so stilted.
Guys! Just - ♥ ♥ ♥
He teared up several more times after the first and every time he was all adorable and embarrassed, saying things like 'I don't know what's wrong with me' and 'now I know why we're not supposed to tell personal stories!' Oh... you just wanted to jump up there and hug him! And then go find Viki and hug her. Then hug them both and press them together and marvel at what a wonderful relationship they have.
It was beautiful, it really was. Possibly the most special con experience I've known to date, in fact, because it was just so personal and heartfelt and lovingly told.
Misha/Viki ftw ♥
edit: Here is a vid of the full story. Oh god, Misha! ♥ (turns out I was wrong about the ring being slipped on while he was sleeping. She only sized his finger while he was sleeping. Still - awww.
Louden Swain are amazing!
The concert Saturday night was another highlight :D
Jason sang first, and I have to say I was way way more impressed than I expected to be. As some may remember, I managed to sneak backstage of Jason's concert last year at A5 for all of 5 minutes before being caught, and what I heard then I found a little 'meh...'
But, oh, Jason is so very lovely in person! He's got this adorable, kinda cheeky little smile that just makes you melt :) And his version of 'Hallelujah' was wonderful. We were all sitting down for his performance, with me, Kate and new friend Rain (who'd we'd met waiting in line) right at the front down on the dance floor, and there was this really lovely charged but peaceful atmosphere. I'm not sure how to describe it, it was kind of dreamy and safe and warm and just really lovely. Enjoyed it very much.
But it was Louden Swain that I went nuts over :p
I probably mentioned in my A5 report last year that me and music don't mix well. I'm basically tone deaf, which means a lot of the time I can't tell if music is out of tune. Because of this, I can't really judge what music is 'good' and what isn't and most of the time I don't really care about music at all. I like music the most if it comes with something visual, or I can attach something visual to it - hence my love of music videos and my recent enjoyment of classic rock (because it makes me visualise SPN). Music with lyrics that tell a story therefore naturally hold an appeal to me, because there's an automatic visualisation there. Also, having got into rock due to SPN, I have recently noticed that I enjoy loud music in a party setting - possibly this is because the volume obliterates pretty much everything, including the need to socialise with the people around you (which I approve of, since I'm something of a loner at heart).
Louden Swain's music I would (tentatively) describe as loud rock that often follows a narrative. So, at the moment at least, it pretty much fits my type exactly :p
I got their album A Brand New Hurt last year at Roadhouse and have most of the songs on my playlist, so there was already an appeal. But, oh, seeing them live just cranked my love of them up to eleven! Even rocking out Rob was such a sweetheart and he and the other band members seemed so freaking happy to be there and to be playing you couldn't help loving them.
Then you had stuff like Julian and Misha running on stage and goofing around ♥ Well, Misha was goofing by doing pirouettes behind the band, while Julian was proper jumping up and down in time with the music and stuff. When Misha left Julian even joined us on the dance floor and kept bopping for a few more songs :) (I was really glad they both turned up actually, because prior to their arrival there hadn't been much dancing among the crowd and I was starting to feel kinda sad that me and Rain seemed to be the only ones getting into it - that I could see from my little area in the crowd anyway).
Other fun stuff about the concert included Rob getting really sweaty and taking clothes off every so often. At one point he joked that he'd take an item of clothing off after every song. Then, when he was down to his T-shirt people starting chanting for him to take it off and it made him laugh and blush and he pulled up the hem a bit to try and oblige us, but then was all cute and shaking his head saying 'no, I can't!' That happened a few times after that, with the chant starting up again periodically, and every time he was smiley and adorable and told us he couldn't :D
I was hyped that they played so many songs from A Brand New Hurt, because it meant I knew the words and could sing along - which is a rare rare thing for me and songs. I was miffed though when Rob decided to set a challenge for someone to get a free T-shirt. He said whoever could sing the next song they played would get one, and as luck would have it it was one of the songs on the album I didn't know the words to! This coming after I'd just been singing along to the 3 or 4 ones they'd played before. Pfft :p
The end of the concert was also fab because Rob called Jason up to join them in singing a song they'd been rehearsing earlier that day. Only it was something of a work in progress and they hadn't really worked it out yet, so they didn't make it through. But instead of being awkward all of us, including the band and Jason, found the whole thing really funny, and Jason moved the moment on by starting us chanting 'one more song one more song!' to the band and then leaving the stage so they could finish up on their own ♥
Oh oh! And one of the songs they played was brand new that they hadn't even played in America yet, so yay! We got something before the States! Always a win :p
Turned out the concert was the first part of a tour too and that Jason and Louden Swain are playing in London this Saturday... a gig which, err, me and Kate might have already booked tickets for... lalala...
Rob is a sweetheart
Kate and I got a coffee lounge with Rob on the Sunday, which was lovely. It was fairly similar to my Roadhouse coffee lounge with him last year, though a little larger.
What I liked was that we weren't just talking to Rob, we were also talking to each other, so it really felt like a gathering of equals, like Rob was one of us.
Apparently Kate and others didn't agree, cos they wanted us to stop talking to each other so they could hear more from Rob :p Po-tay-toe, Po-tah-toe...
