DallasCon Report part 3: J-day…

I was being a smart ass and saying that we should all pull that face when Jared walked in. I’ve got my fists to my chin and go, “We should all do this!” Everyone is cracking up laughing and saying we totally should. So we’re all having a great big belly laugh about how funny that would be and Jared walks in! One of the fans in the front row was actually still doing the face! And she goes, “Oh no, I did it!” and we all just howl with laughter and Jared is standing there going, “Did what? What? What’s going on? Why are y’all laughing?” And we’re all like, in tiny giggly voices, “Nothing”. We got totally busted! Jared kind of looked at us suspicious, like okay…what were you guys doing! Hee!

This was the second time I’ve done Jared’s meet and greet and they’re different experiences to Jensen’s meet and greets. You can see how different these two guys are and yet how the same. They operate very differently and yet say very similar things. Jared comes in and just sits down and starts talking. He’ll crack into some story and just keep going. Jensen is concerned that everyone gets a chance to speak to him and ask his or her question, where as Jared is more likely to start telling a story and chatting to us about Jared stuff before opening up to questions. When Jared drew a breath and started to ask did anyone have anything….before he could finish, Hazel shot a hand in the air and blurted out “Can I ask a question?” Jared was like, “Oh yeah, okay!” I should also mention that Jared’s mum and dad were there and sitting directly behind Hazel and I.

Hazel’s question was about whether Jared had made any choices for Sam in the early days that he now regretted. Jared said, “Oh like Misha and the voice?” He basically said that he hadn’t. He said he’d played Sam a certain way in the beginning because Sam was written as being smart. Jared said that he’s a smart guy, with a teacher for a mum and so he thought he knew how to play smart but that maybe he’d played that a bit too much and maybe now he would have played “smart” a little different, but that over the years, Sam had changed so much along with Jared, that he just transformed Sam into how the character is now. Still smart, but not in the so obvious way that he was in the early episodes.

Jared talked to me about how excited he is about season 9 and that if the story is still as good as it is now, especially off season 8, which both the guys loved, then they see no reason to stop making the show. He said as long as the story is still being served, they can’t see why it can’t go season 10, 11 and beyond. One of the fans in the front asked if Jensen also felt that way. Jared said Jensen felt exactly the same as him, that they were both in exactly the same place; he’s digging it too. They both feel, as long as they’re still enjoying it and happy, they’ll keep doing it. So they can’t see why the show can’t continue. He so desperately wanted to tell us about season 9, but was under strict instructions – no spoilers!

The fan in the front row that got busted doing the face, spoke to Jared about how difficult it must be for him and Gen to see some negative comments focusing on her and Jared said, they’re aware of such things but that they also understand that it comes with the territory. He also was thankful for all the love that was sent their way. The fan had a blanket that she had made for Jared. It was patchwork with all different photos of him and he said, “Is that for me? Can I have it?” and the fan said “Really?” and Jared said something about how if he licks it, it will be his and the fan was like ——— and then she said she’d need it for her photo op could she give it to Jared later and he said sure and when he was leaving he said something about sleeping with it and the fan was like, WHATTTTT? It was hilarious! Jared is a bit of a flirt!

Just before the end of the ½ hour, my friend Deborah asked Jared about vegetarian choices in Dallas and he said, “You mean steak, right?” Errr. Nope. Neither Hazel or I eat red meat either (Hazel is totally vegetarian), so I said, “Actually we’d like to know that too because we’re going to be in Texas for a couple of weeks.” Jared goes, “Cool, where y’all going?” I told him, Houston for NASA, then San Antonio, Austin and back to Dallas…it was only later that I realised I must have sounded like a creeping creeper who creeps checking out the places associated with the Js! So then we got into a conversation about restaurants particularly in Austin. The parental Padaleckis joined in and at one point, Hazel and I were turned around chatting to them! They seem like lovely people – no surprise there. We ended up going to Hula Hut in Austin, which Jared and his mum and dad recommended, and it was AWESOME!

Then it was over and Jared thanked us all and said to enjoy the day and left. Just on a side note – excuse me while I objectify – but the Padaleski just keeps improving. He was wearing a white shirt open over a white v-necked t-shirt and he looked amazing. Hazel and I have taken to calling him the Golden God, because seriously…he is glorious.

Next up, it was J2 photos time! I had a single and a shared with Hazel.

