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whitedarkmoonflower · 2 months ago

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Paris, Pyramids, and Werewolves: Eacon4 Friday evening

Just like last time, I went to the convention with my friend. She still hasn’t watched The Last Kingdom all the way through (don’t ask), but she loved the event last year. Plus, we don’t get much time to see each other, so when I asked her to come along again, she was immediately on board.

We were late. Again. Honestly, Paris traffic is like a personal vendetta against me. I hate it, and I’m pretty sure the feeling is mutual. Somehow, though, we made it—just barely. We grabbed our tickets with about five minutes to spare, bolted upstairs to our room, and I slapped on some makeup like my life depended on it. Quick mirror check, and then we dashed back down for the cocktail party.

We stumbled into the room, still catching our breath, and were promptly shepherded to the last free table. No time for drinks, no chance to collect ourselves—just, “Here’s your spot, good luck!” There were only three of us at the table: me, my friend, and a lady we’d just met. And before we could even blink, the actors arrived, and Jeppe was suddenly at our table.

Let me tell you, Jeppe was a total vibe from the start. He casually mentioned that he’d spent the day exploring Paris and—get this—managed to find a restaurant that served food before 8 p.m. A legit Parisian miracle! We laughed, totally impressed, because, let’s be real, finding a decent early dinner in Paris is like spotting a unicorn.

Then, out of nowhere, he pulled out a box of chocolates. Yes, chocolates. He told us they were from his home country and boldly claimed they were the best milk chocolates ever. They were these cute little chocolate hearts, and we, of course, thanked him and graciously accepted.

Now, here’s the thing: Latvians are fiercely proud of their chocolate. Like, fiercely. We’re convinced it’s the best in the world, and we’ll die on that hill. My friend and I exchanged knowing looks, silently agreeing that poor Jeppe clearly hadn’t experienced Laima yet—our pride and joy, named after the Latvian goddess of happiness. But this was not the time or place for a chocolate debate, so we kept our opinions to ourselves, smiled politely, and thought, You don’t know what you’re missing, Jeppe.

Jeppe asked where we were from, and, as expected, the moment I said Latvia, his immediate reaction was, “Oh, like Arnas?” I couldn’t help but laugh—I’m so used to people mixing up Latvia and Lithuania that it didn’t even faze me. “Nope, not Lithuania. Latvia. Close, though. We’re neighbors!” I explained, and Jeppe was so sweet about it.

He also mentioned that he’s currently performing in Jesus Christ Superstar, which immediately had us all going, “WOW!” because, seriously, how cool is that? But before we could dive deeper into that conversation, his time with us was up, and it was Cavan’s turn.

Now, Cavan came over with this sweet, slightly nervous vibe, like he wasn’t quite sure where to start. Naturally, we ended up talking about Paris again (it was clearly the theme of the day). He mentioned that he’d been trailing Toby around because, apparently, Toby knows all the best spots. One of their stops was the Musée de l'Orangerie, and Cavan was absolutely mesmerized by Monet’s Nymphéas. The way he described it, you could tell it left a real impression on him—he was genuinely moved.

And then Toby arrived, and let me just say—I was not ready. This man is royalty personified. Everything about him, from the way he stands to the way he moves, just oozes regal elegance. And the voice. Oh. My. God. That voice. It’s like dark velvet and warm honey had a love child—rich, smooth, a little mysterious, but still soft and inviting. Honestly, words don’t do it justice. And the way he speaks? It’s like he’s performing Shakespeare by candlelight, even if he’s just answering a question about breakfast.

We asked what he’s working on, and he told us about a new series he’s filming, set to release next year. It’s about an aristocratic family in England during World War II, centered on the Mitford sisters. He was so excited as he talked about the story, the complex lives of the characters, and especially one of the sisters who ended together with England’s most infamous fascist, Sir Oswald Mosley. You could tell he was genuinely invested in the project, and it was impossible not to share his enthusiasm.

I’d love to say I remember everything Toby said, but honestly? I was completely hypnotized by his voice. He could’ve been reciting a grocery list, and I’d still have been standing there, utterly transfixed. No exaggeration—I could listen to him talk forever.

Then came Jacob, and wow, what a difference a year makes! Gone was the shy, uncertain vibe he had last time. He’s grown so much, and you can tell he’s been working on himself—his voice, his stance, everything about him radiated confidence. He walked in like he owned the place, and honestly, it was so great to see.

Naturally, our chat turned towards Seven Kings Must Die and his role in it. Jacob shared that when he first got the part, he’d actually broken his leg. So, while stuck at home, he had nothing to do but dive headfirst into The Last Kingdom world—reading the script and binge-watching the show, immersing himself completely in that world.

