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sparklyslug · 2 years

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Thoughts on Steve being an Aragorn-type character, and do any of the other ST characters give you the lotr feelings?

I’d love to hear your ST/Lotr thoughts!

WHOA WHAT A GIFT OF AN ANON MESSAGE! Expound upon random LOTR/ST thoughts? Don't threaten me with a good time, sheesh.

(Promo moment: @greenlikethesea and I wrote a fic about Steve and Eddie going to see the Fellowship movie release, and having talks about what character they see themselves as, you can read it here)

STEVE AS ARAGORN: Look at Aragorn, Son of Arathorn, and tell me he isn't the reluctant babysitter of this bunch. But also, he is brave, he is adept as a warrior (LISTEN just because Steve gets his ass handed to him a lot of the time doesn't mean he CAN'T FIGHT, it unfortunately just means other people can fight better, this is not untrue for Aragorn as well), he has a deeply romantic heart and his most personal goals are aligned towards that: he just wants love, kinship, family, even with all these "bigger" dramas and goals happening around him. He inspires loyalty in others, his family background is WOOOOO COMPLICATED but that hasn't left him incapable of extending compassion and love to others. Aragorn is also a certified wifeguy, so jot that down too.

And there's the way that Aragorn is kind of in between two places when it comes to his identity. He is someone who was born with a sort of status, but is very much betwixt and between two worlds. He was raised very aware of his heritage, but can't access it. He was brought up in Rivendell, but he is not an elf. He is part of the Dundedain rangers, but they're a wandering bunch and though they do rally around him at the end of the saga (I get why the movies didn't have the scope to bring in more of the rangers, but DAMN IT WOULD HAVE BEEN COOL TO SEE THEM) he operates alone a lot of the time. Steve similarly across the reach of the series is frequently operating alone, especially in s1 and s2 when he's fully in his own bubble of the plot until he connects with Dustin and then further in s3 with Robin. Steve is kind of of a "normal" popular world, but also increasingly divorced from it. He's an outsider on multiple levels: he's not really a part of the world of status and popularity he once embodied, but he is also not easily accepted by your Robins and your Eddies, who know who he is enough that they can't initially see him as one of them, even though he's not really the guy he used to be either. There's a lot of distrust of Aragorn, especially in Fellowship, and it takes a lot of slow plodding on his part to really work his way into the group.

I also was literally having this message exchange with @andropogonfalons yesterday, and he said something that absolutely has haunted me: that Steve wears the legacy of being the king, of literally being King Steve, with a lot of doubt, a lot of complicated shame and uncertainty. But it's a mantle that he'll pick back up when it's necessary (facing down Billy comes to mind first, there are other examples I'm sure), and I think as the series goes on and the situation calls for it he finds ways of occupying that kind of power of King Steve (the confidence, the leadership, etc) on his own terms, so it becomes less of a burden on him and more something he can apply his own skills to, to shape into being the type of king he wants to be, feels he can be.

JONATHAN AS BOROMIR. what you need to know about me is that I AM A BOROMIR GIRL, OKAY? I fucking love that guy, so never think that anything I say about him is at all with a feeling of disrespect because hooooooooo my emotions. Jonathan, like Boromir, had to grow up too soon. Had to shoulder the burdens of his entire family's expectations and needs, without getting a lot of thanks for it (even from his mom, in early s1 especially, it is heartbreaking). He is clearly Lonnie's "preferred" son, and he fucking hates that, it is no kind of privilege or honor to be so obviously the favorite. In his mind if Lonnie can't be a father to Will, he sure as shit is no kind of father to Jonathan. Likewise, he points out in s1 that Lonnie only ever wants to push his interests onto his sons, without regarding them as people, who they are and what they want or enjoy for themselves. BIG OL DENETHOR VIBES THERE. The way Boromir is so protective of the hobbits, specifically good to them and literally laying down his life for them-- gOSH. Boromir is the ultimate big brother, in his life and for the Fellowship, and that's Jonathan.