I decided I was going to do the hand holding thing again. So my turn comes up and I go forward, Jensen smiles at me and Jared says hi, because we were just hanging out and then Jensen puts his arm around me and kind of guides me into the photo and puts me in between them, gets me all organised and I go, “Oh actually, I was wondering if we could all hold hands?” and Jared goes, “Hold hands? Yeah okay!” and Jensen goes, “Oh, okay” and kind of laughs and I go, “And you had me all organised too” and Jensen goes, “Yeah, I did!” and then we all held hands! Squeeee! Then Hazel and I shared a shot and put Jared and Jensen in the centre and we all kind of just snuggled in and leaned all over each other and it’s an awesome comfy photo…awesome, so awesome.

Then we had to wait for Jared and go up first because we had Jensen’s meet and greet.

I literally danced up to Jared. Chris always has music pumping and he was playing The Doors and I literally danced up – without thinking – and Jared turns around and goes, “Yeahhhh” and starts wiggling towards me. OMG. I suddenly thought, sweet lord of the rings, why am I dancing! Anyway, first up Padaleski pulled me into an all powerful and very sweaty hug! He was all damp! Which was way more awesome than it should have been. Then we held hands. Oh my gosh, his face is so adorable. Then Hazel and I grabbed a photo with him, and as usual, it’s gorgeous. Our Jared photos always turn out great. Then we bolted upstairs to spend half an hour with the boy!

Jensen also had his family with him. Before Jensen came in, his mum and dad, his brother Josh and sister-in-law Ali and his nana came in and made their way to the back of the room. The Jensen strode in, all legs and smiles and said Hi to everyone. He always makes sure people feel special. He always looks around and acknowledges those of us he knows – the “familiar faces” and the new people. It makes you feel embraced right of the bat.

Jensen introduced his family to us and called them his auditors! He then said hi to everyone again, asked if we were all having a good time and then asked if anyone had a question and we were underway.

Hazel asked a question about nerdy Dean. About why Jensen thought it was that Dean is so into pop culture. Jensen said that in some ways, Dean is a voice piece of the writers and so the writers use the character to talk about things they think are cool or current. But beyond that, Dean spends a lot of time in motel rooms and watches a lot of TV and deeper than that, with such a crappy life, it’s an escape for him. You can understand why he might lose himself in Dr. Sexy MD when we know what the outside world hides from him. Jensen did confirm that Dean does not read romantic vampire fiction though!

I got to ask a question – I asked, off the back of Jared speaking about how affected he was by his performance in “Sacrifice” and how Jensen said that Jared really took it home with him and Jensen told him to pull back a bit, is it harder or easier to shake off the big emotional stuff after living with and being immersed in Dean for so many years.

Jensen looked at me and went “Hmmmmm”, thought for a moment and said…it’s probably easier. He said, the reason is that he knows Dean so well now, that it’s no longer Jensen trying to portray Dean’s emotions, it IS Dean’s emotions. He said in the early season, him and Jared used to use their own experiences and sense memories to get them to the emotional place they needed. But after living with Dean for so long, now he knows how Dean would feel. He knows how he would feel if something happened to his brother, so he feels how Dean would feel – so it’s really Dean doing the feeling. I guess this is why Jensen’s emotional work always rings so true.

Jensen carried on to say, when he’s on hiatus, to shake Dean he concentrates on the aspects of Dean that are different to Jensen, but he admitted he sometimes slips up, which ends up with Danneel telling him to stop using his Dean voice! He also said that it’ll be interesting to see how he handles it when the show eventually finishes. Now he knows that he shakes off Dean for a few months and then he puts him back on again, but when the show eventually wraps up, he wondered what it would be like after a few months when he doesn’t get to return to Dean. He said it would it’s going to be strange to not be getting in and out of the Impala every day. I said, “Well you may still be getting in and out of the Impala” and Jensen laughed and looked at me out of the corner of his eye and said, “I might, I might, I’ll just have a different long haired person sitting next to me.”

Jensen always makes you feel like you have his absolute attention. The way he thinks through your answer, the time he takes, the way he makes eye contact, the way that, even is someone comments on something from your question he always makes sure he comes back to you.

At the end of his answer he turned to me and finished off the answer. He so obviously loves Dean, it pours out of him and he obviously enjoyed Dean in season 8. I’ve seen him talk season 6 and 7 Dean, and while he’s always positive about Dean and the show, there’s a little bit more excitement or something after season 8. I’ll say that for both the guys and their excitement is incredibly infectious!

