I bought one of Richard’s ‘Official Friday Person’ T-shirts Friday morning. I was the first to wear it. I won the music video contest for my Gabriel video. HE presented me with the certificate and the $100 voucher. I freaked out internally.
He watched the video right there on stage and really liked it. I brought the copy I made for him to Karaoke Kings and, while I didn’t get to sing, I managed to get it to him anyway. He looked be directly in the eyes and told me “I love it.” And I almost cried.
He even held onto the DVD for a while before he ever set it down, which- to me- meant he actually wanted to keep it.
Got back to my room and tweeted him: “It really means a lot that you told me you love the video. I worked really hard, and you’re my favorite.”
He REPLIED with: “I know you worked hard and I appreciate it.” I was in tears for at least a good 20 minutes
Saturday, I went to the R2M panel and got in line for my question. When I got up to the microphone, Richard saw me and crossed the stage for me.
I said. "Hi Richard. Before I ask my question, I just want to say thank you. During our brief personal interactions yesterday, both in person and on Twitter, you made me feel just a little less worthless and like I might actually be somebody. Like I mattter. And that just really means a lot to me."
I tried to hold it together but I ended up crying.
Richard was caught off-guard by me telling him that he touched me in this way, but talked to me and was very sweet, telling me that no one should ever make me feel worthless because I /do/ matter and I /am/ somebody.
Matt Cohen goes "I think this girl needs some lovin'."
Matt, Richard, and Rob got off the stage and enveloped me in a cocoon made of them. Rob in front, Richard on my left, and Matt on my right.
I calmed down, asked Richard my question (I asked for a little bit of Gabriel's backstory) and he answered me marvelously.
Saturday night, I had my photo op with him.
He smiled when he saw me and said "Hey! It's great to see you again!" and he put his arm around my shoulders
I smiled and said "I'm giving you total creative control. I want to do something fun and different."
He muttered "aww crap..." and had to think for a moment.
Then, He declared "Let's dance!" And pulled me into a tango pose.
I thanked him for the photo and left.
SUNDAY! I had my autograph with him at 11:30 am. I got to the front of the line and he said, with a smile, "Hey it's you again!"
He looked at our photo and said "That came out fun, huh?"
I said, "Yeah, I really like it. Thank you. This is my last time seeing you personally today."
He said "aww. Are you gonna hang out and see the boys? Have you had fun?"
I said "Of course. It's been an amazing weekend."
He wrote "Kayla! You Rock!" and signed it.
I said, "I just wanna let you know, I wasn't looking for attention this weekend. You had no reason to make it as special for me as you did."
He replied, "Well, it's been my pleasure. I want you to have fun."
((It's not about fun, love. It's about the fact that you made me feel like I'm not worthless))
We made eye contact again. (Beautiful eyes. Intense, genuine eye contact) He took my hand and we held hands for a moment, as I told him, "I just want you to know that you are very important to me, even if I can't figure out exactly why. And you're higher on my list than even Jensen and Jared."
He nodded and said "Thank you. That's very sweet and I really appreciate that."
I thanked him again and left, crying.
I can't wait to see him again in Chicago in October. I wonder if he'll remember me and still have the DVD?
Jared Padalecki is so freaking adorable! And oh my god he's so fucking tall! Jared: hey! Me: hi...*froze like an idiot* Jared: you doing ok, babe? Me: yeah...*IM NOT! YOU JUST CALLED ME BABE! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO BE OKAY?!* Jared: ok I'm gonna hug you. Me: yeah ok. Pulls me in and hugs he so tight. Oh my god he gives the best hugs ever!!!!
