Okaaaay, here we go... Tried to edit it to make it more intelligible for people who aren't up to date on SArmy members. XD Also, there are loads of pictures of the talks that are or will be out there, but I didn't post any here as mine all suck and I don't want to go around finding them all and reposting them. =P Anyways, here's my report!
First of all, the trip--two and a half hour delay! Wow. I managed to sleep on the flight, though, so I was pretty lively most of Friday, although I didn't get in until 3:30PM or so. (Travelling from Wisconsin, to O'Hare, to Heathrow, to Northampton.)
Hung out with much of the SArmy before the opening ceremony, and then at the opening ceremony, the guests came up individually. I don't actually remember very much of this... Just that David Anders randomly sat crosslegged for a moment and that Santiago Cabrera was kind of awkward. He had long hair, a beard, and was wearing a fedora. Sendhil wasn't there at the time because I think he was caught up in traffic or something? And Santiago and David were jetlagged, I think (and I have to wonder if they came through the same airport as I did, although that's unlikely). Cristine Rose declared that she was there to convince us that Angela Petrelli is misunderstood and really a nice person. As soon as they appeared I stopped being so nervous about meeting them. I honestly would have been more nervous had I known absolutely nothing about what they did and a little bit of their personalities.
At the gold ticket holder party, it, well... It wasn't that great, honestly. The usual method is to seat all the ticket holders at tables and have the guests go around and talk to each table, but... That didn't happen. There were three tables that nobody used, and everybody packed around the guests. Neither I nor a few other people spoke to any of the guests because we didn't want to fight against the throng. Also, Santiago and David left halfway through because they were tired, which made the guest/attendee ratio a little more lopsided (but I don't blame them!). I briefly made eye contact with Cristine, but she looked away right away as she was just setting down her drink on my table and trying to leave. So that... That was disappointing.
Saturday morning I struggled awake after a night of trying to sleep through dad's snoring, and had photoshoots with Santiago and Jessalyn first thing. I was rather surprised to see that they went with flash photography instead of studio lighting, which is easier on the guests' eyes. I was also really disturbed that the crew was rather rude during this time--there was a lot of talking, and every once and a while one of the crew or the
photographer himself who was working with Santiago would turn or go into the lobby and shout at people to be quiet--which would have been okay except that except for one of them they sounded almost like they
enjoyed sounding enraged rather than polite! This probably didn't help that Santiago seemed to be rather reserved--for one thing, this is his first meet-and-greet I think, and also he seems kind of shy. The photographer flying off the handle at the attendees probably didn't help.
So, Santiago, at least for the first couple hundred people, had his hands in his pockets and didn't put his arm around anyone unless they asked or something (and I might be misremembering that) and didn't smile very much. He was nice, though--I came up to him and we said "hi," then he asked "How are you?" I replied "Good, you?" "What? Oh, good." And then after the photo we thanked each other and I walked out of the room. (
here is the photo--we both look really weird in this one!) Apparently he was more relaxed on day two--I kind of wish I had gotten a new photo with him for that!
Jessalyn was sweet! She introduced herself to me and shook my hand, even though I already knew her name, and then put her hand around my shoulders--I also put my hand on her back. Then we thanked each other and I left the room. She's a really gorgeous, nice lady. (
photo!)
Later I got their autographs--For Santiago I just used the 8x10 provided in my folder, and he just wrote "To Alexius, Santiago Cabrera," and didn't really say anything. He was really really fast with his signings then. Jessalyn I talked to a little--she had mentioned to someone else in front of me that her secret to not having jet lag was that she had gotten there a few days before, so we talked about jet lag a little bit. This was actually later than my Santiago signing, and I had the photos back, so she signed that for me with "Pleasure meeting you! <3 Jessalyn Gilsig".
Then I had a signing with Sendhil, and he made my day! Well, the first time my day was made. =) I got in line for his autograph and used an 8x10 I bought of Mohinder in his pink shirt. To get personalized autos we stuck post-it notes on them with our names written on them, and when he got mine he said "Alexius! That's a
great name!" To which I replied "Thanks! Unfortunately nobody pronounces it right." "Oh, I bet I butchered it, didn't I?" "No, you said it fine! It's mostly back home that people do that, actually-they keep calling me Alexis." So... Sendhil likes my name! XD Also, he's just as gorgeous in real life as he is on screen, if not
more so. Seriously. Also for some reason I didn't realize how deep his voice was!
