2020 Armitage Weekly Round-up #23

/ June 13, 2020

Why is it that with the easing of lockdown restrictions, the weather in Ireland promptly turns wet and cold? Murphy’s Law, I guess. So I am retreating into my craft room today, to face this mess. 

The home improvements are continuing, and I have a sneaky plan involving the collected outgrown denims of the past 10 years. What are you planning for the weekend? Let’s kick it off with the round-up:

  1. Antigonemorris’ Guy fan fiction goes to chapters 8 and 9 – with a little luuuuuuurve 😉
  2. Ausschweifendemotte has isolated that picture from the cover of the Chekhov Short Stories
  3. I had to chuckle, too, when I saw this Guy gif by circusgifs
  4. Innocent, yeah, right… Not quite so sure about that, but it makes a good meme. Posted by robinhoodmemes
  5. I have the strong feeling that I am missing something in this latest What a Guy Wants instalment by nfcomics. Swallows? … Arrrrgh. Oh, *swallows*… 😳
  6. For those of you who liked yesterday’s new photo of Richard, mzperx0506universe has cropped and resized the image. Makes it much easier to really see the look on his face. Confident? Amused? Slightly smug? All of that?
  7. A Guy edit by antigonemorris
  8. The aptly named aboutgorgeousmen posts some screenshots of Adam Price. *puppy eyes*…
  9. Acting with his back *coughs*. Thank you to riepu10 for this convincing gif set
  10. I have never been particularly fond of the Romeo & Juliet audio book, so I read this little reaction piece by lavender-lizzy with interest. It’s quite a while since I listened to the book (summer of 2018), but I remember finding the characters somewhat pastiche and 21st century… Not sure whether I want to listen to it again to check, though
  11. This week mezzmerizedbyrichard raided her gif folder for scenes from interviews. A wide variety of hair styles and other assorted hair
  12. Maxkiki summarises Guy’s sad story in RH
  13. Sorry, this is daddy!Armitage, but it always makes me smile to see this little scene of Gary and boys. Posted by acebodhi

There, some nice pics, right?

I haven’t yet listened to the Empire podcast that was also released yesterday. (I’ll probably put it on when I am working through the above denim mess after lunch.) In fandom terms, I realised somethin, though: With not just one but two, if not three, news pieces about RA dropping, I felt motivated to think about, consider and write a (few) blog post(s) for the first time in weeks. Ergo: My blogging lethargy is directly proportional to the amount of news coming out. Ok, and a few other things, but they are within my own scope of changing. Conversely and unfortunately, another very nasty realisation has also come to me: I have developed an obnoxious sense of entitlement and expectation that keeps interfering with my mood and mojo. I don’t particularly *like* feeling like this. Especially as I more often than not feel as if I am gagging myself, not allowing myself to express what I *really* think. I have been trying to figure out what the best way of tackling that is. Blog less and remove the feeling of entitlement? Blog more to have a reason for and to reinforce my expectations? Disable the comment function in order to remove the temptation of pandering to the audience? Make the blog entirely private to stay safe and happy in my homely little echo chamber? Or is this actually something that has more to do with other social media rather than the blog itself? Is Twitter poisoning my brain? These are some questions that I am mulling over at the moment, so don’t be surprised if there are some blog changes coming up.

Enjoy your weekend, everyone!

Sonja ❤

 

 

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73 thoughts on “2020 Armitage Weekly Round-up #23”

    • IDK, entitlement in terms of “I am entitled to your attention as a member of this fandom. You HAVE TO read me because I am going to the trouble of writing this for the fandom”, that kind of bullshit. It’s not a pretty thought, and it really doesn’t reflect well on me at all. I find it hard to acknowledge it, but that’s basically what it is. I need to dial it all back a bit.

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      • As someone who only recently discovered that clicking on the blue f on FB coughs up what your “friended” friends have posted recently (so THAT’s how it works…), I’m not one to comment on social media. Or maybe, actually, I am. Because I also don’t understand the comments about fans “fighting” on Twitter either. Guess I’m not seeing the fights. (Or not seeing them as fights.) There IS something (good) to be said about remaining ignorant of these things!

        Maybe I am seeing the “fights” but not caring, because I don’t react to other peoples’ comments the way some do. I would like to reassure you, Guylty, that I have never, ever in my life read something because someone else thought I “should” or “had to.” (And indeed, I find the notion laughable.)

