Does Your Character Fight, Freeze, Flee, Or Fawn? How To Write Character Responses To Conflict
How does your character react when they are threatened? Discover the four instinctive responses—fight, freeze, flee, and fawn—and learn how to use them in your stories.
We've also included examples of fictional characters who react in these different ways.
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One thing I've noticed is people have been pissing potential scenarios for fanfics or comics. Such as one where the VVVs (Valentino, Vox, and Velvet) kidnap Charlie and people lost their shit saying they could never get away with that because Charlie is a princess and Lucifer's daughter. Or in shipping scenarios where Alastor would give the hotel complete protection against any threats.
If that's the case, then Hazbin Hotel will be boring.
Good fiction is only as good as its conflict. Conflict is when there is an opposing force or obstacle the character(s) must overcome to achieve their goal. The bigger the conflict, the more wide scale the story and higher the stakes. Below are examples of conflicts I see arising in Hazbin Hotel.
Long post below
Character vs Character
Most common and regular of conflicts. Black and white example is Good Guy Vs Bad Guy and/or Cop vs Robber. You have two opposing characters wanting the same thing (rivals) or conflicting goals (enemies). Sometimes it's view as the benefit for another character - the grandmother in Coco breaking music loving Miguel's guitar because she sees it as a source of heartbreak.
Examples:
(Aladdin) Aladdin vs Jafar - Jafar wants to marry Princess Jasmine to take over the kingdom while Aladdin who is in love with her, wants to save her.
(Tangle) Rapunzel vs Mother Gothel - Rapunzel wants her freedom while Mother Gothel wants her stashed away inside a towel to access the restorative magic of her hair.
(Superman) Superman vs Lex Luthor - Lex wants to take over the world, but Superman stops him to save the world.
Angel Dust vs Valentino - Angel Dust wants to be free and respected while Valentino wants to continue exploiting him for sex and money.
- How this conflict will play is yet to be determine, but will be very interesting to see when the series is released!
Cherri Bomb vs Izzy* - conflict unknown, but it is framed in such a way to tell me that he is going to cause her grief in the future.
(Not sure if this is his name, but going with it as it was his name when he was a planned character for Zoophobia)
Charlie vs Lucifer - It's made obvious to the viewer that Lucifer doesn't see Charlie's dream of redeeming Sinners in a positive light. Even though he might now do anything to directly oppose her, his disapproval is enough to cause Charlie some inner conflict (which I'll discuss later in this post).
Vox vs Alastor - Rivalry between two Overlords with opposing views of technology and entertainment.
And there are minor conflicts through the pilot with Charlie vs Katie Killjoy and Cherri Bomb vs Sir Pentious, but these are the more prominent ones I believe will become main Character vs Character in Hazbin Hotel.
Character vs Society
This conflict pits the character(s) against a larger foe. Whether it's a corrupt government or police force, or a dystopian world, the character struggles their place in the world or it's laws or ideology.
Examples
(Hunger Games) Katniss Everdeen vs The Capital - Katniss is trying to survive the Hunger Games, a brutal game where the rulers force children into an annual death game.
(The Handmaid's Tale) Offred vs. Gilead - Offred is a woman enslaved by Gilead, a brutal regime who treats women as second class citizens or slaves with draconic rules and punishments.
(Kindred) Dana vs Antebellum South - Dana, a black woman, keeps going back in time to the time of black slavery where she is forced to endure hardship and abuse by her white ancestor.
Charlie vs Hell - This is the biggest conflict in the pilot. When Charlie makes a genuine heart felt speech on live television to resolve the overpopulation crisis peacefully and without the yearly Extermination, she is openly mocked, ridiculed, and humiliated by a disbelieving city.
Most of the conflict I see stemming from this is convincing sinners to give redemption a try while dealing with opposing forces such as Katie Killjoy and others who may want to take advantage of the Hotel and its characters.
Character vs Self
When a character deals with their inner demons, self-doubt, or depression, it's them overcoming their own weaknesses. The 'Self' can take on multitude of different forms. Prejudice, fears, self-esteem, etc.
(Outlander) Claire vs Her Love for Frank and Jaime - Claire who fallen back in time into Scotland 17th century has to deal with her conflicting feelings for warrior Scotsman Jaime when she is married and still in love with her husband Frank in the 19th century.
(Frozen) Elsa vs Her Fear of Harming Others - Elsa is a princess who has the power to control snow and ice, but it's so powerful it harmed her sister and kingdom so she secludes herself into the mountains so she won't be a danger to them.
(Infinity Train) Tulips vs Her struggles with Change - Tulip is a girl whose parents have divorce and the changes have made her withdrawn, angry, and afraid which influences her journey on the Infinity Train.
Angel Dust vs His Persona - In a short, but very telling scene, Angel wanted to comfort Charlie after the disastrous hotel opening. However, he decides against it, likely in a means to save face.
I believe Angel Dust has this 'persona' to safe guard himself from emotional pain. He's a character who has been abused and sexually assaulted on a regular basis by Valentino and putting on a strong and untouchable 'front' is how he safe guards himself, but it also prevents him from opening up emotionally to others which I believe is going to lead him to finding redemption and a wholesome relationship.
Charlie vs Self-Doubt - After the failed tv interview, Charlie is fearful her father was right about being a failure.
This may be Charlie's biggest conflict is with is standing on her own as the Princess of Hell. This may be discussed in another post, but I see Alastor being her mentor and helping her find her feet to stand against the Overlords and her own father. Even though Alastor himself doesn't believe in redemption, having someone as powerful as Alastor backing her might be the support she needs to rise.
I'll be trying to post fairly regularly here. A mix of advice, answering questions, and just rambling in general about my thoughts on world building and character creation. I'm a fucking idiot, don't expect any true consistency, but I'm definitely going to try. A personal tip that I use when trying to decide the general temperament of a society is to look at their access to resources, their level of technology, and the portion of the land they inhabit. A society with a truly peaceful temperament can only be achieved when all three of these things are at least decent for the population. Conflict over resources is very straightforward, conflict over land is still relatively straightforward but starts to get into issues of territories which is a relatively different portion of world building. Lack of technology in perspective of other societies can cause either envy or fear both of which will lead to different kinds of conflict. It's important to remember, conflict doesn't mean war necessarily, social conflict is just as important to shaping the beliefs and behaviors of a character.