Then later I had a photo with Noah and David. David was really fun--he seemed to really be enjoying himself and was putting his arm around everybody, hugging lots of people, and didn't seem to mind doing so. In one of Sunday's talks he said that he biggest vice was "too much love" and that he loved hugs, and it was certainly evident! He even let one person pretend to kiss his cheek while I was in the queue. It was really fun watching him, and although I didn't ask for a hug (too shy! Also, even the arm-around-the-shoulders is a little weird for me.), I enjoyed our photoshoot--I put my arm on his right shoulderblade and he put his hand on my shoulder, although it wasn't visible
in the photo. He was wearing a tight-fitting t-shirt, so I could feel his back and body heat pretty well, which was a little surreal! I left feeling a little bit giddy, even though I didn't start out a David Anders fan.
I feel bad about my Noah photo because I think I might be one of the only people who didn't put their arm around his shoulders--he kind of started to, I kind of started to, but nope, it didn't happen, so we ended up
just standing next to each other. He also didn't talk to me really at the signing today, although I heard he was pretty chatty--I couldn't think of anything to say to him except that I felt bad about not putting my arm around him, but I thought that would be a little weird to say to someone!
Then after a while came the talks--first David and Cristine. They're both really funny people, and there were a lot of questions for them to answer--before the talks the crew had gone around with a box and little slips of paper to write your questions, name, and the guest it was directed to on it, and while most were anonymous or just didn't respond when their name was called, some asked the question themselves. I can't recount the entire talk, unfortunately, but there were a lot of funny moments--Cristine has a theory that Angela has slept with the entire older generation and that all of the younger generation are her kids, and guess what? Angela has a power! Also, David was really active and moving around, and at one point sang to us! He has a really nice singing voice; he got a lot of applause for that. XD
Then it was Jessalyn and Noah, and I liked Jessalyn there, too. Noah was pretty cool as well. It was funny, but I totally don't remember
any of it. o_O I was in the third row and about three-fourths of the way to the left of the room, by the way--it was dark except for the stage, which was lit by a pair of spotlights, one on either side of the room (one happened to be behind me from a POV from the stage). Also, the amount of camera flashes was amazing (and looked painful--I'm impressed that the guests managed to keep their eyes open for the whole thing! It only lasted for a little bit before each talk before they had to stop, though, thank goodness.).
Then came the Sendhil and Santiago talk! Santiago was still a little quiet, and Sendhil came on wearing his glasses. Also, he really
does throw back his head and laugh! I could see all of his molars! And yes, there
was the inevitable Mylar question--basically "what do you think of the vast amounts of syhinder fanfiction?" To which he replied "Oh, is there vast amounts?" and that he knew that it existed, largely because people sent him stuff and that "when are Mohinder and Sylar getting together?" was a question he got often on the street, and that he generally figured that they didn't mean romantically--he hoped. And then he kind of went on about character interactions and that he had pretty strong chemistry with Zach, as did Milo with Adrian (I could not for the life of me figure out from this statement if he was aware of petrellicest or if he thought that it was a safe example), and then after quickly digging himself into a deeper and deeper slope stopped and remarked "I'm just adding fuel to the fire here, aren't I?" He also had to stop several times when people started giggling and go "Minds out of the gutter people, minds out of the gutter!" (He made a reference to this Sunday when a comment of Cristine's elicited some snickering.)
Someone also asked him what he thought of the Heroes action figures, as David had said when asked that he hadn't seen them but that Sendhil had told him that they were okay (which was quickly rebuffed). Sendhil kind of stalled a little, then the person asking the question said, "They suck, don't they?" and he commented that he would probably lose his job if he answered that. Then he and Santiago decided that they probably weren't getting any money for the action figures anyways, and so after a moment he broke and said, "I don't think that they put their finest effort in them. ...I mean, come on! They gave me a middle parting! I had a seam right through me!" (He gestured from the top of his head down.) (Also, Sunday it was revealed that he found out about this two months ago when somebody sent him a link, which also happens to be how he discovered Wikipedia for the first time.)
Someone asked Santiago how they did the paintbrushes through his limbs, and apparently they put something around his arms and legs that they could screw the paint brushes into (I also, by the way, got a really cool print of Sylar and Isaac like this). And someone, for some reason, asked who they would want to star with if they were in a gay movie, which I thought was kind of an odd, awkward question. They got kind of uncomfortable and then picked each other since they happened to be in the room. And someone
actually asked what they would want as superpowers! There were some good questions, though. I don't remember them all, however.
