Con Talk! Part One: Saturday.
NOTE: I'm posting this to my fic comm. so I can leave it unlocked (as my journal is entirely FO). Not that anyone is really going to WANT to pass this link around, but the point is, they COULD if they WANTED to. The next part will be here as well, but not tonight, since I am still EXHAUSTED.
This is going to be predominantly a recap post--I haven't had a chance to really go through and see which of my pictures came out decently and resize, so this'll be mostly the text version, with the visual to come later. Deal? Okay, then! Also, my other LA adventures will get their own post, at some later point when the pictures are ready, so. Purely SPN squee lies below!
First off, on Friday night post-baseball game, I FINALLY GOT TO MEET wendy (OMG, YAY!). Which, in hindsight, I'm glad we were just "WE NEED TO MEET NOW," even if it was only for a minute, because that meant every other time I saw her over the weekend, we could just jump straight into fangirl mode and not have to worry about that pesky introduction thing. WIN! She was with annkiri and...someone whose LJ name I am TOTALLY spacing on (Sorry!), but it was QUITE exciting. I only wish I could have spent more time with her! CLEARLY, there will have to be another con adventure! Oh, and I TOTALLY claimed my Wendy!hug, and it was AMAZING. SO THERE. :)
After that, Roz and I moseyed on up to our room (sixth floor) and...went to bed at some point, then woke up ridiculously early. We managed to squeeze my Hollywood sightseeing in that morning before the con events for the day started. After registration and picking up some pictures for autographing purposes, we were ready for the panels. We weren't sitting together (she was a row ahead, but my seat was dead center, so it evened out), but that was okay since I met some AWESOME people in my row. More about them later! :)
The first panel was with Frederic Lane. He was really dynamic, and came out with a guitar and sang "Sympathy For the Devil," with some strategic edits (adding in a few "John Winchesters" and such) to make it SPN-friendly, which the audience LOVED. It was cute. :) Since he wasn't actually on that show all that much, the panel could have gotten awkward (like Chad's did later), but I was really impressed with the people who asked questions. They knew a LOT about his older work, so we got some anecdotes from various other sets in addition to some SPN stories (mostly about the blinding yellow contacts, and how he'd never been pranked by Jared and Jensen). Some girl went up and told him that she thought he was really hot, and was REALLY going to town with how sexy she thought his voice was, and since he had said when wearing the contacts, all he could really see was people's feet, he made some comment about her leaving her sneakers on during...certain situations ;), and it was pretty funny. He ended with a story about how he really DOES believe in the supernatural (heh, I capitalized that at first), and that as a kid in New Jersey, there was this ghost of a railroad worker, and that he definitely saw something, and it was, like, a life-changing experience. Then someone asked him what he'd been smoking (hee!), and he was pretty much done. Oh, but one of the friends that was with him that night immediately went out and became a Jesuit, and now hunts demons for a living (for real). He also loves Supernatural fans (which, EVERYONE had to say that, but STILL).
Between panels, the Creation peeps played some fun fanvids (most of which I had already seen, heh), and there was a trivia competition. I TRIED to get picked to compete, but didn't, and, of course, knew EVERY ANSWER (because the questions were audience-generated and pretty easy). I actually asked the first stumping question of the day, and someone ELSE won prizes when they answered it (I was excluded since it was MY question), and the next person that stumped the players totally got prizes. NOT FAIR. Anyway, it was one of those feel-good-everyone-wins type deals, and a fun way to see what fans focus on. My question, of course, concerned the Metallicar's changing license plate.
Jason Manns was on next (I'm still amused that his ONLY connection at all to anything that was going on is that he's friends with Jensen. Every other panelist at least had SOME tie-in with the show). I didn't get a chance to see his concert (Roz and I were at the DODGER'S GAME, OMG), but he did end with a song. I was impressed, because it was definitely a spur-of-the-moment thing--someone asked him to sing something, and a tech person brought his guitar out, and he unpacked right there and just dove in, and sounded really good. Of course, the first question he got was the "HOW DO YOU KNOW JENSEN" question--which is something I'd long been wondering. Apparently, right after Jason got to LA, a friend of his invited him to a party--it turned out that the party was at Jensen's (oh, how I WISH I could just randomly get invited to parties like that ;)), and he saw a guitar there, and he and Jensen "started jamming." The rest, as they say, is history. Oh, BUT! He totally mentioned "The Plight Of Clownana" (OMG, I LOVE THAT MOVIE), since the director of it is a mutual friend, and was working on some new project with Jason. Jason also said that his bulking up and EXTREME hair growth (seriously, we're talking MOUNTAIN MAN, here) was for a future part (as a homeless person). He talked a bit about songwriting, too, which I thought was really interesting.
