#steve is my blorbo and i love him dearly

[feerz]

Ranking all the Jesuses from every version I've watched/listened to so far

without further ado let's get into it 🙌

Ian Gillan - 1970 Original concept album

The True Doer that you cannot outdo. The og who made this role what it is today. And since the og album was were I got my start and obsession with jcs, I have a huge fondness for him. There's just something so- so... about him. His vocals? Insane, fantastic, the golden standard. His Gethsemane is Everything. He raised the bar so high (literally lol) and made this role harder for everyone that came after him and I respect that. I also love his characterisation. He is a rockstar and he knows it. Adore this whiny ass messiah and his dramatics. 9/10

Ted Neeley - 1973 movie

Sad little mouse man. He's like some small rodent to me. His gethsemane is iconic, but beyond it I don't care to much about his Jesus. He's perfectly inoffensive, but I find him a bit boring. Poor guy also had the disadvantage of performing against Carl Anderson, who's too powerful and who commanded every scene he was in, outshining Jesus. Tedsus is not for me personally, but he's definitely not bad. 6/10

Camilo Sesto - Madrid 1975 album

I like him! He reminds me of Ian's Jesus but sadder (love to see it). Really good vocals. That 'POR QUE' ate. And his Gethsemane in general too. I don't have that much to say besides that, but Señor Sesto is really good in this role. 8/10

James Whitson - San Jose Civic Light Opera's 1990 production

Uhhhhhhh. Watched this in a discord watch party and for half of it we were thought this was Ted. It wasn't. Don't really know what to say, there wasn't anything really memorable or notable about him. Also has the disadvantage of being pared up with Carl Anderson, except it's even worse here. If Carl was anywhere near him, no chance I was paying attention to Jesus. Um... he chased Santa out of the Temple! That's something! 3/10

Steve Balsamo - 1996 London revival album

Steve Balsamo Jesus, my dearly beloved. How can you not love him. Just rewatch his Gethsemane for the 1000th time. His vocals are out of this world, man has organ pipes in place of vocal chords. Props to him for actually crying in gethsemane and still killing it. Absolutely fantastic. And his beautiful hair and those brown eyes really add to it. He's such a sad pathetic man, it's great. No complaints 10/10

Glenn Carter - 2000 movie

I'm shaking, please buy him brown contacts. I am a glensus hater, although I have to admit that during my second viewing I didn't dislike him as much. Easily my least favourite gethsemane (lmm excluded), except his delivery of "what you started, I didn't start it", that was surprisingly good. Again, I'm a hater but bonus points for the entertainment factor. 4/10

Paul Nolan - 2012 Broadway revival

BORING! Sorry your trouple doesn't save you from being so incredibly bland. It's like looking at a white wall that has just been painted over and you're watching it dry. Gethsemane is solid vocally, I like his interactions with others. But Jesus himself? No thanks. The staging of the crucifixion was so great, but then there he is with his mouth agape like a baby bird being fed and unconvincing "suffering". Also, no blood? 3/10

Ben Forster - 2012 UK Arena tour

THIS IS THE ONE. My roman empire. My most dear blorbo. He's been living in my head rent free for months. I love him so much. He's just so incredibly stressed out and angsty and pathetic and constantly on the verge of a complete mental breakdown. His gethsemane is my favourite. Just pretty much everything I could want from a performance of it. The way he curls up on the floor? The little moments when his voice breaks a bit from emotion?? The knee thing??? Great, fantastic, stunning, no notes. Also I adore his costuming, finally Jesus is given something more interesting. 11/10

John Legend - 2018 NBC

Hot take, but he's not nearly as bad as people make him out to be. He's just fine. I do enjoy his voice, Poor Jerusalem is especially good. Although I don't love his acting in the second act, but I really liked him in the first one. This Jesus just seems really nice and friendly and I love that. Gethsemane is solid vocally, even without the G5. Anyways he's not bad at all! 6/10

Andrew Latobesi - 2018 Villanova College

This was another wildcard from the watch party. Jesus didn't stand out much because we were all a bit distracted by Judi. And Mary. He was bland and the acting was not fantastic, but this is a high school prod, and for what it's worth he's not bad. Gethsemane was solid enough considering everything. The crucifixion surprisingly hit, good crying there. ??/10 since I don't think it would be fair to rank him against all those adult professional performers.