I was so fucking nervous. I was standing in line and when I stepped into the room he was literally just feet away from me and when it was my turn I drew a blank. I was hyperventilating and my body was going numb. Everything was a daze and it didn't feel real and it still doesn't. I look up at him and I lost it. I walk up to him and smile and he smiles back...oh god his fucking eyes were just absolutely gorgeous and so ALIVE! His voice, his body, his personality, his smile, JENSEN FUCKING ACKLES WAS TALKING TO ME! What the actual fuck?! Jensen: hey! Me: hi...um can I pretend to kiss you? Jensen: sure! Pulls me in a bit and I closed my eyes. Chris snaps the picture and as I open my eyes he looks at me and smiles again. Me: thank you Jensen: no problem! Me: can I have a quick hug? Jensen: of course! I'm not even kidding...the hug was literally a dream come true. It was so surreal. I waited for my picture and when I walked into the printing room I was afraid of it coming out bad. Some girl in front of me points at a picture and says, "Oh my god, that's so cute!" I saw what she was looking at and there it was. My photo with Jensen fucking Ackles and his face...I can't even begin to explain to you guys how much I love this. I absolutely love how it's dorky and cute! He's so sweet and reserved! So god damn gorgeous and kind. He's JENSEN FUCKING ACKLES!
So below the cut is my retelling of my adventures of HousCon, joined by my mother. Not gonna retell the entire experience memory-by-memory. Just the things I thought were important/fun :)
Friday:
Didn't get Friday tickets, so mom and I just went to the karaoke party.
We were a little late (stupid hotel keys decided they didn't wanna work for a good half-hour...), but got there when a group of girls were singing that song that lady wrote about Dave Coulier.
If you took a shot every time Kim Rhodes said 'fuck', you would be both poor and drunk. I love her.
So for karaoke, you can come up with a funny name for yourself, and someone put "Gordon Ramsey", and I was like "who the hell called themselves Gordon Ramsey?" Cue Sebastian Roche, one of my favorite people ever.
My mom and I both fell in love with him between all the twerking and singing (the man can really sing)
Accidentally touched his ass when he went into the crowd
Was like three feet away from Matt before he got mobbed in the crowd when he came into it.
There was an Impala outside and the owner was super nice and enthusiastic about us looking at it and taking pictures.
Saturday:
Aka "the day my bank account was sucked dry". I kid you not. I bought two photo ops (Sebastian and then the Jensen/Misha duo) and three autographs (Jensen and then an autograph of Sebastian for both me and my mom. Almost got Jared's, but I would've had $1.22 in my bank if I did...)
First panel of the day was Sebastian. Needless to say, it was the most entertaining non-Q&A I've ever seen in my life.
God damn that man is sexy (and so dirty...but I love it!)
Mark Pelligrino is such a cute little devil, and hugged everyone who asked him a question. It was adorable.
Made friends with the people sitting in the seat beside me
Sebastian's photo op was the first interactive thing mom and I did during the con. We were in the room before he got there, and the second he shows up, he starts dancing to the music like a goof.
Mom was like "Wtf are we doing for this picture?" and I was just like "Trust me", so I get up there and Sebastian smiles and is like "hello, darling" and puts his arm around me. And I'm like "hey!" He asks what we're gonna do and I say "can you surprise my mom and kiss her cheek? She has no idea" and he smirks and turns to my mom and goes "okay, mum. I'm gonna kiss your cheek now, darling!" It turned out really cute, and he's my mom's favorite SPN actor now. (I also cupped his peck/ab accidentally and holy lord is he fit)
Then we had an hour until my Misha solo op (which I was doing by myself because I knew exactly what I wanted to do--a prom pose). This is a testament to how much I adore Misha: this was the only op I got so nervous before doing (even though I'd already met the man in Chicago last year, but my best friend was always with me. This time I was by myself). My heart kept fluttering and my mom was like "are you breathing?" Finally, it's time, and mom waits in line with me, diverting out of it once I get up to the tape that you have to wait at as you're next. The person in front of me goes and the lady who ripped my ticket gave me the 'go ahead' signal. I walk up there and he looks at me, smiles, and goes 'hello' and opens up his body language to me. I smile and greet him back and go 'could we do a prom pose?' and he smiles wider and goes 'sure!'. When we moved around to get into the pose,he accidentally pecks the back of my head and apologized as he wrapped his arms around me. We took the picture and I turned around and he said "thank you very much" and I said "thank you" and walked off just as nervous as I had been walking into the room.
