#wip val saintly

[transmasc-wizard]

this is what i spend my time on. no regrets

if u cannot recognize the characters, in order of appearance they are: val, james, spacey, leah, mack, beck (the one whos name i stole), mack (again!), and bell

valsaintly taglist based entirely upon memory: @idkjustgowithitok @wherearetheplants @cream-and-tea @albatris @void-fireworks. if you are not on the taglist Sorry but i will probably not tag you again anyway bc my memory changes every time <3

[image description under the cut.]

[ID: a 5-panel comic of the characters in my work-in-progress, Valarie Saintly is Totally Normal. They are saying a semi-popular tumblr thread in a conversation.

Panel 1: Val, a girl with pale skin, scars, pink hair in a bob, and a blue button-down, says "Mammals both produce milk and have hair. Ergo, a coconut is a mammal" with a sly expression. James, a purple-winged faerie with purple heart glasses, medium brown skin, and a green jacket, replies, "I know you're being facetious, but this is an actual issue with morphology-based phylogeny."

Panel 2: Spacey, a slightly glowing femme person with light brown skin, purple curly hair, and a shirt that says "mothman kisser", leans close to Leah and says, "*leans over and whispers to person beside me* what are they talking about". Leah, a siren with dark brown skin, brown hair with blue tips, and a shirt with the trans flag, replies happily, "*leans over and whispers back* Human ability to quantify and categorize natural phenomena is sketchy at best and wildly misleading at worst".

Panel 3: Mack, a vampire with short dark hair, pink heart shaped sunglasses, pale skin, and a glittery pink sleeveless turtleneck gleefully interjects, "Consider the coconut!". There are music notes around it.

Panel 4: Beck, a disinterested-looking faerie with red hair, acid green eyes, light brown skin, and an obnoxiously shiny black bathrobe, passively looks at his nails and says, "this reminds me of that time Plato defined humans as 'featherless bipeds' and Diogenes ran in with a plucked chicken screaming "BEHOLD A MAN!'". Mack says, looking at Beck with a humorous expression, "I love how you say 'it reminds me of that time' like you were there."

Panel 5: Bell, a faerie with a serious expression, the same colour palette and bathrobe as Beck, a blue tank top, and glasses, says, "Listen if an immortal feels brave and supported enough to come out we should respect them".

The background to the whole thing is light yellow. end ID.]

#wip val saintly #my art #nicola.art #yes this is what my pfp is from #nicola.txt #val #james #spacey #leah #mack #beck #bell

[transmasc-wizard]

having valsaintly "vampirism as a metaphor" thoughts again. today's topic: vampirism as a metaphor for cis passing, autistic masking, & similar

#nicola.txt #wip val saintly

[transmasc-wizard]

woah its two Macks, almost exactly 1 year apart, who did that--

oh wait me! i did that! December 26th 2021 on the left and December 17th 2022 on the right!

ive been posting digital art for a year now and decided to redraw the first digital piece I ever posted (and the 3rd thing I ever drew on my tablet at all!) to just see how i've improved. And to be honest, I was terrified there would be no difference, but imo I definitely did get better. (For one thing, I'm not absolutely petrified of any sort of background anymore, lol.) The second one also took less time than the first, which is nice--better work in less time.

Val Saintly Taglist: @void-fireworks, @idkjustgowithitok, @albatris, @cream-and-tea, again my memory is horrific, lmk if you are not actually on there sjdhksdhkf

[image IDs under the cut]

[ID 1: a digital drawing of my OC Mack. They have a blue hoodie that says "fruit bat", pale skin, dark hair, red eyes, dagger earrings, and broken pink heart sunglasses. They are covered in blood and have a neutral expression. Orange lighting comes from an unknown source.