He laughed as he told us how he was initially informed that his character, Osbert, was brand new, so he didn’t expect to find any reference to him. Then, while filming had already started, Jacob finally made it to Season 5—and bam! There’s Osbert, walking on the shore with Hild. Except… that Osbert looked nothing like Jacob and even had a completely different accent.

Jacob, being the perfectionist that he is, decided he needed to match that one-line accent for authenticity. Can you imagine? I mean, if someone tortured me, I couldn’t tell you what accent that Osbert had. The level of dedication is both hilarious and impressive, and we all had a good laugh about it.

Next up was Timothy, and again—what a transformation! I still remember how shy and unsure he seemed last time. But this time? Total 180. He was confident, cracking jokes, and he was actually the one asking us questions like how we got into watching The Last Kingdom and whether we’d watched it together. The vibe was so fun and relaxed, and it was clear he felt much more comfortable in his own skin.

Next up was Eliza, and oh my gosh—what a whirlwind of energy and charisma! The moment she arrived, we were all immediately hugged—or more accurately, squeezed—while she bubbled over with excitement about seeing everyone again. She kept gushing about how gorgeous we all looked, which, let’s be honest, made us feel amazing.

We congratulated her on her baby, and naturally, the conversation shifted to kids. She told us her little girl was staying with her at the hotel because she wanted her Last Kingdom family to meet her too. Apparently, she barely got any sleep the night before because the baby had kept her up, but you’d never know—Eliza was absolutely glowing. She raved about how gorgeous her baby was and how thrilled she was to be a mom. Then, with her signature humor, she laughed about how playing Aelswith had given her a crash course in motherhood—and even grandmotherhood—so now she’s just putting all that “acting experience” into real-life practice.

You could practically feel the love and pride radiating off her. We joked about how this phase of parenting is actually the easy part, and how traveling with a toddler is a whole different beast. I even shared a story about how, when my son was two, he decided a shopping mall was the perfect place to play hide-and-seek with me. I thought I’d lost him, but nope—he was just testing my heart health. Eliza cracked up and totally got it.

Then it was Mark’s turn, and I almost didn’t recognize him without the beard! By this point, my head was spinning—from the excitement, the endless conversations, and, let’s be real, the champagne. I hadn’t eaten a thing because, honestly, who wants to risk being mid-bite while chatting with actors? So the mini sandwiches on our table just sat there, silently judging me.

Mark started off asking about holiday plans, which, of course, led to him sharing his own. He’s heading to Egypt for a Nile cruise, and let me tell you, he was clearly excited about it. He asked if anyone at the table had been to Egypt, and as luck would have it, my friend and I had just been talking about it. She’s dreaming of a trip there, and I visited about 20 years ago.

I told him honestly that the pyramids hadn’t left much of an impression on me back then, and I explained why. The route to get there took us through a very poor part of Cairo, where people were literally living in cardboard boxes. Seeing that level of poverty made it hard for me to fully appreciate the grandeur of the pyramids.

I can’t remember the exact order of the guests after that, but Micky was just the sweetest. Seriously, so lovely. We asked him what he’s up to these days and if he has any new projects. He almost looked apologetic when he said he’s not acting anymore but is now teaching acting. Of course, we were like, “WOW, that sounds amazing!” He seemed genuinely happy to hear that and told us a bit about his work as an acting coach. He was super interested in us too—asking where we’re from, what we do, and just being all-around delightful.

And then there was Magnus. I think I might have fallen a little bit in love. He was so easygoing and natural, like he’d just wandered in from a chill pub night. The first thing he noticed? Our glasses were nearly empty. Without missing a beat, he grabbed a bottle and refilled them for us. Naturally, we toasted together, and he laughed, calling this whole setup “speed dating,” encouraging us to fire away with questions.

Except… he didn’t really let us. Turns out he wanted to do all the asking. He wanted to know where we’re from, what we do, and of course, the classic: our favorite Last Kingdom scenes and characters. My friend admitted her favorite was Erik, which he was very pleased to hear. You can probably guess mine, and the other lady at our table admitted to being a Finan fan. Magnus just laughed and said he didn’t expect anyone to name Cnut anyway. His humor and warmth made the whole interaction feel so effortless and fun.

And last but not least Arnas. I have to say, he looked pretty tired. It was such a contrast to last time when he practically stormed over to our table, champagne glass in hand, hugging everyone, making toasts, talking and laughing non stop. Back then, he was like an overexcited puppy, especially when he found out there were Latvians at the table. I still remember how he confessed he’d never been to Latvia, even though we’re neighboring countries. My hands were shaking so much while trying to clink glasses with him that I almost missed.

This time was completely different. He was calm, no big excitement, just low-key and collected. I wasn’t sure if he’d even remember me. Our interactions last year were so sweet, but let’s be honest—he meets a lot of people, and it had been a whole year.

But then he walked up, greeted us, and suddenly said, “Oh, Līga!”

I swear, I just stood there grinning like an idiot.