Poor Chad Lindberg! And Jason, too, really--for all of the panelists who had never done a con and didn't really have a few prepared anecdotes to go to, I think they really had no idea what to expect. Chad should have started with a story about working on the set, or...something, instead of just doing an ENTIRE panel of questions (and I felt this way about a few of the guests). He just wasn't in the show enough to warrant an ENTIRE forty minutes of just questions. Some people did ask questions about his earlier work (and, hee, his Buffy ep, which is the first thing I always think of when I see him), and The Fast And the Furious, so at least questioners did their homework! He was fun, though--instead of standing, he pulled a chair up on stage and just SPRAWLED in it. Chad got a lot of questions about the mullet (and I loved that whenever he talked about it, he did the Ash mullet head-throw, hair-brush-back thing).
There were some fun stories, though. Chad confirmed that the arm used in AHBL2 was NOT, in fact, his arm--IT WAS A STUNT ARM. Clearly, this is his opening to come back. ;) He said that he'd always had this vision of Ash finally leaving the Roadhouse and being on the road--then he acted out this AMAZING dream scenario of his, involving Ash busting through a door and firing off a bow and arrow (HEE) and saving Sam and Dean. It was pretty hysterical. Oh, and in the Dr. Badass scene from 2x05, he said that he "couldn't remember" whether he was naked or just wearing a flesh-colored thong (I'll bet it was the thong, but STILL) when he answered the door for Dean and Sam--and that Jared and Jensen kept CRACKING UP during the scene, and they had to keep redoing it. HEE. Someone asked him his favorite line as Ash, and he went with the ubiquitous "business up front, party in the back" line, complete with the mullet-motion. Hee. Then he promised us that he'd grow out a mullet for his next appearance. ;) Oh, and! Roz totally asked him what he thought Ash's favorite website was (since, you know, it's CLEARLY LiveJournal, since I wrote that into fic, like, a YEAR AGO)--everyone laughed, and Chad hinted at the fact that it was most likely porn. Heh. ;)
Another small break, and Kripke was on! It was between these panels (I think) that I really started talking to my neighbor--She was holding a Plastic!Priestly doll, and come to find out that it was THE Plastic!Priestly doll from Plastic Winchester Theater. I KNOW, RIGHT? It turns out she's none other than trillian276709, AKA: PWT's second unit. I am SUCH a fan, so I dorked out a little, and totally got my picture taken with Plastic!Priestly. HE'S SO PERFECT--the resemblance really is uncanny. We got to talking about PWT, and the infamous set visit that impressed me so much (and she totally went!), and it was awesome. Oh, and she gave me the NEW PWT button! I wore it on my con badge for the rest of the weekend, and people kept stopping me to tell me how much they LOVED PWT--it was another small thing that just kept reminding me how nice it was to be around FANS, you know? And while I met a lot of people without getting their contact info (asking someone if they have an LJ is a little awkward--I mean, I'm sure that, like, 98% of the people there DID, but STILL), clearly, someone who knows about PWT is into online fandom. It was a pretty sweet experience. She was there with her sister-in-law (right?) who came all the way from England for the con, and humored me and took my pictures with Kripke and Sandy (since she was always behind me in the line). Having downtime was fun with someone awesome to talk to, and I'm so glad I met her, and THANK YOU for being so fantastic, my dear! :) ALSO, PLASTIC!PRIESTLY! And I maybe threw out some random items from various panels that I felt should be included in upcoming PWT eps. ;)
I didn't get the names of the OTHER awesome row M peeps, but by all means, if you somehow stumble across this, PLEASE let me know! You girls were fabulous--and since you're doing Chicago in November, who knows if we might see each other again? :) On the other side of me was a younger girl (she was seventeen) and I *think* her aunt, but, again, just by virtue of sitting next to them at every panel, we got to talking quite a bit over the weekend. They were really nice (even though the aunt had never even SEEN SPN, and had even gone to ComiCon with the girl, too), so THUMBS UP to my seat (in the eighth row, which was actually not so bad).