        So please be reassured (if it helps) that I’m not feeling any “entitlement” from you directed towards me as a member of your audience. I read your blog, because I love, love, love Richard Armitage and can’t suck up enough “content” about him. Ever. Every day I need my fix. I’m delighted when that is a day that you have posted something. THANK YOU for all your words, write whatever you want, I will keep reading.

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        • Thank you for this nice and reassuring comment, Besotted. I trust that that is the case for most people. There is no obligation – even if Guylty feels some kind of perverse entitlement 🤪. Essentially I feel like you – I love reading stuff about RA, and every time someone posts about him, I’m delighted. I wish there was more. And more voices.
          Btw, I think much of the fighting actually happens much more subtle than with actual verbal confrontation. There are digs here and there. It’s little “political” decisions on whom to credit or to RT or to like.

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          • I’m on the receiving end of one such subtle campaign right now (not Armitage related) and I’m just thinking yeah, y’know what, just have some balls and unfollow me. But SM is what it is.

            As for the happiness about content and various voices, I agree. I’m delighted to read stuff, but then I feel guilty for not contributing myself. But I just can’t wrestle up any motivation rn. 😢

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            • Ah well, you know, don’t let guilt be your motivator. It’s alright to be a bit overwhelmed rn. Things will get better (says the whiny originator of all this doom and gloom).
              SM is weird. On the one hand it seems like a free-for-all to behave badly, but then there is some sort of strange set of conventions that are almost Victorian in its prescribed customs.

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              • Mr. Kate and I were just saying this morning that although we have been dealing okay with everything, being all cooped up together 24/7 each and every day is hard. And I definitely feel the lack of routine getting to me.
                Victorian customs. That’s well said. And oddly fitting for the situation I find myself in.

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                • Mr Guylty and I have also agreed that we have come through this pretty well. (Mind you, we have had practice. Only a couple of years into our relationship, we once spent 7 months sharing my one-room-apartment in Würzburg (Kolpingstraße, in case insiders would like to know *haha*) while I was researching and writing my final thesis and Mr Guylty was working in the local Irish pub. It went miraculously well… 😂 (We got married two years later 😁))
                  We kind of settled into our own routine, though, going our separate ways for most of the days and reconvening for regular food intake at elevenses, lunch, tea, and dinner. Evenings were spent lazing in front of the telly, and before sleepy time we always played a level of Wordscapes. Jeepers, what an exciting life we lead. Not.

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          • I’m with Besotted with her last paragraph. I would like to add that rather than your sense of entitlement as you describe it, it’s that which I as a reader might have which would be more of an issue – the expectation that you blog frequently regardless of how you are feeling about it, that you are here to entertain me, not write for your own satisfaction. As much as I love reading your posts, the last thing I would want is for you to feel an obligation to produce posts for our consumption and it doesn’t “spark joy” as Rachel quoted so appropriately.

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            • Hehe, oh, I can be very ignorant of my readers’ needs if I want to… And in many ways, I think bloggers create expectations themselves. When I decided to step up my posting frequency and post every day, it was clear to me that that would eventually lead to the (reasonable) expectation that there were going to be daily posts. (That was exactly the reason why I posted infrequently for a long time – just to keep myself – or others – from expecting regular updates.) So, no, I don’t feel under pressure from my lovely readers at all. The expectation is all mine, so I am responsible for the pressure I create.
              It’s all good, though. First and foremost I want this to be a place where I (and readers) come for entertainment and happiness. It will stay that way. I hope.

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          • I do get what you mean here. Something similar happened with my work’s Whatsapp group, designed to provide support during lockdown but where also there are insidious patterns of silence and exclusions. I’ve turned off the notifications now and ignore it.

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            • Comes from where people see stuff first? Like I credited Sabine for the NME article because she posted it on facebook, which is where I saw it first . Twitter algorithms have a lot to answer for aswell. I realise I’ve not seen something from someone for a while and discover it’s because twitter isn’t showing me their posts.

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  2. Yes, swallows. 🙂

    I’ve had to distance myself from most social media. It’s depressing enough to look at my kitchen, much less scroll through the nastiness between people on social media! Okay, so we disagree, can we just meet in the middle now and come up with a way to fix this?

    Sorry.