Waited another hour before the M2 photo op my mom bought earlier that day. This one I was more prepared for, and equally excited for because I was gonna see Mark Sheppard for the first time! Mom wanted to pose with Mark, and I wanted to be with Misha, so it worked out. We got up there and Misha goes "oh, hello again!" and opens his arms up to me. I was gonna hug him and them say hey to Mark real quick before my mom got him for the picture, but I try turning away and find myself completely locked in Misha's grip, and he says loud enough for me to hear 'no, you're with me', and who am I to argue with Misha Collins? So we just hugged it out and it turned out to be a cute picture. Mom was supposed to fully hug Mark, but she got too nervous to, so it looks like that awkward family picture you take with your boyfriend the first time you bring him over to meet your parents and they insist y'all take a picture together, and you and your boyfriend are all snuggly and your parents just stand there.
Mark was pissed I didn't get to say hi to him, so during his solo op that my mom bought, he made me get in it (I was gonna stand off to the side while my mom got it done), but he was like "no, you get over here too!" So I did, and I gotta say...cardio works for him. (They're all so fit and lean, seriously)
Mark's panel...this man doesn't give any fucks. Only time he really stayed on the stage was to eat. Otherwise, he walked around, being all King of Hell-like. It was awesome. My favorite part was when he played with someone's baby. It was so cute :3
And then Misha...he tried walking around during his panel, but got mobbed and security was like 'oh hell no', but he was highly entertaining as always. Playing with tampons and such. I never thought I'd watch a 40 year old man play with a tampon on a stage, but there I was.
Autographs were a hot mess though. Four lines and no one knew where to go. Got Mark's first because they wanted him to get back to his room and take a nap before Cabaret. So I got in a quick "hi" as he signed my Crowley pop funko's box, and said "thank you" and he's like "thank you, my love" (he called my mom "madame", it was adorable)
Shoutout to the equally confused people in autograph lines that you bond with from being so confused. Y'all were awesome.
Next was Sebastian. Mom got him to sign our photo op and I got him to sign just a regular picture. He smiled when mom slid him the op and goes "Hello darling, this is a really good picture, I really love this picture. You ladies look great" and we were both like "you look just as great in it, Sebastian" and he signed it and we had a little chit chat. I told him he was charming and he says "exotic, is the word you're looking for, sweetheart. And apparently humble" and chuckled. I told him he was "very very handsome" in French and he said "merci, darling. Au revior" and I died.
Finally, last event before the cabaret was getting Misha to sign a paper I'd written about Castiel and episode 6x20 "The Man Who Would Be King" that I wrote for my com and rhetoric class last year that is now the standing student model paper for visual analysis essays at my college.
You could tell he was tired, but man was he just the friendliest guy ever. Greeted me with "hi, how are you?" and I say "Good" as the lady slides him my paper. He looks at it for a second, trying to figure out what it is, so I take the bait and go "so little background on this...I wrote this paper about Cas and TMWWBK for a class and it's my personal favorite thing I've written and thought it'd be cool for you to sign it since it's now the model paper at my school." And as I'm saying this, he's reading over it, skimming through it and goes "No way...wow...this is really amazing" and keeps reading it before he signs it and says "congratulations"and I was like "I meant to have you sign it last time, but I forgot it" and he goes "don't tell me...don't tell me...ummm...was it...Chicago? Wait, yes! You and...nails girl!" (aka my best friend) and I laugh and nod and we both say goodbye before the handler has to step in and tell me to move it along.
Cabaret was a blast! Rob and Louden Swain put on a fantastic show. What a talented band! (Ngl, there was a song they sang called "Mama's jam" that made me tear up. It just hit me.) Matt killed it, Gil completely SLAYED okay. The man can belt it like no one I've heard (at least singing live). Sebastian sang U2 and was just amazing.
Perfect way to end a perfect, chaotic Saturday.
Sunday:
Sunday was so much calmer than Saturday, but still nerve wrecking. Slept in a little, ate breakfast, checked out of our hotel, and then scurried on over to the con.