So, yeah, sorry: KRIPKE. I think most people have already posted specifics on the spoilers and tidbits he gave us (because he was AMAZING at answering questions, and really, really cares about the fans, which is LOVE), so I won't go into all of that (unless you WANT ME to, and I totally can post some more about him), but, yeah, he definitely earned his standing ovation. He is just...ADORABLE. He actually SAYS "hee, hee" (HEE!), and giggles, and was so engaging--having a showrunner who is just as much of a fan of the show as we all are is a pretty special thing. I love that he KNOWS his canon, and specifics about every episode, and can answer nitty gritty questions about them (which is something that always impresses me about Jensen and Jared, because there are a LOT of actors who don't know things like episode titles and whatnot). And he was reluctant to swear when he was asked the "what's your favorite curse word" question that everyone got (fucking shit, BTW), but after he got started, he didn't STOP. I kind of freaked out when he said "clusterfuck" (HEE!), and that was totally going to be my newest icon UNTIL...I still need to find the EXACT quote, but he was talking about Sam and Dean, and their EPIC!RELATIONSHIP, and how their biggest flaw is also their best quality (the Winchesters' willingness to sacrifice themselves for each other), and he was talking about Dean and said something like "Fuck this prophecy shit, you're my brother and I love you," (SOMEONE FIND ME THAT CLIP, PLEASE). I don't know, it was just AWESOME. And, you know, ADORABLE. :)
I also loved the fan who asked Kripke where fans should start sending money to pay for the rights to use Zeppelin on the show. It was perfect! Kripke said that as much as he wants them, it'd be MILLIONS, but joked that people could send the cash to the writers in care of HIM. There was another question about ad-libbing (I think everyone just wants to hear more fun Jensen stories, heh), and Kripke actually said that Sgriccia, the director, is the best at changing things up. He films the straight version, and then the altered one, and while Kripke has final say, something like eight times out of ten, he takes the non-scripted version.
wendy cemented her celeb status in fandom when she asked--no, DEMANDED--about an upcoming bodyswap episode. It was pretty awesome, and I was all excited (I KNOW HER!). Heh. I told her so later, because I am a DORK. And Rachel (notyourstarx0), who I hadn't even MET yet, turned out to be the one that asked him about wee!Dean and wee!Sam in AVSC. Whoo! Kripke's answer (like, well, ALL OF THEM) was great, too--he had been worried that a young actor wouldn't be able to pull off the wee!Sam crying scene, but that it turned out really well. Since, you know, it DID.
Next were the autographs with all of that day's people. Frederic Lane was, like, an hour late (Maybe he was getting started early with the drinking? Everyone I know who was at the dessert party said he was SAUCED.), so there were THREE lines--one with Chad and Jason, one with Kripke (who was signing for free and not on the con rules, so pictures and stuff with him were okay since he hadn't had a paid op), and then the late-forming line for Frederic. We got through Kripke first--he was signing, like, this AMAZING headshot of himself that trillian276709 kept making fun of. The other girls in our row weren't going to get it signed (since, you know, it WAS a little weird), but I was all "IT'S A HEADHOT OF KRIPKE! How many showrunners have their own headshot? How many showrunners AUTOGRAPH their own headshot for you? This is once in a LIFETIME!" And the best part? I WAS SO CONVINCING THAT THEY TOTALLY GOT IT SIGNED. Hee. Kripke was GIVING the headshots out though (for everyone else, you had to provide something to sign), and it was really a nice thing.
So, I got up to Kripke, and my exact words to him were "this headshot is AMAZING." And he laughed, and was all "yeah, thanks." I thanked him for coming out, and told him how much we appreciated his panel and everything, and asked for a picture, which he was awesome about. Jason was next--I had him sign my NEW copy of the J&J "Crazy Love" single (OMGYAY!!), and I told him that I was glad he was selling it, since I already had his album, and he seemed really flattered. We talked that CD for a minute, and I moved on to Chad. He was flipping through a copy of the SPN calendar that someone was having signed, and said that he didn't think he'd be in it. I got up to him and was all "hi, Mr. January!" He cracked up, and I told him the mullet was total centerfold material, and he did the mullet-motion AGAIN. It was STILL just as funny as the first time! :) Fred was really nice (even if he WAS late), and like with everyone, I thanked him for being there, and he went into this whole speech about how it was SO HIS PLEASURE to be there, and how much he loved SPN fans, and it was really, really sweet.
Because of the extra autograph lines, we ended getting done MUCH later than anticpated, and Roz didn't have time to take me to Santa Monica (I was SUPPOSED to see the Pacific!), but I did finally get to eat at an In-N-Out, which was ALMOST as cool. We headed back to our room for a few minutes (and I changed out of my milk and cookie T-shirt, which about five people told me they loved), and then it was time for Steve Carlson's concert!
Interlude: On the elevator on the way down to the concert, this guy walked up to me and grabbed the con pass badge thingy I was wearing around my neck.
Guy: *reading* Supernatural? What's that?
Me: It's a TV show.