And the thing that made my
entire weekend awesome... The host of ceremonies called my name (he actually mispronounced it as "Alexis" before trying again with the right version), and handed the microphone to me. I wasn't really nervous except that I wasn't entirely sure how the question would be received, and so they both looked at me (sorry, I memorized most of the details and I'm still--still!--geeking out about this), Sendhil shading his eyes because of the spotlight behind me. So I spoke into the microphone, very calmly: "In the case of an impending zombie invasion, what would be your first plan of action?" And the
moment I said "zombie" they started smiling. (At some point I gave the microphone back.) Then Santiago, who had been pretty sedate all day, suddenly jumped up and waved his arms yelling "ZOMBIES! ZOMBIES!" before sitting back down. After everyone had stopped laughing (including himself) Sendhil just said "Yeah, I can't top that," and didn't give an answer (I didn't press for it later because mine couldn't top that either). The host of ceremonies declared that it had been the best question all night, which was widely if not universally regarded as true. Because it was.
After the talks were finished, the auctions commenced--a looot of autographs, a pair of Eclipse 2 gold tickets, and a meal for two of the attendees to have dinner with the guests (They went for, I think, 650 pounds?). The last one didn't sit with me so well because it seemed a little... Weird. Pure.Evil. bought a signed Sylar print--I didn't bid on them because I
will meet ZQ someday, I swear!
There was a long break, at which point we got showered and changed into our ball dresses. Mine was only a little wrinkled, but my shoes and tights, it turned out, were too small! I had forgotten to check if they still fit, and, well, they didn't. So I ended up wearing pants and running shoes under it. <<; My dress was stepped on about twelve times before I left that night, which was a lot considering that I didn't move around too much and that I eventually got paranoid and started hiking my dress up off the floor when I was walking around people. All of the guests made brief appearances there (Cristine actually got into character briefly to do a speech), but two people took pictures with Sendhil and Santiago (separately--I saw the pictures later), and then when other people saw this a mob descended on them all and started taking pictures. Pretty soon after they arrived they left. I was kinda ******. We (Sylar's Army) almost staged a rescue operation for Noah, but it was too late by then--he had already left.
Sunday was fun, even though
nobody was ready when I was to go over to the Park Inn. *nonserious glaring* (Oh, and by the way, the Park Inn rooms were not as good as the Ibis Hotel rooms, even though they cost more.) I no longer remember what I did when, exactly--since they changed the schedule from what was printed out, I no longer can structure my world. I think I had a photoshoot with Sendhil pretty early in the morning, if it wasn't the first thing I did, and... Wow. Sendhil's
really pretty. I was a
little nervous (apparently I looked more nervous than I felt, according to a lurker who totally didn't say hi to me there), and I kind of regret not asking for a hug (about half of the girls did, and he always said "sure" and wrapped his arms around them). Even still... (warning: more geeking-out detail to follow!) I walked up to him and we exchanged "hi"s. It was slightly bewildering. Then, once the photographer decided the picture had turned out fine, we both said thank you--I looked up at his eyes to say it, but then I looked down right away and, since he was wearing a v-necked shirt, found out that I'm approximately eye-level with his chest hair. Which was not unpleasant, but a little weird. I walked out dazed before suddenly realizing that I still smelled like Sendhil, which is... Amazing. Sendhil smells really good. It wore off really quickly from where his arm had been, but it was nice while it was there. So yeah. If I've learned nothing else, it's that Sendhil smells nice. Also... Sendhil likes my name! XD
Anyways...
The talks were pretty cool. They started getting a little more out there because people started running out of questions, but they were fun. I totally don't remember anything right now about them except for the final panel, which was much much later in the day.
There was a group shot! It was a picture of yourself with all the guests, and I got one included since I had a gold pass! It was kind of weird and impersonal, because the photographer had the attendees stand well in front of the guests. Also, Sendhil (and I think another guest, but I don't remember who) had already been standing and having lights go off in front of their eyes for an hour or so, and so were getting tired (Case in point--
no gigantic Sendhil Smile by this point). It was also kind of weird because a whole bunch of people just had their photo taken and then left, all without saying anything to the guests! They were friendly, though--I made sure to say "hi" to them when I came up and they all smiled at me and returned the greeting, and I thanked them afterwards. (I always made sure to thank them really nicely, not just as a formality--I don't think everyone did that.)
After the Sendhil and Noah talk I went to
finally meet Cristine, who I hadn't talked to at all over the weekend. I didn't want to leave the Sendhil one for obvious reasons. Earlier it had been Santiago and Cristine--poor Santiago didn't get as many questions as Cristine, possibly because he had been so reserved before (although, apparently he was having fun--just not very expressive, we decided). I was in the first row for both talks (so they walked right by me to the stage!) and also, Sendhil likes my name! And he has really skinny legs. Umm... As I was saying... Santiago kept looking around, which isn't bad or anything, but he kept looking down at the front rows and almost making eye contact, which is alright the first few times but would probably get creepy after a while.
