I arrived on Friday and stood in line for probably half an hour or forty minutes waiting to get in, since now everyone was registered and had transferred over into what had previously been my lovely short line. But, as the man in front of me pointed out, these were the most polite people out there. I mean, we were exchanging high-fives with strangers as we made our way forward. A hundred thousand people went through Comic-Con over the three days and not once did I see a single argument about cutting in line or literally anything else. That's how we geeks do it!
The first thing I did upon entering the main Expo hall was head to James Marsters' table and get in line. Having kept on eye on the line yesterday I knew that it would only grow as the day progressed, and I needed to meet James Marsters. I chatted with a Harley Quinn cosplayer and her boyfriend as we stood and waited for an hour. Occasionally I would stand on tiptoe and yup, there was James Marsters, chatting away. Our general admission line was being superseded by the ever-expanding VIP line, so we weren't making much progress. Eventually a volunteer came with the news that James was going to a panel, and would be back at 1:30. It was about eleven now, and this news was not pleasing to me. The line mostly disbanded, and I went down the tables to Ioan Gruffudd's table.
You all remember Ioan Gruffudd. I loved him in Amazing Grace and went to his spotlight on Thursday. His table was virtually deserted, so I strolled right up and paid the volunteer (I don't think I mentioned that autographs/photos come with a price.) before nervously stepping towards the man himself. Having to wait in line would have been nice in this case, because I would have thought of things to say. As it was, being a spur of the moment stop, I was even more flustered than I had been with Adam Baldwin the day before. My end of the conversation went something like this: "Hi will you sign this I love Amazing Grace it's the best movies my sisters are going to freak out my name's Rebecca R-e-b-e-c-c-a. Thank you can I get a picture?" As he came out from behind the table I said, "I meant to have clever things to say but I got flustered." Him: "It's okay, happens to everyone." (Welsh is a beautiful accent.)
I started heading to the ballroom but decided it might be best to just go wait in James Marsters' line so as to avoid the crush of fans that would return after the ballroom let out. I was surprised to find that James Marsters was still at his table signing and chatting away. I was pleased to see that the dispersed line had not yet returned. I got back in the shorter line and found that there had been a mix-up; James hadn't left at all, the volunteer just thought he was going to. Well, I'll take it.
I made friends with the girl in front of me, Kelly, who was cosplaying Jayne. We bonded over our inability to breathe because James Marsters. We both hardcore ship Spike/Buffy and hate Angel, and I've had friendships based on less. My excitement was uncontainable and she kept telling me, "You're going to touch him!" and then "Breathe, breathe...."
It finally got to me being at the front of the line and I was taking the last few steps towards him, my hands already shaking, when I realized that though I'd practiced what I was going to say I'd forgotten the awkward hellos at the beginning of every meet and greet. So this is how it went down--
James Marsters: Hi, what's your name?
Me: Rebecca.
JM: How are you today?
Me: Thank you. *realizes mistake and goes straight into script* I got into Buffy over the summer and Spike is my all-time favorite fictional character. I watched all of it in like a month. Thanks, Netflix.
JM: Netflix is great. When the show was on the air we worried that people wouldn't remember what was going on, because sometimes there would be three or four weeks between episodes.
Me: I would have died!
JM: We'd ask, "Will people even remember what's going on with the story?" That's why we had those "Previously, on Buffy the Vampire Slayer..." at the beginning.
Me: Haha yeah I always skipped those.
JM: *laughs as he signs his photo for me*
Me: I heard you were going to be here and I had to be here, so here I am. (I'm not one of those fans that knows how to say clever things.)
JM: Is this your first Con?
Me: Yes.
JM: Can I give you some advice?
Me: *noises of assent*
JM: There are a lot of great people here dressed up like storm troopers or whatever else. They're smart and geeky and you can meet a lot of people, make a lot of friends.
Me: Yeah, these are my people.
JM: Here. *gives me an m&m*
Me: Can I get a photo?
He came around the table and put his arm around me, then we got the photo and I was bending over to pick up my backpack when he touched my arm and said, "Thanks for coming out." I said, "Thank YOU." and he said, "You have a great smile."
So that is the story of how James Marsters likes my smile. He was so down to earth and kind to his fans; everyone I talked to was impressed as well. Seriously the coolest celebrity ever. At that point I floated back to my car to put my signed photos (he wrote "To Rebecca, Bite Me) away for safekeeping. I went back into the convention, but meeting James Marsters was definitely the highlight of the day. I went to the spotlights for Edward James Olmos and Jonathon Frakes. Actor stories are the best stories. I listened to a few panels and then I went home.
Friday was fun. I wasn't quite so overwhelmed by the sheer numbers, and I got brave enough to ask to take some pictures of cosplayers as I wandered about.
Cosplayers are legit.
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