... hi world.

Alright, so, I went to JIB, I took pics, I took notes, I hugged Chad Lindberg and I had the time of my life. And as per last year, I'll go and write a report, which will be as detailed as I can. I have reports on all of the panels except one (though the first day will be less detailed because stuff happened and I was too ecstatic to bother with notes), I have pictures which are for once good and I have videos as well (which I'll just link from my youtube). Now, just a couple things I'll say here before going to the fun: at the end of day three I'll post a zip with good pictures from all the panels (or, my selection). Then at the end of each panel I'll have a zip with all the pics I took from said panel and not just picks. Some of them might not be 100% focused, but if I kept them it means that there's something decent in them anyway so don't mind that. You're absolutely welcome to snag and use them wherever you want, though if you use them for graphics or whatever I'd like a credit back. Same goes from panel summaries.

Also: I posted photo ops. I'd really appreciate if they stayed on this post without going anywhere, k? Thanks.

So, uhm, alright! Let's go with day one.

So, I went with _izu_ and yawedzoro and we got at the hotel sometime before 1 PM. I went around and said hi to whoever I recognized from the year before and generally had a very cool time until the first panel started. The only thing that had changed from last year was that I was on the left instead of the right but it was a pretty great seat so I'm absolutely not complaining about it. And since clearly they couldn't have started with something not cracked out, first panel was Mark Sheppard & Sebastian Roché, and it was hilarious.

Also, just a couple things before I start with the report: Sebastian Roché is absolutely insane. Apart from speaking Italian pretty much great (along with three other languages wtf) and apart from being even more attractive in person, he was the only one who stayed up and running for the entire weekend with what I suspect was eight hours of sleep total and a hangover on the morning of the third day, lol. Also apparently everyone in the cast likes to glomp him. (And he glomps them - but I guess it was a given.) And I had a totally surreal conversation with him at autographs but that's for day two. So, Sebastian/Mark panel.

- First question was for Sebastian and about his role in Criminal Minds. He cracked a joke about being raped by virgins after saying that it was a great show and he loves his part and the cast is amazing, except that they cut half of his part. I don't know if the virgins thing was related to that role as I don't watch that show, but it might have been a random joke that I can't remember right now. Also he was asked whether he improvised much on SPN and he answered that he hasn't until then.
- Someone asked him what he'll do when he gets to X number of followers on Twitter. He said he was going to put a pic of himself in speedos at 20000 and one of his toes at 50000 if I recall right.
- Someone asked Mark Sheppard about his tweeting re Neil Gaiman lately and first he said that they met each other at some con in England and that now they're good friends ('Neil's my new best mate!'). Then he was asked what Gaiman thinks about SPN's Crowley and Mark said that Neil loves the show and he's actually totally thrilled with them, uhm, referencing his books.
- Then he was asked a question re his character on Leverage and he said that you can't get rid of Sterling and that at some point he'll be back - he didn't do S3 (and they had Elisabetta Canalis in his place) because he was doing SPN.
- Always talking about Leverage, it was found out that Christian Kane is in fact a good cook in RL as well.
- When asked which other role on SPN they'd like to play, the answers were:

Sebastian: a regular, as he'd be working all the time - but really, he loves playing Balthazar and he wouldn't switch.
Mark: he'd still take Crowley as well.

- Sebastian also said that he had auditioned for SPN three times already - for Gabriel, Lucifer and Crowley, so when he was asked to go for Balthazar he was about to pass on it but he was in Vancouver to do Fringe at the time, he went just for kicks and got the part.
- I don't remember which was the question that Mark got asked, but he started on some hilarious recall of how it is to kiss guys on American tv. Basically when they shot the first Crowley ep they couldn't find a guy in his seventies who wanted to kiss another guy (Mark himself was all cool about it - then again he's European xD) and in the end he said that kissing that one they found was like kissing cardboard and the guy kept on being embarrassed until they finally got on with it. When asked if there was tongue involved, he said no but there was with Jim Beaver (according to Mark it was Jim's doing). Also apparently Jim was all like 'no big deal' until he actually had to do it, and by the way the whole thing was done on Mark's own i-phone and it's apparently still there.
- Sebastian then added that he'd love to kiss a nice little angel himself - then he specified it had to be a girl angel after a beat or two.
- They were asked if they enjoy playing antagonist characters and they were both like 'yeah sure they're more interesting' and they like the edge that those roles have.
- Then Mark was asked how it was to fight with Christian Kane on Leverage and apparently turns out that the whole thing was an idea of his son's who once went to talk to the producers when they were at Mark's house or something and told them that it'd have been cool if Sterling and Eliot had a fight. Which posed a problem as Eliot never loses a fight and Sterling never loses period, but they did have fun during that scene, and they ended up breaking a table for real while doing stunts.
- Sebastian shared the whole story behind the pics of him and Misha with the crafty sign - basically they were in a dead moment and fooling around and they ended up near the place where the catering service for food is (crafty stands for something related to catering which I missed), so they just took the sign and started pointing it at themselves.
- Last question for Mark was about Firefly and he was asked whether there was a chance for it to be back in case Nathan Fillion managed to buy the rights, and Mark says that everyone misses that show, from the cast to the producers to the fans, and it was quite really stolen from everyone when it was canceled, but he doesn't think that it's likely for it to be revived in any form.