ID 2: a digital drawing of my OC Mack. They look the same, though their hoodie is purple now. He is now standing in a doorway, with the lighting coming from behind, and her eyes glow. end ID]

#wip val saintly #my art #nicola.art #mack #i am not going to make fun of myself for the first one bc it is important to my growth and blah blah so instead SURPRISE im being nice #yall were all genuinely so sweet when i was first starting out and extremely unconfident posting art (and still are but like #it was really really encouraging and helpful). i still scroll through my art tag sometimes to look at the notes of my older stuff i dont #even really like anymore where people are still being SO nice and giving lovely compliments and its just. :3 #i know i complain abt being an artist on the internet sometimes but genuinely im so greatful for the people who are here n rbing stuff #and just being lovely #nicola.txt #blood tw

[transmasc-wizard]

Would you like to talk about mack?? :D

i WOULD

unfortunately, this will not be :D . this will be D:

tw : familial abandonment, drug use & dealing (doesnt go into huge detail but its mentioned), manipulation/shitty friends, depression, self-worth issues, self-destructive behaviour

so mack (it/any btw) is a character who is very convinced he has already gone through his Character Arc(TM) and doesn't need any more help with his issues. and like, he absolutely got over a lot of issues he used to have, but a lot of other ones were just... pushed down to a place where it can pretend those problems don't exist anymore.

mack was shunned by its whole family when they were turned into a vampire at 15 by their manipulative and shitty vampire "friends", and ran away shortly after. they almost immediately fell into a group of shady people, since that was what it was used to. mostly, these people broke a lot of laws to have a lot of quite-dangerous-in-retrospect parties. illegal fireworks, irresponsible drug use, dares like "play chicken but with cars instead of swings", that sorta thing. mack knew at least 2 people who died at these things and it was not uncommon for them to wake up six blocks away with a memory gap of several hours

this went on for 2-3 years, im not quite sure, until one day mack watched One More person die at a party and was like . hey . maybe this isn't a good use of my life. and he just... ran away again? not in the same way, but he just ghosted everyone she knew and had to start over. it had a lot of shady/sneaky skills from times it used to help w drug dealing, so it put those skills into working on not-super-legal issues but in a significantly safer context (essentially scamming billionaires).

at this time, around age 18 or so, Mack was also loitering a lot at a cafe frequented by university students. at this spot was where Mack met the then-20 and extremely optimistic (lmao) James, a first-year theoretical physics major. when James (Sufferinf w/ rent) realized mack was homeless, he offered to let it stay with him, and mack then officially had a living space ! hurrah. this was the point where mack went "okay so clearly i am now okay. i have a house, food, a less-illegal-than-before job, and am not actively and dangerously using drugs or doing horrifically reckless things. im normal!" and shoved all their issues under the rug

those issues included the fact that by this point mack was just. incapable of showing negative emotions, bc they thought no one would love them if they did bc they'd be too much of a burden. (this is heightened by the fact their chronic pain started at 17.) then there's also the insistence that their constant exhaustion, apathetic feelings, and deep fear of getting close to people is Normal And Fine, their fear of any person who presents themself as a parental or otherwise familial figure, their feelings that it's not worth anything if it can't make others constantly happy, and her inability to cope with anything that she doesn't know how to bullshit through.

by the time the story starts, Mack and James have collected 2 more roommates (Leah and Spacey) (and they will get Val next ofc). James is... significantly more tired and significantly less optimistic, which also makes Mack feel more like she's in control (like, see, even JAMES is doing bad! so surely it's just the average stress of life. i'm ok. never once does he consider James is just also crumbling till like halfway through the book, and that is actually a tense side of their friendship). mack is very very convinced that since it's not actively putting itself in danger twice a week, it's FINE, and no one has to WORRY, and--

then val comes along and kinda. forcibly makes him realize he is not ok. and funky story things ensue :3