Since Kate managed to actually talk to Rob I'm hoping she wasn't too disappointed though :) And she started a joke about Misha being larger than you expect him to be as well, which was met with approval by all ;)
Rob didn't give away any vital info about anything that I recall. He spent some time lamenting over what it was like to be short and having to stand on apple boxes for his scenes, which was especially embarrassing for romantic scenes - awww! And also told us how his son got confused about a scene in The Real Ghostbusters were Sam is shouting at Chuck and thought that ROB was being yelled at and got upset - awww! Rob's son also announced to his school teacher one time that Rob made 'adult movies' Lol!
We missed Rob's first panel, unfortunately, cos we had photo ops... or something. We were definitely in a queue! But his second one was as sweet as his coffee lounge (he had to go straight from the lounge to the panel, in fact, since things were, surprise surprise, running late). A highlight for us was when someone asked if he'd ever thought about learning an obscure language. They were Scottish, so they were pushing Gaelic, but Kate, who had become particularly outspoken suddenly, instead of her usual shy self, shouted 'WELSH!' (Kate's from Wales :p). Rob heard and was all 'where do they speak Welsh?' Which got a laugh and everyone shouting 'Wales!' But before we'd even finished shouting he looked all ashamed and started reaching out to where we were in the crowd saying 'I know! As soon as I asked I wanted to take the question back, I'm sorry!' So that was adorable and kinda like another interaction between Rob and Kate, which was cool :D
Other fun stuff
I know I've only babbled about Rob and Misha, but the other guests were lovely too. Mitch I found perhaps a little dull at times, but he answered his questions thoroughly and that is what it's about really. Also, it was nice to hear that he didn't really understand what was going on with Samuel in S06 either - in fact, he even said at one point that his storyline didn't seem to make sense, which takadainmate and I had JUST been whispering about, so that cracked us up a little (enough that he heard our cackle of laughter and asked what was going on - Ooops!). I mean, it's sad that even the actors found the writing that season something of a mess, but at the same time it's nice to have that fact validated by one of the people acting it, you know?
The girls were adorable. Amy was a little over enthusiastic, maybe, but so smiley I had to forgive her. Misha crashed their panel on Sunday, which was funny. Katie (Fate) talked to him about how she felt they'd had sexual tension in their scene and Misha joked that he wished he'd realised earlier, they could have got together and done something about it :p
Because of that, actually, I asked Katie what she thought about the relationship between Fate and Castiel, because I've been thinking ever since their scene that they seemed to be playing up to some kind of past between the two. It was gratifying for me, then, that she answered exactly that, saying she was absolutely acting it like they had a history and believed Fate and Cas had been dancing around a relationship for some time. She laughed over the fact that it seemed Misha hadn't been playing it that way at all, since he hadn't noticed the sexual tension in their scene, which was fun :) She also joked that maybe Fate and Cas had got really drunk one time and maybe had sex, which just goes to show she hasn't seen very much of the show, but nobody's perfect :p She was just brainstorming at that point anyway, so nothing was too serious - just in case anyone's worried Fate may be a threat to the Dean/Cas or anything!
Julian - oh Julian. He was lovely. Like Mark Sheppard he's a fellow Brit, so that gave him an automatic bond with the crowd and just... I have no specifics, it was just a pleasure to listen to him. takadainmate is the one you should look to for info on Julian - he fit her old man kink, you see ;) Her and Jen even got a coffee lounge with him, where he talked a lot about Death having a liking for Dean, apparently. So if you read any Death/Dean over at Caroline's LJ, you know why.
I've already mentioned Rain, but we also met the fabulous rainbow-haired Kita over the weekend. Well, we met both of them in the Registration Disaster actually that I will explain anon but anyway. So it was great having new friends all weekend. Rain had a kick-ass cowboy costume for the party on Saturday and Kita was in turn Castiel and Gabriel :) We had some really interesting discussions about the show together as well, including a lively debate after watching the episode on Saturday were Kita revealed her inner Sam!girl to the fullest extent :p But I thought it was just amazing how we could disagree so strongly over things sometimes, but then still have a blast partying together later :) SPN-fandom-inclusiveness in action!
On the back of that - I really really enjoyed the Friday night party. Kate's not a party person, so she had an early night, making it just me with Rain and Kita, and later takadainmate and cienna. I'm not usually a party person either but... it's because we all had the same shared passion that I enjoyed it, I think. I didn't have to worry if I was coming off crazy or if my dancing was stupid, because I already knew I was excepted :) Though takadainmate's flask of vodka probably helped as well ;p
Admittedly, it was a bit lame at first, and Rain, Kita and I were slightly concerned that the DJ didn't seem to know who AC/DC were when we requested Back in Black :/ But they started playing rock soon enough and, as with all the other cons I've been to, the atmosphere got really charged when Carry On came on :D
We also met a couple of charming young brothers - Sam and George. Sam was the youngest and yes, he had Sam Winchester's wonderful floppy hair ♥ They were adorable and had some fantastic dance moves - especially for Eye of the Tiger :) Mitch was unintentionally mean to Sam later when he asked a question in Mitch's panel, actually, and Mitch didn't have an answer so he told Sam to 'sit down!' Realising he'd been harsher than he meant to he searched Sam out after the panel and apologised and later brought him up on stage during his second panel for a hug. Aw.
Towards the end of both parties, Friday and Saturday, a weird phenomenon of convention line dancing started up, which was entirely new to me. I still don't know if it was fascinating or terrifying watching everyone stop partying and form neat lines so they could all perform a set dance to 'Doctoring in the TARDIS' ...by Saturday night, cienna's Kentucky heritage had won out though and she was joining in :p And, well, it was Doctor Who related! I felt I at least owed it a chance because of that. We even roped takadainmate in for a little while :)
The Time Warp was much fun both nights :D
Not so fun stuff
Finally, a quick note about the negative aspects.
