So yeah, did I mention I met Joe Armstrong today? ;-) I still haven't gotten over it, and I don't think I ever will, this has fairly made my LIFE! Settle in and I'll begin the ramble of how it all happened...
Basically, my 15-year-old sister (who is also a Robin Hood fan and loves him) found out about how Joe was doing that play in Edinburgh for the Fringe, and she begged me to take her to see it - as you all know, I'd already seen it once but I wasn't about to pass-up the opportunity to see him in the flesh again, so I bought us tickets for the show this morning. She was determined to try and meet him so our plan was to kinda hang about the building afterwards in the hope of spotting him, but never in a million years did I think our creepish loitering would work!! XD After the play had finished, we went to the toilets first, which killed some time, then hung about downstairs in the cafe/bar area, which is just outside the theater we had been in, thinking he might come through there. It was really busy though, and I had a feeling there must be some other "behind-the-curtains", backstage way for performers/staff to get upstairs and outside, so because we didn't want to miss him maybe leaving another way and not knowing about it, we figured we'd go just outside the entrance and just wait there for a bit.
We were standing by a pillar right in front of the main door, facing each other, when my sister's face just dropped, and she went stock-still and said something. At first I didn't notice, but then I caught sight of her expression and saw she was whispering something I couldn't quite make out, so I asked her what was up and she replied, uber-quietly, "he's behind you". I was like "the hell he is", because I figured she was just pulling my leg, but she then frantically insisted "no, seriously, he's on the phone and he's RIGHT behind that pillar!" She was deadly serious so heart-in-my-chest, I kinda moved to the side and had a sly peek around the aforementioned pillar, only to SEE HIM STANDING RIGHT THERE!!! NO MORE THAN TWO METERS AWAY FROM ME!
My eyes widened and I only had time enough to think "HOLYSHIT!" before fairly diving back around the pillar, out of sight and to figure out what the hell to do. We thought we'd ask for him to sign our tickets, so we got them out, and even had a pen in hand, ready to go (XD), and then basically had the most agonising wait EVER while he finished up his phone call and talked to a couple of other women standing outside, to the left of us (one of whom, I only realised at that moment, was the female star of the play *headslap*). He literally only talked to them for about a minute or two, though, before he started to head back indoors. My sister was closer so I nudged her and went "go, go, catch him!" to which the big chicken replied "no way, I'm not gonna do it!" All the while, he's getting farther away and I could just see the opportunity slipping away in front of me, seriously, I was like "it's now or never", so I basically bounded after him, jogging a little to catch-up, and then when I was close enough, I kinda stuttered "excuse me, Joe?"
WARNING: Excessive Fangirl Squee Ahead
HE STOPPED AND TURNED AROUND AND LOOKED RIGHT AT ME!!!! *dies on the spot* OMG, HIS EYES. They were the most gorgeous, blue eyes I'd ever seen, like sparkling, clear pools. TV's got NOTHING on those baby blues, for real. THEY WERE SO BEAUTIFUL. Never mind just his eyes, his entire lovely face. GAAAH!!! I literally froze in my tracks and he replied "yeah?", just looking at me questioningly. I...could not think a coherent thought. I pretty much started trembling straightaway, I was so nervous I was shaking, but luckily when I talk, I use my hands quite animatedly, so I'm hoping he didn't notice that. Unless my voice was trembly, which I think it was, but oh well. I think I said something like "I'm sorry to bug you but I just wanted to say, I just watched you in the play and I think you were awesome!" but in my mind it came out "aahkhafkshfskldhgkdshgkldshf;jADJLALJFV
LKSHG!!!" He grinned (sidenote: *DIES AGAIN*), and I explained that I was actually a fan of his through RH, so as soon as I found out he was doing a show up here, I figured it was a must-see.
My sister had caught up by this point, so he said hello to her and then we kinda chatted briefly about the play, his being up here, why he took the role, and so forth. I mentioned that I'd seen it twice, which prompted him to ask if it had been any different the 2nd time round. I told him that I'd actually been on the look-out for any differences, but it was pretty much the same, only slight nuances here and there, very minor details. I'd actually noticed his male co-star had accidentally messed up a line but I didn't want to say that because hello, RUDE. He seemed pleased to hear that I'd enjoyed both performances, though, HE HAD SUCH A CUTE WEE SMILE!!! *flails*
We then asked him if he'd sign our tickets and he was like "of course, yeah", and went over to sit at a table where he had something to lean on. He signed my sister's first and it was hilarious because for some reason, he had a real problem writing - I don't know if it was because he was still keyed-up from the performance but it was just a bit awkward, and adorably enough, he just kept apologising and being like "God, my writing is crap, sorry", to which my sister was like "WTF, WHO GIVES A SHIT, WRITE LIKE A 5-YEAR-OLD AND I'D STILL LOVE IT!" So she didn't say that in as many words, but I could tell that's what she was thinking ;-). He went over her name like 4 times, XD. And then, I don't know what came over me, but while he was signing, I pulled up the chair next to him, sat down, then proceeded to ramble about how gutted and annoyed I was at Allan's death on RH (Bestie, I told you I wouldn't be able to resist! XD). It was cool though, we had a little chat about the show, which was interesting because I found out some intriguing info - INSIDER'S SCOOP!!! *clutches it to chest and runs away* He was a lot more open certain things than I thought he'd be.
When I said they'd effectively killed off the best character, he did this modest "pssh, you-don't-really-mean-that" kind of noise and headshake, but I was adamant, and I couldn't let it go without explaining how awesome I really thought Allan was. So I just said "no, seriously, he's been my favourite since S1, and I think he's the best because he's the easiest to empathise with. He sees things in gray, rather than just black-and-white, he makes mistakes, he's flawed, but he's also human and tries to fix them. He was an amazing character and that was down to you", and he just looked so taken-aback and humbled, bless his wee face!! *squishes it* I don't think he expected that much enthusiasm, but dammit, I can't contain the squee when talking about one of my favourite characters XD. ESPECIALLY TO THE FREAKING GUY WHO PLAYS HIM!!!
Anyway, we all kinda stood up then, and I'm pretty sure he was going to go see a show (he'd talked briefly about it with the women from outside when they'd come back into the theater and passed us), so we said our goodbyes there - he was all like "it was really nice to meet you", and he SHOOK OUR HANDS. I ACTUALLY TOUCHED HIM!!!! I kinda never want to wash this hand again XD. I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY,
REALLY wanted a picture, but he'd freaking talked to us for about 10-15 minutes and I didn't want to hold him back any longer, or push my luck, so I didn't ask. I felt bad about taking up that much time as it was, so unfortunately, no photos! :-( Which I'm a bit gutted about but fuck it, it's the experience and memory that counts. I've got a signed ticket anyway, plus I'll always have the story :-D. I ACTUALLY MET HIM. AND TALKED TO HIM.
IN REAL LIFE!!!It was completely surreal, and I still can't believe I met him - I keep having random bursts of squee and sheer excitement whenever I remember - but OMG, it was just AMAZING. The whole time I was talking to him, I couldn't believe that it was actually HIM, and he was having a conversation with me, but GAH!!! IT WAS AND HE DID!! He was every bit as gorgeous in person as he looks on TV, and he was just SO laidback and lovely. Just a dream, basically. I am even more in love! ♥ ♥ ♥
( before i forget, a picture of my signed ticket! )
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