Guy: Oh. Is it about cars? *the badge had a picture of the trunk of the Impala*
Me: Umm...YES, if it'll get you to watch it. (Hee!)
Guy: Oh, I was just wondering. Is that a 1967 Chevy Impala?
Me: *dumbstruck* Yes! How did you KNOW that?
Guy: I used to have one!
So, yeah, that CRACKED ME UP. I mean, I love the Metallicar and all, but from that HALF picture to identify the YEAR, MAKE, and MODEL? IMPRESSIVE. He could totally be a fangirl! :D
Steve was, as I expected, really good live, but the room was NOT concert friendly. All of the lights were on (it was STRANGE), and, I mean, there were CHAIRS, and people were just...sitting. And politely clapping after each song, with SILENCE at all other times. It was such a non-concert atmosphere. Steve kept mentioning it (and saying that the BOOZE was missing, and if people were drinking, it would have been a different story :)), and eventually, people started to get up and move around and have some FUN. Since there were a lot of empty sets, we all moved up and got to dance and sing along. Since I had YET to meet the above-mentioned Rachel and Erin (xxsh0tgun), I texted Erin and asked where she was. We met on one of the SPN con comms. (and while I haven't really gotten MUCH off of any of them, being introduced to Erin ahead of time and knowing she'd be in LA and we could meet was TOTALLY the high point--she and Rachel are truly wonderful), but I still didn't know who she was, so I figured I had seen her and Rachel about 800 times during the course of the day and just not known it. I texted her about meeting after the concert, and since we knew what row she was in, Roz and I were looking to see if we could spot someone using their phone--finally, Roz decided she KNEW who they were, and went up, and...was RIGHT! So, I was standing there texting, and looked up, and everyone was waving to me. Hee. :) We moved up to sit with our newfound peeps (because they ARE), and had an AWESOME rest of the concert. We watched some of the crazy dancing going on (umm, there were a lot of...interpretive...moves), and added our own (any night where you do the lawnmower AND the sprinkler AND the shopping cart is a win), and had fun. The concert ended a little before the dessert party started (which they were going to), so I figured I'd hang out with them before they went. Roz was talking to someone she knew from VM events (she pretty knows EVERYONE from VM events!), and went back up to the room to use the last minutes of (expensive!) hotel internet. Which, speaking of her knowing EVERYONE, earlier in the day, I (briefly!) met devidarkwolf and eternaldawn, who are two people I had long HEARD about, but had yet to actually meet. Elise and Jamie, are, of course, SUPER FUN, but more on them later, since Sunday I actually got to SPEND TIME with them. After a while, I finally realized that Erin and Rachel and I had talked TOO long, and they were late for their party, so I bid them adieu...
RANDOM: Have a poor quality Steve video.
...until I was in my room about five minutes later and they texted me and asked if I wanted to hang out, since they had already left. Heh. Apparently, it was NOT as happening as it was made out to be (there was much dessert, and Chad and a very drunk Frederic were there). Oh, and! Chad was totally sitting in on Steve's concert, but he looked exhausted. I almost went up and propositioned him (kind of like one girl during his panel), but restrained myself. ;) Anyway, I went down to their room, and we totally fangirled out to a MAJOR degree. I started my career in porn direction (it is NOT my fault that each bed had this totally phallic-shaped pillow, and that we just HAPPENED to start making dirty sex comments about them, which progressed to some hysterical pictures, which Erin had BETTER let me post at least some of... ;)). Oh, and when I walked in, they were filming a video, so I totally got to guest star. Heh. Then Roz called (we were out of internet), and I decided to go back upstairs, but we ended up getting caught up in talking about...SOMETHING (probably Jensen's ass or something), and FINALLY had to just STOP. TALKING. since we all had an early morning on Sunday. I got back upstairs, used my ninja!skills not to wake Roz up, and THAT was Saturday. PHEW.
Even though real pictures are coming later (preferably when I can steal some awesome ones from Erin ;)), have a taste! (And I'm totally waiting to post my Plastic!Priestly picture from SUNDAY, since I like it better (and, yes, clearly I had more than one taken ;). We're, like, practically DATING now... ;))
With Kripke:
A shot of Kripke signing (that trillian276709 wanted):
And lastly, part of the banner around the stage (also taken for trillian276709, since she wanted that Jensen!shot):
Yeah, yeah, I know that was an awful lot of reading for three lame pictures, but THAT IS MY WAY. There'll be more later (and I can scan the autographs in if anyone's interested), I PROMISE. At least you can see the Kripke headshot in that second picture! HEE! :D That will NEVER get old!