At that point Richard crashed the panel and it was hilarious because he crashed making a question and it was 'are we ever going to see Balthazar naked?'. Lol. Also Sebastian got asked to speak in a Scottish accent and he did, and then he started joking about owning a kilt. I can't remember what he said later but it wasn't PG material, lol. Also for last question they were asked who they think they were in their past life. Mark said Queen Elizabeth the first, Sebastian said he probably was a woman who liked horseriding, and then Richard's panel started. Now, have some pics from the panel and the link for the zip. :)













sbeastian roché/mark sheppard zip!

Okay, on to Richard's panel!

- I think I might have missed the first question as I was taking pictures, but in the answer he was talking about the differences between flying in Europe and the US and renting a car in Europe and the US. Then he decided that it was unfair that people in the back didn't get to see the actors close and so he started walking through the crowd and asking people questions, bless him.
- He asked someone where were they from, they said Russia, he said he hasn't been there. Then he talked to someone else who said that they were Mexican but lived in Norway, at which he commented that he was a very natural transition. And then it turned out that his best friend got married in Norway so he went there for the wedding and he knew how to speak some Norwegian. It was food-related (it was about salmon or fish I think?) but it got him a huge applause, lol.
- Then he was asked how it was to work with Mark Pellegrino. He answered that he's a 'lovingly lovingly lovingly scary scary scary guy' (literal) and that the first time they met it was freaky because they were on set for 5x19, Mark was with the zombie make-up and ready to go into part, so Richard swings by all nonchalant and he's like 'hey man, I'm Richard, I play Gabriel!' and Mark answered in some kind of Lucifer voice being like 'yeah, thanks, I'm Mark, I'm killing you in one of our two scenes', at which poor Richard got sorta scared. Then he texted his wife that he was going to have dinner with Satan that evening which I think scared -her- in return, but then he said that Mark is a professional, he's a good actor and he's also a cool guy so I guess he's nicer to talk to when he isn't in zombie make up.
- He was asked how many times he jumped out of a plane and he answered none, but he's going to do it with the other Band of Brothers actors for a charity project they're running named after the real Dick Winters for which all the actors from the series will indeed jump off a plane. He said he's not that excited at the prospect because he's not much of a planes person and he likes to stay in them when he's inside one, but he's really happy to do the whole project (which is way more complex than the way I'm putting it here). He also added he'll totally wear black pants when he does the jump.
- He was asked about how it is to work with Snoop Dogg for the Pepsi commercial and he says that the guy is phenomenal and they really get along even if they're totally different. Also apparently he's taller than Jared, even if Jared would totally win in a Snoop/Jared fight if the first was stoned.
- He was asked then about the porn at the end of Hammer of the Gods and he said it was weird because while during the scenes with the actress playing Kali they had rehearsed and everything, for that other scene they got a random actress that came on set the same day and he said it felt not as comfortable.
- He also says that he wants to come back to the show even though at the moment it looks like it isn't happening. He probably should go and ask Rob Benedict (as he's God, lol). When asked how he'd like to be back, first he answered another porn, then he said that since Gabriel was posing as a trickster, he'd like to be the original trickster Gabriel took the place of, especially since he had enjoyed playing the part when he was just supposed to be a pagan god and not an archangel.

And it was over there so have pics and a zip!









richard speight jr zip!

So then I went to get my pictures with Mark Sheppard and Rob Benedict. The first turned out okay, but the second is probably the best picture of yours truly that was ever taken. Also I hadn't still realized how absolutely LOVELY Rob Benedict is in person, but I got a taste. Also he reads great stuff, lol. Basically I had gone with a Vonnegut book because I wanted at least one sort-of-geeky pic and there was that entire Vonnegut exchange between Chuck and Dean in 4x18. So I go there and I'm like, 'can you hold this?' and he's like 'sure, what is it?'. Me: 'a Vonnegut book'. He turns it over and he's like 'but he's my favorite writer!' and I'm like 'oh dear I lucked out here'.

Anyway. Me and Mark and me and Rob.