First thing mom and I did that day was the J2 photo op. Mom insisted I do the Jen/Mish one by myself, so I told her she got to pick which J she wanted to hug in this op. She chose Jensen because they're the same astrological sign. Funnily enough, Jared and I are both cancers, so it worked out perfectly!
Mom was like "omg they're really tall"
This op was probably the least rushed one I'd ever been to. Both the guys hugged everyone and talked a few seconds after to everyone. They booked the op for a whole hour instead of just 30-45 minutes (for no reason), so they could afford to spend more time with everyone.
When I got up there, my heart was like kldhflkdsgoueoisn because I forgot just how tall and handsome they both were.
Jensen was standing closest to the line, so when we stated walking up he opened up his arms and was like "hey there, it's good to see you!" and gives me a snuggly hug. And then I go over to Jared as Jensen hugs my mom and Jared just envelopes me like Jensen did and goes "hey sweetie, how are you?" and I go "awesome!" And look back at Jensen, still hugging onto Jared and say "Mom's with you, and I'm with Jared" and they both go "Sounds good to us!" And Jared just hugs me so tight I couldn't breathe snuggled up against him. Jensen had to bend his knees to hug my mom, which was so cute. When we're done, I look up at him and say "thank you" and he says "Thanks babe" and fucking winked at me. I just...I couldn't even after that.
We get back to the ballroom where Tahmoh is talking, and he's such a sweet man. Excited to hear he's doing more projects coming up!
J2 panel began with their fathers coming out as Sam and Dean in season 37. Alan joked "if this is what Sam and Dean look like in season 37, y'all wouldn't be watching"
Their panel was just...you can tell they really are brothers besides the bloodline. They tease and just have a grand ol' time. (And shoutout to the girl with the Godfather question!). Jared was a dork, Jensen was like I'm 100000% done with you, and it was a great way to end the panels for the weekend.
Had a while to kill before Jensen's autograph, so mom and I ate and chilled out by some vendors for a little bit.
Autographs were a hot-ass mess as they were the day before. So many people in such a small room.
I told Jensen my best friend was so mad she wasn't there and that she loves and adores him, and he looks up and jokingly says "Well tell her I'm mad at her!" and smiles adorably at me. Seriously, his smile is golden.
Cue another few hours to kill with mom before the last op of the day. We went to the vendors area where I ran into my favorite cosplayer Booky (who won the Castiel costume contest) and we talked for a little after Booky was by us when my mom was buying me a Castiel bracelet and says "I like your bracelet, not biased or anything", and I was like "I totally agree- omg hi Booky!". Booky called me adorable and we took selfies and sent love to my best friend since she also adored Booky from Chicon last year and talked about the show and Destiel and it was beautiful.
Got into line for Misha and Jensen's duo op, and knew it was gonna be the last op and event of the con, so I savored every second of waiting in that line. I knew I wanted to be in the middle of a Jensen/Misha sandwich, but wanted to convey that without sounding dirty. The girl in front of me did the same exact thing, so I go up and they're both like "hey, you again! How's it going?" And I smile and go "I'll have what she had" (which was a reference to that "When Harry Met Sally" bit they did a few years ago at Jibcon, I believe) and they both chuckled and were game for it. I thought Jared's hug was gonna be tighter than this. Nope. When I said sandwich, they took that as "let's hug the everliving crap out of this chick", which I didn't mind at all. It was the best sandwich ever. I thanked them both, and gave Misha a quick little hug since he was behind me for the picture.
Mom said it was cute that they had to bend down to hear what I was telling them I wanted to do for the pic
We ended up waiting it out for the picture to be printed out so we could take it home, which took two hours.
Volunteers brought us free food and soda, so that was a plus of waiting!
When mom and I got in the car to go home, out of all the songs that could be on the radio, "Carry on my wayward son" started playing. Not gonna lie, I teared up a little.
I have another con story to share, but that one's a little more personal, and not as much about the con as it is about my relationship with my mother, but hope y'all didn't get too bored reading my fangirl playback of the weekend.