ETA: I haven't had a chance to scan them, but I did take pictures of my autographs from the day, if anyone's curious (SERIOUSLY, GUYS, LOOK AT KRIPKE'S HEADSHOT!).
This is going to be predominantly a recap post--I haven't had a chance to really go through and see which of my pictures came out decently and resize, so this'll be mostly the text version, with the visual to come later. Deal? Okay, then! Also, my other LA adventures will get their own post, at some later point when the pictures are ready, so. Purely SPN squee lies below!
First off, on Friday night post-baseball game, I FINALLY GOT TO MEET wendy (OMG, YAY!). Which, in hindsight, I'm glad we were just "WE NEED TO MEET NOW," even if it was only for a minute, because that meant every other time I saw her over the weekend, we could just jump straight into fangirl mode and not have to worry about that pesky introduction thing. WIN! She was with annkiri and...someone whose LJ name I am TOTALLY spacing on (Sorry!), but it was QUITE exciting. I only wish I could have spent more time with her! CLEARLY, there will have to be another con adventure! Oh, and I TOTALLY claimed my Wendy!hug, and it was AMAZING. SO THERE. :)
After that, Roz and I moseyed on up to our room (sixth floor) and...went to bed at some point, then woke up ridiculously early. We managed to squeeze my Hollywood sightseeing in that morning before the con events for the day started. After registration and picking up some pictures for autographing purposes, we were ready for the panels. We weren't sitting together (she was a row ahead, but my seat was dead center, so it evened out), but that was okay since I met some AWESOME people in my row. More about them later! :)
The first panel was with Frederic Lane. He was really dynamic, and came out with a guitar and sang "Sympathy For the Devil," with some strategic edits (adding in a few "John Winchesters" and such) to make it SPN-friendly, which the audience LOVED. It was cute. :) Since he wasn't actually on that show all that much, the panel could have gotten awkward (like Chad's did later), but I was really impressed with the people who asked questions. They knew a LOT about his older work, so we got some anecdotes from various other sets in addition to some SPN stories (mostly about the blinding yellow contacts, and how he'd never been pranked by Jared and Jensen). Some girl went up and told him that she thought he was really hot, and was REALLY going to town with how sexy she thought his voice was, and since he had said when wearing the contacts, all he could really see was people's feet, he made some comment about her leaving her sneakers on during...certain situations ;), and it was pretty funny. He ended with a story about how he really DOES believe in the supernatural (heh, I capitalized that at first), and that as a kid in New Jersey, there was this ghost of a railroad worker, and that he definitely saw something, and it was, like, a life-changing experience. Then someone asked him what he'd been smoking (hee!), and he was pretty much done. Oh, but one of the friends that was with him that night immediately went out and became a Jesuit, and now hunts demons for a living (for real). He also loves Supernatural fans (which, EVERYONE had to say that, but STILL).
Between panels, the Creation peeps played some fun fanvids (most of which I had already seen, heh), and there was a trivia competition. I TRIED to get picked to compete, but didn't, and, of course, knew EVERY ANSWER (because the questions were audience-generated and pretty easy). I actually asked the first stumping question of the day, and someone ELSE won prizes when they answered it (I was excluded since it was MY question), and the next person that stumped the players totally got prizes. NOT FAIR. Anyway, it was one of those feel-good-everyone-wins type deals, and a fun way to see what fans focus on. My question, of course, concerned the Metallicar's changing license plate.
Jason Manns was on next (I'm still amused that his ONLY connection at all to anything that was going on is that he's friends with Jensen. Every other panelist at least had SOME tie-in with the show). I didn't get a chance to see his concert (Roz and I were at the DODGER'S GAME, OMG), but he did end with a song. I was impressed, because it was definitely a spur-of-the-moment thing--someone asked him to sing something, and a tech person brought his guitar out, and he unpacked right there and just dove in, and sounded really good. Of course, the first question he got was the "HOW DO YOU KNOW JENSEN" question--which is something I'd long been wondering. Apparently, right after Jason got to LA, a friend of his invited him to a party--it turned out that the party was at Jensen's (oh, how I WISH I could just randomly get invited to parties like that ;)), and he saw a guitar there, and he and Jensen "started jamming." The rest, as they say, is history. Oh, BUT! He totally mentioned "The Plight Of Clownana" (OMG, I LOVE THAT MOVIE), since the director of it is a mutual friend, and was working on some new project with Jason. Jason also said that his bulking up and EXTREME hair growth (seriously, we're talking MOUNTAIN MAN, here) was for a future part (as a homeless person). He talked a bit about songwriting, too, which I thought was really interesting.