Jack Hopewell - 50th Anniversary North America tour

The only Jesus that made me cry while watching. He suffers real good (and looks very pretty while doing so). He's just so- so... I just wanted to wrap him up in a soft blanket and give him a kiss on the forehead and feed him soup. Tbh I think he's one of the best vocally too. His high note is my fav. Gethsemane in general is just great too. Love how much he's just some silly guy who then has to face the Horrors. He's just very cute :] 10/10

Jeangu Macrooy - 2024 Netherlands national tour

The most poor little meow meow Jesus ever. He's so pathetic it's great. Him smiling and being happy was also so cute. Really good vocals too, man killed those high notes. His gethsemane too... Jeangu Macrooy absolutely steels the show and it's fantastic and incredibly heartbreaking. Want to see his performance again so so badly. In the meantime everyone should check out a snippet of his performance 10/10

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[seagull-energy]

hiiii! 🍐 🍈 🫐 please! :D :D :D

Hiiii!! Thanks for the ask! Sorry for the delay in answering it 😅 🍐 Is there anything in canon that you absolutely hate and love to fix in fics? A wrong choice made, a fuck-up in characterization, a misunderstanding never cleared up, a conversation never shown onscreen, etc…

WELL. I’ve ranted about this in detail to you before, but I absolutely LOATHE the treatment of Arwen in Return of the King (the film). I’m never going to get over how damseling her ruined her arc, Elrond’s arc, AND Aragorn’s arc in one fell swoop. Bearing Hope’s Sword is the only real fix it I’ve ever written, so I think that tells you a lot about how strongly I feel about it haha.

Oh, and I also have serious beef with X-Men: The Last Stand that I plan on working out via a full movie rewrite eventually. They really did not do Jean any kind of justice in that movie, and the handling of the cure plot felt messy and underdeveloped.

There are other things across various canons that I hate (Natasha’s handling in Endgame and large chunks of the last two seasons of Voltron Legendary Defender come to mind) but those are the big two that have been occupying my brain in an “I must Fix This” capacity recently.

🍈 Who’s your blorbo and what are some of your favorite headcanons/ideas about them that repeatedly show up in your fics? Free pass to rant about blorbo opinions.

Okay so caveat that there’s far more than one character who would fit this question but... ARWEN!! She is my dearly beloved as you well know, and I have so many thoughts about her presence in the narrative from a thematic perspective. I don’t have a ton of headcanons about her, but I do love the idea that she was a mischievous scamp as a child and got her brothers into all kinds of trouble. I also think that she knows almost as much about the science/herbology of healing as Elrond and is only really surpassed by him because of Vilya’s power and the fact that he has more experience in treating certain types of wounds. And finally, I strongly believe that she and Éowyn are BESTIES and did a lot to support each other after both moving away from their homes/families to go live in Gondor.

🫐 What’s your favorite underrated thing in your fandom? (A ship that only you seem to write for, a character there’s almost no fics about, a trope that criminally hasn’t been written yet, etc.)

Pivoting away from LotR, I am an ardent fan of Avengers Assemble and that fandom is seriously lacking in anything that isn’t Steve/Tony shipping lol. Specifically, I think there’s a huge untapped well of potential for character studies of Yelena in the season 3 episode “Seeing Double”. The fact that there are NO fics about AA Yelena AT ALL boggles my mind to this day when she gets lines like “you can’t help me, I’m made to destroy” and “what choice do I have? [about being what the program made her]” delivered with absolutely heartbreaking despair. She deserves so much appreciation and exploration and no one has given it to her yet :( I have several fics planned myself, but they are fighting back so who knows when they’ll be done and in the meantime I am languishing with no one to babble about her with except my sibling.

Additionally, I think Songbird’s arc in season 3, short though it is, has a ton of potential for exploration that just. Hasn’t been tapped. And that makes me sad! Her friendship with Hawkeye is really cute and they have a lot in common that could be explored. Also I think she would be great friends with Natasha and Carol, and I want them to hang out :)

Hooray! Fun questions to answer! Anyone else want to send me some fruit and get some answers?

[descaladumidera]

Okay, so I'm finally putting all the stuff about the other characters on this post as well that @illicien and I came up with. It's not that much, just bits and bobs for different characters. Yeah, I wanted to do this ages ago, but I forgot. Do not judge me or I'll cry.

Let's start with Tony.

He is an engineer for SHIELD, building the Jaegers. He is quite miffed that he is allowed to build but not to pilot. Makes for a grumpy Tony. Alas, when the base gets attacked, he turns the weapons inside out and manages to use them against the attacking Kaiju, saving a lot of people and destroying a big part of the base in the process. Fury is pissed. Tony is proud. Nobody can fire him, 'cause they need him. Fury even allows him to use his bots to clean up the mess, 'cause he needs Tony to keep working on the Jaegers and more defenses.

(He also absolutely is working on a mini-Jaeger called Iron Man. But it's his little hobby side project, because nobody is letting him have any fun. At all. Ever.)

Next is Peter.

He is the kid that's on his own and builds his own Jaeger, after his aunt and uncle got killed in a Kaiju attack. His Jaeger can be controlled by one pilot (yes, this is a Scrapper reference) and is named Spider. He ends up at SHIELD by accident and gets adopted by literally everyone. Even Fury has a soft spot for the kid.

And Stephen.

