Dabblings of a Lore Geek

A creative writer currently fixated on Vivziepop’s Hellaverse. https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoreDabbler/works I’ll fangirl about the shows and ramble about my writing here. Will occasionally discuss other subject matter.

[loredabbler]

Reading Experience Poll for The Replaceable and the Irredeemable

Is 9000+ words too long for a fanfic chapter?

Bitch yes, cut that shit down.

I mean, depends; how long until the next update?

Please feed me, I need it all.

Just make sure it's quality work, however long or short.

Remaining time: 2 days 13 hours

I know I don't have a ginormous following or anything, but as I'm practicing intentionally with the craft, I want to keep in mind how the chapters and story flow land with the reader. Chapter 3 is as long as it is because I wanted certain moments of tension included and for one character to reach a certain point at the end of the installment. But...I do wonder if the length will make it drag for the reader. I'm hoping the quality keeps the story engaging enough for readers to stay hooked the whole way through, but I'm aware that is quite idealistic lol. I'm giving this poll a week; I think I'll go ahead and post C3 once I've made it through the proofreading and formatting, but I will definitely keep whatever feedback I get in mind for future chapters. Because I already split C3 into 3 and 4, C4 is now 4000+, and it WILL get bigger.

[stars-bean]

The Emperor's New Groove (2000) dir. Mark Dindal

[loredabbler]

LMAO XD

This is HAND-CARVED MAHOGANY YZMA GOD.

[hylosylphide]

So, about the sexyman polls...

[loredabbler]

Well, if anything…the comments here have reminded me that there is nothing people will not disagree on.

They’ve also reminded me of how much of Tumblr probably doesn’t have a fully developed prefrontal cortex yet. But that only matters so much, because the grown-ass people of IRL have brought us…*gestures vaguely at goings-on of the world*.

I have my criticisms of the Hellaverse, but there is so fucking much I love about it too.

Also, I think the only way to have this contest with total integrity is to see/read everything all the candidates are in to make an informed decision. But that’s as likely to happen here as its equivalent is in real world elections.

Now I’ll take off my serious lens and say:

🦌 Alastor should be the winner. 💅

[sen-rinthelynx18]

Same like for me it's Valentino. Hate him for his actions love him for his funny lines like "I'M FROM FUCKING FLORIDA!" and design and his valid crashout with vox in season 2

[loredabbler]

Saw someone describe one of Val's lines as "more funny than it had any business being", and I concur. Sums him up well as a character I think lol.

Val: Angel, what is the fucking holdup? Angel: I'm…coming! Val: Not off camera you're not! I also love "I'M FROM FUCKING FLORIDA!"

An abusive piece of shit who happens to have funny moments. Very true of real life abusive pieces of shit. It doesn't excuse them. It actually can help show how people get entangled with them and gaslit when people around them tell the victims "But he seems like a chill/nice/funny guy."

[hylosylphide]

So, about the sexyman polls...

[loredabbler]

Well, if anything…the comments here have reminded me that there is nothing people will not disagree on.

They’ve also reminded me of how much of Tumblr probably doesn’t have a fully developed prefrontal cortex yet. But that only matters so much, because the grown-ass people of IRL have brought us…*gestures vaguely at goings-on of the world*.

I have my criticisms of the Hellaverse, but there is so fucking much I love about it too.

Also, I think the only way to have this contest with total integrity is to see/read everything all the candidates are in to make an informed decision. But that’s as likely to happen here as its equivalent is in real world elections.

Now I’ll take off my serious lens and say:

🦌 Alastor should be the winner. 💅

[loredabbler]

Fanfic issues

Welp, C3 of TRATI hit 9k. Everyone in my vast reading audience (hurhur) can blame my love for Vassago.

It may not be up until the weekend, I dunno. I'm not satisfied with the distribution of talk time in the group at Rosie's. The end POV of the chapter still feels too rough. And then I still have to do the formatting.

Been doing light research on the historical structures of legions. It may help for later in the story, or it may go nowhere, lol. Been looking up lots of subject matter that I have sudden ideas for using, but lots of it won't/wouldn't come into play until a lot later.

Anywho, I'm working on it!

[voxdaily]

[loredabbler]

Val: “I am HERE, but I have not COME!”

[loredabbler]

Upcoming: C3 of The Replaceable and the Irredeemable

So I did indeed end up splitting Chapter 3 because of how long it was getting. I was going to try to just let readers have a whopper of a chapter, but with how much I had left to fill in plus the formatting after it all, I just didn’t see that happening without a ridiculously long delay.

It looks like C3 will still be fairly long though, as it’s over 7k gain. And with all I’ve still got to add, it could very well hit 8k. I’ve got a printed draft I’ve marked up with some color-coded notes, and I’m only about halfway through those edits lol. Tonight I’ll be working to get as much of that done as possible. I think it’s possible I’ll update tonight, but tomorrow is way more likely.

The story is quite fun to work on, and it was gratifying to receive a comment that says I’m nailing characterization so far—even though I’m struggling with it in a lot of ways. I really don’t want to shy away from Alastor’s selfish/evil side/overwhleming majority of being, but I want to really think through what motivates him to be so enraging and unsympathetic a lot of the time so that his jerk moments really land. And then…I don’t know how well I can pull off Blitz. I am truly in awe of Brandon Rogers and anyone who writes Blitz’s lines. He has such unique and chaotic energy, erg how am I going to replicate that? Although I do think I’ve done a good job with him in a particular scene of what will be either C5 or C6.