Poor Chad Lindberg! And Jason, too, really--for all of the panelists who had never done a con and didn't really have a few prepared anecdotes to go to, I think they really had no idea what to expect. Chad should have started with a story about working on the set, or...something, instead of just doing an ENTIRE panel of questions (and I felt this way about a few of the guests). He just wasn't in the show enough to warrant an ENTIRE forty minutes of just questions. Some people did ask questions about his earlier work (and, hee, his Buffy ep, which is the first thing I always think of when I see him), and The Fast And the Furious, so at least questioners did their homework! He was fun, though--instead of standing, he pulled a chair up on stage and just SPRAWLED in it. Chad got a lot of questions about the mullet (and I loved that whenever he talked about it, he did the Ash mullet head-throw, hair-brush-back thing).
There were some fun stories, though. Chad confirmed that the arm used in AHBL2 was NOT, in fact, his arm--IT WAS A STUNT ARM. Clearly, this is his opening to come back. ;) He said that he'd always had this vision of Ash finally leaving the Roadhouse and being on the road--then he acted out this AMAZING dream scenario of his, involving Ash busting through a door and firing off a bow and arrow (HEE) and saving Sam and Dean. It was pretty hysterical. Oh, and in the Dr. Badass scene from 2x05, he said that he "couldn't remember" whether he was naked or just wearing a flesh-colored thong (I'll bet it was the thong, but STILL) when he answered the door for Dean and Sam--and that Jared and Jensen kept CRACKING UP during the scene, and they had to keep redoing it. HEE. Someone asked him his favorite line as Ash, and he went with the ubiquitous "business up front, party in the back" line, complete with the mullet-motion. Hee. Then he promised us that he'd grow out a mullet for his next appearance. ;) Oh, and! Roz totally asked him what he thought Ash's favorite website was (since, you know, it's CLEARLY LiveJournal, since I wrote that into fic, like, a YEAR AGO)--everyone laughed, and Chad hinted at the fact that it was most likely porn. Heh. ;)
Another small break, and Kripke was on! It was between these panels (I think) that I really started talking to my neighbor--She was holding a Plastic!Priestly doll, and come to find out that it was THE Plastic!Priestly doll from Plastic Winchester Theater. I KNOW, RIGHT? It turns out she's none other than trillian276709, AKA: PWT's second unit. I am SUCH a fan, so I dorked out a little, and totally got my picture taken with Plastic!Priestly. HE'S SO PERFECT--the resemblance really is uncanny. We got to talking about PWT, and the infamous set visit that impressed me so much (and she totally went!), and it was awesome. Oh, and she gave me the NEW PWT button! I wore it on my con badge for the rest of the weekend, and people kept stopping me to tell me how much they LOVED PWT--it was another small thing that just kept reminding me how nice it was to be around FANS, you know? And while I met a lot of people without getting their contact info (asking someone if they have an LJ is a little awkward--I mean, I'm sure that, like, 98% of the people there DID, but STILL), clearly, someone who knows about PWT is into online fandom. It was a pretty sweet experience. She was there with her sister-in-law (right?) who came all the way from England for the con, and humored me and took my pictures with Kripke and Sandy (since she was always behind me in the line). Having downtime was fun with someone awesome to talk to, and I'm so glad I met her, and THANK YOU for being so fantastic, my dear! :) ALSO, PLASTIC!PRIESTLY! And I maybe threw out some random items from various panels that I felt should be included in upcoming PWT eps. ;)
I didn't get the names of the OTHER awesome row M peeps, but by all means, if you somehow stumble across this, PLEASE let me know! You girls were fabulous--and since you're doing Chicago in November, who knows if we might see each other again? :) On the other side of me was a younger girl (she was seventeen) and I *think* her aunt, but, again, just by virtue of sitting next to them at every panel, we got to talking quite a bit over the weekend. They were really nice (even though the aunt had never even SEEN SPN, and had even gone to ComiCon with the girl, too), so THUMBS UP to my seat (in the eighth row, which was actually not so bad).
