the-void-writes

[the-void-writes]

Reblog if your art project has not, does not, and never will make use of generative ai at any point in your creative process.

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June 17: 306 | Reach for the stars by @the-wip-project

Hi, I’m alive. Kinda. Barely. I haven’t written properly in more than a week, and I still won’t until Sunday. We’re in the middle of moving and needed to face that I’m terrible with change and I’m more stressed than I let on, lol. Kinda that caught up to me right now. But it’s all good, we’ll be through it.

And what else we’d be through with than some heavily angsty and depressive smut, lmfao. Don’t have the brain for anything else, buuut I posted a Sasin art in the time being. Hope you like it, and expect more to come.

Long snip, because why not:

Bongju slapped his hollowed out cigarette holder shut, shoving it back into his jacket pocket. The first drop of cold rain dripped at his forehead the moment he lit his very last smoke. Gods, he just re-filled it that afternoon.

Summer suffocated Grohan with a cruel promise of thick humidity as a slow pitter-patter began on the blistering asphalt. People hurried inside and under every nearby cover as if a little rain would singe their skin off their bones.

Bongju scoffed at them, staring at the rushing figures. Watching them from behind, it looked as if they were running from him and his fast, agitated stride, doing everything in their power so he wouldn’t fulfill the chase.

Bongju’s not having it. And it’s so funny how you can’t tell it’s gonna be nasty. Also excuse the typos if there’s any, it’s the raw version haha.

Peace and love to y’all.

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tweet

Something like this would be so colossally helpful. I'm sick and tired of trying to research specific clothing from any given culture and being met with either racist stereotypical costumes worn by yt people or ai generated garbage nonsense, and trying to be hyper specific with searches yields fuck all. Like I generally just cannot trust the legitimacy of most search results at this point. It's extremely frustrating. If there are good resources for this then they're buried deep under all the other bullshit, and idk where to start looking.

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Unhealed Wounds Your Character Pretends Are Just “Personality Traits”

These are the things your character claims are just “how they are” but really, they’re bleeding all over everyone and calling it a vibe.

╰ They say they're "independent." Translation: They don’t trust anyone to stay. They learned early that needing people = disappointment. So now they call it “being self-sufficient” like it’s some shiny badge of honor. (Mostly to cover up how lonely they are.)

╰ They say they're "laid-back." Translation: They stopped believing their wants mattered. They'll eat anywhere. Do anything. Agree with everyone. Not because they're chill, but because the fight got beaten out of them a long time ago.

╰ They say they're "a perfectionist." Translation: They believe mistakes make them unlovable. Every typo. Every bad hair day. Every misstep feels like proof that they’re worthless. So they polish and polish and polish... until there’s nothing real left.

╰ They say they're "private." Translation: They’re terrified of being judged—or worse, pitied. Walls on walls on walls. They joke about being “mysterious” while desperately hoping no one gets close enough to see the mess behind the curtain.

╰ They say they're "ambitious." Translation: They think achieving enough will finally make the emptiness go away. If they can just get the promotion, the award, the validation—then maybe they’ll finally outrun the feeling that they’re fundamentally broken. (It never works.)

╰ They say they're "good at moving on." Translation: They’re world-class at repression. They’ll cut people out. Bury heartbreak. Pretend it never happened. And then wonder why they wake up at 3 a.m. feeling like they're suffocating.

╰ They say they're "logical." Translation: They’re terrified of their own feelings. Emotions? Messy. Dangerous. Uncontrollable. So they intellectualize everything to avoid feeling anything real. They call it rationality. (It's fear.)

╰ They say they're "loyal to a fault." Translation: They mistake abandonment for loyalty. They stay too long. Forgive too much. Invest in people who treat them like an afterthought, because they think walking away makes them "just as bad."

╰ They say they're "resilient." Translation: They don't know how to ask for help without feeling like a burden. They wear every bruise like a trophy. They survive things they should never have had to survive. And they call it strength. (But really? It's exhaustion wearing a cape.)

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waitomo glowworm caves, new zealand.

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Hora Liahn Second Daughter & Demon of The West Clan

Those who'd been born in fire are unstoppable by none but themselves.

