The Savior Complex ~ by Guest Blogger Ramones

I guess you could say it all started for me
because of Kodak moments like this:

Born and raised a South Side Irish Catholic girl, you are taught to believe in the power of love

which will redeem us all. We just have to believe and trust in the faith of goodness and love and we

will conquer all our past sins and be forgiven. We will be granted in grace, a start fresh. Armed with

this important “dogma” (I use that term lightly) from 16 years of parochial education,

I entered the world as a true savior complex woman.

Oh I have had a long line of men I knew needed my faith and belief to save them.

I was a believer in so many and willing to provide redemption for my Rochester, Darcy,
Mark from Flambards or Wesley in Rich Man Poor Man. Men have been saved and lost under my
watchful eyes but I have to admit no one so brilliantly deserves my faith and
fierce loyalty as our lovelyRichard Armitage in so many of his roles. He can
deliver a performance of the most profound depth andcomplexity that I am willing
to take up arms for his salvation at the drop of a pin.

I give you John Standring , my first RA character I was drawn to save.

 This was a man in dire need and craved the faith, loyalty and confidence of a good strong woman.
I was ever so willing. Although technically he did not need full on redemption I see him
as a warm up for the womanizing Lee.

 Oh Lee poor dear Lee...but he does wear his work clothes well.

Now my greatest challenge for redemption and the most wondrous battles fought
for his redemption was my beloved Guy of Gisborne. 

Many a long night was spent typing long arguments for his soul surrounded in glorious black leather.
Lines in the sand were drawn, troops were recruited, feelings were strong and camps were formed
and fortified. Insults were hurled like flamethrowers. No prisoners were taken and many of our soldiers
were injured and some lost but for us, the true savior complex, we knew our black knight was only a facade
for the real man under all that leather. He was worth the battle scars and in the end, we got our redemption
of sorts. Oh not the one we wrote in our many fan fictions but a valiant death, fighting for good
and brotherhood. Oh Guy how our prayers for your soul were answered and our
hearts broken. White flags were drawn and the battle ended for our Guy.

And now with my Lucas North, I see yet another redemption story unfolding.

His pleading wounded lying eyes focused at Harry cried out to me, “Save me!” and I once again

have taken up arms defending his right to a clean slate and salvation from his atrocities.

I am ready willing and able to suffer the slings and arrows once again.

I guess in the end we all have our vices. Mine just happens to be the savior complex.

Many of you will point and laugh at my naiveté. I will not be dissuaded; I will continue to have faith

and hope when all is lost. We sure could use a little more hope, faith and love today. So be kind

when you take up arms and remember we all fight battles in some way or another.

*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *

About the Guest Blogger Ann, aka: Ramones~

I am a late 40's Mom who lives in the heart of the US in the land of OZ.  Sadly without the ruby slippers. 

I am originally from Chicago, Il.  My husband and I are both academics and are trained in the sciences.

I am raising 2 wild young men that are the joy and trials of my life. I am also a dog lover, avid reader

and huge Doctor Who fan and someday my cyber lady friends will win that lotto and

girl road trip to London for shows, sights and way too much fun!
Regarding Richard:  I was a huge Buffy fan and from the boards had friends in the UK when
it [Sparkhouse] came out. They were all telling me about this mini series I had to get a hold of.
One friend was able to get me a copy in 2003.  When North & South hit, they showed it on the local
PBS station in 2005/6 (not sure which) and then I was hooked. In roughly 2006/7 right after
North & South and Robin Hood came out, I found the RA community.

Photos courtesy of Richard Armitage Central Gallery.

What's in a name?

Lately I've been a bit obsessed

with finding the perfect name for baby #3.

I've checked out plenty of those baby name sites, which offer tons of suggestions

and categories~ boy/girl, trendy, unique, classic, etc.  They also tell you the

name's meaning, which I think is very interesting.

How many of you know your name's meaning?  Does it fit you?

Mine sure doesn't!  Natalie means "born on Christmas" and, well, my birthday is in July. 

Perhaps my parents meant to be ironic... or more than likely, just liked the name.

Here are the meanings behind a few RA-related names.

Taken from THIS site.  Do you think they fit?

Richard

Meaning: Powerful, Rich ruler

Origin: English

His Royal Gorgeousness.

John

Meaning: God is gracious, Merciful

Origin: Hebrew

 

There are a lot of Johns.

Guy

Meaning: Living spirit

Origin: Latin

The only decent graphic artwork you'll see the entire post.
*Wallpaper by Angela (aka: Spikesbint, Angelfish).
She also designed the blog's header.  See her creations HERE.*

Lucas

Meaning: Light

Origin: Latin

Lucas and lights!  I love this picture.

Harry

Meaning: Comes from Harold, meaning Army Ruler

Origin: English, Scandinavian

Nope. Nerdish glasses-wearing Harry just doesn't cut it as an army guy.
Perhaps Ian or John Porter should have been named Harry instead?

Claude

Meaning: Lame

Origin: Latin

How rude.  I don't think you're lame, Claude... only your beard, I mean... oops.

Lee

Meaning: Sheltered from the storm

Origin: English

Lee's theme song:
Singing in the rain...  just singing in the rain!
What a glorious feeling, I'm happy again!

Another Try

When it comes to Richard Armitage's characters,

I've been known to play favorites. 

I seem to blog about two of them in particular most often:

Can you blame me?

Plus, another has been stealing the spotlight lately:

I know that as great as Gisborne, JT & Lucas are, this blog needs more diversity. 

Other RA characters need their turn, after all! So in an effort to add something different to the mix,

it's time to take another look at one of the Johns.  No, not Thornton or Porter... Standring.

I first watched "Sparkhouse" last September on YouTube (see here) and pretty much hated it.

