Tips To Making Sure Your Characters Have Different Personalities - Authoring Advice🎭

Okay, so I wanted to discuss the situation with Alastor, his canonical sexuality, and fans.

I have seen the two sides alot.

So one side ships Al with numerous characters and sees this as casual fun.

And the other thinks this is disrespectful cause he is ace, or Aroace.

(I believe that he is Aroace. His va said so, his character has shown no interest in romance, and Viv may have confirmed it at some point)

Now, I am sex repulsed ace and I'm aro. And I have strong opinions. Alastor is my favorite character in Hazbin Hotel, he is also the FIRST confirmed ace character I've seen. (This doesn't include subtly implied characters) Because Al is the first and I care for him he is very important to me.

My opinion is really mixed because on one side it's; yeah, it is a fandom, and fandoms ship. It's what they do. Its also kind a rude to judge someone for their favorite pairings and stuff, in my opinion.

On the other side though I'm hurt. I am a queer person with basically no rep. And I hadn't realized how upset I was by this until I saw discourse over this character. I had FORGOTTEN that it was possible to have confirmed canonical ace characters. I had gotten so used to that just being a head cannon. And not only just an ace character but also an Aroace character. And not just that but a seemingly non sex favorable ace character. I would even argue he is sex repulsed.

My real problem with all this is:

Yes, I KNOW ace characters can have sex. But do you know who else can? Literally every single allosexual character. I KNOW aros can date. But you know who else can? Everyone else. The appeal of ACTUALLY having characters with the same sexuality as me is that they would be like me. Cause I and other aces like me never, ever get stories like that. So many times in media I would be enjoying a character who had shown NO interest in sex/romance and would suddenly be partnered up with another just for the heck of it. This has happened SO many times it's not even funny. It's incredibly frustrating.

So, the point I'm trying to make is that; YES, there are aces who have sex. HOWEVER, a large number of us do not. And it's like everyone forgets that. Your not writing Alastor having sex with Angel cause your showing the vast spectrum of asexuality. Your most likely writing it cause it's sex between two hot characters. It's simply maddening.

(One thing I wanted to say was, despite the fact that Al is ace i don't think it's bad to find him attractive. He is very pleasing to look at so I understand allos finding him hot. However I'm not sure where I stand with people sexualizing him. I think I'm leaning towards, 'please don't do it'.)

Now, the worst thing though is when I'm looking for content to enjoy. When I found out Al was canonically ace I was so happy and excited. I'm pretty sure this situation wouldn't make me nearly as frustrated if it weren't for the overwhelming amount of sexual content for Al. Some would be fine. I could just scroll past it if this were the case. But it is not. Content for Al is MOSTLY sexual. That's why I don't believe people when they keep saying they aren't invalidating aces because almost every time I go looking for a fic I have to scroll for HOURS just to find few non ship fics.

I can't even use the Asexual Alastor tag because all that does is bring me to a bunch of fics where the author is like 'he's ace trust me,' then proceeds to write smut.

Why can't I even use a tag made for aces without being drowned in smut. It's so frustrating! Like I'm getting to a point where I wish the authors would stop using the tag and openly admit they made him not ace for the story. Like I know your trying to not throw away his canonical sexuality but I mean at this point I think it'd be better if you did. And if someone is going to write sex favorable ace Al then please leave it to the aces. I trust us to at least weave it into his character instead of stating it and acting like it's there when it's not.

So basically: I don't mind if you ship him, just don't say he's ace or Aroace if your neither of those in ship/smut content. I'm sick of trying to find content that isn't sex/romance in Aroace tags!

I don't want to judge people for liking a ship. But I'm really tired.

ON A DIFFERENT NOTE, I would love to see content with Al and Lucifer. Like them hating each other to like frenemies. It would be so funny.

Anyone have any platonic content with Al and the rest of the cast???

This is so funny 🤣

HOWLING at how close together Dean and Cas are standing.

Squid Game Incorrect Quotes

Park Jung-bae: When was the last time you were held?

Seong Gi-hun: Yesterday.

Park Jung-bae: At gunpoint doesn’t count.

Seong Gi-hun: Last week.

Park Jung-bae: Being in the Front Man’s custody doesn’t count either.

I agree with this. Man, now I want to write my own thoughts because Season 2 is so interesting to me. Especially since I was immediately reminded of American politics, with the two parties that are pushed to fight each other when really our true enemy is those trying to control us, when they were told to vote. I knew instantly that the game makers were trying to pit the two sides against each other. Especially with the red and blue colors. The other analogy being made is the two sides representing the red and blue pills from the Matrix.

