Fan A to Z Challenge
H.) How has your attitude to RA changed over your time as a fan?
I remember loving his eyes from the get go, not just the color but the way he uses them in his acting. Thorin’s eyes are what really drew me to him. that, and his voice. I loved the low, commanding sound of Thorin’s voice, how it combined wisdom and compassion and came out husky but silky? I don’t know how else to describe it. I liked how Richard looked with a beard and how he seemed so well informed in interviews during The Hobbit era. his younger self was more lighthearted but more awkward as well, so although I loved his dorkiness, I preferred the ‘older’ version. I never really liked him clean shaven. it makes his face seem full of sharp edges.
I loved The Crucible- so full of passion and heart wrenching moral dilemmas. and big dusty boots! I enjoyed Hannibal too, even though it was very dark and the red dragon visited me in my nightly dreams in a way that was both terrifying and exhilarating. Richard looked really good as Francis Dolarhyde, like a sculpture of the male form. I didn’t like how his clothing style switched to a younger look during that time. I don’t mind it now but then, it just seemed like too much of a change too quickly. I wanted to like Berlin Station. I wanted to. Daniel didn’t pull me in that first season, and I really needed him to.
The past two years have been rough on me, both mentally and physically. my grandfather’s death brought about changes in my extended family that have been rocky to traverse. then I suddenly became ill with stomach issues that took awhile to diagnose, the solution of which brought about something that was worse than the original ailment! I’m right as rain now (knock on wood) but at the time I needed a distraction, something I could lose myself in to forget all my woes for awhile. I needed someone with a sunny disposition and Richard, bless him, is not that person. I was lured away by another pair of pale blue eyes, someone who checked off those missing boxes of wedding ring and family man as well. in the end, all of that was the impetus, not twitter. twitter is just easier to blame.
Overall, I still admire Richard as an actor. I still respect him as a person. I still enjoy him in interviews. he may not be my main focus anymore but he’s still in focus. and that’s still a good place to be.
Nowhere in Particular RA 
I wonder whether it is always like that: the initial overenthusiastic rush of having discovered someone new, almost falling in love with them. Then the gradual “getting to know them” – which includes the things we do not like. And then the shine wearing off – until someone else comes along…? The shine has a few cracks for me, too, I’m just too stubborn to give up…
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with me, it’s usually a gradual fading, until I acknowledge that I’m craving something different. which, by that time, I most likely have my eye on someone specific, someone who possesses something the current crush is lacking. one of these days I’ll finally find someone who holds my interest long-term b/c he’s a perfect fit, or I just give up caring. either, or.
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I haven’t lost my enthusiasm for RA – but then I’ m usually in these things for the long haul. (My crushes on rock stars could last over a decade, and if my desire could survive finding out what dicks most of them were, RA has nothing to worry about).
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I think Twitter amplifies certain things (both the original statement, and then the response), and of course we were exposed to stuff that we might not like, but I think if you wanted someone with a sunny disposition, you are correct that Armitage was not a great candidate. He has sunny moments, I think, and he often decides to be sunny, but I don’t think that’s his baseline mood. (Cf. I think he can be very intense and I love that — but I think he probably has a very eclectic way of thinking that conflicts with my need for logic.)
I don’t have that initial breathlessness about him anymore but I am still extremely addicted (as the last six weeks have shown).
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I love Richard’s intensity too, but just like with Christian Bale, that doesn’t seem to be able to sustain me. this is what was really good about me writing those ‘Yours in Armitage’ posts, b/c I didn’t understand what I liked or was craving until I removed my ‘swooning’ from the equation and looked at it all a bit more objectively. when I reread those posts now, I see all the connections between what I was lacking then, and thus what I was drawn to in someone else. ‘over analyzing’, for the win!
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I love “over analysis,” I get a lot from it, and I really enjoyed reading those posts.
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