Continuing on from here with Guylty’s Richard Armitage fandom challenge, here are my answers to questions #15 to #21:

#15 A Character Everybody Else Loves that I Hate:

I can’t really say that I hate any of the characters that I’ve seen RA play. (Although the morals of Paul Andrews in Between the Sheets are deplorable.) I think that there are fans who like Ricky Deeming in George Gently more than I do… I found him to be a bit of a stereotyped character, at least with the white scarf and all. And while I like John Porter and Strike Back, I was so put off by the hair and look when he was down on his luck that I think that coloured some of the rest of the show for me.

 

#16 A Character Everybody Else Hates that I Love:

I think I like Harry Kennedy in The Vicar of Dibley more than some fans do. I like to believe that such a romance is possible, and I really like that RA laughs his way through the whole show. An adorable introverted accountant who is a perfect contrast to the feisty outgoing vicar.

 

 

#17 The Character I Love to Hate:

This is really tough, because there aren’t really any characters in this category for me. So, I guess I will go again for the deliciously villainous Uriah Heep in the David Copperfield audiobook, as described in #14 of my Week 2.5 answers.

#18 Top 3 Things on My To-Do List if I Suddenly Found Myself Face to Face with RA:

1. Not freak out and/or make a fool of myself!
2. Take a picture of him and/or with him.
3. Shake his hand and tell him how much I admire his work.

In reality, I would probably be too shy to approach him and I wouldn’t want to intrude on his privacy.

Once at a Rod Stewart concert, I sat almost directly behind a much-loved singer through the whole show and couldn’t bring myself to talk to her. I was also on a ferry with Elvis Costello (big fan) and his wife Diana Krall — my husband went and said hello, but I just couldn’t. In an arranged fan moment for another performer, I did get an autograph and express my admiration so that kind of set up might be a bit easier for me, although a “real” moment would probably be more memorable.

#19 The Ship in the Fandom that I Can’t Stand:

I don’t have a problem with any ship (i.e. character or real person romantic pairing) in the fandom. But for myself, I would prefer to read about a character pairing envisioned by the original writer (canon) or a pairing with an original female character.

#20 The Best Fanfic I’ve Ever Read Involving RA or Characters:

My favourite fanfic is Manna from Heaven by Zeesmuse which I previously posted about here and which the author talks about here. It stars Sir Guy of Gisborne of Robin Hood fame and a modern-day woman who falls from the sky, courtesy of angels, into the path of Sir Guy. Just a wonderful pairing and story. Zee has just posted a new chapter of the sequel, Aside from Heaven, which I plan to download this weekend!

For a shorter story, also involving Sir Guy (sensing a theme?) but with a Marian who is much more interested than usual, I enjoyed The Chest by Judiang. A link to the story can be found in the comments in her March 16, 2017 post.

#21 How Obsessed I Am with RA:

That probably depends on what day you ask on (or maybe on who you ask!). I’m answering RA Challenge questions, so that probably means I’m fairly obsessed! I watch and listen to a lot of his work, but I haven’t seen/heard it all. I haven’t traveled far away to see a play or attend a fan event. But on the other hand, on the day the tickets went on sale, I paid for a seat at the Cineplex showing of The Crucible coming up in July, even though I have a digital copy at home!

Degree of obsession is in the eye of the beholder.

… To be continued next week.