Here we go, passing the time until the crown prince comes home. Those of you who read me on Twitter may have been confused by my tweets this morning, from hospital, illustrated with Shanks.
Rather badly photographed – you can’t really read the Armitage Shanks logo. I only thought it was mention-worthy because I was surprised to see the logo on tapware. (Usually it appears on toilets and sinks.) Anyway, the reason I was in hospital, was that I was accompanying my son to a routine procedure that required general anaesthetics. I left him there at 1.30 pm, went home and tidied up his old room (my now craft room) for two hours. Yep, that tells you what state it was in… Anyway, I have just heard from the hospital that he is awake and resting in his room right now, before he will be picked up by a friend of his later on. – I have to admit I couldn’t really concentrate on much all afternoon, but now that I know he’s fine, I am ready to tackle today’s post. Fan A to Z – let’s take it to T:
T – What was the first thing you ever contributed to a fandom
The Armitage Army is my second fandom. My first one was… Keanu Reeves. Yeah, I know… sigh… But hey, I really have improved, don’t you think? But even though that was the first place where I encountered fan fiction, I never contributed anything to that fandom. I actually wasn’t active for that long. With Richard Armitage’s fandom, it was a different story. I actually blame the ladies on tumblr who drew me in, back in 2012. There were a lot of active fans over there who provided content on a regular basis. Stuff like this edit from gadomingo for instance or the quotes by recycledvinyl. Incidentally, it was not the *ooof* series of photo analyses that were my first contribution to the fandom. Instead I came up with what I called “stream coincidences” – basically the kind of coincidental placement of two posts close to each other – on a timeline or “the dash” as the personal feed of subscribed content is called on Tumblr, or in the archive view of a page. I took screenshots of it and posted it with comments. It wasn’t really that exciting tbh. Here are a couple:
So, there you have it… getting lost in the pithy details of early fandom…
Over the years I also dabbled in fan fiction (by way of a group effort on tumblr – which now appears to have been deleted *no loss*), fan books and edits. I think my best stuff was probably the whole *ooof* series of photo analyses. Until Mr Guylty came up with the Portable Shrine… But that’s a different story…
Anyway – that’s today’s blast from the past 😉 ‘Nuff said. I’m cooking curry now.
First another thing we have in common-I was a Keanu Reeves fan for a short time until physically it faded. He is an intense reader, a Virgo and quite smart. Acting wise he is John Wick to me! Second, I miss the oof series. I hope you go back to that very soon. Third, glad your son is doing well (this should have been first but I’ll say I buried the lead) and Fourth, you do so much to contribute to this corner of the fandom there aren’t enough superlatives to say. I ran out of alliterations this morning!! Terrific to tell timely tales today thank you!!!
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Keanu was my teen crush when I was a teen 😀
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He was my crush from 2016-17. He is only 3 years older than me and not on social media too!!! He’s actually quite reserved like Richard.
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My crush on Keanu started with My Own Private Idaho – and lasted all through the years, although I was never organised as a fan. And then Richard appeared, and it was bye-bye Keanu…
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I wouldn’t call myself a fan, but I loved The Matrix when it came out. My pencil case declared in big black letters :
BLACK
WEAPONS
and KUNG-FU
I wonder if it’s still floating around somewhere… 🤔
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I actually came to The Matrix years later – because I was neither into Martial Arts nor Sci-Fi. But I have to say that The Matrix was actually fantastic – in many ways.
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The Matrix Reloaded which was the second movie in the trilogy was the best b/c it was a love story of Neo and Trinity which I love love stories and happy endings 😘😘❤️❤️❤️
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Hehe, great – another Keanu appreciater. Actually, I do think it makes sense that we are both into Armitage and used to have a crush on Keanu. They have a good few things in common: both very private, not particularly social in the Hollywood/celeb scene, quiet and reserved, yet with integrity and kind in their general relationship within the industry and with fans. I still have a soft spot for Keanu – just a few days ago I watched his latest film “Destination Wedding” – and I have to say it was actually surprisingly good. Very cynical, almost like a two-person stage play.
Anyway, I don’t think that Keanu can hold a candle to Richard. But I fondly look back on being his fan – and experiencing a fandom for the first time because of him.
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They do have much in common, that’s a good point. I can attest from personal experience that not only is Keanu tall, dark and handsome (probably only half an inch shorter than RA), he is hands-down the most polite and considerate celebrity I’ve ever met. He’s sweet, very smart and adorkably goofy, just like our beautiful man. Plus they are both devoted to their families. Sigh…getting a tad nostalgic here myself. Argh! Back to work!