Protagonist of Project Sasin

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For all the time I spend on minuscule worldbuilding details, I sure as hell don’t remember them lmao

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Hi, so my best friend is adamant on making us starting our art (every kind) accounts and online presences or whatever together, which i said okay to. Which also means insta and youtube lmao. Help me pick which one please, because i considered having them, but idk how where when and what.

Consistence would prob be like here, if that makes any difference, lol.

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Holy Shit, Worldbuilding?

I do my worldbuilding on the fly so it's definitely shakey. So awhile ago I did a whole like blueprint thing for Digits prosthetics. I've been wanting to do something similar with Donnie but that's a lot of machine. And I was reminded I never really did XD so have a very very simple write up/summary of some of the tech stuff in Robots & Gardens so far.

Tag list: @outpost51 @nanashi23 @winterandwords @jezifster2 @aether-wasteland-s @dumbthunder @manathen @the-void-writes @livums @vacantgodling (Let me know if you want to be added or removed from the taglist!) 

Reoccuring in-world tech

Teched shades/Teched glasses ->

Pretty fucking common. Some people possess modded versions. You don't buy them modded you pay someone to mod them or you figure out how to yourself. Kinda like the equivalent of jailbreaking and modding a nintendo device (side tangent fuck nintendo).

They started strictly as business/work wear before coming to the public. For example I mention a sort of equivalent Digits and other construction workers have. It's work issued and they're actually safety glasses. So less customizable quirks. But work grade at least for the construction workers (and probably a lot of other trade work but we're gonna stick with construction right now) allows them to see plans, estimated scheduling, and general blueprints or schematics if needed. All visuals can only be seen clearly by the wearer themselves. From the outside the lenses tint. So you might catch light either on their face or peeking through the lenses but that's the most. Also massive rip if you need prescription lenses to see. You're either wearing contacts, going blind, or hoping a pair of prescription glasses can fit beneath.

For everyone else they are styled more like a very standard pair of glasses. There's a couple generations of them. With the most recent generations you can actually get them with prescription lenses (but you'll have to pay a shit ton more and it can damage some other functions. Mostly cosmetic but you can view things (news, shows, shit on the internet, etc), you can talk to other people (like calls), it can play music. The speakers are kinda shit though lol.

Lenses ->

Lol so yeah this is literally just contacts. Arguably far more dangerous and a risk than glasses. These are prescription and they are teched. Really simple advancement and not very widespread. Supposed to help with seeing in darker locations as well. Valuable for Hollis since she's technically doing illegal work and does have terrible vision. They can cause extreme eye damage. Great for precision jobs. They can cause extreme eye irritation and can blind you. The tech in the lenses can cause your eyes to appear another color. (Part of the reason why Hollis' eyes appear blue/blueish sometimes. Her natural eye color is brown).

Vapes ->

Lol they function just like normal ones. No one smokes tobacco really. They want death aggressive, fast, and fruit flavored.

Prosthetics ->

Very important. And hella reoccurring. A lot of people have them. Some people do by choice. But most don't, very common to have workplace accidents. Or to just need a modification for a job which is partially how we get to Donnie. They can vary a lot and the upkeep is costly. It's a whole business at this point the healthcare part has been stripped away from this common facet of the world. As in it's not always gotten out of benefit for the patient themselves but often encouraged and required. Through health they've gotten prosthetics more mechanic. Easier to mimic original human counterparts (human mobility is a wild thing y'all).

Filters/Filtration ->

I haven't dived super deep into this. Just know it's important and necessary. So people in smog ridden places (Which is a lot of places in this story) can breathe in their homes. And minimize some air contaminants and respiratory problems. Heavy on minimize cause it doesn't completely stop those problems.

Donnie's shit in particular

My beloved cyborg got a lot of shit going on. Please know that cyborg's are a rare phenomenon, his mods and prosthetics are top of the line because he works security, and he can only maintain them because of his economic status. But even then it's still a strain. On top of this he is mute which is a whole separate thing. It's not because of the prosthetics or anything. While they have some "fixes" they could've done for this they didn't want them.