    I’m off to continue tricking out my laptop. It’s back and I’m going to name it ‘Speedy Gonzalez’!

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    • The *general* politics I can deal with, not least because my TL very much reflects my own politics and therefore I only come across differing opinions when I drill deeper into a thread. Which I don’t do often. It’s the politics of fandom that really frustrate me. The whole “I like you, so you have to like me” and the “if you can’t say anything positive, why are you here at all” and the tarring of people with the same brush. It’s such a waste of time…
      Good luck with Speedy – hope this is the mother of all machines!!!!

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  3. I’m on record as saying Twitter is bad for fandom. I’ve also recently thought about going private, insofar as I don’t think my blog is really designed for “beginning” fans and I don’t have the energy to go through the cycle of new fans repeatedly anymore. I probably won’t go private, as I’ve had this thought before, but I strive really hard simply to write what I’m thinking. There’s a certain problem there in that it has to feel “worth it” for me, i.e., by the time an opinion gets to that stage it’s not really at the discussion level for me anymore, but also because historically there’s been resentment when I defend my own opinions. Opinions are not arbitrary and as someone engaged in the search for truth on other levels, I’m not able to say “jedem das Seine” except about extremely trivial things. I have felt a lot of pressure to “be” what other fans need me to be over the years and it’s finally abating, so I’m hoping that I’m resetting the conditions for blogging, which I do really enjoy. I’ve identified two other obstacles recently — one is the constant interference of dad’s activities, which I have to prioritize and react to; the other is the question of continuing to blog about self-development in light of an actor when the really big questions are elsewhere (BLM) while at the same time feeling like it would be arrogant for me to comment on BLM. I may have found a way into the latter topic, but I’m never going to be able to stop dad’s mayhem until he moves into a facility and someone else has to deal with it (which doesn’t seem realistic any more given the death rate in some of them — 40% of people in our state who died of Covid-19 were in nursing homes / assisted living).

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    • That is the ideal I would like to strive for, too – to attempt to truthfully write what I am honestly thinking. But I definitely have not achieved that – for various reasons, among them a fear of conflict and a need for harmony. (Both are stifling creative expression, though, so it’s an issue that needs to be addressed sooner or later.) It also clashes with the matter of blog inclusivity that you are touching on. I’d like the blog to be inclusive of *any* fan, no matter how long they have been active etc. But like you, I occasionally feel unable to deal with fans in the phase of early enthusiasm that we have all gone through. Yet I don’t want to be dismissive of those fan feelings or stifle the pure expression of infatuation that is so all-encompassing when it first happens. But it’s just not where I am at, and I hate being an old know-it-all spoil sport. 
Your point about the discussion level – I understand what you mean and how it affects you and your blog. It makes sense that you feel that way. Would it be an option to simply close comments only on such posts and post them as expression of your own thoughts and not an invitation to discuss? There will surely be other posts on your blog where your readers can still interact with you in a way that feels ‘worth it’ for both sides.
      What very much resonates with me in your comment, are your thoughts about relevance and triviality. In the age of big social, cultural and societal upheaval, how relevant is it to write about entertainment, fandom, a particular actor – even when all through the lens of self-development? Rhetorical question – of course there is a need for self-reflection. Always. But I am also struggling with a feeling of “WTH am I doing here, writing about this entertainment guy, rather than putting my voice and platform into the service of the greater good”. I have no answer for you – not that you need one from *me* anyway. Suffice to say that I don’t really think that the two exclude each other. I believe that you *can* self-reflect while also contributing to the issues of our time.
      The more practical obstacles in your life as a blogger, look much more difficult to scale. Especially right now when nursing homes have become pandemic hot spots. I wish I had something constructive to say.

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      • I only close comments when I am truly absolutely unwilling to discuss something. There are two primary conditions for that: either the discussion really “belongs” somewhere else or to someone else and I’m leaving a contribution but feel the main discussion belongs elsewhere; or the likelihood that I am too emotional to discuss it but wanted to mention my views on it anyway. I’m definitely willing to discuss things that I have a strong / quasi-fixed opinion on, but what often happens (happened again last week) is that someone decides to fansplain me something that I’ve actually spent a lot of time thinking about just because they disagree and then get wounded when I respond negatively. It’s really a kind of condescension — in this case I wondered if the commentator even bothered to read what I wrote, or just decided she needed to school me? — and as I try hard not to condescend to people who leave comments, I tend to be extremely angry when I am condescended to, or treated as if I don’t have information that it should be clear to the interlocutor that I have, and I don’t see any reason to hide that.