Registration was THE WORST. The joke of the day was that Crowley had arranged it, because it was a HELLISH mess of queuing and more queuing and more queuing. Now, I'm British, I can handle queuing, but oh, so many of these queues were just quite obviously unnecessary.
Also, for me, Kate, Rain and Kita, it wasn't so much about queuing anyway as it was about 4 odd hours sitting on the floor waiting to learn which queue we'd eventually be put in, because we hadn't been given the necessary information about which group we were in. This was how we all met - we were 'the forgotten' :p
Then, when we finally got into a queue to get sorted out, Rain got everything all at once, but despite her being directly before us, Kate and I were put into a different queue, because it turned out Rain had just got lucky and been given stuff at the wrong time or something. Kate and I ended up in a third queue at one point for our pre-booked photos and stuff, even though both Rain and Kita had got those from their original queue and just... NOW I understand why Rogue Events have such a bad rep. I still can't understand why things were not in the same place. Surely it would have been possible to have badges and photo op passes etc all put together? Single packs containing everyone's stuff, you know? It would have meant a lot of working it out beforehand, but surely that's the time to do it? Surely?
Tbh though... it was a shambles, no doubt, with almost none of the staff knowing what was going on (we were told to wait for a couple of minutes at one point, which turned into 2 hours with the person who asked us to wait NEVER coming back), very poorly organised and really NOT acceptable, but - I was okay. I was still happy to be there, we weren't missing anything important, I was talking with new friends, I was calm. This doesn't make it okay, far from it, but I came away thinking 'well, that could have been a worse experience for me.'
I know this makes me one of the lucky ones though. For others it must have been an INCREDIBLY stressful time.
Then there's what happened to the Diamond ticket holders, omg.
We heard this from hils later and I could not believe it. The whole POINT of a Diamond pass is to avoid queues and go through Registration first and generally have it better than Emerald pass holders, that's what you pay extra for. But Hils and the others took the same 4 hours as us to Register as they were shuffled from queue to queue to get all their stuff. And they didn't even get all their stuff! Their packs, like ours, were not pre-prepared, nothing was ready and, one of the worse things, the photos that were supposed to be included in their pack for autographs were not available. They were made to wait until SUNDAY for them (meaning they couldn't get any autographs on Saturday, which for a few guests was a lot easier) and when they finally got given their photos they weren't even the ones they were supposed to have! It turned out Rogue had been selling those photos so, of course, they were sold out by Sunday, meaning that instead of individual photos of everyone, Diamond pass holders had to make do with various group photos of the guests, or whatever was left over.
UNEXCEPTABLE. Not only was this not what they'd paid for but for some things, like the time they were forced to get autographs, it ended up being a WORSE experience than us Emerald holders. I know there will be many unimpressed Diamond holders arguing for money back in compensation this week, and I don't blame them at all...
It's a sad thing, it really is, that the organisation should have been so bad. Not just at Registration either, but whenever there were queues for anything. Because a lot of the staff we interacted with were absolutely lovely - especially Claire, Dawn and Jaynee, and Doug of course, who is a fantastic host. You could see they all wanted to help us, they just hadn't been told the right information most of the time. The fact that anything functioned at all often seemed down to hardworking individuals taking it upon themselves to sort out a queuing system where there was none prepared.
Ugh.
Seriously Rogue - do better. Because you really don't deserve to be the company monopolising the SPN con market.
I just count myself really lucky that this DIDN'T effect my enjoyment of the con.
Oh, and the final sad thing? The Stonehenge Apocalypse Party... didn't happen :( No time.
...possibly this is the most tragic thing of the whole weekend *sobs* ;p
But then, Misha did sign my copy of the DVD, so that was fun :) I told him he could deface it as much as he wanted, but he said it defaced itself by existing - lol!
Overall a great time for me anyway.
And now I'm debating going to A8 damn it! Not because Rogue impressed me, but because the guests are awesome and more than that... there were hints from several members of staff that there's another guest in the works who will have the con selling out in a snap once they're announced. Oh god, who who who? Just imagine if it's JDM - omg!
*mustn't crack mustn't crack I'll probably crack mustn't mustn't*
hils' Saturday report featuring angelic blowjobs (or underwater breathing, depending :p) and holes in Misha's shirt :) | Report and coffee lounge report from the lovely gwaevalarin
Misha on Castiel
Thought I'd start with the most important topic. It was a funny thing, really. The whole con was a very VERY pro-Castiel crowd, but the question of Castiel's apparent death in the show was one that we all seemed to be dancing around a lot of the time. It certainly didn't come up in Misha's first panel on Saturday morning at all.
Then, just before lunch, katie_f_thomas and I were part of Misha's first coffee lounge, where the issue continued to be avoided for most of the half hour. It was... interesting.
Misha was very tired at this point, bless him, what with it being the first day and early, so he was slouching in his chair almost the whole time and giving adorable, if slightly bleary, responses to questions. For my part, I actually really liked this coffee lounge - I was fairly tired myself from the train journey the day before and it was nice to spend time just chilling out with Misha and everyone else. There were a fair few pauses in conversation, but I found them quite comfortable and was happy to sit back and let Misha babble or fall silent as he chose.