The background music is terrible, I'm not fond of "Wuthering Heights," which "Sparkhouse" is

loosely based upon (or any tragic love story for that matter... give me my happy endings, dang it!)

Plus, pre-makeover John Standring made me cringe with pity and discomfort
at the sight of that multi-colored coat, mop of hair and shy/dorky behavior.

John and the coat of many colors.

Now before you Sparkhouse-lovers give me a piece of your mind,

I decided to give it a second chance and rewatch.

I no longer hate it... in fact, I sort of liked it.

The acting is great.  I was impressed by Sarah Smart (fiesty Carol),

Joe McFadden (jerk-wad Andrew), Holly Grainger (sweet-faced Lisa) and of course

Richard (dorky, yet loveable John).  Their characters were believable... after all,

we're supposed to dislike Andrew, question Carol's judgement, and find John awkward.

Two of my favorite scenes:

About JS's shyness... I know many RA fans LOVE that aspect about him.

This role shows Richard's ability to become someone completely different from his heartthrob self.

Thanks to this rewatch, I also realized WHY JS and this story struck a chord with me. 

John reminds me of a guy I dated  in college who was also very shy and unsure of himself. 

(We'll call him "Paul" for the sake of this story.)  I knew this Paul fellow had always liked me.

He was cute and pleasant company, which is  just what I needed after suffering heartbreak  from my

first love... the ol' highschool sweetheart, "Jack."  However, my story didn't end like Sarah's. 

I didn't always retain strong feelings for Jack (like Sarah did for Andrew) so there wasn't any crazy

drama there, and soon realized  that as much as I cared for Paul, life isn't about taking the "safe" option,

and we parted as friends. The good news is things worked out for the best.  That year, I met and fell

head-over-heals for my husband.  As for Paul and Jack, they both ended up marrying beautiful young ladies

who are perfect matches for them.  So bits of "Sparkhouse" remind me of my past... and although the

show doesn't end in a way I'd prefer, it makes me very grateful for MY happy ending. :)

If you haven't yet watched "Sparkhouse," I recommend seeing it.

(And if you don't like it at first, give it another try later.) 

Here's a "Sparkhouse" fanvid by neelma to give you a feel for the story.

*Remember to pause the blog's background music (bottom of screen) before viewing.*

In other Standring-related news,

you must check out Teena's JS calendar HERE

(along with some other beauties) which I enjoyed.

22nd Poll Results ~ What's My Age Again?

In THIS article, Richard referred to his fans as being
"quite motherly."

Are you kidding me!?
Richard, I don't know a single fan of yours whose first thoughts of you
are in any way motherly.  (Further evidence that you're in denial of your sex appeal.)


In the recent David Stephenson interview HERE, Richard described his fas as,

"...mostly middle-aged, quite well-educated Radio 4 listeners"

I had to laugh when reading that because the majority of my RA online buddies
DO in fact seem to fit that description!  (Most are over 40 and are very intelligent women,
who tend to love reading, period films, and analyzing Richard's work,
rather than just "squee."  Although nothing is wrong with a good squee now and then.)


All of this made me wonder...
Being in my twenties, am I considered  one of the rare "youngsters" in the crowd?

Hence, the latest
POLL QUESTION:
What is the average age of the RA Fan Blog reader?

Knowing I couldn't survey all of Richard's fans, I figured I can at least
find out the age ranges of those who read this blog.  299 votes were cast.

RESULTS
in ascending order:

Tied for the majority~
Thornton-swooning Thirties (30-39): 88 (29%)

Flirty Girty Forties (40-49): 88 (29%)

Followed by~
Friendly Harry Fifties (50-59): 47 (15%)

Track-loving Twenties (20-29): 36 (12%)

Guy's Squealing Girlies (under 20): 27 (9%)

Sexy Standring Sixties (60-69): 11 (3%)

Granny Gisborne (older than 69): 2 (0%)

First of all, I have to say that I LOVE the fact that there are at least 2 people over
the age of 69 who read this blog.  I feel like making you a "Granny Gisbornes Rock!" t-shirt.
I was also pleased to find out a few teenagers follow along too.  It made me feel hip.
(The fact that I just used the word "hip" shows how completely uncool I really am.)

Although it was neck-and-neck,
I was surprised to find out that the majoirty of the voting blog readers
are actually under the age of 40. (Under 40: 151 people, Over 40: 148 people.)
Therefore, I think this proves that, although Richard has many fans who are
in their "prime of life," enjoying the wisdom of life's experiences and possibly an empty nest,
there are many other fans who come from other age ranges as well. 
There are a variety of Armitage admirers and we all
contribute something to the community of fans.

Thanks to Phylly3 for the idea of this poll question!

The 12 Days of Armitage Christmas

Sing along, friends!

On the twelfth day of Christmas,
Dear Richard gave to me...

Twelve Thorntons brooding,

Eleven Accountants counting,

Ten lords a-leath'ring,

Nine cats a-dancing,

Eight maids a-kissing,

 

Seven lifeguards swimming,

Six Standrings standing,

Five C-bee-bieeees!!!

Four troubled words,

Three French men,

Two big hugs,

And a Gisborne tied to a tree!

Merry Christmas from
The Richard Armitage Fan Blog!

In case I don't get the chance over the busy week,
I wanted to send my holiday greetings to all of you lovely blog readers & fellow RA fans.
Here's hoping you all have a wonderful holiday season filled with warmth and happiness!
I'll be enjoying the company of many out-of-town family members over the next 2 weeks,
so posts may be hit-and-miss until after the New Year.  Best wishes!  ~Nat


Thanks to the RAC Gallery, the Richard Armitage Net Gallery & the C19 Forum,
along with many other various sources for supplying so many great photos to nab & crop.