EDDIE AS BOROMIR. Okay like I said I have a lot of Boromir thoughts and feelings they can't be contained in one person. I think if there's any one person in the show who cuts himself no slack at all for his one moment of human weakness, it's Eddie. No one can resist the ring, and no one could have helped Chrissy in that moment, but Eddie can't see that. He can't let himself off the hook for that in any way, and his guilt and shame over that one lapse in "strength" defines his further choices and ultimately leads to his death. Ha! Fuck!

EDDIE AS FARAMIR. So while I think maybe Eddie would cast himself as Boromir, I think it would be for all the shameful fuckup reasons, and not giving himself (OR BOROMIR) enough credit for Boromir's essential kindness, his strength, his nobility, his ability to lead in a way that's different than what Aragorn does but is no less powerful and inspiring. And these qualities are all also shared by Faramir. No one expects anything from Faramir. No one looks to him for great deeds or saving the day, they're just like-- there's Faramir, off in the corner, with his books and his learning and shit, he's no warrior, whatever. But Faramir has the capacity for greatness in him, and has in fact been expressing leadership and power the entire time, just not in ways the people around him can see it. Faramir is likewise pretty hard on himself, doesn't really recognize his own qualities either, because he's spent long enough being told that they don't exist. Power has no appeal to Faramir, being one of the few men (few BEINGS, damn) who specifically can resist the ring, and who easily yields up his Stewardship of Gondor so Aragorn can be king with like a, yeah no big man, it's all yours. Power is not a motivator for him, he just wants to do what's right, and look after the people under his command, the people he cares about. He is also someone who would say he has a cynical heart while spouting the most romantic shit imaginable, and if you want to just like, think about his courtship of Eowyn with me and cry, that would be nice.

ELEVEN AS GANDALF. A powerful being whose origins are largely unknown to the people around her, she has otherworldly gifts but really mostly wants to spend her time with her goofy hobbit friends, being a part of their normal lives and holding their safety as being basically on equal importance to the safety of, like, the world. As long as the Shire remains, hope remains. As long as Hawkins remains, hope remains, etc. Gandalf is literally Tolkien's analog to more or less angels, and yet with all that ultimate cosmic power he really wants to spend his time in the Shire mostly using his powers for party tricks and smoking weed. It's not only a preference, I think it's something like a need. When you have all that otherworldly power, when you are so apart from the rest of the people around you, you need that anchoring force of like, the hobbits who just think you're cool and funny and trust you even though you're kind of weird. El's relationship to the Party has again and again anchored her back into her humanity, bringing her back from the edge when she's teetering over a line towards some truly dark places. There's also connectivity in how she loses her powers (the death of Gandalf the Grey) but then comes back even stronger (Gandalf the White).

WILL AS FRODO. It's not just in the haunted big eyes. Frodo gets caught up in a global conflict beyond his understanding and certainly beyond what he's prepared for. Frodo certainly has more of a choice than Will does, at least in that he is presented with one at all at the council of Elrond, but Will makes choices too when it comes to fighting off the Mind Flayer's possession, continuing to help his friends. He pays the price, arguably higher than basically any of them, his role in the events not just a physical burden but an emotional and mental strain that chips away at him. I don't know what s5 is gonna be, obviously, but if it's more Will-centric I can envision (EVEN THOUGH IT MAKES ME V SAD) some variation of the yes, we did save the Shire-- but not for me conclusion for Will. Sometimes the price is too high, and even if you pay it and you win, there isn't always a way to just come back from that and live "normally". Also: haunted big eyes. Also: he is gay.