Stephen was a Jaeger pilot, but he also lost his partner, which scarred him deeply and fucked with his mind so hard he never sets foot in a Jaeger again. It takes a lot of convincing, but thanks to him having deep knowledge about neurology (which was the main reason he was recruited in the first place), he stays at SHIELD, helping Tony refine the sync machines in the Jaegers.

About Thor and Loki.

Obviously they pilot a Jaeger together. They're insufferable. They work well. But, damn, everyone wants to smack them into the next dimension.

The package deal of Steve, Bucky, and Sam.

Steve (who comes from a long, proud line of Jaeger pilots) and Bucky used to pilot a Jaeger together rather early on. But shit went south and Bucky lost his arm and they thought Steve was dead. That led to Fury putting Bucky and Sam together as pilots, because they are compatible. Well. Drift compatible. They're always on each other's throats otherwise.

Through some fucked up kind of luck, though, Steve survived and turns up at SHIELD months later, healed up and ready to get out there again. Only that his old partner has a new partner. That leads to Tony engineering a new Jaeger—one for three pilots. Turns out that Steve is the buffer Bucky and Sam need and they work together like a charm.

Not-really-married Natasha and Clint.

Of course Nat and Clint make a team. They know each other inside and out. So much, in fact, that people think they're actually married and don't dare approach any of them to ask for a date.

Rhodey and Curtis and their white idiots. Also Pepper, Christine, and Karen and their male idiots. And Trish, Claire, and Colleen and their idiots in general. There's overlap.

Just stuffing all these characters into one room, giving them an abundance of alcohol, and letting things play out. There's a lot of complaining. There's bonding. I need a whole series of them just being Done With Shit™. They're so tired.

We did not forget about Bruce.

He is just. Quietly suffering. Bruce is hopping between helping the analysts and helping Tony and nobody gives him the appreciation he deserves. Poor guy. Let me pet him. He is the one listening to people complaining about everyone else.

Another three-person-Jaeger for Jess, Luke, and Danny.

They join SHIELD later on, bringing their people with them. It's clear they also need a three-person-Jaeger, so Tony gets to work. They're good, but really inexperienced, so there's a steep learning curve.

For some reason Zemo gets a part as well. (The reason is my wife, who I love dearly and he is their blorbo, so gotta incorporate him somehow.)

Not too sure about his part, yet, but some kind of intelligence operative, feeding info to Fury about the Kaiju black market and other things normal people wouldn't be able to know. He might have to work together with David at one point, gather as much information that SHIELD can use as possible.

Also. Bucky starts to flirt with him. Steve and Sam are not impressed. Nat is delighted. Clint is actively helping (he is making it worse).

Fuck it, I'm gonna put out my ideas for a Fratt Pacific Rim!AU. Do with this what you want.

Okay, lemme paint the background picture.

SHIELD are the ones behind the Jaeger program, with Nick Fury at the head. Once Curtis lost his leg during That One Mission, Fury seeks him out and recruits him (like Fury does), which leads to Curt dragging in Frank and Billy, because he knows they would be damn good at operating a Jaeger together.

Now on to Frank.

Frank and Billy were marines and friends first, so they have the discipline and they are drift compatible. They go on a lot of missions (don't have a name for their Jaeger yet—maybe The Punisher? *coughs*)—successful missions. They're the heroes of the Jaeger program. Until everything goes to shit. A Kaiju attacks New York and kills Frank's family. Frank and Billy try to stop it, but they fail, their Jaeger breaks, and Billy dies on this mission. Frank is … not in a good place. He wants to find a new partner, wants to take revenge, but Fury and Curt deem him too unstable and pull him out of the program. Frank goes back to New York (meeting the Liebermans during that time).

((Lieberman tie-in.

David do as David does and hacks into databases he shouldn't hack into. So when he finds stuff he shouldn't find, he panics. But he knows that a rather legendary Jaeger pilot (Frank) is back in New York, so he finds him.

"You have the connections! You can tell SHIELD about the illegal Kaiju trade!"

Frank does not want to do this. He does not. He tells David as much, shoves his middle finger into his face, and leaves. But David is a persistent asshole, so he tracks him down. Again. And again. And again. Until Frank groans and comes by to at least look at what David has found. That's when he meets David's family ('cause he has his set-up down in the basement of his house). Of course Leo, Zach, and Sarah make Frank stay for dinner. And then they make him come over again. And again. And again. Until he can't help but feel integrated into their family. Goddamnit.))

And now on to Matt.

Matt has been part of the Jaeger program family since he was a kid. Jack got recruited just after Matt got blinded, desperately needing to provide for his son, and the people at SHIELD were his best bet to give Matt the care he needed. Jack actually was Fury's partner and they operated a Jaeger together (also no name for this one—maybe Daredevil? *coughs*). Of course shit goes south and Jack dies during a mission, Fury taking it upon himself to keep Matt at the base and raise him.

