Asylum 7: Misha Coffee Lounge Saturday Afternoon

[gwaevalarin]

The coffee lounge started with Misha coming in and shouting "Quiet!" He looked very pleased when we really did all go quiet.
New life goal: Once, just once, do not do what Misha tells you to do.
After a while someone asked him if we were allowed to talk again now. It seems we were, and we talked about quite a few things.

rinnus was sitting right next to him, and he had her question written on a piece of paper. Welcome to things Misha just can't resist. He took the note from her saying "She has a whole list of questions."
rinnus told him it was only one, and he decided that meant that it was the longest question ever, and then he went to try and decipher her handwriting with the girl sitting to his right. He couldn't, so he finally asked rinnus to ask her question.
She wanted to know whether it was intentional that the intonation of Leviathan's "We are going to have so much fun" was exactly the same as Alaistair's "How will we pass the time." Misha figured out that it was a iambic hexameter(?) which apparently is generally used by Leviathan, Alaistair and Shakespeare.

No one really said anything, so I asked Misha that as far as we know angels are genderless and if he thinks that after three years in a male vessel Castiel sees himself as male.
Apparently Misha has thought quite a bit about the topic. He talked about how the mythology didn't really seem to be very consistent on the gender of angels question, because (to him) they each seemed to prefer a gender, but then came Raphael and just changed his, and long story short: Misha thinks angels DO have a gender, but they can still choose vessels of both sexes. Apparently I didn't look very convinced because he asked me if that didn't make sense, and I told him that I didn't know but his theory could work.

Somehow we ended up talking quite a lot about the situation with Castiel, and even the current state of fandom - yeah, not sure how that happened either.
Misha did not know about the spoilerTV character competition so when he told him that Castiel won, and beat Dean in the semi-finale he thanked us and told us this was very good for his ego.
He was equally (jokingly) happy about the drop in ratings, but when he heard the actual numbers he thought that it wasn't unusual, because the ratings almost always drop from the season premier to subsequent episodes.

Misha knows about the Save Castiel campaign and remembers getting the book (though I think that was from Letters to Castiel, wasn't it?)

At the beginning of season 6 Misha was in the area, so he called the writers to meet up for lunch and that's where they told him that they were planning to kill him off at the end of the season. Sera said something about how great the season was going to be but how he would be dead at the end.

Misha on Sera Gamble: "She is evil. I'm just kidding"
rinnus: "She's a bitch."
Misha started laughing. He didn't contradict her.

We also talked about how Sera doesn't really seem to see Castiel as a character. Misha agreed with that and started to explain about how she sees him but couldn't find the right words. To me it seemed that he was going into the general direction of she sees him as a plot twist.

Misha: "I kinda got attached to the character."
seriesjunkie23 and I, at the same time: "Yeah, so did we."

Misha has nothing coming up, it is all "very bleak and depressing."

Misha told is that someone had given him something like and embroidered portrayed of himself as a gift, and apparently it took that person like 1 1/2 years to make it. Misha is not entirely sure what to do with it because he thinks it's kind of weird to put up a picture of himself in his house.

The Rhino Hunt came up and Misha told us that he has had tea with quite a few people of the winning team by now, and that only one person has opted for the money. He wasn't sure about the exact amount any more but noted that it was quite an expensive cup of tea everyone else was having with him.

Misha on Gishwhes when he realised how soon it is: "So much to do in so little time. I have a feeling that it's going to fall apart."
He believes that we will make the Guinness Book of World Records and told us that this was a childhood dream of his.

Someone asked Misha to tell us stories about West.
Misha told us that West's first word was "dog" because his grandmother(?) has given him a picture of a dog, and West doesn't seem to understand how that dog made it on that two-dimensional picture but he thinks it's very exciting.
He also loves a little rhino Misha got as a gift and has in his office. West always asks to have it and then throws it on the floor.

I'm afraid that's everything I remember.

ETA: Misha also said that he knows that Sera keeps talking about bringing him back to the show, but he still hasn't heard anything from them.
Someone asked him to promise he'd continue coming to conventions at least, and he said "You too" to all of us. ♥

I tried recall everything as objectively as possible, but particularly with the parts about Castiel there is obviously a bit of interpretation on my part. Please be aware of that.