And now let's go on to the reason why I have absolutely close to zero recollection of everything that happened after. Basically I ran into the Chad panel that had started earlier than they had said (and I was like eating my hands because y'know, CHAD LINDBERG. Okay, for anyone not knowing me, Ash used to be my favorite character and he was my first serious SPN-related crush), took a seat and tried to take notes. What I remember:

- When I got in he was talking about I Spit On Your Grave, but other than him asking who was scared to watch it I haven't caught anything.
- He said he'd love to be back and maybe in S7 they could have all the dead people appearing, if S7 happens. He also explained how the Ash hair works and confirmed that they were extensions, it wasn't his own hair. Also idk if he said it in this panel or the next but apparently when they wrote Ash first he was a psychic, he saw ghosts and drank a lot more. They had shot the entirety of Everybody Loves a Clown with that characterization, then they called him again a week later and did it all over again with the current one.
- He got asked about weird con experience and one was being asked how it was to work with Vin Diesel by someone who was like walking behind him in the restroom.
- Then he said he was hot and took off his shirt, remaining in a tank top. My brain was already in short circuit. Then he was asked how he liked Rome and he said he was loving it and he really enjoyed going to the Roman Holidays that morning (he couldn't say Castel Sant'Angelo though, lol).

And then, real reason why I don't have notes for anything after or the Rob panel. I look at my left and see _izu_ standing in line and I'm like 'does she have a question for him or what?' and then she goes and she's like 'hey, I have just one thing to ask you, can you go hug that girl over there?'. Him: 'sure, who?' and she's like: 'HER' pointing at me. At which I stand up and I go over there and he hugs me for real and the entire room starts clapping and I'm like 'WTF IS HAPPENING TO ME'. Then.

Him: so hi, what's your name?
Me: Lavinia. And by the way, I'd just like to tell you something. I've been waiting four years to do this.
Him: really? well then we should do it again!

... yeah. Well. Twice. And moar clapping. And when I got back to my seat I had two friends in front of me turning and being like 'did you go to Heaven already?' and I was like 'yeah, not coherent, later, thank you, it was good to know you'. The only thing I remember after that is that he explained his tattoos and that he had one for breast cancer awareness because his mother got it and all his family got it tattooed after she healed, but I really just blocked everything else and took pictures over pictures. Oh, a friend in first row took a picture which might be very blurry but kinda gives you the idea of my face while I was doing that.

So, pics:











And zip:

chad lindberg panel zip!

So then I wanted to get a picture with Jared and then get Chad to sign my autograph, and by the way to give him my very-suicidal-for-myself gift aka a pillow where I cross stitched Dr Badass is in/out on both sides. (Which took me like two weeks to make, along with indecent pain for my fingers.)



^ that, to get the idea. Except that the line for Jared was huge and no one was moving, so after chatting with a lovely Swedish girl I followed her advice and got into autographs before and to Jared's later (totes skipping the line as I had an angel pass, but heck, it's the advantages).

So I go to Chad's and he's like 'oh, hi again!' and I'm like 'yeah, still me, and by the way this thing is for you and I reallyreallyreally hope that you like it', and he's like 'OMG THIS IS SO COOL' and I'm like 'oh dear YES HE LIKES IT *imaginary fist pump*' and then he's like 'no wait I gotta hug you again'.

I didn't say no. *cough*

AND THEN HE WROTE ME THE MOST AWESOME AUTOGRAPH EVER AND I WAS EVEN MORE IN LOVE.



I LOVE THAT MAN I'm having heart-shaped eyes just thinking about it.

Anyway so, I get out of there and happily make my way to the Jared photo op, where to my delight I find out that he's standing instead of sitting like last year. And at some point he was like 'oh dear it's hot', started fanning himself with his shirt and gave me a pretty nice look at his abs. ladymacbeth77 behind me was sort of dying, poor girl, but it's understandable. He has amazing abs. *cough* also I met crystalchain who was in line behind me (HIII!). So anyway I go for the picture and jfc the guy hugs on automatic. And. Uhm. It felt kind of being so very small but it was a pretty nice sensation. Also I love that in the picture you can't even see my arms, lol. He's so tall.



So then I rushed into the Rob panel which had sadly already started :((( and where I didn't manage to take notes because I was too dazed and just couldn't be bothered to do anything except taking pics and tweet. So I'll go by what I wrote in tweets.

BUT THERE WE HAD SURPRISE OF THE CON NUMBER ONE (well, okay, I had thought that Sebastian was insane and I had figured out that Chad was a cool person, lol) because ohdear Rob Benedict is the-most-adorable-person-on-this-planet. He was all 'ohmygod I'm so glad that you're here' because clearly most people were having the op with Jared and he had thought no one was going to be there lol. Anyway, from what I remember:

- When I got in he was asked whether Chuck was really God in The End (ep) when he went around hoarding toilet paper. He said it was a good question and that as he sees it, it's an alternate reality and so in that instance Chuck is just Chuck. But it might have been an entire plan of God!Chuck to fool everyone, lol.
- Then he was asked how it's to work with Misha and he said that he loves Misha as a person but the first time they worked together it was scary because he had had dinner with Misha the day before or something, then their first scene was the one where Misha pops out and says that Chuck is a prophet. So Rob heard the Cas voice and completely was stunned because he felt like 'who are you and what you did with Misha Collins?', and then he made a pretty good impression of said Cas voice. Actually he specified that when he said his next line he wasn't acting, he was seriously being 'pleaseomgdon'tsmiteme' xDDD
- Also he used to make tapemixes and among his favorite artists for a playlist there are Radiohead, Sigur Ros, Wilco and the Smiths. (Next day he mentioned Pearl Jam as well though).