Whenever a lull in conversation did occur though, the only question that DID spring to mind for me was, of course, about Castiel and what the hell is going on with him this season. And yet I persistently held back from asking, as in proper bit my tongue to keep myself quiet... partly because I was weary of receiving a spoilery response that others might not have appreciated and partly because... IDK, for whatever reason, and since it hadn't been brought up in the panel before, it felt like something we weren't supposed to be talking about.
About 5 minutes from the end, though, a plucky girl who I am extremely grateful to finally bit the bullet and asked 'do you know when you're coming back?' (or a variation thereon). And I swear, the change in atmosphere was palpable. Suddenly everyone was wide-awake and focused and holding their breath, like this was what we'd been waiting for the whole time.
I can't recall how Misha responded word for word, but the short of it is he genuinely doesn't know when or how he's coming back. The most telling part of his answer, however, was that from his perspective he still doesn't really know if he's coming back. He told us he'd heard that Sera had given a press release saying Misha would be coming back to the show but that was the first he'd heard about it. The producers haven't told him anything about Castiel coming back. He said he suspects Sera just made the statement she did because she was fed up of fans asking her about him all the time.
This was, and still is, sad news. But Misha told us in that gently smiling, jokey way of his, and did an amusing pantomime of tapping in frustration on a computer as he explained his idea of Sera's reason for her press release - so it was hard to tell what he really thought about it all.
Subsequently, with all that niggling away in the back of my mind, and after watching 7.06 on Saturday night where Cas was mentioned but not greatly mourned and Misha turned out to NOT be the freaking Leviathan boss FML, I decided 'screw it! I'm gonna get this issue out in the open, controversial or not!'
So I spent some time with katie_f_thomas drafting a question for Misha's Sunday panel. It read like this (spelling error included for hilarity): "We really really miss you! & we aren't especially enamarded [ie. enamoured] about the way Castiel seems to have been written out of the show & not really mourned by Sam & Dean (or even mentioned at all particularly) - what are your thoughts about Castiel's situation this season & when are you coming back?!"
I then spent a fair bit of Sunday morning fretting about asking it and worrying it was too controversial and something Misha might not be allowed to talk about and not wanting to rock the boat and incite hate within the fandom etc etc. Kate was fabulously supportive though and had faith I would phrase things in a way that didn't sound like I was saying 'the show sucks this season and Sera Gamble's a dick' (which isn't an opinion I hold, fyi), so I went ahead and got in line to ask. In fact, I became so determined, I camped out by the microphone a good half hour or so before the panel started to make sure I definitely would get to ask. Which, of course, meant that my question became the FIRST question of the panel.
I'm very much hoping to have a video link at some point that will give Misha's response in full as I don't want to misrepresent. Also, I've forgotten exactly how I ended up phrasing things!
What I do remember is starting out "I think I speak for a lot of fans when I say we're really missing Castiel this season" and getting a big cheer from the audience, which was really heartening. I'd been really worried I was going to get a 'mentioning Wincest' reaction of people falling into awkward and disapproving silence, so it was great to know the crowd was behind me.
I also remember I altered the ending to the question and asked "how do you feel?" ie. about the treatment of Castiel this season. Misha properly ran with that phrasing, repeating "how do I feel?" followed by a middle finger. Which the audience also cheered at :p What he said next I can't recount exactly, but I know he repeated about Sera claiming Misha was coming back without telling him. He also said that he really wanted to work on the show again and that he was sad not to have a job on Supernatural anymore because he really enjoyed working on the show. He mentioned, as actors on the show often do, that the nice thing about Supernatural is that dead doesn't have to mean dead and that he's hopeful there's a way for Cas to be written back in. Um... oh god, I really can't remember much else. I think he said something about how it looked grim for Cas and that he really IS DEAD at the moment.
...it was all rather depressing really. It would be easy to take away that Misha feels hard done by or treated badly, but I'm hesitant to interpret his answer that way because I'm afraid that if word gets out that he's been expressing those kind of opinions in public then Sera and the SPN producers will take offence and do even worse stuff to Castiel's character.
...that said, in my opinion, he really did seem down about the whole thing.
edit: Video! As promised! Thank you cienna ♥ It's pretty shakey cos she was standing in line, but the sound is very good. Stick with it to the end, there were some interesting things I'd forgotten -
Click to viewThat idea that Misha is at least a little upset about the Castiel situation was also kinda re-enforced later when someone else asked if he knew of anything the fans could do to help get Castiel back in the show. He joked in response along the lines of 'well, I don't advocate arson, but...' and also suggested we all go on hunger strike until he was back in the show again :p But the overall answer was more 'I don't know, I don't think there's anything you can do.'
I like to think our support meant something to him. There really was a strong vibe in the room that everyone was on his side.
I dislike the way things are reaching a point where 'sides' seem to be becoming necessary though. What has always set SPN apart from other shows has been the sense of family throughout every aspect of it and the way everyone working there has been made to feel welcome and left happy. If Misha really has left unhappy then this is (as far as we know anyway) unprecedented and it makes me feel all twisty - like watching your parents fight :( And I don't want to take a side! I don't hate Sera. I actually LIKE a lot of her episodes. I even quite like the ideas she's had for the show since she took over (even if I'm not sure they were realised so great a lot of the time). But if it comes to a choice between Sera and Misha... I'm with Misha, you know?
Misha's childhood
One of the highlights of the weekend was Misha's childhood friend Darius who was around on Saturday. He kept interrupting Misha's panel in amusing ways and seemed like a really nice, funny guy.
