Mr. Fix It

~Yours in Armitage series~

October 23, 2013- [home improvement projects] I don’t really remember him saying what specifically he worked on, I just assumed he meant general Mr. Fix It stuff along with maybe building some shelves or something. I like that he enjoys that stuff because the men I know enjoy it too.

When I’m researching and learning about a new celebrity crush, I take in a lot of information. the biographical information is less interesting to me than the personal likes and dislikes, so I tend to compartmentalize them. where he attended school, the names of his siblings, etc. gets pushed off to the side to make room for hobbies and favorite foods because those are more important to me, they help me visualize what he is like as a person. I’m not sure I could focus on his career and nothing more, I’m too curious, I need some sense of who he is off screen as well as on. watching from afar, never interacting with the person one-on-one, and only getting carefully selected edits of their life, makes my view uncertain. I end up making them into a character themselves, my version of who I want them to be. it works fine, until I’m met with things that don’t fit into my constructed mold.

My initial impression of Richard Armitage stemmed from the version of him that we were presented with during The Hobbit promotions. broad shouldered, steady stance, bearded and somewhat intimidating at first glance but underneath there was a dry sense of humor, an intriguing intellect, and a softness that hinted at a teddy bear beneath the scruff. it only made sense then that this Richard liked to work with his hands, to build things like shelves or cabinets. the house that was ‘a bit of a tip’ with clothes lying around on the floor fit too, as did cooking eggs in the microwave and whipping up macaroni salad to eat. what was harder to place within that mold was the wine connoisseur, the self proclaimed foodie who willingly consumed steak tartare, someone whose ‘danger sport’ of choice was skiing, and listed classical music selections among his favorites. I willingly reshaped my mold to include these things because it was exciting to think that Richard could be more than I originally surmised. but as time went on, I saw less and less of the gruff teddy bear with the dry wit and more of the chameleon that took on the traits of whatever role he was currently portraying. it made me start to wonder who I was actually crushing on, Richard Armitage, or a modern version of Thorin Oakenshield. I’m still wondering.

Yours in Armitage,

Kelly