The chapters keep stretching out, and the later parts of the story in my head keep getting pushed further away 😭. I would love for this story to end at 20 chapters, if I can stay inspired for that long. But assuming inspiration doesn’t die, and all the threads run their course, it could very well be 30+.

Please remember that authors love comments, and it’s helpful to hear what specific elements are well-executed: characterization, pacing, dialogue, setting, etc.

[vivziepoparchives]

Alastor and Niffty pride print available at WA Summer Con June 20, 2025.

[source] [source 2]

[loredabbler]

I fucking love them.

[divine0rdainment]

"I CAN FIX THEM" VS "GOOD LUCK WITH THAT"

I like this dynamic more than "I can fix them" vs "I can make them worse"

Good luck implies "I like my little goodie two shoes the way they are, but they will not make me a better person, and that's ok"

[loredabbler]

Here for the RadioJoy aka AngelicSmile.

Highly contrasted character duos are such great foils.

[loredabbler]

M for mature Valentino/Stolas one-shot, A Loose End Becomes an Unknown Number, is now posted on AO3.

Releasing this made me a bit nervous because…Valentino.

If anyone reads and feels I wiiiiiidely missed the mark in some way, that is feedback I definitely appreciate. Have not written anything like a toxic or abusive situationship before.

[loredabbler]

Changes to release schedule

Due to life priorities, the Stolentino one-shot has not yet been posted to AO3. I am aiming to have it up sometime this weekend.

For the same reason, C3 of The Replaceable and the Irredeemable will be posted between 6/6 and 6/7.

[officialstarscream]

Hazbin Hotel Season 2 Text Post Memes

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6)

[loredabbler]

Something about this moment from “Oops” in season 2 makes me want to dive into complicated friendships and histories.

I would love to see Vassago in Fizz’s place and Stolas in Blitz’s. I headcanon that introverted teen Stolas had a crush on extroverted teen Vassago, but it obviously went nowhere and their friendship is what remains. I think Stolas would have withdrawn because he was just too bummed about all his obligations with the engagement to Stella. Maybe they got back in touch later, but Stolas stayed fairly isolated a lot of the time because of either focusing on Via or having depressive episodes.

I’m also intrigued by the idea of Alastor being in Blitz’s place with Vassago in Fizz’s. I imagine Vassago being unseriously flirty with Alastor to annoy him.

[loredabbler]

Toxic rarepair exploration

So I spent too much time yesterday drafting a completely new fic.

After a rarepair community post, started thinking “What if Stolas came across Valentino somehow between Apology Tour and Mastermind?” And my answer is apparently a one-shot that is the darkest fic I’ve ever written. I’m sure there’s a lot darker out there, and I haven’t written all that much fanfiction in my lifetime. I just say that to mean that I’m doing my best to handle a Valentino entanglement realistically, and it’s a dynamic I’ve never tackled before. I want to handle it respectfully, in regard to abuse and its related traumas.

Valentino is a pretty polarizing figure, for obvious reasons. I’m personally willing to explore him as a character partly because he IS pretty funny and childish at times, which a lot of abusers are. I personally think we need to not lose sight of how monsters like Valentino are able to mingle with the rest of society, because monsters rarely ONLY look like monsters. I think it also does a disservice to abuse victims and survivors to not be willing to discuss the subtleties or more palatable qualities of abusers, because always painting abusers as only very obvious or one-dimensional abusers gives “You idiot, how could you have fallen for them! OBVIOUSLY that person is a predatory menace!”

I thought of how Stolas might have wound up in that position, and I’ve tried to take care with how being involved with Valentino would impact him, especially at a time when he’s in an emotionally vulnerable position like after the split from Blitz. I’m going to go over the draft for at least a couple more days before posting it to give plenty of thought to Stolas’s affected mindset, trauma, etc.

[lpuntitled]

"and then you went and ruined it"

[loredabbler]

I mean god DAMN.

I’m not normally into RadioStatic, but…

[loredabbler]

Fic-related reasons I’ve rewatched some of either Hazbin Hotel or Helluva Boss

To figure out the layouts of the hotel or the office

Checking height differences so I’ll know angles characters are looking at one another

Observing how Alastor’s facial expressions vary

Observing how the imps move their tails during various moods

Trying to grasp various characters’ speech patterns (Blitz is so fucking off-the-wall, I genuinely don’t know how to consistently capture that)

Checking dialogue and information provided in conversation

Looking closer at vibes between certain characters

Not an exhaustive list by any means.

For character height, I also reference that Hellaverse update video with Charlie and Blitz, since the end of it has a lot of the characters standing together.

[loredabbler]

Some things I appreciate readers giving feedback on

How immersive the description is (or isn’t)

How effective tension build-up is (or isn’t)

How interesting the story and characterization are (or aren’t)

If there’s something in dialogue or narration that doesn’t make sense so I can fix it

I really appreciate hearing which parts people aren’t as bought into as much as I like hearing what hooks or keeps readers. I’m intentionally practicing and building storytelling skills, and I would love to be able to write as well as authors I admire. If there’s a spot in the story that kills the immersion for someone, I’d like to know so I can improve. I also love hearing if I nailed a certain technique, especially at crucial points in the story.

Definitely not an exhaustive list, but yeah, I love feedback! Basically, if there’s anything at all that stands out to a reader, I appreciate hearing what it is and why.