Squid Game Season Two Analysis: Capitalist Ideology, The Illusion of Democracy, and The Necessity for Revolution

Why the second season of Squid Game is a great follow-up to the first season and offers us an even more radical critique of capitalism and its supposedly "free" and "democratic" institutions.

(Spoiler warning for both seasons. I won't go into too much detail, but some spoilers for the bigger plot points will be present)

I really enjoyed the second season of Squid Game, so I was surprised when I learned that a good amount of fans of the first season did not feel the same.

Because of that, I wanna give my thoughts on the themes and messages that this season in particular offers us and why I believe season 2 is, in many ways, even more radical than season 1 in its narrative choices.

Season One: The Dehumanizing Nature of Capitalism

Season 1 did a great job as a more general critique of capitalism (with some elements that are more specific to South Korea). It showed us a story of impoverished people that are so desparate that they find themselves trapped in a literal game of life and death that forces them to not only compete with other participants who are in similar financial situations, but to sometimes even betray and kill them just to survive and possibly win the big money at the end of all rounds.

To make it all even more cruel: It is soon revealed that the whole game just exists for the entertainment of rich elites who change the conditions of the game as they please when they are bored.

Needless to say: The game in Squid Game is a pretty heavy-handed allegory for the predatory nature of capitalism and how it literally kills us. The creator himself has stated this multiple times, since there are still people who (willingly or unwillingly) deny this.

There are already plenty of great analyses of these aspects in season 1 (I really recommend the video on YouTube called "Squid Game: Ideology and The New Soviet Man" by Kay and Skittles), so let's move on to season 2.

Season Two: The Setup

Our protagonist is once again Gi-hun, the only survivor of all games from season 1. He is practically a billionaire since he won all the money in season 1, and could therefore live a pretty comfortable life.

And yet he is fixated on one singular goal: To track down the location where the games take place to put a stop to them once and for all. Gi-hun feels guilty to spend his fortune on anything else than this one goal, since it's a fortune that came from the deaths of his friends and countless other people.

Gi-hun eventually finds himself back in the game after every other approach failed. Unfortunately for him, the tracker that he surgically implanted in his tooth got removed while he was knocked out and transported into the game. He is once again forced to participate in the game, since his rescue team that was supposed to save him and attack the island on which the games take place cannot locate him as of now.

The Greatness of Gi-hun: Resisting Hyperindividualism, Cynicism and Capitalist Ideas of Worth

I really like Gi-hun as a character. He started out as a deadbeat dad who got into severe debt because of his gambling addiction. Gi-hun is someone who many people that are entrenched in neoliberal capitalist ideology wouldn't feel much sympathy for at first, as he's shown to be pretty reckless and just overall far from a noble hero when we first get introduced to his character in season 1.

If you're from the west (or a country like South Korea which has a similar hyperindividualist capitalist culture), then you are taught to see Gi-hun's situation as something self-caused, as something he freely chose to be in with his own bad decisions. Furthermore, you're taught to see his socio-economic situation as a direct reflection of his value as a person.

In the series itself, the Front Man, the VIPs and even some other players in the game reinforce this way of thinking. They constantly express the sentiment that the players in the game are "worthless", "scum" and "trash" that deserves to be "filtered out" (killed) because they are responsible for the situation that they are in and have no worth anyway, as their socio-economic status shows according to this logic.

Gi-hun is someone who rejects all of this.

In season 2, we see him more determined than ever to save as many people as possible in the game, and to ultimately put an end to the game itself. He does not believe in the narrative that people's worth is determined by their socio-economic status, nor that they are completely self-responsible for their situation and therefore deserve to be killed in the game.

Gi-hun calls the game out for what it is: A predatory and cruel tool of rich capitalists that preys on people's fears and vulnerabilities to encourage the worst aspects of people's personalities to flourish, all just for the entertainment of rich investors who see the players as expendable and enjoy watching them die and betray each other.

Gi-hun isn't particularly gifted or talented, he's not the exceptional, flawless individual that neoliberalism fetishizes. He can be cowardly, insecure, frightened and even selfish, as we saw in season 1 when he lied to the old man to save his own life.

But at the end of the day, he is someone with an unwavering belief in the worth and potential of people despite what his hypercapitalist neoliberal culture (and people deeply embedded into it) constantly tells him. He's someone who, despite all his flaws, risks his life and happiness for that simple belief.

Gi-hun is the antidote to a deeply cynical, hyperindividualistic and neoliberal capitalist society that conditions us to not believe in the worth and potential of other people beyond their wealth and social status.

The Illusion of Democracy: A deceptive Facade of Free Choice and Equality

Let's look at the game itself this season, since there have been a few changes to its rules.

