empty spaces

for posting "empty spaces" writing, art, and other media and connecting with others in the empty spaces community. Topics are often mature or explicit, so 18+ please. NOTE: this is NOT about liminal spaces/empty rooms/nostalgiacore... see rules for more info on empty spaces

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empty spaces mechposting angelposting dollposting writing visual art queer art queer artists trans art trans artists cyborgposting nonhuman nonhumanity not a person voidposting

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~✰~'-'~✰~TABLE OF CONTENTS~✰~'-'~✰~

- introductory quote
- disclaimer

- guidelines

- getting started in empty spaces

~✰~'-'~✰~INTRODUCTION~✰~'-'~✰~

“What is this really all about? It’s about trauma. It’s about suffering and damage. It’s about abuse both systemic and deeply personal. It’s about being used and abandoned. These are stories of queer breaking. It’s about the pain, and what comes after it. We’ve found empowerment in the reclamation of our dehumanization, in the acceptance and celebration of our place as Other. Sure, we’ll never be people, but even so, maybe we can manage to build a home for ourselves here, in the Empty Spaces between.” - ABSTRACTWEAPON on Voidgoddess.org

~✰~'-'~✰~DISCLAIMER~✰~'-'~✰~

empty spaces is a loose, cross-platform collective of artists and experimenters of all kinds. there is no one person or group that runs or moderates the empty spaces community as a whole. i'm only the creator and moderator of this community here on pillowfort because there wasn't one, and I wanted there to be. I cannot emphasize enough that I am not an authority on empty spaces. It is vague so it, alongside the community, can grow and morph alongside our changing needs.

By participating in empty spaces, one must firmly take the stance that the community should never be policed for what does or does not seem or feel to be empty spaces, as at its core, much of empty spaces involves processing traumatic experiences and experimenting with identity, and those are things which are unacceptable to police under any circumstances (and truthfully, so is any kind of art).

~✰~'-'~✰~ GUIDELINES ~✰~'-'~✰~

1. must be bodily 18+ years old to join, as topics may be NSFW

2. do not spam the same post repeatedly. posting several posts at once or in batches, such as a specific series of art/writing/thought experiment, is fine (ex. posting a string of parts to one story in separate posts).

3. posting non-original content (i.e. sharing a book, game, film, character, etc) that resonates with you in the context of empty spaces is ok, but you must specify the source in the post or in tags and elaborate on why you’d like to share it with the empty spaces community. For example, posting an image of a scene or character you relate to and explaining at least briefly that you resonate with some specific part of the scene/characters qualities, backstory, etc.

4. properly label and tag nsfw content, as well as any specific topics and trigger warnings. includes but isnt limited to depictions of incest, gore, death, and abuse.

5. never claim any art posted here is not empty spaces material, or seek to judge, criticize, or give advice on works posted here unless it is explicitly asked for. If you see a post you believe was made here in bad faith (i.e. to intentionally insult the community or a specific member, or to bring unrelated content into the group), please bring it to moderator(s) attention. Do not comment on a post to share your disagreements with its content.

Repeated violations not amended amicably may result in a ban.

If you are given a few reminders about tagging, labeling, or elaborating (as in rules 3 and 4), but resolve them without issue, it will not be counted against you.

~✰~'-'~✰~ GETTING STARTED ~✰~'-'~✰~

the rest of this is just suggestions for newcomers to the empty spaces community, not required reading for this pillowfort page. first, i recommend you read the pages linked below, if not more of the voidgoddess.org site:

https://voidgoddess.org/emptyspaces/
This is the site I was referred to when I first wanted to get into empty spaces. It's very densely written, complex work but is a fantastic primer on what empty spaces often feels like, in my experience. I also specifically recommend reading the Inhuman Manifesto - it's what made it "click" for me.

Still a bit confused about what exactly this is and what's going on here? Totally okay. most feel that way before divine in. that's why my first advice is to just start finding empty spaces content across platforms (twitter and tumblr have the biggest communities afaik), and if some of it inspires you, create. voila, you've participated in empty spaces!

I think posting in empty spaces despite that fear is a nice exercise in overcoming it, but if that isn't accessible for you, i understand! empty spaces is intentionally undefined; however, I see many who want to be involved who are terribly scared to do so, often because of past repeated experiences where one was told "there are no rules", or only vague rules, and then was later criticized for not understanding what the others believed to be “common sense.” So while defining empty spaces is contradictory, I believe it a useful accessibility feature to further describe what I understand to be empty spaces.

__another brief disclaimer___

empty spaces is centered around (and was created by) trans people, nonhumans, and self-labelled nonpersons and the ways we process, share, and discuss trauma, grief, and identity so as to find connection and comfort in a space that belongs to us. this has, anecdotally, often involved posting about living dolls, mechs, angels, sisters, voids, and androids but should not ever be restricted to those things.
________________________

All that being said, if i look at art which does the following, it usually strikes me, personally, as empty spaces.

1. features primary nonhuman characters, including partially nonhuman characters or technically human characters who become or strongly connect to nonhuman creatures or objects (i.e. a story with a mech operator dutifully caring for the mech, seeing it as an extension of themselves, or seeing the mech as more "self" and their own body)

2. deals with dark or taboo topics, especially related to commonly experienced strife and trauma nonhumans and queer and trans people in particular in the real world often experience such as: addiction, self harm, eating disorders, low self worth, emotional and other abuse, social isolation, etc.

3. often, but not necessarily always, holds a message, even if very brief or subtle, that encourages or supports one in embracing their nonhumanity, taboo interestes and desires, and/or unconventional relationship structures to other nonhumans, animate or inanimate, as a way of finding comfort, belonging, home, and/or a stronger sense of self, however abstract that "self" may be. . . that being said, there is much empty spaces work that is simply an observation of dehumanization or depersonhood, with no happy endings. that is also welcome.

~✰~'-'~✰~WRAP-UP~✰~'-'~✰~

Well! if you read all that, thanks! I;ve put a lot of thought into how to structure a "community" in the terms of pillowfort and keep it accessible without compromising the core values of empty spaces, as someone who is just an amateur participant in it myself. If you have comments or suggestions about the rules or recommendations I've posted above, please dont hesitate to reach out.
Thank you

The moderators for this community are:

divinedogteeth

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