#asks #will/lee #mack #wip val saintly

[transmasc-wizard]

hehe its december thats val saintly month

#winter makes me wanna talk abt that wip again :D #nicola.txt #wip val saintly

[transmasc-wizard]

oh............ famous last words. val tune

#nicola.txt #wip val saintly #val

[transmasc-wizard]

woohoo there's some val saintly writings to be had here! because i can't work on the right project ever :D

it's Mack Emotions Time. heck yeah woohoo go get em kid etc etc

"You're a bad sister, and you should feel like one. A bad friend, too. Maybe just a bad person." "I'm not a bad person," Eva objected, desperation clinging to her voice. She stepped forward, and Mack stepped back. "Distance," he snapped. "I'm not a bad person," Eva repeated, as if she hadn't heard him. “Mack, I—I’m a bad sister, but I’m still your sister, and I... I’m good overall. You know I’m not a bad person.” “I don’t know what you are.” Mack leaned against a desk, knuckles white. All this crying and hyperventilating was doing something to his body; vampires didn't hold enough spare liquid to cry this long. “But I know what you think I am.” Monster. Monster. Monster. It echoed in his mind, a choir singing truths. But was the truth that Mack was a monster, or just that Eva believed so? “I was scared,” Eva insisted. “You were—you were terrifying, and—” “Do you think I don’t know that? Do you honestly fucking think you were more scared of me than I was of myself?”

the ONLY taglist members i remember are @void-fireworks and @albatris. its been 5000 years i have no memory anymore sorry. anyway here's writings :D im not even sure if it's enough for a taglist @ but hey. listen. I Like It.

something something vampirism as a metaphor for whatever you please, whatever has made you feel monstrous, whatever has made the true monsters convince you that you are unloved. and all that jazz

#wip val saintly #sneeps #my writing #nicola.txt #mack #eva

[transmasc-wizard]

Hi I know u like just shared some symbolism from your WIPs but. I saw u said there is More,,,,, and I love symbolism so much so if there's more u would like to share, I'd love to hear it 👀👀

hello there IS more and i am 100% glad to share

rain!! in Rose Librarians!! every time it rains, the relationship between Charlie and Eleanor changes. the first time, Charlie and Eleanor goof off together, instead of being angry and awkward. The second time, Eleanor agrees to work with Charlie to fix the library and stop the monsters, deepening the connection. The third time is the climax of the story, where Charlie and Eleanor agree to help each other truly heal instead of just pretending.

More GFS Foils, bc I love those. Angel is self-preserving and to the point it's maladaptive and hurts them, and Rowan is self-sacrificing and loyal to the point it hurts others. They both are trying to do things "right", but take it way too far.

the books Oliver re-reads can give you some insight into his emotional state! whenever he re-reads his sister's favourite book, you Know he is having unfun brain times, when he re-reads his favourite book he's stressed out, and when he reads his giant textbook about dragons, he's in a rlly good mood. this is consistent across All Five Books because i feel like it

James wearing similar sunglasses to Mack but ironically symbolizes how he's more detached than the rest of them. Mack's sunglasses are directly connected to their emotional & mental state; James' are just... a joke. He refuses to get too deep into anything he feels, and this Will be a point in the VS Sequel i have stewing in my brain (it was supposed to be a standalone,,,)

birds around Hope means godly thoughts are happening, and godly thoughts happening means the abuse metaphor is back ! every time Hope sits and thinks about just how shit their life in the godly realm was, they're surrounded by some type of bird. The most important time this happens, they're near the bird they invented. When they go back to their old home... well. there are birds everywhere >:)

the monster in NT21 is a metaphor for hurting other people to feel better, hence... *gestures to the murder*

The amount of guilt Ace is feeling over being gay will directly relate to the amount of guilt Thalia is feeling over being dead. it's not their fault it's morally neutral and it's something they WILL have to make peace with but they Don't Want To

in DAT, the more cruel and self-centered Nathaniel gets, the less he wears his worker uniform/the more he dresses like the rich capitalists around him.

The Other Ones..... sunlight in a haunted forest is not an invitation of safety. sunlight in a haunted forest represents everything else pretending to be something it is not. that sunlight is unsafe, that man is a monster, Astrophel is not a god but a man and that will catch up to him

on a related note. that one probably didn't make sense but this might: there is very much Icarus symbolism in The Other Ones. Astrophel is oh so curious. Icarus begins to fly. Astrophel feels he can do anything. Icarus gets closer to the sun. Astrophel is trying to be god. Icarus's wax wings are melting. Astrophel forgets he is mortal. Icarus is starting to fall. Astrophel is not sure whether he is man or monster. Icarus has hit the ocean. (Stuff like that, but. yk. drawn out across the book.)