In this season, the surviving players are given the opportunity to vote after each round to either continue into the next round or to stop playing and divide the money that has accumulated so far among each player that survived. The more players die, the more money gets added to the final prize and the fewer people need to share the total sum with each other, meaning each player gets more money in the end if the majority votes to stop playing.

The staff of the game keeps emphasizing how the players chose to be part of the game, how they always have the option to leave, how the game respects free choice and values democracy, how everyone is equal in the game, and how the rules are fair and universal.

Unsurprisingly, this is all nonsense.

The players are not even aware that they are playing with their lives at risk until after the first game, a game called "Red Light, Green Light", which has a high fatality rate because once the first player dies, the shock and sudden rush of fear causes people to panic, leading to more deaths.

The first season also showed us that the VIPs can change the rules and conditions of the game whenever they feel like it, even during a round.

Age, health, knowledge and experience with the particular games that are being played in each round can also make the difference between life and death. Sometimes the games also straight up involve a factor of luck that the players have no real control over.

Then there's also the fact that not every player is in the same situation. Some players, such as Hyun-ju or Yong-sik, are shown to have severely more debt than others and lost significantly more in their life, which means some have the privilege to be all set again after just one or two rounds (if the majority votes to stop playing) while others will have barely earned enough money to fix their life, and would therefore need to play more rounds to achieve that outcome.

Some also have family and friends that need them, while others lost everything and have no one to come home to. All these factors make them unequal and shape the way they vote.

So basically: The players are stuck in a game that they didn't even know puts their life in danger until after they played the first round. The only reason they entered in the first place was because of their precarious situation that varies in severity from person to person (which means some have the privilege to vote to end the game early with their financial issues fixed, while others do not). Some players have more advantages than others in each round because of age, health, knowledge, experience or even just sheer luck. And the VIPs can just change the rules of the game whenever they feel like it.

Squid Game tells us very clearly that it thinks very little of the rhetoric of "free choice" "free democracy" and "equality" in a structurally coercive, brutal and predatory system with fundamentally unequal conditions such as our capitalist society.

The Front Man: Cynicism, Vote Manipulation and Counter-Revolution

A key aspect of the second season of Squid Game is that the Front Man himself pretends to be a regular player; he participates in the games among Gi-hun and the rest as player 001. The Front Man deliberately gets close to Gi-hun and even manages to win his trust pretty easily with his down-to-earth and kind facade, making him involved in Gi-hun's every move.

The Front Man is, in many ways, the opposite of Gi-hun.

He is shown in both seasons to think very little of the players and humanity as a whole. He sees the participants of the game as worthless trash that deserves to get sorted out. The Front Man believes humanity is selfish, greedy and cannot be better than what it is right now, which makes the game a necessary part of the world to him.

The Front Man is thoroughly entrenched in the cynical, neoliberal capitalist worldview that sees humans as fundamentally selfish and greedy beings that only have themselves to blame for their situations.

It is noteworthy that the Front Man is very fixated on Gi-hun, and even seems to grow a liking to him because of his unwavering belief in the value and potential of people that he upholds despite all the horrors and betrayal that he witnessed. This suggests that a small part of the Front Man might still have hope that Gi-hun is right and wants him to succeed in his goal.

But at the end of the day, we see that his cynical and neoliberal view on humanity rules over what little hope in a better world he might have.

As such, the Front Man ultimately sabotages Gi-hun's efforts whenever he can. When the vote was tied after the first round, he votes to continue into the next round so that more people die, something Gi-hun fought to prevent by making it clear to the other players that more people will die if they continue.

But this is not the only time he manipulates Gi-hun's efforts: When Gi-hun organizes an armed resistance to finally put an end to the game itself for good, the Front Man betrays him in the last minute by kiling members of the resistance group and then shooting Gi-hun's best friend in front of him in order to emotionally break Gi-hun and make him lose hope.

The Front Man is not just a despicable antagonist, he also serves as a pretty blunt example of a member of the ruling class that rigs elections and destroys revolutionary movements from within, a strategy that imperialist powers such as the US have utilized many times in history already.

When Voting isn't enough: The Necessity of Revolution and Class War

Despite Gi-hun's attempt to end the game for good having failed (at least for now), I don't believe the message of Squid Game's second season is one of resignation. Not only is the game shown to be fundamentally unjust and rigged, but voting alone is also portrayed to not be enough.

Throughout the whole season, those who vote to end the game never succeed. This is not a coincidence. The game is designed to make it the less likely outcome not just because of the involvement of Front Man, but because the game preys on people's despair and precarity, all while also encouraging selfish, greedy and reckless behavior in its very design.