Matt goes on to become one of their analysts, one of the best (at one point Foggy and Karen get recruited, too, and work alongside him). Despite not being able to see any of the Kaiju and the samples that end up at the base, Matt can draw conclusions from the data he has like nobody else. He, Foggy, and Karen find out about the pattern in which Kaiju will appear.

Now onto Frank and Matt meeting.

This discovery prompts Fury to seek out Frank, because, well, they need the best of the best and it has been years by now, so he wants to give Frank another chance. Frank comes back when he hears what's at stake (and brings the Liebermans with him—he doesn't want to lose another family and David can join Matt, Foggy, and Karen). The problem is—nobody is drift compatible with him. They try the best of the best: Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, Bucky Barnes, etc. None of them work.

On one night, Frank thinks it would be best to find out anything he can, so he goes to the lab and asks the analysts himself for all the details. Because he knows Fury and he knows that Fury's secrets have secrets. And that's when he meets Matt, that's when he realizes how goddamn fucking smart he is. And he wants to try to drift with Matt.

Fury is like, hell no, of course. But Frank is nothing if not persistent, and Matt has a secret desire to try this. Because of his dad. Because the Murdock boys have the Devil in them. Because he is just so tired of not doing enough. Fury is still like, hell no. So Matt and Frank just. Do it. Without Fury's permission. 'Cause they're assholes.

Of course Matt, never having drifted before, goes down the rabbit hole. That's when Frank learns that Battlin' Jack Murdock—the man he had looked up to since he was a kid—was Matt's dad.

I have a shitton of other ideas, all expanding the universe and including other characters. But this is the more specific stuff I came up with.

[shaanks]

MCU for the fandom ask

-cracks knuckles- okay I have slept and eaten let's DO THIS (for you my v dearly beloved <3)

**

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most):

Bucky Bucky Bucky Bucky Bucky Bucky. And Steve, and Sam, and the version of Natasha that I have in my mind at all times. Essentially the whole Cap Crew is my most especially dearly beloved. There's also like. I have a very specific characterization of Tony that my bestie and I kinda perfected over the years of active MCU interest whom I love and adore, but v similarly to Natasha the actual canon MCU had no earthly idea about who they wanted him to be so he was like. A different dude from film to film, and a lot of the time that dude was a prick.

Honorable mention for Actually a Good Dad Scott Lang, as at this point there are like 3 good fathers ever and he is one of them and he is. fictional.

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped):

Clint Barton is very Shaped and a scrungus no matter what they tried to do with Jeremy Renner and I will take that to my GRAVE. That man is the dude who calls you at 3 AM to come to his apt and it seems like it's gonna be a booty call but he's just gotten his hand stuck in a jar of salsa and can't figure out how to get it outta there without breaking it. he is precious and ridiculous and scrunkly and I love him.

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave):

She got a lot of hate and apathy (as most afab characters that aren't immediately sexually available tend to do) but I really think Nakia from Black Panther is so fucking amazing, like. She was so competent, and she and Okoye were such incredible narrative foils for each other in that they were both doing what they thought was best for Wakanda, and they both refused to sacrifice their morals or honor to do so. Nakia also did what women are rarely allowed to do in media (especially not the MCU god fucking forbid), which was to love a man without subsuming herself into him. She very clearly and genuinely loved T'Challa, but never once did that stop her from being true to herself, or doing what she needed to do, and I just...hhh -clenches fist- I love her.

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week):

Literally every character in GOTG that was in the background while Peter and the gang were trying to catch Gamora and getting their asses kicked for their troubles, like. There was a lot of like screaming and trying to get out of the way, sure, but iirc people were just like 'o damn that's nuts lmfao' standing around eating and watching the dipshittery and I love all of them for that.

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave):

I actually feel really sad for Vision, as boring as the writers liked to make him, like. That was Jarvis! That was Just A Rather Very Intelligent System, he was our AI buddy and then like. What. He gets an infinity stone jammed into his processing center and has to have a body now?? Be physically perceived??? Everyone that he's been looking after as an AI attacks him while he's JUST being born and having to figure out what legs are, and then he stumbles into a relationship at what is for him effectively age like 2, with the most powerful person canonically in the universe who is!!! basically just another infinity stone, and he gets to spend some time romping around with her kind of before some giant insufferable economics major who can't let go of the Malthusian model despite the fact that it's been undermined to hell and back by now like digs?? his brain out of his skull??? and then he's a hallucination for a while and then he just dies??? Bro had like -198732% of a chance, and things were very stressful for him at all times.

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason):

Thanos, Howard Stark, I don't care how charming he seemed in Agent Carter, Ronan, Odin still again and always, Alexander Pierce, literally anyone that ever hurt Bucky, essentially everyone that I want to put in superhell is going there via the horse plinko feeder tube, I don't care if all these people are dead PLINKO for 10,000 years and then superhell.

eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell):

The above list of fuckwits and shitweasels, though I am also going to include Joss Whedon for all of his very public and obvious war crimes, and Kevin Feige for shelving Serpent Society in favor of jamming Civil War into the MCU docket without bothering to do ANY of the build up or lay ANY of the groundwork that actually made the Civil War story arc poignant or important in any way.