addiction cw: this is a less obvious one i think, but in GFS, for the first 2 books, Corey is addicted to this shitty magic energy drink. (It lets him stay up, and staying up lets him create, and creating lets him stay sane.) in book 3, he's forced away from it. He's also forced away from a lot of other things that are bad for him. But when he gets it back--and those other things, too--he has to struggle with whether or not to use it again. (Does he go back to what's hurt him? He can escape... but now that it's available, does he really want to?)

there is. probably M o r e. but it is getting late and brain is shutting off so that is all :D

#asks #multi!! #my wips #wip the other ones #wip gfs #wip nt21 #wip val saintly #wip rose librarians #wip death and taxes #addiction mention

[transmasc-wizard]

oh my god mack LITERALLY wears rose-tinted glasses

#im a literary genius #nicola.txt #mack #wip val saintly #mack's entire schtick is that they refuse to probe into the idea that they're allowed to have a single negative emotion ever #and they wear their glasses which are part of their hehe funnyman act and i've already established that #the glasses get scraped then fractured then SHATTERED as Mack learns they can't run from their pain #but. BUT. the glasses break the exact moment Mack realizes this is not even remotely a game and they can't fucking play it as one #and. the glasses are pink. their entire perspective is told in pink bc they never remove the glasses #and the glasses SHATTER bringing all the real colour into the world... at the same time Mack realizes he can't run anymore. #i am a LITERARY GENIUS

[transmasc-wizard]

hello nickle i am interested in hearing abt symbolism in ur wips like mack's glasses

hello bat i am interested in talking about symbolism in my wips like mack's glasses

so. obviously i will not mention that one. BUT some other symbolism funtimes:

Rose Librarians' monsters are just... 100% symbolism dskfhkdjfh. they are literally all Charlie's negative thoughts & feelings, personified, and thus symbolize his struggles with severe depression due to isolation for several years.

similarly, Charlie's ice heart symbolizes that feeling when you're just. on the fucking edge. anything and everything can and will break you, you've been broken time after time, and have to keep going anyway.

some funky imagery happens in GFW1 when Gabrielle dies; the glass of the shattered window (from gunshots) is strewn near her head like the sharp crowns worn by dead queens at their funerals. Gabrielle was the core of Angel's purpose in life, and now that core--that queen--is dead.

depending on how... stable Angel is feeling, the area will be described as darker or lighter. this relates directly to Angel subconsciously manipulating the shadows when upset to feel like some comforting hug from the room, but upsetting everyone else (much like how Angel has some not-so-well-adjusted coping mechanisms that often hurt other people)

Bea and Angel's magics are foils!!! Bea works with light magic, Angel with shadow. Bea adds things, Angel takes away. Bea has the possibilities and glimpses forward of prophecy, and Angel has the abject certainty and end of death.

The above relates directly to Bea's feeling that she must be a star burning too bright, lighting herself on fire to let everyone see, and Angel's idea that they must never give themself away to others, always taking and hiding instead of being open.

all this is depressing sooo smth fun: Rowan's outfits in GFW4 are that of a bride, but wrong. She wears white and silver, not gold (bride colour in Teyrsea); her crown is like the tiara worn at weddings, but too sharp and too bright; her cape is like a bridal train meant for battle instead of love. She's the loveless queen of Teyrsea and she DOES do all of this on purpose ! aro rights

additionally, Rowan's trio of colour symbolism always involves blue and silver, BUT between books 1/2 and books 3/4, she switches from black (isolation, destruction, death) to white (mourning, new beginnings, loneliness). and in 5, she has grey--which symbolizes neutrality. it doesn't really have implications, save a bit of gloom. she's free to build whatever she wants out of the ashes of her old self.