Jensen also loves the brothers and their relationship. I think he may be their greatest champion. I told him how much I’d enjoyed season 8 and he thanked me and I said how much I loved season 8 Dean, “He was a hug monster” which got my second eye crinkly laugh! *Sigh*

A fan asked about his directing and he said that he wouldn’t be directing this season, as he didn’t want to end his hiatus early because he had just had a baby. The directing slate for season 9 is full, so there’s no room left for him to do a later episode. But he did say he’s hoping to do an episode next season and that everyone knows that he’s keen. He also talked about how he’s always super organised when he directs, that he has Kim Manner’s voice in his head asking him if he has done everything he could. So he always turns up on the first day with all 8 days shot listed. Things still change, but at least he’s organised and he feels more in control that way.

Lynn from Fangasm asked why Jensen though Dean considered the MoL Bunker a home where as Sam thinks of it as a place of work. Jensen said that he thought it was because home is something that Dean knows and remembers, where as Sam doesn’t have the same memories, because he was just a baby when Mary died. Lynn said, that of course because Dean remembers what home was like when he was a child and Sam doesn’t, he’d have different feelings towards home and family and Jensen said, “I think you just answered your own question!” Lynn agreed!

Another fan asked if he’d ever like to work with his dad again and Alan, from the back of the room said, “Who says I’d want to work with him again!” Ha!

It was a great meet and greet. There weren’t as many questions as usual, so Jensen’s answers were long and detailed and all the questions were great and in-depth. His passion for the show and for Dean just radiates out of him and both Jensen and Jared continually reference each other, reinforcing that casual intimacy they have in their friendship.

Then it was over and Jensen got up – did that bend forward and slide his palms down the front of his jeans thing to straighten them up – thanked us all, said his goodbyes and strode that sexy stride of his out of the room. Like Padaleski, Jensen gets more and more beautiful. His laughter eye crinkles were on high beam in this meet and greet. He looked bloody amazing. There’s a softness to Jensen. He seems like a soft person. I don’t know if it’s just that he’s gentle with us, but I have a feeling he’s a soft and kind man. It’s lovely.

His family all filed out, except for Ali and his mum. Ali was chatting to a fan in the back row. Mrs Ackles was standing next to me and someone said something about JJ. Mrs Ackles said, ”She’s so beautiful. I’m in hog heaven!” Bless!

Both the guys meet and greets were fantastic. They both make you feel comfortable – seriously I find these things the least stressful time of the day! I love how different and yet how the same their energy is and I love having the chance to speak with them and see their genuine love and respect for what they do.

Then it was panel time!

Honestly, I can’t remember much about the panel except cowboy hats and pigs!

It opened with Richard bringing up a little boy dressed as Dean, who is a massive Jensen fan. People know him as “Little Dean”. Richard took him backstage and then Jensen came on stage with the kid on his shoulders. It was super cute!

It was a fun panel. There was lots of jumping up and acting out things. Lots of sideways, cracking up glances at each other. And for the most part, the questions were great. Whether in depth character stuff or simply fun and cheeky, Texas, you did a great job with the questions!

Things we learnt in this panel were:

Jensen would have a bikini (yes, someone asked what their bikinis would be like – and they barely blinked), made out of Impala centre caps and the grill would be the bottoms.

Jared calls his nether regions “Hamsterdam”. Which cracked Jensen up.

Jared is a Jonathan Taylor Thomas fan.

Jensen thinks that’s why Jared called his son Thomas.

Jensen has floor to ceiling windows in his apartment and it overlooks the harbour in Vancouver. He likes to stand at the window and play his guitar and pretend the boats are a massive audience. “Thank you Vancouver.”

Jared thinks he should pretend to squish the tiny boats between his fingers.

Jensen looks amazing in a cowboy hat. Yes. Yes he does and he’s also great with pigs, apparently.

The pig thing was awesome. His name was Icarus and he’s a service pig, giving emotional support in hospitals, for kids and the like. His owner is a fan and decided to bring him to the convention as a great environment to get him used to crowds. Misha met the pig and decided to bring Icarus on stage with the guys. Jared took the pig off Misha and then promptly plonked it into Jensen’s lap. Jensen had that face, you know the one? That, why is this happening to me deadpan face. But the pig seemed to fall asleep. The pig was totally relaxed. It sat in Jensen’s arms, occasionally contributing grunts and eating cheerios looking happy as, well a pig in you know what. Jensen told Icarus, life’s going to be tough, shoot for the stars and stay out of the mud. I was laughing and shaking my head and nawwwwing and laughing some more. Only at a Supernatural convention!