[vsrobotjulie]

fnf for the blorbo post ?

HEHEH OKAY adding mods because i think they count

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most): boyfriend i love him so dearly!!!! you go you funny little man!!!

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped): ANNIE!!!!! my absolute beloved!!!! and garcello honestly any atsuover character!! and also steve tankman

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave): that one nyan cat mod... it makes me so incredibly happy for no reason

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week): DARNELL when week 5 came out and i saw him in the background i did not shut up about it for so long i still only play week 5 for him

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave): none of the official characters really fit this criteria and i am not familiar with any of the "cancelled" mods </3

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason): sky i dont like her

eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell): senpai i hate him so much. i want to kiss him on the mouth but in an enemies way.

[ima-ghost-art]

I want to add for starters! even before they got sucked into the upside down where (I would say he probably got a minor concussion or at least some kinda whiplash after being pulled through and dragged, bc there is no way his head didnt hit the ground a couple times!! Plus a comment mention how he got one as a baby so like hes going on at least 6 in my book!!) The kids got caught by the cops that, honestly, wouldnt of happened with him there!

But like seriously op this is just FACTS!!! Steve would feel so guilty for not being there for the kids + eddie (honestly considering what happened to the groups out side of Hawkins, bets are he would also feel guilt for that too) (like finding out el got dragged back to the lab by Brenner, while the cali group were basically on the run from the government while trying to find her? No doubt he wishes he could of been there to idk stop el from getting bullied to the point she gets arrested, or help jonathan keep the kids + argyle safe and sane since they couldnt contact anyone!?)

(ALSO no way steve wouldnt feel so damn guilty that Hopper was taken by the Russians, Hop who only really just started having time with his daughter, Hop who was a strong leader who always knew how to help when things got rough, Hop who steve could have switched places with if he had stayed in the base or hadnt gotten caught in the first place! Hopper and Joyce, the two closest things to parental figures (even if they barely interact) having to fight their way out of the Russian prison, when they shouldnt of had to even be there in the first place, if steve hadnt let him and the kids get caught that night!!) (You can't tell me Steve wouldnt probably think things would have gone better if it was him who was taken not Hopper)

**would this also be a good point to mention that steve is often paralleled with hop with the whole fighting monsters (and people) thing, only steve has usually succeeded in faceing all these creatures first, plus didnt have a flamethrower and a sword so like?? Good for him?**

Steve, where the only person to ever voice that he was a good person, dies because he wasnt there?? That max dies because he wasnt there?? That all the kids got hurt because he. wasnt. There!?!?

Honestly (and ik I've posted about it before but that's bc honestly I feel like it would be the perfect way to do his character arch (just like Max's)) Steve should get vecna'd.

Because not only would we get a full in depth view on the mental (hell even the physical) tole everything in the last 4 years has taken on him, aswell as getting to see extra bits (like more on his home life) and how he sees himself as a person!

We would then get to see how everyone else would react to steve not being there to silently help! I want everyone panicking because Steve is suddenly floating, no one even realising he was cursed because even when he tried to tell them they would brush him off, or 'tell him to tell them later if it was really that important!'

And since at this point steve is so worn down for no one ever seeming to need him he just keeps quiet until it's too late... he would already be in the trance before anyone could realise he not there!

Whether he lives or dies the point will have been made. Vecna was able to notice how extremely important Steve was to the Party, before the Party noticed how extremely important he was to the Party! (For just a lil bit of angst it would be fun for them to shown/ realise how all of them would have been killed if it wasnt for steve bc literally he has saved probably all of their lives at least once whether that be directlyor indirectly!!)

And for a final kick of the hurt, when max wakes up, the three people she should, most realistically, ask for straight away, is lucas, el, and steve.

And with the way things are growing in the show? I honestly dont know if he will even be alive for that point.

To add on here at the end, steve IS smart, just not conventionally, hes probably the most emotionally smart person besides Joyce and Murray!!

But almost definitely, steve is WISE! Which is alot more than the rest of the party!! Literally if this was dnd, everyone else has the 'intelligents' bit maxed out, or at least heading that way (dustin and nancy...) but steve, instead of putting it all into the smarts, put it into the wisdom!

He doesnt need facts to know things. Instead he uses his experiences, and gained knowledge from living!! He didnt need a compass to tell him where skull rock was, because he knew the way for going their before, it was something he had already learned and made a fair judgement in himself that the compass was wrong as hes experience showed differently!

When he noticed the music in the back of the recording, he used the knowledge he had already gained from his surroundings, to discover that realistically, the transmission must have been coming from close by!