But even if enough people voted to end the game: The next batch of players would just be thrown into the same situation Gi-hun and the others just escaped from. A successful majority vote to leave the game would save many lives, but Gi-hun's fight would be far from over. His goal to put a permanent end to the game would not be achieved yet.

The staff of the game also makes a deliberate choice to put a big X or O onto the jumpsuit of each player depending on how they voted. This encourages players to define themselves as either Xs or Os, which leads to hostility towards the players of the other fraction.

This reaches a point where players of both fractions plan to murder the other fraction in order to secure the next vote for themselves.

But Gi-hun puts a stop to that.

He realizes it's a deliberate distraction so that people fight each other rather than the game itself. He proposes that the players should instead organize together to fight the real oppressors that forced them into the whole situation in the first place.

They are not Xs or Os. They are impoverished and desparate people who were manipulated to participate into a literal game of death that requires suffering, betrayal and murder for victory.

The message of Squid Game Season Two is one of collective resistance and revolution:

The institutions of a fundamentally rigged and predatory class system are not enough to abolish the system itself. Voting can be used as a form of damage control, but it cannot replace collective action and organizing.

Instead of fighting each other, we need to organize together to fight the system itself. It is the only way we can truly all be liberated from the death game of capitalism.

i feel like, while gabriel gives adrien orders in an obvious way, just clearly telling him what to do, emilie would give him instructions through compliments-- you're a good son, you're such an obedient boy-- and reassurances-- you're going to love this, you won't mess up your photoshoot-- and it seems harmless, she's being nice, but if you watch she always touches her ring when she says something like this. and she's never wrong about adrien.

Spider-Man: No Way Home (The More Fun Stuff Version)

I forgot I wrote this 😂

What was I on?

According to the Bible: Every hardship has a reason.

that reason being that your gods oc and he wants to give you so much trauma.

He'll show the angels and say, "look at this one! I killed their dad, made their mom a deranged sociopath, and their autistic! Now let me tell you about all their lore and character arc!" And you just have to sit there and wonder what you ever did wrong.

(This is coming from an ex-christian.)

I don't think that we should hold Sam and Dean accountable for everyone of their actions. For the ones that are in character? Yes. But the ones that the writers threw in their for drama or cause they didn't even start to understand them? No.

Sam abandoning Dean in purgatory- NOPE, that wasn't Sam. That was fake Sam.

The Sam we know would have went absolutely feral, even more than usual because this time, he doesn't actually know what happened to his brother. He would've went crazy. He ran over dog? Okay, that'll distract him for a week or two but then he'd be back on the road. He met a woman who he likes and has a chance to be with her (and maybe start a normal life?), it'd tempt him for a solid second then he'd remember how both Kevin and Dean are missing/gone and then he'd run away. (When Dean 'All I want is my brother to be happy' Winchester finally got back from Purgatory, he would actually be pissed that Sam didn't take the opportunity to have a normal life) In season 8, Sam 'I'm actually insane' Winchester would have killed a person to save his brother like the icon he is.

Dean killing Amy after Sam asked him not to- Never happened. Why? Cause Dean 'the empath of the family' Winchester, who's been the moral compass of the show for the last three seasons, knows what it's like to have a kid and would have totally let her go. He might have gone to her house with a plan to kill her, but he would have heard her out at least. Dean actually listens and empathizes with people all the time. Why would this specific instance be any different? (Duh, for the drama, obviously)

Dean believing Gadreel at all- Hmmmmm, Dean 'never trusted any angel ever (except Cas)' Winchester would've taken the deal at first out of pure desperation because Sam was literally dying. But after Gadreel asked Dean to lie to Sam , Dean's bullshit senses would've went up. He is great at recognizing BS and he would've recognized it here.

Sam irrationally hating Benny- Do I even need to start? Sam might not be the most empathetic but he's smart enough to at least look into Benny instead of automatically declare Dean as delusion, and not listen to him, at all. He knows his brother enough to know that he wouldn't just trust someone willy nilly, especially a vampire.

Okay, this hurts

✨Angst is my passion✨

Sorry, hijacking a post here. I wanted to add my own thoughts to this too. As some one who is largely a Dean fan but also as someone who also loves Sam.

I agree partly. I agree that Sam not looking for Dean or cas hurt him. I don't think he was upset with Sam because he decided to stop being a hunter but rather cause he expected Sam to look for him, to try to save him no matter what because that's kinda what they do for each other.

Despite their flaws, these brothers will go to hell and back for each other. That's what we know as an audience ever since Season 1 and that's what Dean knows too.