I think that was the last question sadly. So, pics and zip:











rob benedict panel zip!

Then I went out and realized that I could take my picture with Sebastian still, so I figured that I'd do that then. I kind of rushed inside so it didn't come out as good as the Rob one, but it's still pretty decent. Except that it feels weird as -fuck- that I'm so white and he's so tanned. The best thing is that it's all natural. WHUT. How he does it idek.



Okay then it was pretty much done for the day but we stayed for the cocktail party. I hung out also with galain and animotus which was awesome, and then when I got to my assigned table place I wasn't with anyone I knew but then there was some switching going on and e0wyn ended up there and it was awesome because I had been wanting to see if we could meet during the day and we didn't manage. Then she came at the table switching with someone and we talked for a bit, then she was like 'wait you're janie_tangerine?' and I was like 'yes' and we were like AW BUT IT'S YOU? and it was all very lovely and meeting her was totally a highlight of the weekend ♥.

So anyway actors came in later, Misha wasn't there because as he stated the day before he had been trying to put his kid to sleep and couldn't manage (AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW), but apart from Jensen all the other guests were there (Jared swung by about an hour in). Anyway apart from Rob and Sebastian everyone arrived at our table late-ish and by then most of them were pretty much buzzed, but no one was minding lol. So Rob was the first and he was OMG SO ADORABLE and when he found out it was all Italians at our table he started asking how to say this and that and he stayed longer than he should have had and everyone was like AW YOU'RE SO SWEET. Then Sebastian swung by and started talking in Italian when he realized no one was a foreigner and dude the guy is GOOD. Then before he left he went and kissed all the girls at the table. Which he did with every table. Therefore he can go and tell his friends he once kissed more than one hundred girls in one night, which in theory would even be legit. Oh Sebastian, lol. Then I think Steve swung by? He was pretty cool, though I have no idea what we said. Then when he left Jared came in with Genevieve! And they were aw so precious, holding hands and wearing the same shirt and stuff.

Even though the first thing Jared did when he spotted Sebastian across the room was shouting 'SEBASTIAN MI AMORE' lololol. Then Mark Sheppard went and kissed Gen on the cheek and Jared was all WHAT and then he just went and hugged Mark as well. Then Richard threw himself at him and they started taking pics together, then Jared chatted with Chad and the rest as well, and then the hilarious started. Jared started swinging by and giving champagne to whoever he saw with an empty glass and at the same time since you couldn't really got to him for pictures unless he stopped by your table, basically Richard was taking cameras from fans, going to Jared, take pics of the both of them one-handed, then going back to get other cameras and so on. It was seriously hilarious. Also whenever Jared saw Mark around he went and followed him while Richard stalked Jared with cameras and the whole thing was a blast. Then Mark ended up at our table, then when he left I stood up and went to see if ladymacbeth77 was still alive after Jared stopped at their table and he walked by at like 5 cms from me as he passed on to the other side. Lol much? Anyway then Chad came at our table and I just spent the time staring at his chest (thankfully he was too buzzed to notice *coughcoughcough*) then the last was Richard, who basically went and asked questions to all of us and was generally absurdly nice and cool and then I ended up taking pics of him and others at the table with my camera because it was apparently the nicest of the bunch. Btw you know who you are, give me an e-mail and I'm sending them over.

So that was the end of it and I do have pics but since there's fans' faces in a lot of them I'm just uploading the ones that I think are safe, so no zip.















Aaand, this was the first day. Which was indeed awesome and definitely topped last year's, as far as first days go, even if Misha lacked. But I hugged Chad three times, so heck, INDEED. Then we ended up crashing at my place at one AM and that was it for the day, so that's it for one. In the next installment: Misha being awesome at both panel and autographs, Jensen panel, half of Jared's panel, Chad & Rob panel, Sebastain panel, Rob Benedict being even more adorable, Sebastian Roché making me go all OMG WHUT at autographs, Sebastian & Jared exchanging innuendos while signing autographs, J2 panel, Jensen/Misha/Richard photo ops and a bit about Jason Manns' concert. I'll try to have it up this evening but I've been uploading pics since this morning and this took me two hours to write so it'll be either in some five hours or tomorrow. Day three (with the comprehensive zip) will definitely not be today I fear, but I hope this was a decent one for now.