So, yeah, sorry: KRIPKE. I think most people have already posted specifics on the spoilers and tidbits he gave us (because he was AMAZING at answering questions, and really, really cares about the fans, which is LOVE), so I won't go into all of that (unless you WANT ME to, and I totally can post some more about him), but, yeah, he definitely earned his standing ovation. He is just...ADORABLE. He actually SAYS "hee, hee" (HEE!), and giggles, and was so engaging--having a showrunner who is just as much of a fan of the show as we all are is a pretty special thing. I love that he KNOWS his canon, and specifics about every episode, and can answer nitty gritty questions about them (which is something that always impresses me about Jensen and Jared, because there are a LOT of actors who don't know things like episode titles and whatnot). And he was reluctant to swear when he was asked the "what's your favorite curse word" question that everyone got (fucking shit, BTW), but after he got started, he didn't STOP. I kind of freaked out when he said "clusterfuck" (HEE!), and that was totally going to be my newest icon UNTIL...I still need to find the EXACT quote, but he was talking about Sam and Dean, and their EPIC!RELATIONSHIP, and how their biggest flaw is also their best quality (the Winchesters' willingness to sacrifice themselves for each other), and he was talking about Dean and said something like "Fuck this prophecy shit, you're my brother and I love you," (SOMEONE FIND ME THAT CLIP, PLEASE). I don't know, it was just AWESOME. And, you know, ADORABLE. :)
I also loved the fan who asked Kripke where fans should start sending money to pay for the rights to use Zeppelin on the show. It was perfect! Kripke said that as much as he wants them, it'd be MILLIONS, but joked that people could send the cash to the writers in care of HIM. There was another question about ad-libbing (I think everyone just wants to hear more fun Jensen stories, heh), and Kripke actually said that Sgriccia, the director, is the best at changing things up. He films the straight version, and then the altered one, and while Kripke has final say, something like eight times out of ten, he takes the non-scripted version.
wendy cemented her celeb status in fandom when she asked--no, DEMANDED--about an upcoming bodyswap episode. It was pretty awesome, and I was all excited (I KNOW HER!). Heh. I told her so later, because I am a DORK. And Rachel (notyourstarx0), who I hadn't even MET yet, turned out to be the one that asked him about wee!Dean and wee!Sam in AVSC. Whoo! Kripke's answer (like, well, ALL OF THEM) was great, too--he had been worried that a young actor wouldn't be able to pull off the wee!Sam crying scene, but that it turned out really well. Since, you know, it DID.
Next were the autographs with all of that day's people. Frederic Lane was, like, an hour late (Maybe he was getting started early with the drinking? Everyone I know who was at the dessert party said he was SAUCED.), so there were THREE lines--one with Chad and Jason, one with Kripke (who was signing for free and not on the con rules, so pictures and stuff with him were okay since he hadn't had a paid op), and then the late-forming line for Frederic. We got through Kripke first--he was signing, like, this AMAZING headshot of himself that trillian276709 kept making fun of. The other girls in our row weren't going to get it signed (since, you know, it WAS a little weird), but I was all "IT'S A HEADHOT OF KRIPKE! How many showrunners have their own headshot? How many showrunners AUTOGRAPH their own headshot for you? This is once in a LIFETIME!" And the best part? I WAS SO CONVINCING THAT THEY TOTALLY GOT IT SIGNED. Hee. Kripke was GIVING the headshots out though (for everyone else, you had to provide something to sign), and it was really a nice thing.
So, I got up to Kripke, and my exact words to him were "this headshot is AMAZING." And he laughed, and was all "yeah, thanks." I thanked him for coming out, and told him how much we appreciated his panel and everything, and asked for a picture, which he was awesome about. Jason was next--I had him sign my NEW copy of the J&J "Crazy Love" single (OMGYAY!!), and I told him that I was glad he was selling it, since I already had his album, and he seemed really flattered. We talked that CD for a minute, and I moved on to Chad. He was flipping through a copy of the SPN calendar that someone was having signed, and said that he didn't think he'd be in it. I got up to him and was all "hi, Mr. January!" He cracked up, and I told him the mullet was total centerfold material, and he did the mullet-motion AGAIN. It was STILL just as funny as the first time! :) Fred was really nice (even if he WAS late), and like with everyone, I thanked him for being there, and he went into this whole speech about how it was SO HIS PLEASURE to be there, and how much he loved SPN fans, and it was really, really sweet.
Because of the extra autograph lines, we ended getting done MUCH later than anticpated, and Roz didn't have time to take me to Santa Monica (I was SUPPOSED to see the Pacific!), but I did finally get to eat at an In-N-Out, which was ALMOST as cool. We headed back to our room for a few minutes (and I changed out of my milk and cookie T-shirt, which about five people told me they loved), and then it was time for Steve Carlson's concert!
Interlude: On the elevator on the way down to the concert, this guy walked up to me and grabbed the con pass badge thingy I was wearing around my neck.
Guy: *reading* Supernatural? What's that?
Me: It's a TV show.
Guy: Oh. Is it about cars? *the badge had a picture of the trunk of the Impala*
Me: Umm...YES, if it'll get you to watch it. (Hee!)