At one point Misha was talking about Twitter and how he'd made a bet with Darius' wife about something and posted on Twitter that if Darius' wife succeeded with whatever they'd made the bet about then he'd post a picture of himself naked on horseback (or something, can't remember the details :p). Anyway, he lost the bet (or whatever) and someone on the internet made a manip of him naked on a horse. As you do. Darius' wife texted him to let him know she'd seen him naked on horseback :p
So, Misha started this story off by saying he was receiving texts from Darius' wife, causing Darius to yell out 'why are you texting my wife?!' Hee.
Darius then asked the audience if we wanted to hear stories of Misha as a kid, which, well - duh!
So he jumped up on stage, took Misha's microphone and told a story about how Misha used to have a paper run as a kid, which involved him collecting papers and secretly throwing them in a dumpster, but still getting paid :) Misha joined in and explained that his brother also got in on the action and took a paper run elsewhere and did the same thing :p Misha also said he was surprised that was the story Darius chose to tell when there were so many worse ones he could have picked. Hee hee.
Darius went back to his seat and the panel continued for a bit, until Darius interrupted again, this time with a microphone of his own, to tell us that Misha was breastfed until he was six! Misha looked somewhat embarrassed, but unsurprised, at this and said that was more like what he'd expected Darius to say. He also shrugged and said it was true!
Later on Misha recounted another childhood story. Someone asked him what the most elaborate lie he ever told was and he said he once lied to his mum that he was travelling somewhere with some National Geographic people to, err, scuba dive I think? Anyway, whatever it was she bought it. But really he was stranded and out of money, having just recovered from being really really sick. He got Darius to... either send him money or pick him up, I forget exactly. At this point he asked Darius if he remembered this story - to which Darius replied that he was pretty sure it ended in breastfeeding :p Anyway, when they got back, Darius went to Misha's house to speak with his mum (who was boasting about Misha working with the National Geographic people). Darius then excused himself to go to the bathroom, where Misha had climbed in through the window. They changed clothes. Misha went downstairs (as Darius) and started playing the piano (which makes me think Darius must have been a VERY close friend if it was normal for him to just start doing that), meanwhile Darius, now in Misha's clothes, went into the kitchen to make a drink. Misha's mum also went into the kitchen, saw Darius, who she thought she could still hear playing the piano, and freaked the fuck out, turning really pale like she'd seen a ghost.
Seriously - wtf? Just when I think I've grasped Misha's insanity he hits me with a whole lot more :p
Darius was also with Misha at the Jason Manns + Louden Swain concert on Saturday night and the two of them looked so damn happy and at ease with each other. Honestly, they spent almost all evening laughing together with their arms round each other and stuff. It was great to see them both having such a good time. I always worry that the guests secretly don't enjoy conventions, so it was nice to know that wasn't happening that night at least.
...also, I, ah...I couldn't help wondering, what with Viki's book and everything, if maybe her, Misha and Darius... because if I was RPS inclined then Misha/Darius would have totally become a pairing for me that night *blush* But anyway...
Misha on his relationship with Viki
In his Sunday panel, someone was saying they knew Misha did some carpentry and wanted to know what he was most proud of making. He answered that he was most proud of a bed he'd once made for Viki :) He told the story really well though, because he didn't mention Viki's name at first - he said he decided to make a bed for his college girlfriend and cut down a tree for the wood and everything. He then spent ages sanding it down and getting sawdust all over his college room until eventually he was done and he presented it to her. He described the moment as one that must have been both cool and kinda creepy :p But that she'd later married him, so she must have liked it :)
The funniest part about it was that Viki's parents were very Catholic and had bought Viki a promise ring. Only when her and Misha moved in together they took the bed and as they were carrying it inside Viki's hand got trapped between the bed and the wall. Viki wasn't hurt, but her promise ring got split in half. Misha said he thought it was funny that it was the bed he'd made, and hoped to [insert amusing noise indicating sex ;p] her up on that broke the ring. Lol!
Right after that, completely out of the blue, Misha asked if he'd ever told the story of his and Viki's engagement. We all said no. He um-ed and ah-ed for a bit, saying that actors were told not to tell personal stories, but decided to go ahead and tell us anyway.
This story is probably the sweetest, most lovely and romantic story I've ever heard that isn't fictional!
He started off by explaining that he and Viki had been together for a long time at this point and that because Viki didn't really like the institution of marriage (because gay people couldn't get married and for various other reasons) it had become something they didn't really discuss. Only for some reason it was important to Misha, particularly then (this may have been because they were going through a rough patch, I think he said), and it had reached a stage where he was starting the think that if they didn't get married he was seriously considering whether there was any future for them.
It was coming up to their ten-year anniversary while he was thinking all this and he was shooting a film on a small island off the coast of Maine. While he was there he happened upon a small jewellers. Someone who worked there had recently died (or left) so their desk was not being used and Misha, being Misha, on impulse managed to get the people who ran the place to let him use the vacant desk. He then spent a couple of weeks or so learning how to craft metal and made Viki an engagement ring. He had already made a wooden box for the ring a year or so ago and been carrying it around with him, having been thinking about proposing for a long time, which he put the ring in.
By this point I was already blown away by how romantic all this was and how much effort and love Misha had put into this. But oh, it gets better.