Arnas: “You gave me that dragon book of yours to sign last time, right?”

Me (finally finding my voice): “Wow, you remember!”

Arnas: “Of course I do!”

He then turned to my friend but looked confused when he didn’t recognize her. She didn’t interact with him last time because she was too busy fangirling over Cristian. We told him how sad we were that this convention is supposed to be the last one in Paris, and then shared our “secret” plan: a 10-year reunion in Bebbanburg.

Arnas pretended to be surprised about the idea of a 10-year anniversary. We quickly declared that Alex would definitely be invited to the party, and the conversation shifted to Alex, who’s avoiding conventions. That’s when Arnas lit up as he suddenly remembered Alex’s grandmother, who had once even visited the set.

He started swooning over how she was the most lovely and charming lady he’d ever met and that he wants to be like her when he’s older. He said something like he would want to have those genes, to which my friend, without missing a beat, suggested the only way to ensure those genes would be to marry Alex and pass them on to their kids. Arnas paused, and then agreed it was a solid plan. We all burst out laughing—it was pure chaos, and it started to feel like the playful energy from last time. You could see Arnas lighten up a little.

Finally, I mustered up the courage to ask him the question that had been bugging me: “So, are you playing a villain in Mutiny?” I admitted right away that I know he probably won’t tell this to me anyway, but I just had to ask.

As expected, he didn’t spill a thing. Instead, he just smiled mysteriously and said, “Oh, you’ll see.”

And just like that, it was over. The group pictures were next, and before I knew it, Eliza had pulled me into another hug and dragged me to her side, yelling, “We’re doing hearts!” So naturally, we all did hearts. It was chaotic and hilarious, as usual with her.

By this point, I was feeling pretty dizzy from all the excitement and conversations—and mildly panicking about the werewolf game. The night before, I had won a ticket to Jacob’s team for my friend, and as the sweetest birthday surprise, she had gifted me a ticket for Arnas, Jeppe, and Cavan’s team. No pressure, right?

After a bit of queuing, we took our seats in a circle set up for the game. Our team was small—just me and four other ladies. Arnas arrived first and immediately announced, “You’re all doomed, you’re going to lose because I’m the werewolf, and I’m getting you all!” We laughed, and I shot back, “That’s not up to you—it depends on the role you get.” He grinned, and to my absolute shock (and slight terror), he chose the seat right next to me, making my heart jump straight into my throat.

Cavan and Jeppe hadn’t arrived yet, and while I was busy internally spiraling—trying to convince myself to stay calm and mentally cursing every goddess of fate for making me say something that probably prompted him to sit next to me—Arnas turned to me and casually asked, “So, what’s your absolute dream book to translate?” I have so much respect for Arnas for genuinely paying attention and remembering the people he meets. Not only did he remember my name, but he also remembered the book I gave him to sign and that I had translated it. Honestly, how does he even do that?

I told him I’m currently looking for a publisher for a beautiful German book for teenagers. I explained how there aren’t enough good books for kids and teens in Latvian, and the few publishers out there tend to focus on profits, which makes it hard to pitch books for a smaller audience. He wished me good luck, which was so sweet, and just as I was about to get emotional, I was saved by the bell—or more accurately, by Jeppe and Cavan arriving and the Nevastalgia girls jumping in to explain the rules of the werewolf game.

In the first round, I got the role of Cupid. My job? Pair up two players as a “couple,” meaning if one dies, the other does too. Naturally, I paired Jeppe and Arnas. Little did I know how lucky that choice would turn out to be. It turns out Jeppe was the Witch, and on the first night, the werewolves (of course) targeted Arnas. Jeppe had to use his healing powers to save Arnas, which kept both of them in the game. Talk about a power couple!

I love this game and tried my best to focus, but my concentration took a hit when Arnas casually placed his arm on the back of my chair. Seriously, how is one supposed to concentrate when that happens? To my surprise, the other ladies on the team were very quiet, so it was mostly me, Jeppe, and Arnas arguing and accusing each other of being werewolves. Jeppe, by the way, was absolutely thriving. He bickered with Arnas the entire time in classic Haesten style, teasing him non-stop. Cavan was a bit reserved at first but got more into the game as it went on.

Unfortunately, both games ended the same way—with one villager and one werewolf left alive, meaning the werewolves won. Poor Arnas didn’t even get to play as a werewolf either time and was eliminated super early both rounds. The final moments of the last game were intense. I knew the other lady was the werewolf and tried to convince Cavan and Jeppe, but while Jeppe believed me, Cavan didn’t. So we lost again.

But honestly? It didn’t even matter. The whole thing was hilarious. The banter, the accusations, and Jeppe’s jokes had me laughing so much that by the second round, I completely forgot about Arnas sitting next to me and finally just enjoyed the game and all the ridiculous fun that came with it.

#eacon4

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