I was wondering what you think about Smeagol/Gollum’s response to affection. For example, if someone were to hold and comfort him, how do you think he would react, emotionally, physically, considering his long isolation and traumatic past? Is it a silly question? Maybe, but I can’t help but wonder, because it’s the first thing I always want to do every time I see him.
Hello! That's a fun question. I think about it a lot, so I'm prepared.
Sméagol is touch-starved. He's very handsy and touchy. Touch means a lot to him. He'd be afraid of it, initially, for obvious reasons (being tortured), but more than he fears it, he is desperate for it. He craves kindness and affection, understanding and intimacy after so long of being without. If you were kind, and patient, and slow, and showed him that you are trust-worthy and mean no harm, he would be receptive to it. I think he would begin to obsessively seek out that form of affection.
I usually write Frodo as being the one to touch him after so long, and imagine it starting with Sméagol being confused and uneasy, tight and tense, then slowly easing into it, loosening and resting his head against the other. Sort of like lowering oneself into a hot tub after having been out in the cold all day. I imagine he would reciprocate (being as handsy as he is) with petting, gripping.
Gollum would hate it. He is the protector, he keeps them safe from harm, and keeps Sméagol under his control, partly through avoidance. "Don't get close, don't get attached." After realizing Sméagol's desire for the affection, he'd (best case) try to convince Sméagol that you're terrible and that they should leave you behind. Worst case, he'd try to convince Sméagol that they should kill you (and then eat you if they have the chance).
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