        I also don’t see any point in hiding “where” I am as a fan. The whole point of the blog is being honest and was that from the beginning. I don’t always tell the whole truth but I don’t lie in terms of what I am saying, either. (This is another place where the whole question of condescension becomes important: I feel like it’s disrespectful to the reader if I do that.) In the words of John Mulligan: “I know who I am, and I’m okay with it.”

        I don’t think I’ll ever be a big protestor, but I do try to do my bit for social improvement beyond donating. I try to wake up my students as to what is going on outside our very pleasant bubble, and due to the “social mission” of my employer I do teach a fair number of African American students. So I don’t feel like just because I’m not marching in the streets, I’m doing nothing. I also am very sensitive to the point that it’s primarily in fascist / authoritarian situations that the only possible topic of discussion becomes politics. And I’m uncertain that my voice really belongs in the discussion. What I have to say about racism isn’t really on point as what I’d have to talk about is primarily my own anguish, and I don’t think that’s helpful right now. i think my voice would be most useful as a participant in a group led by others — and I don’t entirely know how to do that yet.

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        • Your approach to closing comments sounds logical and respectful to other bloggers where discussions originated. Something to bear in mind for myself. It makes sense to let discussions continue where they originally started – unless some new tangents are being explored, I suppose.
          Fansplaining is definitely counterproductive – it comes close to trolling and is just such a waste of time, especially when it creates unnecessary conflict and negativity. In such situations, I also find it difficult to find the exact moment when I should actually just stop perpetuating the conversation with my replies.
          I agree with you on everything you said re. current discussions of racism, and the unusual/difficult spot it leaves us as people who are used to voicing opinions. I am definitely aware that my (white) voice should only be part of the choir at the moment, reactive to the voices that come from those who are suffering racism and are currently trying to change the culture around race relations. We have a part to play, I think, as supporters of the movement, without taking away agency from those who are leading the discussion and the change. In any case, it has become painfully clear to me in the last 3 weeks how little I know about the reality of POC living under the constant threat of racism – not only in the US but elsewhere, too. Which is why I have decided to shut my mouth and listen.

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    • Les maisons de retraite ont été (peuvent être encore) des lieux à éviter eu égard aux risques encourus: entre le virus, l’éviction totale de la société engendrant dépressions et suicides… lugubre compte macabre.

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  4. Swallows, really? I can’t believe I understood it so quickly.
    Entitlement means you have an official flag, a national anthem and coin money? Because I’d seek political asylum. I’m qualified, I understand Guy jokes

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    • You were quicker than me, Lurkerella. It definitely took me a minute to figure that one out 😂
      Haha, you are welcome in Guyland! No official flag, anthem and currency yet – but that could be arranged. We’ve got the Gisborne coat of arms to start from, and I vote for Josh Groban’s ‘My Confession’ as the anthem. (Total shlock, I agree, but it has a spot in my heart because of my favourite ever fan video.)

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  6. twitter and even blogs are a wonderful place to completely misunderstand people and what they are saying or trying to communicate. I get frustrated with twitter because there’s no place for subtlety as you can’t look at someone to show them the intention of the words that are coming out of your mouth.
    Regarding your blog [edited], your blog-your rules. [Edited] I [edited] would actually leave because I don’t want to be somewhere where i’m not wanted and where I’m actively upsetting someone with my presence. [Edited]
    Honestly, I don’t interact too much anymore because I feel like whatever I say will be wrong or misinterpreted. I mostly chat to a few people and that’s it. I don’t care who’s friends with who, partly because I never expected anyone to be my friend because i’m a fan of Richard, I feel sad that i’m disliked in some corners but hey that’s life-you can’t please all the people all the time.
    But you have a blog with almost 700 followers whom i’m pretty certain appreciate that you do blog and enjoy what you create, but at the end of the day surely you write your blog for yourself? In the words of Marie Kondo- does it spark joy?