Guy: Oh, I was just wondering. Is that a 1967 Chevy Impala?
Me: *dumbstruck* Yes! How did you KNOW that?
Guy: I used to have one!
So, yeah, that CRACKED ME UP. I mean, I love the Metallicar and all, but from that HALF picture to identify the YEAR, MAKE, and MODEL? IMPRESSIVE. He could totally be a fangirl! :D
Steve was, as I expected, really good live, but the room was NOT concert friendly. All of the lights were on (it was STRANGE), and, I mean, there were CHAIRS, and people were just...sitting. And politely clapping after each song, with SILENCE at all other times. It was such a non-concert atmosphere. Steve kept mentioning it (and saying that the BOOZE was missing, and if people were drinking, it would have been a different story :)), and eventually, people started to get up and move around and have some FUN. Since there were a lot of empty sets, we all moved up and got to dance and sing along. Since I had YET to meet the above-mentioned Rachel and Erin (xxsh0tgun), I texted Erin and asked where she was. We met on one of the SPN con comms. (and while I haven't really gotten MUCH off of any of them, being introduced to Erin ahead of time and knowing she'd be in LA and we could meet was TOTALLY the high point--she and Rachel are truly wonderful), but I still didn't know who she was, so I figured I had seen her and Rachel about 800 times during the course of the day and just not known it. I texted her about meeting after the concert, and since we knew what row she was in, Roz and I were looking to see if we could spot someone using their phone--finally, Roz decided she KNEW who they were, and went up, and...was RIGHT! So, I was standing there texting, and looked up, and everyone was waving to me. Hee. :) We moved up to sit with our newfound peeps (because they ARE), and had an AWESOME rest of the concert. We watched some of the crazy dancing going on (umm, there were a lot of...interpretive...moves), and added our own (any night where you do the lawnmower AND the sprinkler AND the shopping cart is a win), and had fun. The concert ended a little before the dessert party started (which they were going to), so I figured I'd hang out with them before they went. Roz was talking to someone she knew from VM events (she pretty knows EVERYONE from VM events!), and went back up to the room to use the last minutes of (expensive!) hotel internet. Which, speaking of her knowing EVERYONE, earlier in the day, I (briefly!) met devidarkwolf and eternaldawn, who are two people I had long HEARD about, but had yet to actually meet. Elise and Jamie, are, of course, SUPER FUN, but more on them later, since Sunday I actually got to SPEND TIME with them. After a while, I finally realized that Erin and Rachel and I had talked TOO long, and they were late for their party, so I bid them adieu...
RANDOM: Have a poor quality Steve video.
...until I was in my room about five minutes later and they texted me and asked if I wanted to hang out, since they had already left. Heh. Apparently, it was NOT as happening as it was made out to be (there was much dessert, and Chad and a very drunk Frederic were there). Oh, and! Chad was totally sitting in on Steve's concert, but he looked exhausted. I almost went up and propositioned him (kind of like one girl during his panel), but restrained myself. ;) Anyway, I went down to their room, and we totally fangirled out to a MAJOR degree. I started my career in porn direction (it is NOT my fault that each bed had this totally phallic-shaped pillow, and that we just HAPPENED to start making dirty sex comments about them, which progressed to some hysterical pictures, which Erin had BETTER let me post at least some of... ;)). Oh, and when I walked in, they were filming a video, so I totally got to guest star. Heh. Then Roz called (we were out of internet), and I decided to go back upstairs, but we ended up getting caught up in talking about...SOMETHING (probably Jensen's ass or something), and FINALLY had to just STOP. TALKING. since we all had an early morning on Sunday. I got back upstairs, used my ninja!skills not to wake Roz up, and THAT was Saturday. PHEW.
Even though real pictures are coming later (preferably when I can steal some awesome ones from Erin ;)), have a taste! (And I'm totally waiting to post my Plastic!Priestly picture from SUNDAY, since I like it better (and, yes, clearly I had more than one taken ;). We're, like, practically DATING now... ;))
With Kripke:
A shot of Kripke signing (that trillian276709 wanted):
And lastly, part of the banner around the stage (also taken for trillian276709, since she wanted that Jensen!shot):
Yeah, yeah, I know that was an awful lot of reading for three lame pictures, but THAT IS MY WAY. There'll be more later (and I can scan the autographs in if anyone's interested), I PROMISE. At least you can see the Kripke headshot in that second picture! HEE! :D That will NEVER get old!
ETA: I haven't had a chance to scan them, but I did take pictures of my autographs from the day, if anyone's curious (SERIOUSLY, GUYS, LOOK AT KRIPKE'S HEADSHOT!).