He can sign but doesn't do it often because it's kind of a dying language in this world. And screen readers struggle capturing and understanding it. Most forms of communication with other people is gesturing and body language, typing/writing, or whistling (more specific situations for that one). But there's a secret here I am actively unclear how much of Donnie is machine and how much isn't like all the time. Which I kinda am pushing onto Donnie himself as well. I still have stuff to figure out about him lol.

Keyboard and holographics/projections ->

Strictly for communication. The keyboard is built into his arm. It's not a mechanical kind of keyboard. It's more of a projection with sensors tracking pressure? Or maybe just when their fingers go through certain letters of the projection. The keyboard has adjustable heights to make room for the words being written to be visible.

Can sort of broadcast/share screen the words as he's typing them to teched glasses. Got a finicky piece of tech on his collarbone. Should work through the synthetic skin but it doesn't (something he probably won't get fixed). Pick at the synthetic skin, move it aside, slide a finger over something (didn't make it specific it's literally just exposed tech 😅😅) and it'll share the words as he types.

Rando stuff that probably isn't set in stone

Since he's security and just has better/and more expensive prosthetics some of the overall force comes from hydraulics. Can produce a lot more pressure, force, and speed.

The lights you can see beneath his skin are mostly cosmetic. Some have purpose but Donnie definitely doesn't know which ones.

Donnie does in fact break their mods and prosthetics all the time. Very injury prone. (This one is set in stone as of now)

Donnie can have machine parts break in a way that damages human parts of him. Like if an insulation or hydraulic fluid line somehow breaks.

He can overheat. Maybe even a bit easier than some other people. Because he's so much machine and it's harder to regulate temperature with extremities gone. Has some resistance to colder temps though. He only sweats through places with actual skin. I haven't figured out if he has an internal cooling system. But he probably should. Just a rudimentary one cause I am not giving myself or any in world builders of Donnie benefit of the doubt.

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So How Do You Know Each Other?

XD have some Robots & Gardens stuff. Also, I gotta figure out how much I need to add certain dialogue tags to Donnie since my guy is mute. But I'm not trying to beat a dead horse. Honestly been going with the adding them as I fucking want route.

Tag list: @outpost51 @nanashi23 @winterandwords @jezifster2 @aether-wasteland-s @dumbthunder @manathen @the-void-writes @livums @vacantgodling (Let me know if you want to be added or removed from the taglist!) 

"I'm nothing more than intimidatin'."

"I think you mean terrifying," Donnie's words glowed over the keyboard display in his arm.

Green had her modded glasses, clipped onto her shirt. The weight eased the unbuttoned collar aside a bit.

She laughed, it was a strange sound to hear. Like her throat tried to strangle the noise before it left. It had a rough edge like her voice.

"Think it's a scary kind of person to choose to fuck me. Truly a wild world."

Donnie rolled their eyes and pointed back at the unaware redhead with a raise of the eyebrows. Green raised an eyebrow in return. Understanding what he meant but reading the hovering words aloud anyway.

"Just Peace?" Green shook her head, before responding, "Nah your fix-it woman got a taste too."

Donnie didn't know how to feel about that new bit of knowledge about his friend. Responding instead with a shake of the head.

"Hollis is not scary."

"Not as scary or close to my heart and bed as the menace back there. But definitely scary. You seen that woman rip into a machine for scrap?"

Donnie gave an exaggerated shrug. Shoulder's damn there touching the gold hoops in his ears.

"Also I hit on her first," Hollis's voice screehed through the speaker, giving everyone a jolt of surprise.

Their eyebrows then scrunched mildly in horror, mostly in amusement, "Okay taking back that 'Hollis not scary' claim."

"Why would I not offer her a couple hours of my time?"

Donnie could feel the smile, damn there devious, through the speaker.

"What's scarier," Hollis continued, "Is I let her take control during and she was gone right after."

"I get that one, Hollis. Welcome to the party," Peace commented catching up to the two further ahead.

Peace's eyes slunk down to Green's with a knowing gaze. Donnie could only call it mischievous, no better word for it in the moment. Maybe Green was right, they all were terrifying.

"Don't worry Donnie. It was a one and done encounter. Unless she's bringing Peace with her this time. Just funny how we've come together again."

Green made a grunt of agreement deciding not to entertain the statements before. And the protestor seemed unbothered by the statement or the crackle of electronics that came from it. And the laughter that followed. The protestor moved onto the next topic, shoving a hand into her pants pocket.