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    • [Thank you for your comment here, Rachel. You may notice that I have edited your comment. As a new blogger you may not yet be aware of some of the blogging etiquette, but I feel that part of your comment was directed specifically at someone else, and I don’t think my blog is the platform for addressing the issue, even if used to explain the point you were making. According to blogging etiquette, such would be better addressed on the blogs of the parties concerned. – As you are undoubtedly aware, I have been accused of enabling bullying. I have learnt from that and am trying to make this a safe space. This is not meant as a general gag at all. You are free to discuss *me*, my opinions and my faults here in *my* own living room and I welcome all your contributions. But I do not feel comfortable with discussions about other fandom participants in this comment section.]
      To the points – I agree that Twitter’s character limits are an obstacle in communication. Especially when I am in a bad mood, I tend to read things into tweets that may not be there. That’s something I am aware of and I have to work on. And the short messages are not conducive to a slightly more nuanced and in-depth discussion of things. In fandom terms I also struggle with a perceived expectation that we all must agree on everything relating to RA.
      Yet, the fandom online, like other places in the world right now, seems divided. I would like to think that most people do not choose their friends according to whom *their* friends are friends with, but experience tells me otherwise. It takes strength to stay out of the trench wars that occasionally flare up and to insist that you don’t want to be drawn into a conflict that has nothing to do with you. And as big a part this fandom plays in my life, at the end of the day this is supposed to be my *hobby*, an activity that gives me joy – it frustrates me to find increasingly negative feeling connected to it. So, in answer to your question – no, it does not *always* spark joy. And that’s where the cookie crumbles.

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      • No problem about the comment deletion.
        Re the fandom being divided, tbh I haven’t noticed ( but then again I am sometimes a bit oblivious ) . There will always be little cliques in all facets of life, I try to keep out of the crap where I can but as you say, it’s not always easy. But I still think it’s a case of choosing your battles, there’s loads of Armitage viewpoints I don’t agree with that I see on twitter and in replies to blogs. ..I just pass them by.

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        • I try to choose my battles, too. (Although there are some that I have been conscripted into, to continue the metaphor.) It’s self-care, I suppose. But as a self-confessed herd animal, I find it hard when there are openly hostile cliques. I don’t mind cliques as such, but I’d prefer if they’d just co-exist peacefully, without sniping and digging.

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  7. the struggle is very, very real. those are all questions I asked myself when I was an active blogger in the fandom, and I still ask myself some of them even though I’m a blogger on the outskirts. I like to think that I blog for myself, that I don’t have a fandom or passionate fans of my chosen crush to answer to but there is still A LOT that I would like to say about my past and current experiences in fandom that I feel like I can’t. I’m not really sure it would make me feel better anyway. the pressure though, the expectation, I remember that well and I do not miss it! I hope you’ll be able to experiment a little and find a path that you’re comfortable with while still affording yourself the freedom to blog about what/who inspires you ❤

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    • Thank you, Kelly. You know, I have always admired the way you were able to make a decision once you felt that you needed a change of direction. I am such a creature of habit, I *hate* to change (even though I usually perceive it as positive once I have been forced to do so).
      Yep, I’d like to think that I am blogging for my own enjoyment, too. And I do. But personality-wise I find it difficult to deal with conflict or with dissent, which often means I self-censor. That leads to general dissatisfaction (and dreams that are recurring at an alarming frequency at the moment. I keep dreaming of either being unable to utter any sounds, or of being unable to see because I am blinded by the sun. Sigmund Freud would laugh at how obvious these dreams are.). The question, as you rightly say, is whether it really makes you feel better when you express everything 100% truthfully.

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      • if you find it difficult to deal with conflict, then blogging about real world issues like political movements or social reform, etc. is going to bring it’s own set of problems (unless you close comments, but even then you might hear murmurings about how some don’t like that you did so, and that will bother you too). also, in response to a comment you made above: don’t discount the notion that we all have our place. light topics/tone can be the bright spot in many readers lives that give them a break from all the ‘heavy’ that is weighing them down. actors take our minds off of the real world by placing us in fictional ones, but often those fictional scenarios help us understand the real world better without us even realizing it, and sometimes they just simply recharge us by making us shut our mind off and smile. I think fan blogs can do that too. if your heart is telling you that you need a change, then you’re not going to feel happy and fulfilled until you explore that need, but I’d hate for you to give up something that you enjoy because of the naysayers (Richard himself included) who don’t understand what they’re denouncing 🙂 (I realize my response could be seen as justification for my own style of blogging b/c something you said offended me. that is not the case- thus the smiley face 😉 😛 )