Hell even with his fight with Billy! It's clear from how he went into the Interaction, that it was never ment to turn into a fight, from experience he knew he couldnt beat billy, however, he could destract and stall him. When the fight did start, the goal was obviously not to win, it was to keep the incoming threat away from the kids!! You can see this I'm how steve purposely directed billy away from them, keeping himself in between!

EVEN THE BOAT SCENE!! Steve knew he had to be the one to check out the gate, because he was the one with the highest swimming abilities, he was the best suited for the role because of his experience!!

And no one (not even nancy or dustin!!) Even thought of that, but he did, because he had the wisdom to think of who was the most knowledgeable for the actions!!

He didnt need intelligence for any of that!! But his actions time and time again prove hes wise and has enough understanding of the situation to make sensible decisions in split seconds because hes SMART!!!

(Honestly it's this trait he shares with will, that I believe both of them have a trouble fitting in with their groups because their logic works so differently to everyone else around them!!)

I'm so sorry this is so long but steve means so much to me as a character and he deserves to be recognized as a smart amazing character who is shown time and time again that he is capable of growing and bettering himself without asking in return!!

sometimes you spend two hours out of your tuesday talking about the persistence of the "steve harrington is an idiot" narrative which is basically the most consistent thru-line in the entire show

sometimes you are watching stranger things 4 and eddie munson calls steve harrington "a pretty good dude" and "oh no," you think "is this the first positive thing anyone's said to him this season?" and then, even worse, "oh god, is this the first time in the show that someone directly tells steve that he's a good person?"

and then you write a lot of words about it

like. let's take a journey.

season 1: nancy doing her little "you are an idiot steve harrington" bit, which as been talked about, but also the fact that tommy and carol are constantly making fun of him for liking nancy, almost in a "aww he doesn't know that he's pathetic" kind of way. barb thinks he's an idiot. jonathan thinks he's an idiot. we know what happened when the duffers wrote him, he was supposed to be an idiot. nancy thought he was using her for sex, and she wanted to rebel! she didn't want to date him even though steve was just so clearly fucking besotted. even the kids thought he was trouble!

on top of that: we know that his parents are never home, that they think it's pathetic that he lost his fight with jonathan (probably just threw money at the situation honestly). we know he's popular, but decidedly not well-liked.

BUT. he's like. a good guy. he apologizes to jonathan for the shit he said. he would apologize to nancy later but he knew he fucked up with jonathan. called jonathan a queer, a freak, said shit about his family, he knew it was over the line and he wanted to fix it. he ran when he saw the monster but he came back inside to save them anyway. nancy gets back together with him. he buys jonathan a new camera and has nancy give it to him as a gift because he knows jonathan wouldn't take it from him. he is smart!

concussion tracker: 1

season 2: he writes his college admissions essay, but nancy doesn't think it's good, no one thinks it's good. he knows it's not good. he's visibly nervous about it, knows his parents are going to be disappointed if he doesn't get to college. there's no more "you are an idiot steve harrington" but a wider acknowledgement that he is Not Smart. he doesn't make the Right Decisions. not to his parents, not to nancy, not by listening to the government and not talking about barb, not by being worried about his family because the government will take everything away from him.

he's a fool in love. he doesn't even realize that nancy doesn't love him. she challenges him when he says so, too, calls him crazy for it, but he's right. he heard her say it to his face and he almost lets her pretend it never happened because he loves her so much.

he's not popular anymore, either, not in his senior year, not without tommy and carol, not with billy around. he can't even keep his girlfriend, that one everyone told him was a red flag, the one that is way smarter than him, way too good for him, he's only really making her worse and she thinks so too. steve, you're so stupid for thinking everything is okay when it's bullshit! when it's obviously bullshit, everything was and you clearly didn't care and everyone knew this was all smoke and mirrors except for you.

he's still good, though, still a good guy. he gives dustin bad (but well-meaning) advice. and the thing is that he doesn't even realize that it's bad advice. it always worked for him! harrington you idiot! naive. girls don't care if you like them, youre pretty! don't you know that's why?

still, he's good! he goes to nancy's place to ask for her back and to apologize even though he knows he didnt do shit wrong. he unquestioningly takes dustin where he needs to go, protects them all from billy even though he can't fight: really, very stupid of him to try. he loses and is literally passed out for a good chunk of time but the kids are okay! he can't see or hear but he knows that if he doesn't chaperone them into the upside down that they'll probably die so he gets up and does it.

he sends nancy to go be with jonathan because "i'm a pretty shitty boyfriend, but i'm not a half-bad babysitter" (and he says this literally knowing he didn't do anything wrong. he really believes he's a pretty shitty boyfriend. he's gotta be, he's too stupid for her, not good enough, couldn't make her happy, didn't let her be right in the way that she needed to be and that just must be a universal truth). it's supposed to be humbling when he takes dustin to the snow ball, now that he's the babysitter guy, he's finally been humbled! thank god! he had such a big ego before!

