G. How long have you been in the fandom and how has your attitude to the fandom changed during that time?
I've been thinking about this question since last night. Not an easy one to answer.
I first saw and noticed Richard Armitage in 2005. One of my local PBS stations here in the DC area was showing North & South and I happened to catch it quite by accident that night. (Still today the first stations I turn to every night when I get home are the PBS stations to see what they have on.) Yes, I know, I did say PBS station, but it was never widely distributed across the US by PBS to all the public television stations. In my life since 2005 I've only met two other fans, in different states, who saw North & South on their local public television stations that year. Somehow it was a special showing of the series on some local stations, maybe during pledge drive? I've never been able to discover how it happened.
So this is to say that I noticed and started to follow what this handsome actor, Richard Armitage, was working on back in 2005. But I didn't really join the "fandom" until about 2008/2009.
You see I was fairly involved in another fandom (see my blog heading and you'll figure it out), and just didn't have time to be involved in another. But unlike other Armitage fans, I was familiar with the "fandom" world in general by the time I decided to see what was out there in that world for Richard Armitage.
I first joined two forums, the old Armitage Army one, now long deleted/closed, and C19. I didn't post a great deal in either, in part because I was a bit burned out from fan forums at that time. But they were both great resources to find out more about this actor, this man, I had fallen for and wanted to know more about.
It was really the many Richard Armitage blogs at the time, commenting on them, and visiting them regularly, that really brought me in touch with other fellow fans. And then I joined them on Twitter and Facebook. There are some friends from that time I'm no longer in touch with, or who have dropped off the RA fandom, or who I've stopped following, and so we've lost touch. But I'm happy to say I have friends today from those early Armitage fandom days that I cherish and we wouldn't have met if not for our interest in Richard Armitage. And though we've moved on to share as friends beyond being his fans, I'm grateful to Richard and the fandom for bringing us together.
And since I joined the now gone Armitage Army forum, I don't mind in the least being thought part of the Armitage Army.
I'm a bit of a loner, so even back in my early Armitage fandom days when I was more actively active in the fandom, I've always felt somewhat apart, never fully belonging. But now I feel even more so, more apart, as he's gathered new fans with every new project. I'm happy that new fans join though, I think it's good for him and his career. I'm not a Tumblr person, and I don't really understand Instagram (though I joined). But I still check the RA news all the time, and still participate in the fandom on Twitter and Facebook every day in my own way.
And I'm participating in this fan challenge.
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