#but i felt like it was one of the cleanest ones and had consistent characterization

[themaevethcometh]

i think what bothers me most about stranger things season 4 volume 2 is all of the unfulfilled promises.

Let’s start with the deaths.  We were told that the end of this season would be carnage and that there would be a body count.  At one point “five confirmed deaths” was thrown out there.  First of all, I don’t think I can even list the five deaths.

Eddie, obviously

I assume they’re including Max since she was technically dead for a minute

Brenner? 

Jason?

Genuinely don’t know who this last one would be

I found none of these deaths satisfying.

1. Eddie - narratively, it didn’t make sense for him to choose to fight the bats.  I know that they wanted to give him a hero moment where he could be brave since he was upset about running when Chrissy was killed, but he didn’t have to do that!  He was meant to be the distraction, and running was still distracting, plus the instructions for him and Dustin were to get out of there when things became too dangerous.  There were other ways for him to be brave.  I didn’t see a reason for him to stand and fight there, especially when the demobats died shortly after anyway.  It felt useless, it felt wasted, and it felt like a death just for the sake of having a body count rather than furthering the story.  Adding on to the fact that his name will never be cleared and that Dustin/his uncle are the only two who seem to be mourning him (despite him having multiple friends in the D&D group and friendly allies with the rest of the Upside Down crew), this doesn’t feel like a meaningful or worthwhile death.

2. Max - I think this death had so much potential that they didn’t follow up on, and it was negated by the fact that El suddenly was able to bring her back to life????  It took me a second to realize that Max was actually dying since her injuries weren’t the full vecna-ed extent, but having her die as part of a sacrifice would’ve been super impactful on every other protagonist and would’ve actually felt like a loss.  If they were going to bring her back to life, it should cost something.  Right now she’s obviously not fully okay, given that El couldn’t psychically connect to her and she’s in a coma, but to suddenly give El the power to bring people back from the dead and show her being perfectly fine afterwards didn’t make sense to me.  It would’ve been extremely interesting to me if El did some sort of trading of her life for Max’s (especially considering the lyrics of Running Up That Hill and how significant that song was this season), and still had Max come back slightly off (and possibly with residual affects of El’s powers).  Obviously this would’ve unlocked a whole new can of worms, but to have the only multi-season protagonist death be immediately negated and undone felt cheap.

3. Brenner - could not care less about this man.  They tried to make his death huge and emotional and I simply did not care I was glad he died

4. Jason - once again, could not care about this guy, and his death was so sudden that I don’t think we were necessarily supposed to feel the impact of it.

We were promised carnage, we were promised a body count, and what we got was one death that was unnecessary to the narrative, one death that was immediately undone by a super powered girl who’s powers seem limitless for the fourth season in a row, and two deaths of antagonists that I felt nothing over.  If you’re going to advertise the deaths in a series, have the guts to follow through.  Would I have been upset if Steve died? yes.  Would it have been extremely impactful for the babysitter/hero to die? yes.  It would’ve had lasting effects on the narrative and actually meant something to the characters.  Would I have been upset if Dustin died? yes.  Would it have been interesting to see the impact and seriousness of a 14 year old dying? yes.  Would it have considerably raised the stakes and the sense of danger? also yes.  Would it have been interesting seeing how the mix of the kids and young adults proceeds forwards as a group since he was the main bridge between the kids and Steve? yes.  Would I have been upset if El died? yes.  Would it have raised the stakes for the show in a new and interesting way now that they don’t have their saving grace around? yes.  Would it have been fascinating to see how that would impact Will? Mike? Hopper? Max? yes.  Would I have been upset if Mike died? yes. Would killing the so-called heart of the group have a deep impact and spur them forward? yes.  Would this have lasting effects on El that likely would impact her powers in some way? yes.

There are so many ways that they could’ve made the deaths significant and important.  Instead, they refused to truly kill any of their main protagonists, greatly lowering the narrative stakes and leaving me feeling unfulfilled.  If someone’s death has a narrative reason and impacts the other characters/the plot, that is a worthwhile death, even if I’ll be sad and go read a bunch of fix-it fics.  None of these deaths fulfilled that.

Queerbaiting was another unfulfilled promise from volume 2.  I personally didn’t ship steddie and I didn’t think byler would be requited and canon this season, but it is an undeniable fact that they utilized both of those ships during the advertising of volume 2 only to make steve go after nancy again with big speeches that didn’t fix the context they were given in, kill off eddie, and have will’s gay pining be used to further mileven while mike remains oblivious to will’s feelings.  Will being gay isn’t in question anymore, I personally am not waiting on a verbal “i’m gay” from him and don’t think that’s part of the queerbaiting because anyone with a brain or a smidge of media comprehension can see it, but only using him to further the plot of the straight couple and then not letting him have a full confession to mike where he is heard and understood is queerbaiting after the emphasis that was put on this pairing.