concussion tracker: 2

season 3: he didn't get into college (probably because he never ended up editing that college admissions essay) (probably also because he's had two serious head injuries) and he's really fallen from grace, now. girls don't even want anything to do with him, partly because he didn't get into college, partially because he's convinced he has no game. he's insecure about it, too, because even dustin has a girlfriend from his smart nerd camp and his advice from last year didn't turn out to be any good. and not to mention what is dad thinks about him.

and steve just. doesn't hesitate for a second to help dustin with the russian spy thing without even knowing it had anything to do with the upside down. like this was no longer life and death, dustin is just his friend and he likes him. and he still helped him even when he was struggling with translation, and he was the only reason they found out it they were operating from the mall, even though everyone else thought it was stupid that he was so focused on the song.

and then he gets tortured, and manages (for the most part) to protect everyone else, takes a fucking massive beating for it, only mentions a single name when he's drugged.

and this part is extremely important to me as a robin buckley defender to the death, she straight up tells steve all about how awful he was, how big of a dick he was in mrs. click's class. and he agrees! he knows! it's hit him that the person he was in high school was this miserable asshole who didn't care about anyone else even though we've only seen a version of steve that tries and cares. nobody remembers all that. not even steve. and later he confesses to her and is straight up waxing poetic about how much fun she is and how much he likes spending time with her and how great it is to be her friend. and yeah, he likes her, he has eyes and a brain. and she shuts him down and it takes about five seconds for his brain to recalibrate.

he's good. doesn't even take a full 1986 minute to feel sorry for himself, to feel stupid for barking up the wrong tree again. doesn't take a full aids epidemic world minute to be on her side. no shit this is the guy who called jonathan a queer and immediately went to apologize. he's used to it. he's used to being wrong and he's used to transforming his love into something platonic.

he doesn't hesitate to run his car directly into billy's or back in the direction of the mind flayer. he's unafraid. he's brave. no one calls him brave to his face but they all think it.

and then right at the end, he's trying to get a new job at the movie store, where he almost doesn't get hired because he's too stupid to know anything about movies and-- isn't it funny that he walks into that cardboard cutout that was right in front of him? there goes steve harrington. the bumbling idiot.

concussion tracker: at least 4 (he got his shit rocked by the russians at least twice)

season 4: this is where it gets good. it's where it gets interesting. by which i mean it gets awful and i hate it. it's where i want to rip my hair out of my head and eat it.

spoiler alert: ive only watched volume 2 once and im currently rewatching volume 1 (which actually sparked this rant obviously), so it's going to be a bit brief talking abt v2 compared to v1

just in the very first episode, we get: steve getting negged by his date about how he was bad at basketball, steve talking about how he wants a real relationship with someone who gives a shit about him instead of just... using him for sex, steve being vocally jealous about dustin's other older male friend, steve being the only one who saw lucas win the game (other than nancy who has like never spoken to lucas) and no one acknowledging it. he's like in an accumulative like five minutes of this episode probably.

in the next few episodes, we get a lot of dustin (bless him) straight up calling steve an idiot for

suggesting they contact the police on account of all of the horrible things theyve gotten involved with and the murder that just happened

not knowing how a compass works

being careful in rick's shed in case someone tries to kill them

not knowing how walkie talkies work

not knowing where the walkie talkies are?

then there's nancy who sticks him with the kids because he isn't smart enough to pretend to know things about psychology, they need a certain type of student, says that they're not even kids anymore, that it'll be easy, as if he's only capable of the easy tasks. meanwhile the kids are constantly fighting him because they're smart and know each other well and honestly do not want to be babysat. meanwhile instinct tells steve that max is in trouble and he's right and they still fight him on it.

there's the way robin dustin and eddie tell steve how he needs nancy back (even though he's like respecting her relationship with the guy that She Left Him For) (even though she told him directly and explicitly two years ago that she was never in love with him and that their relationship was bullshit) (even though last summer he told robin all about how he would probably always love her but he knows they wouldn't work again and he's ready to move on)

and like. nobody makes long speeches about what a great guy they think steve harrington is. they all figure: he must already know. only cares about his appearance and getting girls. didn't even bother going to college. probably will skate by on his parents' money. he was popular and a dick and he's kind of an airhead. but who cares, man? it's just steve harrington.

this is the worst for me, man, is when he thanks eddie in the upside down for saving his life, and eddie immediately deflects, and steve has no shit whatsoever to say. he goes up to eddie away from the girls and starts a conversation with a guy that he was convinced was a murderer, a guy he called a freak until they saw each other (eddie: hunt the freak, right?), and starts the conversation to be like: hey! thank you! those girls know how much they mean to me but you don't and i want you to know.