That was about it. Richard came on and the panel was over. Boo!

Then it was autos with the guys. Jensen had to be away by 4, as he was back on set the next morning with a 6.30am pickup. Poor thing. He must have been exhausted. So I got my autos with Jensen – I think he had a bit of a cold because he had to stop and blow his pretty nose in the middle of mine! I thanked him, he thanked me…and that was the last I was going to see him for six months…Boo again! Then I went over to Jared. As Jared had Monday off and wasn’t due back until Tuesday, he was taking his time. So you got more of a chance to chat to Jared. He actually stayed and signed and chatted to fans until around 6.30. Which was super cool. He came on stage to say goodbye and said that Jensen was already on his flight back! He then thanked us all on his and Jensen’s behalf and disappeared through the curtains. Boo! Great big sigh!

Normally that’s it. Normally after the Js it’s all over, but this time, we had 2 more panels! Rachel Miner and Corin Nemic.

Rachel was amazing! Hazel and I went and got a photo with her and it’s adorable because she is so tiny and cute! We tower over her, but we’re all kind of squished in and leaning forward.

I have to say, everyone who came up to the microphone gushed love for Rachel. Everyone in the room was crazy about her and Meg and everyone told her! It was like a Rachel Miner love in.

And one stage someone asked after her health as we’d all heard that she’d been unwell. It was then that she told us that she has MS. That she’s had it for a few years and that Supernatural were amazing, working with her to ensure she was okay to continue her role as Meg. She says she’s doing well and that she now sees that there’s a lot more to life than our bodies. We put so much stock in our bodies and how they look but when your body goes against you, you start to realise you are so much more than that. She was incredibly inspirational.

When I got my auto with her I told her how much I love Meg and how much I curse Robbie Thompson for killing her! She laughed. I also told her I’m permanently scared by her character’s death on Sons of Anarchy! She said, “Yeah?” I said, “It was horrific!” She said, “Well that’s great, I’m glad it worked!” I said, “Oh yeah it did!” and she said, “Great, because I spent 2 days in that pit, I’m so glad it was worth it!” She is wonderful.

Then we had Corin. It was his first con since his horrific accident. He still walks with a cane, knowing the extent of the accident, I think there’s a good chance he always will, but he said he’s still in rehab and he’s doing great and hopefully has more improvement ahead.

Corin is one of the most positive people I’ve ever met. He’s always smiling. He’s a lovely guy and a great storyteller. He talked a little about how he never knew Christian Campbell was a demon until “Family Matters” when his demon self is revealed. He was candid enough to tell us about when he was younger and what a huge ego he had and how this one time, out of pure arrogance, he blew a meeting because he thought he had it in the bag, didn’t need to be there and so he didn’t try. It was a massive lesson for him and changed him and how he approached his work in the future. He also talked about how he was going for a role, as a Captain in a Star Trek online series but wasn’t sure he was going to get it because of the cane. He was waiting to hear if the character could have a cane. I saw him tweet a picture in his Trek uniform the other day, so I guess that means it all worked out. I’m so very happy for him. He is a doll of a guy.

And that was it. Dallascon was done. We went and got our jpegs from Chris, gave him lots of cuddles and said we’d see him in Vegas. Then the 3 Aussies, 1 Kiwi and 1 Canadian headed upstairs for some much needed food before hugging it out and saying our goodbyes. The next day Hazel and I were hitting the road and heading on our Texan adventure!

Dallascon was one of the best conventions I’ve done.

Thanks so much for being patient with me! I hope I managed to capture some of the excitement. I’m still in Texas, in Dallas. I’m off to Comic-Con fanday and then the Cowboys game on Sunday and then it’s home. I get home the day that Supernatural season 9 starts, so at least I have something to look forward to at the end of what’s been an epic holiday.

And I’ll be back with the weekly previews and reviews. The craziness is about to kick off again! I can’t wait.

I also can’t wait for Vegascon and then Vancon – both next year (who’s going to be there with me?) The more I do these cons, the more I miss these guys and all my friends. Who needs food when you can subsist on lurve!

-sweetondean