MIKE AS SAM: I really started this by going "will is frodo but mike is nOT SAM" and the more I thought about it the more I was like, fuck, yeah no that actually really works. The stubborn loyalty, the drive to get shit done while everyone else is kind of standing around going ????what do we do. Mike has an essential core of decency, and if he is the heart of the party then the heart of the party is absolutely Sam. Also, if Will gets his Frodo conclusion to the show, then I can see Mike being the one who is able to settle back into normal life, marry Rosie Cotton and raise a family. Not out of any lack of love or respect for Will and what they've been through (I don't ship it, but I do love the complications of the childhood best friendship that as you grow up gets strained and confused but no less loving) but just because he hasn't suffered in the same ways, and carries different burdens differently.

LUCAS AS MERRY, DUSTIN AS PIPPIN: the comparisons aren't always that deep and like, I feel like the show is genre-savvy enough that it consciously knows this. Four hobbits, four buddies, it just works. The carefree two of the bunch who get swept up into the broader action, without any specific skin in the game other than their desire to help and protect their friends. Merry, the more mature of the two, seeks to grow up a little into the conflict they're thrust into, through his service to Theoden and further heroism particularly (so the Rohirrim are...Hawkins basketball?? Hey maybe. Jason in this case is certainly not Theoden, because I love Theoden and Jason can kick rocks, though they certainly both know their way around a rousing motivational speech, fuck, wait okay maybe in this case Grima is like, the forces of classicism and privilege and prejudice whispering in Jason's ear and warping his worldview? NO STOP HANNAH WALK AWAY). Dustin is presented as comic relief, but he has his own journey of maturation while still staying true to himself (NEVER CHANGE DUSTIN HENDERSON) and also goes about collecting big brother mentor figures and protectors like nobody's business.

NANCY AS LEGOLAS, ROBIN AS GIMLI. Okay admittedly this was started as just a haha! who's left! kind of thing but also THE MORE I THINK ABOUT IT-- Nancy as the heir to a family situation that she's not really comfortable with, is very much OF her family but doesn't really connect with it and honestly from the events of Fellowship on, like, if Legolas even goes back to Mirkwood it's not for long, and he certainly doesn't ever take up his father's throne. The badass sharpshooter with a dry sense of humor and a SHARP sense of what's going on, not that anyone listens to her pronouncements of doom when they REALLY REALLY SHOULD BE. Robin as Gimli is just fucking funny okay, she's got no filter and she'll say what she needs to say but also fuck with her at your peril because she's got a core of iron. And, also, a soft spot for the ladies (three strands of Vickie's hair?? oMG AN HEIRLOOM A TREASURE) and also something something axe as a historic symbol of lesbianism.

VECNA AS SAURON. Okay yes this is a little bit of an easy reach, but I am thinking specifically of Sauron in the fall of Numenor (reaching for that Silmarillion lore now babyyyyy), and Vecna as Henry Creel: the seductive beauty, the easy way of getting others on his side and influencing them, the ability to persuade that despite his obvious and known allyship to the forces of extreme darkness (Sauron to Morgoth, Henry to being a proto serial killer who murdered his mother and sister), he is still able to win the confidence of others enough so that they keep him around, thinking he's controlled but really enabling his acts of future villainy, just with more subtlety. We just get the quickest little bit of how Henry became One, but the fact that he not only went through that training process but also was kept on as an orderly? BREMMER WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?? Clearly the trust wasn't absolute (tasers, yikes) but also clearly this is someone who was otherwise able to interact freely with the kids at Hawkins lab, under serious watch but otherwise able to operate with impunity within those confines, just as Sauron was. Even El tries to appeal to him as though he can be redeemed, which speaks as much about her as it does about him honestly, but despite everything he's done she really seems to believe he's not a monster. Serious Sauron behavior. And then, yeah, easy reach time, when his ultimate villainy is revealed he is robbed of the ability to hide it behind a beautiful exterior and can only be seen as the monster he truly is. If this is the way anyone finds out that Sauron used to be a hottie bo bottie before he was a disembodied eye, I consider it my great honor.

#this was a very fun self indulgent way to spend my morning thank you anon #stranger rings #EYYYYYYY #asks #lotr #stranger things #stranger things meta #mop #fair ithilien verse

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