He called Viki over to the island on the day of their anniversary and had an elaborate picnic set up for the two of them, got down on one knee etc etc. saying 'I know you don't like the idea, but we've been together ten years, I'd really love to marry you.' ♥
Viki looks down at him, unsure, and says something like 'ten years? no, no it's nine years.' Misha answers along the lines of 'um, no it's ten, is that a yes?' and Viki says 'well, I guess...'
It's not exactly perfect, but he slips the ring on her finger and they spend the night together.
Only then... oh guys, I'm getting all wibbly inside remembering, made all the stronger by the fact that at this point Misha himself started tearing up (No lie! He actually got up from his seat to turn away and wipe his eyes!)... It got so emotional in fact I can't quite remember how events unfolded. I think he said that he woke up and found out that during the night while he was sleeping Viki had slipped a ring on his finger.
Because it turned out that, unknown to him, Viki had been making her own ring and intended to propose to him! She was planning on asking the following day, Misha had just got there first! The thing was, her ring had nine dots around it, one for each year they'd been together, so when she found out she was wrong by a year she was all 'oh shit!' hence why her response had been so stilted.
Guys! Just - ♥ ♥ ♥
He teared up several more times after the first and every time he was all adorable and embarrassed, saying things like 'I don't know what's wrong with me' and 'now I know why we're not supposed to tell personal stories!' Oh... you just wanted to jump up there and hug him! And then go find Viki and hug her. Then hug them both and press them together and marvel at what a wonderful relationship they have.
It was beautiful, it really was. Possibly the most special con experience I've known to date, in fact, because it was just so personal and heartfelt and lovingly told.
Misha/Viki ftw ♥
edit: Here is a vid of the full story. Oh god, Misha! ♥ (turns out I was wrong about the ring being slipped on while he was sleeping. She only sized his finger while he was sleeping. Still - awww.
Louden Swain are amazing!
The concert Saturday night was another highlight :D
Jason sang first, and I have to say I was way way more impressed than I expected to be. As some may remember, I managed to sneak backstage of Jason's concert last year at A5 for all of 5 minutes before being caught, and what I heard then I found a little 'meh...'
But, oh, Jason is so very lovely in person! He's got this adorable, kinda cheeky little smile that just makes you melt :) And his version of 'Hallelujah' was wonderful. We were all sitting down for his performance, with me, Kate and new friend Rain (who'd we'd met waiting in line) right at the front down on the dance floor, and there was this really lovely charged but peaceful atmosphere. I'm not sure how to describe it, it was kind of dreamy and safe and warm and just really lovely. Enjoyed it very much.
But it was Louden Swain that I went nuts over :p
I probably mentioned in my A5 report last year that me and music don't mix well. I'm basically tone deaf, which means a lot of the time I can't tell if music is out of tune. Because of this, I can't really judge what music is 'good' and what isn't and most of the time I don't really care about music at all. I like music the most if it comes with something visual, or I can attach something visual to it - hence my love of music videos and my recent enjoyment of classic rock (because it makes me visualise SPN). Music with lyrics that tell a story therefore naturally hold an appeal to me, because there's an automatic visualisation there. Also, having got into rock due to SPN, I have recently noticed that I enjoy loud music in a party setting - possibly this is because the volume obliterates pretty much everything, including the need to socialise with the people around you (which I approve of, since I'm something of a loner at heart).
Louden Swain's music I would (tentatively) describe as loud rock that often follows a narrative. So, at the moment at least, it pretty much fits my type exactly :p
I got their album A Brand New Hurt last year at Roadhouse and have most of the songs on my playlist, so there was already an appeal. But, oh, seeing them live just cranked my love of them up to eleven! Even rocking out Rob was such a sweetheart and he and the other band members seemed so freaking happy to be there and to be playing you couldn't help loving them.
Then you had stuff like Julian and Misha running on stage and goofing around ♥ Well, Misha was goofing by doing pirouettes behind the band, while Julian was proper jumping up and down in time with the music and stuff. When Misha left Julian even joined us on the dance floor and kept bopping for a few more songs :) (I was really glad they both turned up actually, because prior to their arrival there hadn't been much dancing among the crowd and I was starting to feel kinda sad that me and Rain seemed to be the only ones getting into it - that I could see from my little area in the crowd anyway).
Other fun stuff about the concert included Rob getting really sweaty and taking clothes off every so often. At one point he joked that he'd take an item of clothing off after every song. Then, when he was down to his T-shirt people starting chanting for him to take it off and it made him laugh and blush and he pulled up the hem a bit to try and oblige us, but then was all cute and shaking his head saying 'no, I can't!' That happened a few times after that, with the chant starting up again periodically, and every time he was smiley and adorable and told us he couldn't :D
I was hyped that they played so many songs from A Brand New Hurt, because it meant I knew the words and could sing along - which is a rare rare thing for me and songs. I was miffed though when Rob decided to set a challenge for someone to get a free T-shirt. He said whoever could sing the next song they played would get one, and as luck would have it it was one of the songs on the album I didn't know the words to! This coming after I'd just been singing along to the 3 or 4 ones they'd played before. Pfft :p
The end of the concert was also fab because Rob called Jason up to join them in singing a song they'd been rehearsing earlier that day. Only it was something of a work in progress and they hadn't really worked it out yet, so they didn't make it through. But instead of being awkward all of us, including the band and Jason, found the whole thing really funny, and Jason moved the moment on by starting us chanting 'one more song one more song!' to the band and then leaving the stage so they could finish up on their own ♥
Oh oh! And one of the songs they played was brand new that they hadn't even played in America yet, so yay! We got something before the States! Always a win :p
Turned out the concert was the first part of a tour too and that Jason and Louden Swain are playing in London this Saturday... a gig which, err, me and Kate might have already booked tickets for... lalala...
