Supernatural Convention 2015 Part 1
Family doesn’t end with blood.
The CW’s hit show “Supernatural” has been on the air for almost 10 years and just been renewed for its 11th season. What started as that other show about sexy people hunting monsters on what was then still the WB network, has turned into a flagship for its parent company and a rallying cry for a huge fandom that explores themes of what it means to be human, what it means to be a family and what it means to fight evil, within as well as literal things that go bump in the night.
During its first season, the tag line for Supernatural’s promos was “Scary just got sexy”, and it was described (not unjustly) as “The X-Files meets the Hardy Boys.” (X-Files image from one of our many novelty t shirts) But now, the line is changed firmly to “Join the Hunt.” Still, perhaps it might be better encapsulated with a line from one of the show’s own characters: Jim Beaver’s beloved portrayal of Bobby Singer (a gruff father figure named as a joke by the crew after one of the show’s head writers and executive producers) told the two main characters, brothers Sam (Jared Padaleki) and Dean (Jenson Ackles), that “Family don’t end with blood, boy!” and that has made a world of difference for people on social media, for youths exiled due to being LGBTQ, for fans and strangers to the show alike.
Supernatural Convention Part 2
I personally have been a fan of the show for about 5 years now, and the line “Saving people, hunting things: The Winchester Family Business since 1983” seemed especially appropriate to me as I was born on January the 17th, 1983, and the middle day of the Supernatural Convention at the San Francisco Airport Hyatt took place on my birthday. Much less like other nerdy conventions or even fan get-togethers, Supernatural Con is more similar to a 3 day rock concert with special celebrity guests on tour. This is both astounding and an enriching experience for any seasoned fan of the show, but be warned that it is one of the more costly fan expos I’ll ever attend.
I told every vendor that it was my birthday, and once I had shown proof, they even gave me discounts, and I participated in or volunteered for anything available, which also garnered me free stuff. I participated in a trivia contest with two other fans chosen from the audience (we did not win, despite best efforts. It was really hard), and I was one of maybe 100 people dressed as some version of the character Castiel, the rebel angel and sometimes ally/ assumed love interest/ big bad friend of the two main men on the show. 
I didn’t place in the costume contest either, though I felt really handsome in my long coat and disheveled necktie. (the zombie image from the classic horror movie t shirt I pulled just because in any nerd costume contest you can count on at least one zombie) The competition was steep and diverse, and the guy who won had made full sized black angel wings with pneumatic strings that allowed him to invisibly puppeteer them up and down.
Supernatural Convention Part 3
“King of Hell or President of the United States?”
There were also plenty of funny and hectic moments with both Collins and Sheppard, separately and together, not to mention the numerous other panelists and guests that took the stage that Saturday. I enjoyed hearing long lines of fans during Q&A’s ask the same 4-5 questions (reworded very slightly) to each guest in turn: “What was your most awkward moment?” “What’s your favorite episode?” “What’s your acting process?” “Who’s your celebrity crush?” “Can I have a hug?” And so on. Every once in a great while a really good fan question would come up, like someone asking Mark Sheppard, “Which did you like more: Being on Supernatural or being on Doctor Who?”
“I’m not going to answer that,” Mark said, instantly turning into the lovable raspy-voiced jerk he’s most known for portraying in fiction. He’s quite British, you see, so his preferences need not be stated. (Doctor Who t shirt selected with love from our Funny t shirt category because it’s pretty damn funny.) Everyone did their own impersonation of Sheppard at some point, usually just by saying the word “No”, or, occasionally the word “Cardio” for some reason.
Supernatural Convention Part 4
“What was your most Awkward moment?”
Misha when imitating Mark talked about their dynamic both on the show and in real life.
“He’s usually the one who always says “No” so I kinda became the guy who always says “Yes” somehow. It was like, at fan meet and greets, people would be sneaky and grope my ass and I was just like, okay, whatever. Or in pictures with fans they’ll always come up with these props and ask me to be silly, which I love.”
“”Misha, eat this banana in the picture with me!” “Misha, wear this octopus on your head!” “Misha, can I lick your stomach?” “Yeah!””
He paused and made a face to indicate his sudden realization that he’d made a terrible mistake and then, “Eep!”
So, apparently, according to Misha Collins himself, all actors are just really expensive whores and if you ask him to do pretty much anything at one of these conventions, he feels obliged to say yes. You’re welcome! (“Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!” Firefly Tshirt because it was certainly sudden and inevitable.) And yes, that totally happened: a fan actually licked his stomach at some point during a photo op. That was his most awkward moment.