There were a slew of other things that I felt went unfulfilled: the use of “Running Up that Hill” implying some sort of last minute sacrifice to save a loved one, Will’s not being able to take ownership of the painting and saying that El commissioned it, therefore not having Mike understand the grand emotional moment of it, the D&D game at the beginning having Dustin lose on an 11 and Erica (an outsider) managing to win with a 20, yet El was still the savior of the day ultimately despite the opening of the gates, literally everything about Will’s connection to the upside down and vecna not being touched on and him being reduced to the pining gay friend.  On top of that, the only person who devloped as a character was Eddie, and he died for it.  Jonathan is still lying to Nancy about college and they’re both still not communicating with each other.  Will is still pining for Mike in secret.  Mike is still hyper-focused on El and completely ignorant of what’s going on with his friends.  I suppose Lucas realized that jocks are bad, which is not a good takeaway and I’m still mad that none of his friends supported him when he wanted to get involved in another extracurricular activity, and that just puts him back to where he was at the end of season 3.  El still needs Mike and his love confession to spur her powers forward, rather than being able to rely on herself and not having to be anyone’s special superhero.  Steve is still hung up on romance and specifically Nancy, something I thought we left behind a while ago and which serves neither of their characters right now.  Dustin might feel a renewed responsibility for leading other kids with nonconformity, but that’s less of a development and more of a reaffirmation of who he already unwaveringly is.  We didn’t get to see Max at the end of the season because she’s in a coma, but would her realization that she deserves to live, wants to live, and isn’t responsible for Billy’s death still stick after vecna’s abuses?

I think the reason that these last two episodes felt like a letdown for me personally is that we were promised so much and given so little of it.  Don’t give us expectations if you’re not going to follow through.  That’s bad writing.

[obscuraxrp]

The smoke settles to reveal KIM SEOKJIN, a 24 year old shi-blooded of Sunseong. He is a freelance bodyguard who appears to be adept in shield creation, shapeshifting, and hand-to-hand combat --- but like most things in Sunseong, there must be more to him than meets the eye.

FACECLAIM: Kim Seokjin, bts

APPEARANCE:

Seokjin’s notable features that set him apart as a Shi-blooded individual are typically sharpened teeth, a flowy tail that he’s never quite managed to keep hidden no matter how much he tries, and crooked fingers that come from a half-assed attempt at hiding claws that extend from paws. When he shifts back into his heritage beast, Seokjin looks much like the protective guardian that he is.

BIOGRAPHY:

Seokjin doesn’t remember all too much before his eighth birthday, but he does remember being shielded by someone’s strong arms, and he remembers a friendly face and warm smiles. Many of his memories consist of feeling happiness and warmth. And isolation. Seokjin is definitely the son that his parents could have only dreamed about. He tended to the house, cared for his parents greatly, and didn’t fuss around. Through the bits and pieces of his memories that his mind did care to store, Seokjin is able to remember times when he had been praised and congratulated by his parents. If he concentrates, he thinks of a place hidden deep in the woods. He remembers being scolded once for leaving the house and heading out too far, for seeing too much past the heavy bark of the trees and the comfortable shade that they hid his family in. He knew that he was different, but special. His parents loved to coo over him about how lovely and fair his skin was, about how his smile would make even the darkest of their days the happiest. They said such things to him, but Seokjin can vaguely remember how they seemed grim when they didn’t think he was paying attention. It took so long for Seokjin to understand it, for him to accurately describe what he saw reflected in the eyes of his parents. He knows know, it had been fear.

Seokjin was different, but special- that much was at least engraved in his mind. Every time he showed off to his parents just how proud he was about learning a new skill, they’d congratulate him and rub his cheek. He doesn’t remember how when Seokjin was young and still unable to control his shapeshifting skills, they had quickly gone into hiding, lest the public learn about the union that caused the birth of a beast blooded guardian. His parents knew- they must have known. It was his father, after all who was also beast blooded. They had hoped for a regular child, and instead what they’d gotten- was Seokjin.

His own timeline had become blurred. Seokjin began to think of his memories in snapshots and bouncing frames instead of linear. Anything chronological had begun to make less and less sense. He remembers the day that someone had showed up in their secret place, had claimed that his father and mother were wanted for some illegal activity. Seokjin had watched from the kitchen when his father had desperately tried to negotiate mercy for the mistakes of his past. He watched as his father, strong and brave, had gotten onto his knees to beg. As they began to pull him away, Seokjin watched as his father had panicked, had struck someone. Seokjin’s memory hasn’t been the best- maybe it’s because he willfully refuses to remember.