They can always be sure that if the other was in danger, or dead that the other will fight tooth and nail to bring them back. Even if they aren't comfortable talking with each other, or having conversations without their walls and shields. (Mostly Dean because he doesn't like putting his feelings on Sam. 1. Because he was taught to help/take care of Sam. 2. Because his trauma made him believe that his feelings don't matter and he is there to help others. Which of course isn't true but John sucks)

The reason why I really dislike Season 8 Sam is because his decisions and actions don't match up with any other season of Sam. I was blind sighted. Completely baffled when I watched it.

Because the Sam we know WOULD of looked for Dean and Cas. From everything we know, he would of. There's so many examples of him desperately looking for ways to save Dean. From Season 1 to 5, then again in season 10 and on. Season 1 episode 12. All of season 3. Flashbacks in season 4 to when Dean was dead are all examples of this.

My favorite trait of Sam's, other than his snarkiness of course, is his stubborness and the things he's willing to do to get what he wants. It reminds me of John but not, because while John will push until he dies to get revenge even if it hurts his kids, even if HE hurts his kids in the process, Sam cares about Dean and those around him. He will hold back if it means itll hurt Dean. Exp: Season 1 finale. The exception being, if Dean is dying. The things he's willing to do to save his big brother is insane and I would do the same thing if I were him.

In Season 8, Sam was weirdly apathetic about Dean being gone. I was very confused. I thought he was possessed or something.

So I'm with Dean. I would be hurt too. Simply because saving each other from death is their love language. Really. Its how they show their love--- by protecting and saving each other. When Sam didn't do that it was odd. Even I as a viewer had to wonder if Sam still cared about Dean, even if it should be obvious he does. Cause Sam, as we know, cares about Dean alot. However, season 8 didn't feel like Sam so I didn't know what to expect.

If Sam just looked for Dean, even for a week I would of been totally fine. Dean probably too. I would literally give not two shits that he started a life with Amelia, because I too, if I was sure my brother was dead and I was still hurt by my time in hell, would also look for some simple peaceful times. Do I think Sam, as characterized previously would settle down? Um, actually maybe. With season 7 basically being the 'sam suffers' season I do think he might of wanted a break.

I also have opinions on Sam not looking for Kevin but it doesn't really have much to do about this discussion and it's so out of character I can't even-

Now, my opinion is quite different from yours later in your post. I do not think Dean is controlling. like at all. He's not upset about Sam's independent thinking. And it's not like Sam cares about Dean's opinion on the healthy food he eats. Dean calls the salads he eats 'rabbit food' but Sam also comments on the junk food Dean eats. Its just these brothers teasing each other. It doesn't really mean anything. They aren't deeply insecure about their food.

Sam is also a VERY independent thinker. Hes constantly doing what he wants to do. He went with Dean in season 1 because he wanted to get revenge on the demon. He wanted to do hunts in season 2 (at least in the second episode) because he thinks it's what his dad would want, sure it's because of someone's (his stupid father) opinion but ultimately it's what he wanted to do. John isn't even there. In Season 3 he wants to save Dean, even if Dean doesn't want him too. Season 4 is literally Sam just doing what he wants despite Dean's warnings (which were correct of course. 😌 I'm proud of my boy) In season 5 he wants to stop the apocalypse. It was even his choice to let Lucifer take over his body in the end. Then it was his choice to sacrifice himself.

Most of the time Dean is encouraging Sam to do normal things. Hes actually quite upset that Sam didn't get a normal life. Like in Season 1 in the Shtriga episode when he admits that he wanted Sam to have kept his innocence as a child.

Dean WANTS Sam to have a normal life. So that's not what he was upset about in season 8. It was cause Sam didn't even bother to look. Even for a bit. Even with the amount of energy and time it takes to do a simple hunt. He just decided that Dean was dead i guess and moved on.

However, Dean isn't insecure about Sam's independent thinking.

Man, season 8 Sam makes me mad.

I’m on S8 of my rewatch and man, Sam not looking for Dean after he disappeared into Purgatory really triggered Dean’s abandonment issues. 

I mean, yeah, Dean was pissed off because Sam didn’t even bother looking for him, and just kind of started a new life for himself, which is understandable. But it just clicked for me how much that would have exacerbated Dean’s abandonment issues.

Dean’s abandonment issues are so severe, that he even has difficulty with Sam having independent thought. Sam thinking about things differently or viewing things differently set Dean off. So many times, Sam expresses his independent thought, and Dean takes it as a personal attack on his own views and quickly snaps at him.

I mean it even trickles down to the choices Sam makes about the food he eats or the fact that he likes jogging to stay fit. 

Man…. that’s some serious shit right there.