Comments

[mfluder42.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the lovely report! Very cool about letting him know about the competition... surprised he said he didn't know about it, because he actually responded it to it in a tweet, which the SpoilerTV people posted on their site. (You can see it here: http://www.spoilertv.com/2011/10/2011-stv-character-competition-winner.html ) I'm guessing he forgot. :-)

Cool he knows about the Save Castiel thing... and yeah, the letters thing, while kicked off around the same time and promoted across both endeavours, was a different project. :-)

Someone opted for the money instead of tea with him?? Srsly?! *g*

Not that I drink tea, but I know what I'd choose. :-)

If I could make a very gentle suggestion... would it not be an idea maybe to not mention the wedding stories told if you can't/don't want to share? Some might take it badly that you've mentioned a story Misha told, but won't give the detail... could be perceived as an inadvertent 'tease' (for want of a better word! :-) )

And given he shared about the bed making and ring onstage, some might not understand it. (To be honest, my experience has been very few guests go to these things expecting total privacy, not with so many people in the room... which is why usually reports from the M&Gs do end up online :-)). Just a thought. Didn't want you to get any flack. :-)

Again, thanks so much for sharing your report, and your photos!

I'm planning on getting to Asylum 8 next year, so looking forward to what seems to be a good convention. :-)

[gwaevalarin.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah, I remember that tweet. I guess he just forgot about the competition then.

I have no idea how anyone could op for the money. Or well, maybe it was someone who knows that they'll never go to a convention and therefore will never meet Misha to have the tea with him?

Thanks for the suggestion. I didn't think about that at all. Changed it.
The thing about these stories - just to explain why I don't want to share them - is that they weren't really about him but some of the guests.

Well, Asylum conventions can be very frustrating because nothing ever goes to plan, and you find yourself running around trying to find someone who knows what's going on. But yeah, in the end everything works out and then they are a lot of fun. I'm sure A8 will be great too.

[mfluder42.livejournal.com]

Well, to be fair, there have been a shite load of polls this year, and his name/Castiel's name have been in quite a few so not surprising he didn't remember.

True, didn't think about the logistics of not being able to meet him. Still, surely some other option? A personalised auto? I know I'd just feel bad taking the money when it was all mostly for fun. :-)

You're welcome re: the suggestion. I was a bit worried I didn't word it right. :-)

And understood re: reluctance to share... but if I can be so bold, I'd only suggest again that really, if it wasn't something to be shared, I doubt he would have said anything. Of all the actors I've seen at conventions, this is one pretty savvy dude. And I know from the experience of working with the actor who's website I manage, they really don't often share with fans those stories they can't tell, that would do anybody any harm... certainly those like Misha who have done so many events and is pretty in tune to the online fandom wouldn't. :-) But down to you of course. :-)

Yes, I've heard the events are pretty mad, but to be honest, of cons I've been to, and those I've been involved with running, I've yet to see the perfectly run convention. At some point or other, something is always askew, mad, nuts, disorganised and - worse case - chaotic. It's just the degree that makes a difference. *g*

Hopefully you didn't experience any con-crud or post-con blues? I always find myself sighing afterwards, the thought of going back to real life. *g*

Thanks again for aweseome reporting! :-)

*hugs*

[gwaevalarin.livejournal.com]

No, no, you worded it perfectly. I feel a little stupid now for not thinking about how it may have come across right away. I'll just blame the lack of sleep.

So far I've been fighting the con blues by keeping myself busy. Uploading pictures, looking for other people's reports and videos, catching up on shows - I have to admit, I still haven't even seen the latest episode.

It's still some time until then but: Have fun at A8. *hugs back*

[rinnus.livejournal.com]

Excellent report!
You seem to have an eidetic memory^^
The whole experience was awesome!!

[gwaevalarin.livejournal.com]

It was one of the best, if not the best, coffee lounge I've been to so far.

[littlehollyleaf.livejournal.com]

That's really interesting about how Sera sees Castiel as maybe not so much a character but as a plot device, that didn't come up in our coffee lounge.

Ack, Sera, I don't know what to think about you!

:(

[gwaevalarin.livejournal.com]

I really don't know what to think either, but I am very sure now that we're not just overreacting when we are worried about how this is all going. Misha made it pretty clear this weekend that he doesn't like the way Castiel left any more than we did, and that they are not just all in on some secret little plan to surprise us all with his return.

[littlehollyleaf.livejournal.com]

they are not just all in on some secret little plan to surprise us all with his return

This is what I was holding on to - that what happened in Hello, Cruel World was a narrative set up for a Castiel storyline that was going to be explored later in the season.