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        • There is definitely a place for light-hearted entertainment and exchange. (Mh, I am just thinking to myself that I should probably allow RA then to be superficially light-hearted and continue to avoid exposing his more controversial opinions…) Ultimately, that is what blogging is about for me – a hobby and a happy place. Mind you, I don’t think that politics would mess up my happy place. But since this blog is solely concerned with some entertainment bloke, it really hasn’t come up much.
          I think the change that I crave, is to free myself from the notion of writing for an audience. Or from worrying about people taking me to task for my opinions. I’ve never fully suppressed my criticisms, but I have been guilty of expressing them extra carefully. In a comment here on this post, LadyStaunton described RA as having become “vanilla” – and vanilla is what I feel about my blog. I’m going to add some tart gooseberry coulis to that, in the future…

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      • “…whether it really makes you feel better when you express everything 100% truthfully.”

        Who exactly is telling you it has to be 100%?

        Wenn du dir deinen Blog ansiehst, wirst du sehen, dass sich über die Jahre immer wieder etwas geändert hat. Kleinigkeiten und “Großigkeiten” 😀 und Sachen irgendwo dazwischen. Manchmal bewusst, manchmal “Hat sich so ergeben”.
        Wir verändern uns, und damit verändern sich auch unsere Interessen, unser Blickwinkel, unser Kommunkationsverhalten, unser …

        Wenn du dich so unwohl fühlst, dass du sogar schlechte Träume hast, dann passt irgendetwas nicht.

        Ein Teil mag an Corona liegen: Kaum Impulse von außerhalb der eigenen vier Wände und der nächsten Verwandtschaft, dazu die Sorge, dass eine nahestehende Person infiziert werden könnte – und das alles mit dem Gefühl, selbst nichts tun zu können. Das kratzt uns allen an den Nerven und belastet uns. (Übrigens: Gegen Corona kannst du nicht anschreien, und sehen kannst du es auch nicht. – Bist du sicher, dass deine Träume so offensichtlich sind wie du glaubst?)

        Im Falle von Corona kannst du nicht mehr tun als du schon tust.

        Dein Blog: Probier doch einfach, was *für dich* besser funktioniert. Du musst nicht von jetzt auf gleich alles auf den Kopf stellen, du kannst Babyschrittchen machen. Hier ein bisschen, da ein wenig …

        Was kann passieren?

        Im Extremfall:
        Dass du ein paar Kommentare bekommst, die du löschen musst. Sch***e, sowas lesen zu müssen. Aber letztlich sagen Hasskommentare sehr, sehr viel über den Absender und nichts, aber auch absolut GAR NICHTS über den Empfänger.
        Und ich denke, dass deine Art zu schreiben und auch mit den Kommentarschreibern und -schreiberinnen umzugehen sowieso nicht zu Hasskommentaren reizt – außer von echten Trollen, und die trollen, egal, was du machst.

        Der Normalfall:
        Dasselbe wie jetzt. Jemand sagt “Toll!”, jemand sagt “Spricht mich nicht an”, jemand kommentiert, jemand kommentiert nicht.

        Übrigens, du selbst-erklärtes Herdentierchen: Auch die Herde zankt sich mal um die besten Leckerbissen, das beste Plätzchen, um im Sonnensicht zu dösen. Und eine halbe Stunde später lausen sie sich wieder oder beknabbern sich gegenseitig die Mähne. Trau den Äffchen und Pferdchen in deinem Publikum nicht weniger zu. 😉

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        • Hallihallo Igelita – schön, dich mal wieder zu lesen. Du hast mir da quasi ins Gewissen geredet. Zum Einen hast du absolut Recht, dass man seinem Publikum auch ein bisschen Intelligenz zutrauen sollte 😉. (Regt mich bei RA ja auch immer auf, wenn der so tut, als müsste er uns alles genau zurechtlegen, was wir tun und lassen sollen.)
          Ich bin da jetzt auch auf den Schluss gekommen, dass man eben Änderungen mal angehen muss, wenn etwas nicht mehr richtig läuft. Ist in diesem Fall gar nichts Revolutionäres. Nur einfach ein bisschen mehr Biss und nicht nur happy-happy. Für jede, die das abschreckt, kommt womöglich ein neuer Leser dazu. Gleicht sich also aus. Versuch ist es wert.
          Die Träume beziehen sich sicher auch auf andere Situationen in meinem Leben, in denen ich mich entweder orientierungslos oder mit einem Maulkorb versehen fühle. Das Erstere ist durch die Krise im Moment wieder stärker in den Vordergrund getreten, da meine Auftragslage wirklich unter den Büroschließungen leidet. Ich hoffe, dass sich da, wie schon öfter in meinem Leben, irgendwann wieder eine Tür öffnet und etwas Neues entsteht.

