phoenix-texts

How many times does Alastor mention jambalaya and his appreciation for the dish? Once. Barely even once - at the very end of the pilot episode that is barely considered canon anymore due to the official show contradicting established ideas from the pilot [ Eg. Lucifer Morningstar’s characterisation ].

It should also be acknowledged that Vivsiepop had to change Alastor to identify as a Creole man because she was receiving backlash for his usage of voodoo magic, which I think should be explored more rather than flashy displays of nothing in his battles [ such as against Adam in Season 1, or The V’s in Season 2 ]

Due to the ashy complexions of her two explicitly black/mixed characters, the mention of jambalaya must’ve been to reference his culture more directly. However, because of this, a particular side of the fandom [ specifically on TikTok ] has done nothing but base his character around this one aspect of his dialogue.

Alastor, and other characters like him, should not be reduced down to a single cultural-characteristic of ‘enjoying and only talking about this food’. I believe that this wouldn’t be avoidable if the script was changed to say another dish. The fandom would still find a way to make his personality revolve around their own limited understanding of creole culture;

influencing this representation to be used in the fan base’s discussions of Alastor and potentially other fandoms [ not to the same extent, but one character I can think of is Hajime Hinata from Danganronpa 2 and the fandom’s obsession with him and orange juice. Note that this is not to the same extent and should not be treated as a similarity or a direct comparison, but rather as an acknowledgement of fandom and how they treat their characters from my own experience ]

Overall, Vivsiepop and the Hazbin Hotel fandom should be doing more to represent Alastor’s culture to the extent that it isn’t forced but also not lazy and rushed.