If it was though, they would have told Misha, right? And he would have been all cagey and 'I know something you don't know' at cons. Not flat out 'as far as I know Cas isn't coming back.'

Which sucks not just for Cas but for the writing this season, because if Cas' exit really WAS an exit and not leading up to something - crappy freaking writing! What a pathetic way to write out a character with so much about them left hanging.

*sigh*

We'll just have to see how it goes I guess...

[gwaevalarin.livejournal.com]

I'm convinced that Misha really doesn't know anything. Of course he wouldn't tell us if he did, but like you say, he'd be more cagey and 'maybe I will be back, maybe I won't, who knows'

But, yeah, there is nothing we can do, so we can just wait and see, and hope that Sera didn't lie to us when she said that Misha will be back. And that he will be back as Castiel.

[zatnikatel.livejournal.com]

they are not just all in on some secret little plan to surprise us all with his return

That really saddens me, because I had been sorta clinging onto that hope, and planning to pick the show up again when he returned. And yeah, I sorta resent being given huge hints he will be back when it looks like there still isn't a concrete plan for his return, especially since a lot of fans must be hanging on precisely for that. Sigh. I guess I'll cling onto whatever shreds of hope are left, but that's really disappointing.

:-(

[gwaevalarin.livejournal.com]

I think that is what annoys me most, that they keep hinting stuff, and promising things like Dean will mourn Castiel, and Misha will definitely be back, and I never see anything on the show.
In the end it's their show and they can take the storyline wherever they want - but then they shouldn't be surprised when people complain and the ratings drop - but pretty much lying to their fans, that's just disrespectful and not acceptable.

I won't give up hope until the show has aired its very last episode, but it's frustrating right now.

[galain-7.livejournal.com]

found this by chance but I'm so happy I did.

Sounds like you had a great time! Thanks for sharing!

By any chance, did he say anything specific about the rhino West plays with? Color, material? I think it might (stressing MIGHT) be something my friend sent him)

[gwaevalarin.livejournal.com]

I vaguely recall that Misha said he wasn't entirely sure what that rhino was and that it might be a rhino shot glass or something? It didn't make much sense to me, so I'm not entirely sure what he said exactly.

You are very welcome. It was a pretty great coffee lounge.

[galain-7.livejournal.com]

Cool!

Thanks for the reply.

[oywidapoodles.livejournal.com]

He talked about how the mythology didn't really seem to be very consistent on the gender of angels question, because (to him) they each seemed to prefer a gender, but then came Raphael and just changed his, and long story short: Misha thinks angels DO have a gender, but they can still choose vessels of both sexes.

Interesting! I love that he's thought about it.

Thanks for sharing!

[gwaevalarin.livejournal.com]

I was honestly surprised that he had such an elaborate answer to that question. I think it's pretty great that he does.

[timey-wimey-kid.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the awesome report. I'm so jelly, this seems like the best of the CLs, although I liked mine (Sunday morning).
I love how Misha is just as emotional about Cas as us. And doesn't really like Sera. Fuck yeah.

[gwaevalarin.livejournal.com]

I love how Misha is just as emotional about Cas as us.
Me too, but it also makes me sad to see that he seems upset about it just like we are.

[fieryboots.livejournal.com]

It just made my day to read this! Thanks for posting; always awesome to hear more Misha stories :D Love the questions that he was asked too; I like it when you hear questions other than the ones people ask a million times over :)

[gwaevalarin.livejournal.com]

Glad you liked it!

[quillswift.livejournal.com]

Thanks for sharing this :) And also particularly for bringing up:

We also talked about how Sera doesn't really seem to see Castiel as a character. Misha agreed with that and started to explain about how she sees him but couldn't find the right words. To me it seemed that he was going into the general direction of she sees him as a plot twist.

It's good to know (well, not 'good' really, but you know what I mean ;)) that Misha agrees. It's really become apparent just how much of Castiel's depth is owed to Misha's portrayal, especially how sympathetic he was in S6 given that it must have been the last thing on Sera's mind.

It really is a shame that they wouldn't capitalise on this character - everything was there for the taking. Castiel, the biggest thing I'll be taking away from the show, was a blessed half-accident. Sigh.

[gwaevalarin.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean.
I can't know for sure if that really was what he was going for, but considering what we had just talked about and the general mood I certainly was under the impression that this is what he was trying to say.

And yeah, it is a shame. I still cannot believe that they just threw this all away.