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That’s exactly the impression I had of him – and I have never seen him from close-up ;-). And I have to admit, I am also quite touched by the fact that he has had a good bit of tragedy in his life, yet seems to still be a nice, kind, normal guy…
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I’ve read he’s really gracious w fans. He’s got a publishing company now he started in 2017 mainly artistic books and photography plus his own motorcycle business
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Oh, really? Photography? Must check that out.
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LoLo I have to ask where did you meet him? I have his Shadows book which if I ever had the courage to meet him I would have him sign. He’s supposedly very shy.
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I met him the first time at a museum. And several other places later… Hehehe, that’s your teaser for now!
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As always LoLo you want me to want more and more !! Details!!
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They have much in common except SM which Keanu like me won’t do and Richard bless his heart shouldn’t be doing. I have seen Destination Wedding twice on Demand and Amazon prime. I liked it better the second time. I like the writing and he works off of Winona Ryder’s vibes. He can say a lot physically like in Constantine which is a great movie!! He’s no Richard and I don’t like long hair but he rocks a beard quite well!
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Tbh, I really respect him for resisting SM. I’m glad he isn’t present there, either tweeting inanities, or doing promo for stuff. Cos that is probably the extent that it takes for people like him (or RA) who are actually far too private to be comfortable with SM…
The beard – ah well, you know what I think about beards. I actually had a good look at Keanu’s beard, and I have to say that his beard is not even CLOSE to as sexy as Richard’s beard. (And that’s me saying that, the beard-hater!)
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I second that. Not a fan of Keanu-shrubbery. I’m really anti-beard except in very special cases.
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A 6’ 2 itchy finger Twitter Mikita loving ski white tee shirt loving Brit???😘😘
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And a 6’2 wonderfully funny, loving, caring Irish American. ☘️
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Ah he has a beard? So cool that he is 6’2 and part Irish ☘️ 👍👍👍😻
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Yes totally agree w you! I don’t like the longer hair or beard that grows everywhere and he has s tee shirt fetish worse than Richards and literally looks like he rolled out of bed! He’s never going to do SM Winona Ryder doesn’t either. I love that about him. He doesn’t give a shit what people think about him. He reads a lot too!
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And that is something that I find quite admirable – not giving a shit about what others think. Because in his case it doesn’t mean that he is arrogant and hubristic, but he is actually quite polite and friendly. Just like a decent guy.
Just checked his publishing activities. Looks really good!
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Yeah I’m not crazy about who he is partners with but he has branched out into other opportunities and his directing debut Man of Ta Chi is actually quite good. It took him a long time to get it off the ground and he had his own production company also do I see a lot of hope for Richard. Keanu started about the same time as Richard did w producing and had a producing partner who develops the projects.
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Destination Wedding is in my list. Glad to hear you liked it.
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I came across it by coincidence, switched it on, got totally sucked in. Not bad for a film that I hadn’t even sought out… Here, fan-to-fan service:
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You are such a sweet person you spoil everyone here!! 😘😘❤️😻
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I think you will like it! Just stick with it. His character Frank is quite snarky. Watch his mannerisms
I thought it was charming
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I hope the Crown Prince is doing very well! Lots of healing energy coming his way.
Goodness me! How many of us have Keanu in common as well as RA! Later in the week, when I have more time, I’ll tell you all about the several times I’ve met him: getting his autograph, chatting with his mum, giving him a book, etc. Hehehe, enough to whet your appetite for now?
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oMG, yes yes yes, please give us some of your insights… Looking forward to hearing about it.
Crown prince still in hospital – won’t be discharged until 8pm. But at least I have got his room back in business 🙂
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Gute Besserung an den Kronprinzen!! Schön, dass alles glatt gelaufen ist. 👍🏻👍🏻
Oh, now I want to do T very soon. I could finally add something to the fandoms past category.
So you are a recovering Keanu fan. What’s that fandom called? Keanu’s Koven? 😉 I like the Stream Coincidences. Sounds like something my crazy brain would see. I still maintain that there is LOTR/RH musical overlap. 🎼 🎵 🎶
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Kronprinz immer noch nicht zu Hause… Naja, solange kann ich hier dann noch schön kommentieren…
No idea what that fandom was called :-). I probably wasn’t around for long enough… But I have to say there were very nice people in that fandom, too.
Glad you like the stream coincidences – they didn’t last very long in the end. (And you have to do a post about that LotR/RH overlap!!!)
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Ooh…will one of you talented ladies please come up with a meme about how Keanu is a gateway drug that leads to The Armitage?!
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LOL – good point. It looks as if Keanu led us to Richard… TDHA vs TDHB
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I didn’t have much brain energy, but here is an attempt:
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THats is very clever Kate!!