ALSO, continuing with colours, Corey has pale blue + gold and Rowan has dark blue + silver. This is because they are contrasting & different, but also, truly, mean very similar things. (Pale blue = wisdom, reliability; dark blue = intellect, dignity; gold = luxury, triumph; silver = wealth, success.) They desperately want to pretend that they're so very different from each other (Rowan does not to be weak, Corey does not want to be a monster), but they aren't.

that's been a lot of GFS so let's trot on over to Val Saintly for a second! The longer the story goes on, the further she gets from who she used to be, and her appearance reflects that. Her hairstyle changes, her fashion sense evolves, she wears new jewelry, she even picks up some sunglasses of her own. Each little change amounts to her being different from the girl who was convinced she had to save the world every time it was in peril.

that is. so very long. i hope you enjoyed me talking this much skdfhskdfhk. i have more but i will hold back for now

#asks #bat wherearetheplants #my wips #wip gfw4 #wip gfs #wip val saintly #wip rose librarians

[transmasc-wizard]

fun fact: Val Saintly is supposed to be a standalone

additional fun fact: this document exists

#nicola.txt #wip val saintly

[transmasc-wizard]

anyway yeah Mack gets to say the fuck word on-page despite that not really being a thing I do in my WIPs for the simple fact that i think he deserves to say it at his sister at least twice

#the other characters with Eff Word privileges are Eleanor & Hope. that's pretty much it #(the secret wip cast maybe. but that book in general is... different) #nicola.txt #wip val saintly #mack

[transmasc-wizard]

Val Saintly 1, starring Mack and Val: healing :3 love :3 friendship :3 wacky hijinks full of opportunities to grow and learn more about yourself, with a few emotional/angsty moments :3

Val Saintly 2, starring James, Franklin and Spacey: Your Mental Illness Must Be Faced And Capitalism Is A Prison

#this is MOSTLY joking btw ksdhdkf #it will still have the same feel and the same centre core of healing #but they are healing from... quite different monsters i think #anyway. im going to sleep now #wip val saintly #val saintly 2 electric boogaloo #<- thats the sequel tag. no regrets #nicola.txt

[transmasc-wizard]

Blorbo Blursday!

Val Saintly has an awesome name!!! Any spare funky content you wanna talk about?

yes absolutely

so im not actually sure how much you know about Val, because I CANNOT remember how recently we became mutuals (3 weeks???? 7 months??? somewhere in between there, i have no sense of time) but tldr she saved the fuckin world when she was 14/15ish and that's.... not a super great thing for her. now she's 19 and living her life the best she can

so, it's funny that you pointed out her name, because it's actually part of why she got into this shit. Her "mentor" (piece of shit named Morgan whom i hate) had a vision prophecy thing involving "the most saintly" and... yeah. She's got the name, the naturally pink hair, the gift for magic, and the purple eyes, as well as the Speshul(TM) ability to kill the dark lord. It's all super cliche as a world-saving story, but it doesn't matter, bc her story is NOT and CANNOT be about her saving the world.

this is bc she shouldn't have had to in the first place.

she was a child!! she was a child who watched her friends die and who killed people and who was taught that the weight of the entire world and everyone within it was her responsibility!!! and the story is about her healing from that

.... that's not super Funky so i'm gonna switch gears now

she likes reptiles! this is bc of Mack's influence. Mack loves Sneks, and spread that snek love to Val at some point. she also wears purple button ups in every conceivable purple shade, from lilac to magenta to royal purple to lavender to bright nearly-neon purple. she likes purple

she also wants to go to university at some point. She wants to study marine biology; the ocean is the only biome she hasn't really trekked yet, and she'd like a pleasant experience for once ever. Plus, she just really likes fish. They're funky little fellows.

thats all i can think of right now but perhaps there will be more later (or not). either way, happy blorbo blursday!!! ty for the ask :D

#asks #thepotatowriter #blorbo blursday #wip val saintly #val

[transmasc-wizard]

oh my God I just remembered my OC Bell and I love her so much

#her middle name is Tower FYI #bell #wip Val saintly #nicola.txt

[transmasc-wizard]

ohmy. god. why did i not think this sooner

#the vampire story (that im NOT TALKING ABOUT what do u mean) NEEDS to take place in the valsaintly world #it NEEDS TO #wip val saintly #<- in the vaguest sense possible but yeah