After that talk, which had been running late due to the other talk and the photoshoots, those of us who needed them rushed over to the photoshoot room and got our
photo with Cristine. She was getting tired by then and confessed that her "funny bone was wearing out," which was understandable since, like Sendhil, she had
also been doing photoshoots for quite a while. When I came up to her I exclaimed "this is the first time I've seen (by which I meant "met") you all week!" and she said "Well then you'd better get over here!" (She was also tired by the time I got that picture signed by her, I think--I commented that hers was the only picture I had shown any teeth for (even for a fake grin), but she didn't say anything, although she addressed by picture "for Alexius" instead of "to," which I think is a good sign (I don't know what she usually signed).)
Then I rushed back to the Jessalyn and David talk, which was also good. Yeah, no, I still can't remember much! But he sang again--"Jesus Christ Superstar" this time. He's still a good singer. And also Sendhil likes my name.
After lunch at the incredibly distant Subway (as opposed to the nearby Subway, but thanks to Emma for directing us so that
the SArmy could have a sarnie.), I rushed back and got my photo with Noah signed. He put "To: Alexius" and didn't really talk, although once again I made sure to say thank you. (At this point, by the way, I'd figured out that since I had a gold pass, I could go into any queue I wanted regardless of which group's turn it was! It was handy.) Then, since I had my Sendhil and Santiago photos back and had all of my other photos signed (except for Cristine's, which wasn't back yet), I bought an extra autograph with both of them.
When I got up to David to have my photo signed, he moved the post-it note with my name on it to cover his face and said "I don't like looking at my face in these--I'm too red!" XD I replied "Yeah, I don't really like flash photography. ...Actually, while you're at it, you should cover mine as well!" He laughed, although I'm not sure that it was actually funny or if he was just humoring me. Can't tell with these actor-people. o_O
I went to Santiago's line to get my first additional autograph, as there was seriously
nobody there. He had been so fast and formal the previous day that barely anyone was left, and he had gotten through them already! So I was the only person in the queue, and I got to talk to him. I said "I liked your answer to my zombie question--I didn't expect that." (his answer, not that I liked it.) He smiled and said that "That was pretty funny," and possibly something else that I was forgetting. I replied "Thanks! I've been waiting
weeks to ask that." We talked for a while longer, but by that time there were two other people behind me, so I had to leave. I'm not sure how much of the conversation was just being polite, but this time he signed "For Alexius - Best wishes! Santiago Cabrera", which is apparently more than most people got. Mostly he just wrote "best," on people's. XD
When I got back to Sendhil, he saw my name again and went "Alexius!" really enthusiastically. (XD!) To which I replied "Yep, back again!" And then after a moment I commented on the fact that he had been in photoshoots for a really long time, which he agreed to. He'll probably recognize my note in the binder someone gave him, too--I made a black-and-white digital drawing for it and wrote a little note in it.
The talk afterwards was fun--I was in the second row this time, and most of the questions where along the lines of "if you were stranded on a desert island, what three things or people would you take with you if you could?" They were pretty funny, although Jessalyn and Cristine often had fairly ambiguous answers (Cristine often looked thoughtfully into the distance for a long time and then came up with a chocolate-related answer), and Jessalyn didn't seem to like choosing. There were a lot of great answers from everybody, though. Also, I think I ending up making eye contact with Sendhil once, and it might have been my imagination (probably was, but it's nice to think so) but I thought that Santiago kept looking where I was sitting.
After that was the closing ceremony, and I must say, I'm really sad now that it's over. As I remarked to Jason (who runs it) and several SArmy members, I really want to come to Eclipse 2. I
really wanted to have an opportunity to talk to the guests more in person, but I suppose that wasn't going to be all that likely. Still, I had lots of fun, and although I didn't include them much in my short description here, I also loved hanging out with all the SArmy members I've been speaking to for so long--I was constantly trying (usually successfully) to find them and talk to them (often to geek out) and go out to eat with them. I may add more to this in a few days or so, but I'm quite tired right now, so I don't think I can.
So, hope that wasn't
too boring to read! XD
This post has been edited by Dinea: Mar 18 2008, 08:33 AM
Eclipse - Heroes Convention, Northampton, England
Jan 27 2008, 03:32 PM
are you going SabZero?
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