Rob is a sweetheart
Kate and I got a coffee lounge with Rob on the Sunday, which was lovely. It was fairly similar to my Roadhouse coffee lounge with him last year, though a little larger.
What I liked was that we weren't just talking to Rob, we were also talking to each other, so it really felt like a gathering of equals, like Rob was one of us.
Apparently Kate and others didn't agree, cos they wanted us to stop talking to each other so they could hear more from Rob :p Po-tay-toe, Po-tah-toe...
Since Kate managed to actually talk to Rob I'm hoping she wasn't too disappointed though :) And she started a joke about Misha being larger than you expect him to be as well, which was met with approval by all ;)
Rob didn't give away any vital info about anything that I recall. He spent some time lamenting over what it was like to be short and having to stand on apple boxes for his scenes, which was especially embarrassing for romantic scenes - awww! And also told us how his son got confused about a scene in The Real Ghostbusters were Sam is shouting at Chuck and thought that ROB was being yelled at and got upset - awww! Rob's son also announced to his school teacher one time that Rob made 'adult movies' Lol!
We missed Rob's first panel, unfortunately, cos we had photo ops... or something. We were definitely in a queue! But his second one was as sweet as his coffee lounge (he had to go straight from the lounge to the panel, in fact, since things were, surprise surprise, running late). A highlight for us was when someone asked if he'd ever thought about learning an obscure language. They were Scottish, so they were pushing Gaelic, but Kate, who had become particularly outspoken suddenly, instead of her usual shy self, shouted 'WELSH!' (Kate's from Wales :p). Rob heard and was all 'where do they speak Welsh?' Which got a laugh and everyone shouting 'Wales!' But before we'd even finished shouting he looked all ashamed and started reaching out to where we were in the crowd saying 'I know! As soon as I asked I wanted to take the question back, I'm sorry!' So that was adorable and kinda like another interaction between Rob and Kate, which was cool :D
Other fun stuff
I know I've only babbled about Rob and Misha, but the other guests were lovely too. Mitch I found perhaps a little dull at times, but he answered his questions thoroughly and that is what it's about really. Also, it was nice to hear that he didn't really understand what was going on with Samuel in S06 either - in fact, he even said at one point that his storyline didn't seem to make sense, which takadainmate and I had JUST been whispering about, so that cracked us up a little (enough that he heard our cackle of laughter and asked what was going on - Ooops!). I mean, it's sad that even the actors found the writing that season something of a mess, but at the same time it's nice to have that fact validated by one of the people acting it, you know?
The girls were adorable. Amy was a little over enthusiastic, maybe, but so smiley I had to forgive her. Misha crashed their panel on Sunday, which was funny. Katie (Fate) talked to him about how she felt they'd had sexual tension in their scene and Misha joked that he wished he'd realised earlier, they could have got together and done something about it :p
Because of that, actually, I asked Katie what she thought about the relationship between Fate and Castiel, because I've been thinking ever since their scene that they seemed to be playing up to some kind of past between the two. It was gratifying for me, then, that she answered exactly that, saying she was absolutely acting it like they had a history and believed Fate and Cas had been dancing around a relationship for some time. She laughed over the fact that it seemed Misha hadn't been playing it that way at all, since he hadn't noticed the sexual tension in their scene, which was fun :) She also joked that maybe Fate and Cas had got really drunk one time and maybe had sex, which just goes to show she hasn't seen very much of the show, but nobody's perfect :p She was just brainstorming at that point anyway, so nothing was too serious - just in case anyone's worried Fate may be a threat to the Dean/Cas or anything!
Julian - oh Julian. He was lovely. Like Mark Sheppard he's a fellow Brit, so that gave him an automatic bond with the crowd and just... I have no specifics, it was just a pleasure to listen to him. takadainmate is the one you should look to for info on Julian - he fit her old man kink, you see ;) Her and Jen even got a coffee lounge with him, where he talked a lot about Death having a liking for Dean, apparently. So if you read any Death/Dean over at Caroline's LJ, you know why.
I've already mentioned Rain, but we also met the fabulous rainbow-haired Kita over the weekend. Well, we met both of them in the Registration Disaster actually that I will explain anon but anyway. So it was great having new friends all weekend. Rain had a kick-ass cowboy costume for the party on Saturday and Kita was in turn Castiel and Gabriel :) We had some really interesting discussions about the show together as well, including a lively debate after watching the episode on Saturday were Kita revealed her inner Sam!girl to the fullest extent :p But I thought it was just amazing how we could disagree so strongly over things sometimes, but then still have a blast partying together later :) SPN-fandom-inclusiveness in action!
On the back of that - I really really enjoyed the Friday night party. Kate's not a party person, so she had an early night, making it just me with Rain and Kita, and later takadainmate and cienna. I'm not usually a party person either but... it's because we all had the same shared passion that I enjoyed it, I think. I didn't have to worry if I was coming off crazy or if my dancing was stupid, because I already knew I was excepted :) Though takadainmate's flask of vodka probably helped as well ;p
Admittedly, it was a bit lame at first, and Rain, Kita and I were slightly concerned that the DJ didn't seem to know who AC/DC were when we requested Back in Black :/ But they started playing rock soon enough and, as with all the other cons I've been to, the atmosphere got really charged when Carry On came on :D
We also met a couple of charming young brothers - Sam and George. Sam was the youngest and yes, he had Sam Winchester's wonderful floppy hair ♥ They were adorable and had some fantastic dance moves - especially for Eye of the Tiger :) Mitch was unintentionally mean to Sam later when he asked a question in Mitch's panel, actually, and Mitch didn't have an answer so he told Sam to 'sit down!' Realising he'd been harsher than he meant to he searched Sam out after the panel and apologised and later brought him up on stage during his second panel for a hug. Aw.