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          • Hehehehe, da musst du wohl mal ein ernstes Wörtchen mit deinem Gewissen reden.
            ICH hab ganz unschuldig nur deinen Blickwinkel gerade gerückt, jawohl. 😀

            Übrigens: Mücken zu Elefanten aufblasen kann ich auch gut.
            (Wenn ich den Dreh finde, diesen Trick auch beim Geldbeutel einzusetzen, sage ich dir Bescheid. 😛 )

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  8. Firstly,thanks for the lovely Guy-rich roundup. It was much appreciated on a very meh Saturday afternoon.

    Secondly, I think you’re much too hard on yourself. Those are weird times, everyone is on the edge and you’re entitled to feel the way you do. So put yourself first – you deserve it. Do what pleases you and not what you think you ought to do.

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  10. Thank you for the lovely round-up, Guylty. I don’t really understand what you mean by your feeling of entitlement, despite your explanation, but I am sorry that you are troubled – I hope not to the extent of Mr Hales’s crisis of doubt. I agree with many of the comments: that you are being too hard on your self, that people are here because they like RA and what you write, that it is your blog to express what you want, that it shouldn’t be an obligation but bring you joy. Also, triviality is something that I also struggle with sometimes ( i.e. WTF am I doing devoting so much of my time to Armitage?) but I agree also that there is a need for distraction, humour, kinship, which your blog helps to provide – not to mention serious discussion on a variety of matters.

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    • LOL – Mr Hale’s crisis of conscience. (Grah, he really annoyed me with his self-centred decision to give up his job without considering the implications for his wife and daughter.) Not quite there, I think, and luckily I don’t really have anyone else to consider as such. The fun continues for now. My recent writer’s block – I just didn’t know what to write about, really – seems to have been overcome. Sometimes it needs a good whine and to let it all out, for the problem to become solveable.

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  12. There are two blogs that I know in RA fandom that I think are most read, and yours is one of them. So, I can understand the pressure you may feel and how you may feel gagged to accommodate everyone. You are also active on Twitter (and maybe other platforms I don’t see) and that too can bring a whole lot of pressure. But, you can’t deny yourself and while yes, you can try to be as fair to everyone as you can, there is also the reality that you can’t be friends with everyone.

    About social media: to me, Twitter is where the hysteria is at, and as I don’t do so well with hysteria and conflict, so I avoid getting deeply involved there in any discussions, no matter how trivial. I keep most of my discussions on blog, where I feel comfortable. It works well for me and my sanity to be able to skip the social media stuff when I want to.

    Anyway, I hope you can find a way to blog or do social media where you can feel free to post about Richard and other stuff as well and not feel gagged. And know that in the midst of the very difficult and explosive times we are living, triviality is sometimes a breath of fresh air! I think even protesters on the streets go home and need their distractions to stay sane…

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    • The question is always – do I *want* to accommodate everyone, or do I write *only* for myself? It’s a bit of a tightrope walk, but maybe it is an obligatory decision that must be taken in order to be happy in the long run. It’s definitely not possible to be friends with everyone. Which is absolutely fine and reasonable. As long as all parties concerned can agree to live in peaceful coexistence and just simply choose to ignore each other.
      Blogs are definitely better for discussion, anyway, simply because there is no character limit. I think Twitter has come to the fore so much because that is where the news appear first and are picked up.
      Especially in context with the dire future of the arts, affected by Covid as they are, I am thinking that blogs and online content will be more important than ever for entertainment and distraction. Or even for a mixture of entertainment and serious discussion. Both have their validity. The question is how to combine both…

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  13. Pingback: Overdue #FlatRichie Logbook Catch-up | Guylty Pleasure

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