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Perfect, thank you!
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😘😘
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Hope your Crown Prince recovers quickly, For the record, I rather LIKE Keanu Reeves, although I was never a fangirl.
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I think he has been unjustly stereotyped as a wooden, bad actor. In any case, he seems to be a nice chap – and that is what I appreciated most about him…
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Honestly, the only thing I’ve seen him in is Bill and Ted. I thought he was funny and wondered if he would break the mold. I think he has and yeah, he seems to be a really nice person.
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LOL – and Bill and Ted is really one of his stupidest work…
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I have not seen either Bill and Ted movie. There’s a movie called Henry’s Crime which he did in 2010 w Vera Formig and James Caan which I liked. He is sweet and I liked the plot. I will gladly send it to you if I can figure out from downloading how to do that b/c I have it bought on Amazon
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Bill and Ted is freakin awesome x
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It’s amazeballs!
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Dracula did him no favours I’m afraid. Hes best when not sayimg too much like The Matrix, Constantine and John Wick.I loved him when I was a teen and he was in Bill and Ted. Had posters on my wall 😊
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RA is the only fandom I’ve ever jumped into. I went through a Harrison Ford phase, but I don’t think there were fandoms back then. Or if there were, I didn’t know about them. Most of my RA energy goes to Guylty’s blog and one other, where I “met” Guylty. I probably commented immediately since I can’t keep my mouth shut. No lurking for me. I was a big Guylty fan pre shrining, but I knew I was hooked on RA when I sent her a big surprise package of potential shrining material and had so much fun putting it together. In the unlikely event of me getting over RA, no one will ever know. Love my friends in RA world too much to let go.
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I agree Kathy wholeheartedly with you. This blog plus a few others I now comment frequently on are more than goo goo eyeing Richard. They are a special place to chat and laugh and share stories and videos 😘😉I’ve never experienced that before either but I feel very blessed and fortunate to have found such a wonderful and loving base here
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Not a fan as such of Keanu Reeves but I like that he is a decent, private man. The only movie I’ve seen him in is The Lake House with Sandra Bullock, one of those romances I can sit through time and again. I was reading through the above comments waiting for someone else to mention it!!! His other movies are not my genres of choice, so I haven’t seen much of his work at all.
My pre-Richard crush (with a few side diversions) was Pierce Brosnan – for nearly thirty years! I wasn’t on the internet for most of that time but had plenty of his screen projects to keep the fire burning, along with the occasional magazine or newspaper article. I sometimes wonder what my fan experience of Richard would be without the internet, especially the blogs, considering he keeps such a low profile and his screen work is so sporadic – would it have lasted as long as it has, without the continual feed of photos, interviews, fan communication and websites? It happened at just at the right time thank goodness, although I often wish I were at least ten years younger so I could “grow older” with him! (as I did with Pierce) and see where his career takes him. Whatever happens, I agree with Kathy – even if my crush fades, it’s the friendships I have made in this fandom, both online and in real life, that will keep me here in the long run.
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Seems to me Keanu Reeves is very good looking but hus face doesn’t have the character of RA.
Hope the Crown Prince is back under your watchful eye, Guylty! Best wishes for a swift recovery.
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I never saw your juxtaposed photo contributions. Wonderful!
Replying to the T question — What was the first thing you ever contributed to a fandom?: This is my first ever fandom, and do my bon mots count? My irreverent sense of humor? Just watching a blog and commenting (“participating”) regularly? (Blogs were a first for me, too, having never been “hooked” by something online before.) Not? Then I guess the first, more tangible contribution would be meeting fans in New York during LLL and showing them around the city — which often meant walking a few blocks from the theatre to the New York Public Library. A library! Such a bookish, easy-to-please bunch!
ps. I totally agree with Kathy. He’s the catalyst that got me here, but I’m staying for the friends. And desperate hope for a decent movie or tv show one of these days. (Pleeeeeze, Richard, please.)
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Hope your son is doing well. I liked Keanu in The Matrix, but I haven’t really seen him n much else.
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Very best get well soon wishes to the crown prince from me too. And to yourself as well, Guylty. It’s hard being a mum when your offspring get sick.
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I hope Crown Prince is recovering well.
Hands up here – I’m also a Keanu admirer. I like quite a few of his films, including the Lake House too Mezz. That’s a great one to watch on a rainy day, curled up on the sofa with a large mug of tea.
My first fandom activity was commenting on Guylty’s blog. My comments tend to be few and far between, I’m more of a lurker (sorry). There’s such a sense of community and I love reading posts and comments.
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