Towards the end of both parties, Friday and Saturday, a weird phenomenon of convention line dancing started up, which was entirely new to me. I still don't know if it was fascinating or terrifying watching everyone stop partying and form neat lines so they could all perform a set dance to 'Doctoring in the TARDIS' ...by Saturday night, cienna's Kentucky heritage had won out though and she was joining in :p And, well, it was Doctor Who related! I felt I at least owed it a chance because of that. We even roped takadainmate in for a little while :)
The Time Warp was much fun both nights :D
Not so fun stuff
Finally, a quick note about the negative aspects.
Registration was THE WORST. The joke of the day was that Crowley had arranged it, because it was a HELLISH mess of queuing and more queuing and more queuing. Now, I'm British, I can handle queuing, but oh, so many of these queues were just quite obviously unnecessary.
Also, for me, Kate, Rain and Kita, it wasn't so much about queuing anyway as it was about 4 odd hours sitting on the floor waiting to learn which queue we'd eventually be put in, because we hadn't been given the necessary information about which group we were in. This was how we all met - we were 'the forgotten' :p
Then, when we finally got into a queue to get sorted out, Rain got everything all at once, but despite her being directly before us, Kate and I were put into a different queue, because it turned out Rain had just got lucky and been given stuff at the wrong time or something. Kate and I ended up in a third queue at one point for our pre-booked photos and stuff, even though both Rain and Kita had got those from their original queue and just... NOW I understand why Rogue Events have such a bad rep. I still can't understand why things were not in the same place. Surely it would have been possible to have badges and photo op passes etc all put together? Single packs containing everyone's stuff, you know? It would have meant a lot of working it out beforehand, but surely that's the time to do it? Surely?
Tbh though... it was a shambles, no doubt, with almost none of the staff knowing what was going on (we were told to wait for a couple of minutes at one point, which turned into 2 hours with the person who asked us to wait NEVER coming back), very poorly organised and really NOT acceptable, but - I was okay. I was still happy to be there, we weren't missing anything important, I was talking with new friends, I was calm. This doesn't make it okay, far from it, but I came away thinking 'well, that could have been a worse experience for me.'
I know this makes me one of the lucky ones though. For others it must have been an INCREDIBLY stressful time.
Then there's what happened to the Diamond ticket holders, omg.
We heard this from hils later and I could not believe it. The whole POINT of a Diamond pass is to avoid queues and go through Registration first and generally have it better than Emerald pass holders, that's what you pay extra for. But Hils and the others took the same 4 hours as us to Register as they were shuffled from queue to queue to get all their stuff. And they didn't even get all their stuff! Their packs, like ours, were not pre-prepared, nothing was ready and, one of the worse things, the photos that were supposed to be included in their pack for autographs were not available. They were made to wait until SUNDAY for them (meaning they couldn't get any autographs on Saturday, which for a few guests was a lot easier) and when they finally got given their photos they weren't even the ones they were supposed to have! It turned out Rogue had been selling those photos so, of course, they were sold out by Sunday, meaning that instead of individual photos of everyone, Diamond pass holders had to make do with various group photos of the guests, or whatever was left over.
UNEXCEPTABLE. Not only was this not what they'd paid for but for some things, like the time they were forced to get autographs, it ended up being a WORSE experience than us Emerald holders. I know there will be many unimpressed Diamond holders arguing for money back in compensation this week, and I don't blame them at all...
It's a sad thing, it really is, that the organisation should have been so bad. Not just at Registration either, but whenever there were queues for anything. Because a lot of the staff we interacted with were absolutely lovely - especially Claire, Dawn and Jaynee, and Doug of course, who is a fantastic host. You could see they all wanted to help us, they just hadn't been told the right information most of the time. The fact that anything functioned at all often seemed down to hardworking individuals taking it upon themselves to sort out a queuing system where there was none prepared.
Ugh.
Seriously Rogue - do better. Because you really don't deserve to be the company monopolising the SPN con market.
I just count myself really lucky that this DIDN'T effect my enjoyment of the con.
Oh, and the final sad thing? The Stonehenge Apocalypse Party... didn't happen :( No time.
...possibly this is the most tragic thing of the whole weekend *sobs* ;p
But then, Misha did sign my copy of the DVD, so that was fun :) I told him he could deface it as much as he wanted, but he said it defaced itself by existing - lol!
Overall a great time for me anyway.
And now I'm debating going to A8 damn it! Not because Rogue impressed me, but because the guests are awesome and more than that... there were hints from several members of staff that there's another guest in the works who will have the con selling out in a snap once they're announced. Oh god, who who who? Just imagine if it's JDM - omg!
*mustn't crack mustn't crack I'll probably crack mustn't mustn't*
hils' Saturday report featuring angelic blowjobs (or underwater breathing, depending :p) and holes in Misha's shirt :) | Report and coffee lounge report from the lovely gwaevalarin