eddie's like "dustin told me you were a badass and i didnt believe him but he was right" and steve is genuinely like. thrown off. dustin doesn't tell him this stuff! he thinks steve is indestructible. and then the good part: "i guess i couldn't accept the fact that Steve Harrington was actually a good dude. rich parents, popular, chicks love him, not a douche?"

because people always stop before they get to that part! steve has rich parents (who cut him off and are never shown because they're never home), steve is popular (or, he was back in high school but we already went over that fall from grace), chicks love him (except they historically absolutely resolutely do not, not the way he wants to be loved by them, not nancy or robin or the girl he takes to the basketball game.) -- but not a douche? when i say this might be the only genuinely nice thing said to steve about his own character in the entire show i'm really struggling to find evidence otherwise. it's honestly nicer than 95% of the shit ever said about steve, to his face or anyone else.

really, the only thing steve is good for, the only thing he has acknowledged himself for being good at, the only thing other people have openly acknowledged he was good at: babysitting

which makes the end of the season hurt all that much more, doesn't it?

he's never been allowed to hang out with the older kids. not since season 1 (even though nancy and jonathan would have 100% died if he hadn't come back). and he loves those kids. he's good at being there for them. he's stood up directly from more than one serious brain injury and immediately did the right thing by them, for them, sacrificed himself for them, only really complained about it in season 4 because at that point it becomes personal, not circumstantial. he's not asked by the kids to help, he's asked by the older people who don't think he can handle any more than them.

i'll say this, too, because it hurts my feelings and idk where else to put it: when max is running up that hill, she calls for dustin and lucas. over and over again. when eddie calls the party over the walkie, he asks for dustin and nancy. steve is always there but no one asks for him. he's going to be there. he's going to instrumental in helping them. but they do not ask for him when theyre scared or in trouble. nobody does and he comes back every single time. he's always there to hear their desperation but he knows he's not who they want!

and i feel like the steve harrington that they want us to think existed would have a snarky comment every time: "i'm here too, you know" but he doesn't. something tells me he doesn't expect to be wanted.

it's just something i noticed.

and then volume 2 hits. they have this big plan. for once, he goes with the big kids. him and his two girls. he trusts eddie and dustin to keep each other safe. he lets max and lucas keep each other safe. he does this even though he always always makes sure they are safe first before saving himself. always. (getting the kids out of the upside down, getting the kids out of the rapidly closing russian elevator, ushering them out, actively putting himself in danger, using his body as a shield. he walks into battle every single time expecting to sacrifice himself for these kids. and this time he goes with robin and nancy to fight the big bad, leaves the smaller things to the kids who desperately want him to stop babysitting them. he figures: max and lucas can handle it themselves, they told me time and time again. dustin and eddie are close and they understand each other in a way i dont get to understand dustin, they can handle it themselves.

steve harrington, you bumbling idiot, listen to them for once! they're smarter than you, anyway, you really hold them back.

and then what? eddie dies, right there in dustin's arms. eddie who is the only person who has actually genuinely told steve that he's a good person that he likes spending time with. even though he told them both not to be a hero. because he knew he wouldnt be able to save them this one time. and dustin had to watch.

and then what? max dies and then lives and then gets put in a coma. he wasn't there like he was in the graveyard. he was the only reason they realized soon enough back then and this time he wasn't there to save her from vecna.

and then what? lucas and erica are nearly killed by jason and the other basketball goons, genuinely violently hate-crimed. and like. steve was wildly popular. he fell from grace but you know jason probably respected him in some weird jock way, would probably listen to steve as like a fucking white guy. and steve can throw a punch

before the got in the fight he and robin were like: i think we're going to lose

and i know steve feels like: i stepped away from my post. the only thing i was good at, the only thing anyone respected me for. i set up this plan and it got people killed. i was tired of being the babysitter and! now! look!

concussion tracker: still probably at least 4 but also i'd like to mention that he gets strangled literally twice this season for like a significant amount of time which is decidedly bad for your brain

tldr: steve harrington, fiercely loyal, canonically neglected, chronically self-sacrificial, disliked at some point by every single character on the show, constantly underestimated, openly self-conscious about his intelligence (both before and after sustaining several severe brain injuries) and how other people perceive him and if people like him and want him around, has given everything for the entire party and he needs to get something back in season 5.

he needs someone other than nancy to tell him he's a good person and a good force in their lives. he needs his final story arc to not be about his romance with nancy (they both need this). he needs dustin to open up to him about eddie's death. he needs someone to trust him with something other than their physical safety. he has never once turned someone away.

and, because he's my blorbo and i want to see him suffer, just a little bit, i want the show to acknowledge how badly he would take the blame for eddie and max and lucas specifically. it is the one time he was not there, it was the one time they lost. he's my steve harrington and i get to project my massive guilt complex onto him as much as i damn well please. and then i want someone to tell him how good he is. for the love of fucking god.