After getting my photo with Neil, my legs and hands still shaking, we headed towards the main stage, which was only a few steps away, as we knew that the Baldur's Gate 3/Expedition 33: Claire Obscure panel was coming up next. We sat down to the side, but still had a pretty good view of the stage.

I was able to catch a bit of the previous actor's panel. Unfortunately, I can't remember his name, but I think he was in one (or more?) Marvel movie(s). I just love seeing how interested the fans are, what questions they ask, and how the person being interviewed responds. The last question asked of him was who his superheroes are, and his answer was: My parents.
Awww! That melted my heart a little. :3

I think my mom came back before the panel started because she had a photo booth appointment with Dominic Monaghan. She was so excited and beaming. XD
Giving her this photo was a damn good idea. ;D

And just a moment later, the trailers for BG3 and Expedition 33 started playing. When the panel started, Sarah quickly got in line to ask a question, while I sat in my seat and waited. I was lucky enough to see some of the Baldur's Gate 3 cast at a panel last year, but the fact that Neil was there this time... that was just special. I had never seen him live before, and when he came on stage... wow, that was a really great moment. The man has incredible charm and charisma. Everyone waved to the crowd, and Neil said something in Dutch that I didn't quite understand. But the crowd laughed and seemed to enjoy it, so I knew he had won everyone over right away. ;D

I would say that a good 85% of all fan questions went to the Baldur's Gate 3 team, and the people from Team Expedition 33 didn't get quite as many questions. But Neil and the others always included everyone in the team so that no one felt left out. There were two fans who came up to the front of the stage, but instead of asking questions, they gave gifts to Neil and Tim. I know that was a very kind gesture and both of them were very happy about it, but I felt sorry for the fans who wanted to ask a question and couldn't because the 30 minutes were up. That's what happened to Sarah and one other person, because if those two had left their gifts at the table, she and the other person would have been able to ask their questions.

Most of the questions were about working as a voice actor or which character people would like to play if it wasn't the one they had played before. Astarion was the clear winner. Pretty much everyone would want to play his role. ;D

There was also a question where the Bg3 team was asked which of their favorite songs they would compare to their character, and Neil's answer was that he doesn't reveal anything personal about himself. Nevertheless, he would choose “The Doors” ‘People are strange’, which made my old hippie heart beat faster. It seems like we have similar tastes in music... which may also be because we are the same age. ;D

The really funny thing was that Tim was then asked if it was really true that he used his daughter's closet to record himself speaking as Gale. His answer was that he had to say various spells, all in Latin, and he was sure that they weren't supposed to be pronounced that way. It was about the Italian accent, and he and Neil had made fun of the fact that Gale could have recited his Latin spells with an Italian accent. “It's a me, Gale.” XD
Tim then said that he was really standing in his daughter's closet, that it was one of the hottest summers of the Covid pandemic, and that he also had to vocalize different ways of dying, whereupon his four-year-old daughter stood in front of him with wide eyes and asked him if he was dying now. XD
He said that in the heat, he really felt like he was going to collapse at any moment because he was covered in sweat.
Neil then said that he had also recorded his lines at home, standing naked in the room, always making sure that his camera was only pointing at his face, and I thought to myself, omg, don't say that. Lol. THIS is personal. XD
But it seems at least that he and Tim did it like that. XDDD

One of the moments that was also very funny was when Tim said that he had visited the Efteling amusement park on Thursday and every Dutch visitor in the audience was thrilled. ;D
He said he had really enjoyed himself and that he loves how excited everyone in Holland gets when he says he visited Efteling.
Tim said the British are snobs and would probably just roll their eyes if you had something like that in England and were excited about it.
We're just way too cynical for that kind of thing. XDDD

It was just super funny and I absolutely adored how Neil and Tim acted together. The Panel was really great.
And yes, I took a lot of pictures! I'm sorry that my description of the panel itself is kinda poor and that I can't remember every question. My attention was mostly focused on just looking at Neil and Tim and enjoying the whole situation. Seeing Neil “in real life,” so to speak. ^^

If you want to see a few photos, just click on the link. <3

( The Panel )

It is the time for a new chapter, right? Sorry, that my upload took a little bit longer than usual. I hope you will enjoy it. And thank you so, so much for reading and commenting. ♥

( The Mistress of the Shadowland, Second Book, The next Chapter )

Sunday.
Our smartphones woke us up at 7:30 a.m., so we all got up on time. I quickly jumped in the shower, and since I knew there was no seat or handle to hold on to, I just got under the water, washed myself quickly, and was done in no time. The whole shower only took two minutes, but by then I was already at the end of my tether.
I had decided to wear my medieval dress and, unsurprisingly, the zipper broke when my mother tried to close it.
Somehow, I had the feeling that fate just didn't want this trip to go well or work out. Everything that could possibly go wrong did. We all got ready and ordered a taxi for 8:30 a.m., as we had an early access ticket that allowed us to enter the convention hall at 9 a.m.
The taxi driver was nice, but he had one problem. He didn't know where to drop us off.
Jaarbeus is a huge complex with numerous hotels, theaters, museums, and restaurants, and to be honest, you don't know where to go. O.O
It's probably easy for people who live in Utrecht, but not for someone who was there for the first time.
The taxi driver was so kind that he only charged us 13 euros and didn't charge us for the time he spent looking for a place to drop us off.
At some point, we all thought we were halfway there when we saw a lot of people walking past us. Always follow the crowd, right?