There had been a moment, that day, when his mother had tried to usher him out the back door and sneak them away, but someone had grabbed her by the cloth on her shirt and began to pull. Something had burned in Seokjin’s chest, and he had wanted to stay and save her.

Filled with some kind of cowardice, he shifted into a beast and ran.

Seokjin remembers hiding out, staying so quiet and small that his voice had been rusty from lack of use, and he was thinning from scavenging. When he had returned, he noted how disgusting and unlike his memories that the place looked: ransacked, broken, parentless. He had to begin his life again.

This time, he had taken himself away, traveled many days, and had found something absolutely beautiful and scary, a civilization that he knew existed outside the land he was so used to, and he did all that he could to fit in. He tried to keep his features as hidden as possible, providing tight lipped smiles and wearing clothing that could conceal. Seokjin worked odd jobs here and there in this place that he learned was called Sunseong. He started to plant his roots in the far edge of the Northern District, but the plague of his past and his late family had eaten away every thought that he had during the night. When it became too much and the pay was too small, Seokjin had moved to the Southern district, out until he could keep himself on the hushed scale of individuals. From what he had witnessed there, people were dark and low. They were scary and Seokjin learned how to play coy. He was scammed and learned how to scam.

In an attempt to redeem himself and believe that his life was something worth living over- Seokjin had started up a private business on his own, never advertising for it. Instead, the word had spread from whispers and mouths. He was good- great at protecting. He had put on some muscle, had learned to fight and knew how to get to certain resources. The people who he did guard though, now that’s on a different level of concern. Many of them were of great intent, but others had evil and illegal roots, meaning that Seokjin doesn’t have the cleanest record on the block. With all the frenzy of more recent events, business has been booming. As a bodyguard, Seokjin felt like he could make up for his stolen youth.

The world was filthy. It was like nothing he’d ever imagined.

CHARACTERIZATION:

Charming: Seokjin does very well with his words. Generally, being able to persuade and earn others’ trust is what is able to keep his work in line. Things are most effective, he thinks, when there’s trust built into any kind of partnership. Seokjin also likes to get what he wants, even if it isn’t the most innocent thing in the world. It’d be a damn lie to say that he hasn’t used this charismatic part of himself for rather low things (See “Manipulative).

Direct: Accidentally being too harsh is something that Seokjin has been trying to learn to handle. He’ll say things that are rather negative, such as “Oh no, that’s impossible” or “it can’t ever happen, get over it” to others. Although it seems a bit dramatic and over the top, Seokjin likes to think of himself as rather practical.

Cooperative: Seokjin’s work is the only thing that he finds interest in these days. If there’s something that’ll help his line of work to become more efficient, then he’s willing to put forth the effort. One could say that Seokjin is a master at forming connections and building his own web.

Manipulative: In harsh lives, it’s necessary to be a bit manipulative to get what you want. Seokjin tends to use his words to get people into buying whatever he’s trying to “sell.” This includes weaseling out information, using pathetic tactics such as fake relationships, pretending to love others, and maybe some one night stands. Any information is good information. He’s not an assassin, spy, or professional by any means. He will though, do whatever it takes to protect.

Worrisome: Seokjin lives with a constant anxiety that whoever had come to take his parents away will also be coming after him. They know what is he is, they know what he’s like, and Seokjin lives in the paranoia that even after all of these years, someone will come to take him away. Because of his past, he often has trouble sleeping and is rather grouchy before a good cup of coffee.

SPECIALTIES:

Rank I (20 pts)

-Protective Shield: Seokjin is able to form a protective barrier against harmful magic, but only within a certain range and a certain period of time. Currently, his range is 5ft radius and the shield lasts for 6 minutes. Powerful magic is able to strike and break the shield at any given moment. Seokjin is limited to a one minute recoil before he’s able to place another shield.

-Shapeshifting: Seokjin has practiced shifting since a young age. Currently, he’s able to shift between full beast and mostly human. There are some attributes that he hasn’t yet been able to cover up when he’s in his mostly human look. Those are covered up using clothing. He’s only been practicing how to maintain his abilities and skills as a full beast and has not concentrated his more human abilities.

Rank II (40 pts)

-Close Combat: Specialized in hand to hand combat, Seokjin works best when his opponent is within a close range. His strengths lie on being swift and durable. Seokjin is able to take hits and deliver sharp hits in these situations. He’s at a disadvantage when it comes to long range fights or encounters though.

Innate (0pts)

-Charm: Creating a small urge for others to believe/trust him. Works only about ⅕ of the time. (Shi-blooded attribute)

-Protective barrier: Protective magical barrier (Shi-blooded attribute)

-Strength: heightened strength.

-Unnerved: Acute perception of things within a 10ft radius (Shi-blooded attribute)

Unused points: 20