We paid the taxi driver, got out of the car, and were shocked by the freezing cold wind blowing.
I wished the entrance had been a little closer, as I have trouble walking, but there was nothing I could do about it. So we just followed the crowd until we reached the entrance.
I was filled with nervousness, fear, and such stress that, after the chaos with the hotel and our car breaking down, it just felt unbearable. We then joined the queue for the early access entrance. I was surprised that the hall was already open, as it wasn't even 9 a.m. yet. There were a few people ahead of us, but everything went quite quickly and without any further problems.

The nice thing was that right behind the entrance, you entered the main hall where the main stage, the photo booths, and the signing tables were located. We all walked back and forth, looked at everything, and then asked at the photo booth how the whole procedure worked. I was so incredibly nervous that I wanted to know everything, step by step, because if I know something like that, I can “work” with it and give myself the confidence/security I need.
I have to admit that I was already at the end of my tether, as I can't really walk “that much”. For everyone else, this isn't a problem or a real issue, but for me, unfortunately, it's not that easy. My mother and I sat down at a table, talked a little and watched the people, while Sarah walked around the hall a bit and looked around.
I sat there the whole time watching the photo booth to see how many people would line up. On the one hand, I didn't want to be the first one there, but at the same time I was afraid that something would happen again and I wouldn't be able to take the photo with Neil.

I was just so incredibly nervous and anxious after everything that hadn't gone so well.
It was just before 10 a.m. and Neil was scheduled to arrive at 10:15 a.m. Since there were already a few people in line, Sarah suggested that we join the queue. And at that moment, it was over for me. I was filled with fear, felt sick, and had unbearable stomach pains. But everyone around me was super nice and took care of me. My mother kept stroking my back, Sarah held my hand, and the young women from the convention asked me a few questions to see if I was okay and if I needed anything. To our right was the line for people who didn't have early access, and a young woman said to me and my mom that we looked great. Aaawww! :3

It was soon 10:15 a.m., but Neil took his time arriving. It was 10:35 when my mother and Sarah said at the same time, “Oh, Neil's here, we just saw him.”
Did I see him? Of course not, lol. XD
I thought it was pretty cool that suddenly music started playing, which was probably his idea.
And then the line started to move... O_O
And with every step, I felt more and more nauseous and the fear was just so intense. They asked me if I wanted to include the walker in the picture (no!) and then allowed my mother to come with me —also for emotional support— and take care of the walker while we took the picture.

The closer I got, the more anxious I became. The only thought I had was: Please, Anke, don't throw up on his shoes. Please.
Then I stepped around the corner and there he was. I kind of assumed he would be there because I had seen the photographer and the other fans, and everything happened so fast. It was as if I didn't dare to look at him. And suddenly he was standing in front of me and looking at me with this really sweet smile. I don't think I've ever felt as comfortable and welcome as I did in that moment. It was as if there was only me, as if this was a bubble in which I was safe, secure, and accepted. I then approached him very slowly and shyly with my walker and put it to one side.
He then said with that warm smile, “Hi, I'm Neil. What's your name?”
And he held out his hand to greet me, which I then took and shook.
I was still so anxious and uncertain that I almost whispered, “Hi. I'm Anke.”

At that moment, my mother came up behind us, took the walker and tried to walk past, but Neil quickly realized what was happening and took a step forward. He then leaned forward and greeted her with a “Hi.” I told him that she was my mom, and he replied, “I thought so.”
Neil then turned to my mom and asked her her name. I thought it was sweet to see her pause for a moment, as she wanted to answer him in perfect English.G
“My name is Christine and... I... I like you.”
I saw him smiling when he said, “Awww, thank you, Mami! (He called my mum Mami, squeee!!). Nice to meet you!"
Then he turned back to me and looked at me as if he wanted to ask me what my idea for the photo was.

I thought long and hard about what that would be, as I don't really feel comfortable in front of the camera. Yes, I sometimes take selfies, but they are always taken from a special angle so that I find myself halfway tolerable. I avoid looking directly into the camera and, above all, showing my entire body. I'm happy for anyone who can do that, but I have such problems showing myself. So I thought about it long time until I had an idea. So maybe we could just look at each other? And I wanted to ask him if that was okay with him, because... maybe it would be too personal or uncomfortable for him and I didn't want to upset him.

So he stood in front of me, looked at me questioningly, and I wanted to explain my idea to him. My words were: “Actually, I'm afraid to look into the camera...”
And at that moment, he took my hands in his and said, “Look at me.”
And I did. He was so smart, he reacted so quickly to my words, and that was exactly what I was looking for. I don't feel comfortable with staged photos, I don't have the confidence to show myself, I just wanted a picture that captured this moment.
The moment I had been waiting for so long.
And it seemed as if he understood immediately. The touch of his hands was so soft and the smile he gave me was so honest and warm. And then I thanked him several times and said goodbye again and again.

When the photo was printed, I heard young women saying over and over how cute it was and how good we both looked. :3
And then suddenly Sarah was standing next to me, who also had her photo with Neil. Since the next event was the panel with the Baldur's Gate 3 team and the people from Claire Obscure 33, we went straight to the main stage and found a place to sit. :3

( The Picture )