"So Donnie is sort of tied in with what now? Don't think I really grasped it."

"Same here. Metal man here could be swayed by whoever is yanking threads behind the scenes—like a fucking coward— but he's not," Green's voice lowered near the end, sounding more like a series of grumbles.

Donnie tried not to be annoyed by the sudden disrespect, failing miserably at that while Hollis released a long sigh into the mic.

"Up in the smog clouded air. I'm a robot engineer and my understanding of human biology is more on human anatomy and physiology."

"Yeah. Which is why you can safely hack off a fucked up leg and make a decent fake one." Green affirmed.

"Hell of a compliment but thanks? Anyway it's mostly higher grade technology being fucked with. Hard to tell what for— but Donnie being a heavily modded human— technically speaking a cyborg— instead of just a straight up robot made to serve is saving him really." Hollis rambled, "At least I think so."

Hollis sipped loudly in something in the mic. Donnie knew it was probably a miscelleanous can of soda. He'd stumbled across a few cans littered on the ground the last time they came in for urgent repairs. He wasn't sure how a woman like her didn't drink something stronger.

She spoke again, mostly to Green and Peace, "Digits being one of the higher grade tradesmen has been letting me know if any building or supply requests seem—"

Peace interjected, "Wildly off putting? Or requested by the equivalent of a mysterious millionaire."

Donnie pointed at Peace and nodded.

Hollis unable to see anything at the moment also added in a quick confirmation.

"Or if any bots start acting off," Hollis added, "Though she did unhappily add that 'most of the shit on site don't ever work right anyway' so we might be fine."

"Cool, why the hell are we here though?" Donnie typed, spotting Green's eyeroll through the modded shades she was now donning.

"Skilled labor. You're helpin' with a job right through them doors." Green stated, running her fingers along the handle of her still sheathed knife.

"Sketchy one isn't it?" Donnie asked, hearing the heated sigh from the protestor right behind them.

A crooked grin slid across Green's face, "Of course."

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help me pick a name for a character.

He's a pretty chipper guy that got caught stealing something pretty important and has spent the last few years in jail. He's been trying to solve the murder of a loved one. Hes a pretty upbeat guy and uses his silvertongue better than any weapon but his voice can definitely compete with the best bards out there.

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May 29: 504 | Reach for the stars by @the-wip-project

Apprently every other day work this week huh. Oh well, at least it still works. Today I painted more of the Liahn art, made a kinda cool marble texture I’m moderately proud of and satified with and wrote a bunch for the festival. Luwen’s POV is such an obsession for my right now, I can’t really explain it. I don’t know why. Maybe because he’s a Zuko kinda character with a similar arc and it’s just a blast to explore his storyline anyway. Also, added another interlude POV for flavour, and it’s kinda cute, haha. I’m having fun for sure.

Snip:

And it was over. Yossan flicked his forked tongues before he disappeared into the whirl of silver flame. Only after that, Luwen could breath again.

Yes, you read it righ. Tongues.

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help me pick a name for a character.

He's a pretty chipper guy that got caught stealing something pretty important and has spent the last few years in jail. He's been trying to solve the murder of a loved one. Hes a pretty upbeat guy and uses his silvertongue better than any weapon but his voice can definitely compete with the best bards out there.

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tropes that will always f*ck me up

composed characters losing their composure

kind characters snapping

characters hugging each other after one or both of them have been through hell

character cradling their significant other’s face while they kiss

character says something hurtful. later on in the movie they are in a similar situation and say something kind instead.

self sacrifice

griefstricken women (who under normal circumstances wouldn’t hurt a fly) lashing out and striking the person responsible for the loss of their loved one

ugly crying

characters struggling to talk because they’re about to cry

characters reuniting with someone whom they thought were dead

FOREHEAD KISSES

F O R E H E A D     T O U C H E S

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Robots & Gardens Stuff

It's been so damn long since I've actually sit to write. And I now will have a weird sort of system for robots & gardens. Not writing wise but organizing wise. So have me trying to warm up a little bit lol and reacquainting myself with this story.

Tag list: @outpost51 @nanashi23 @winterandwords @jezifster2 @aether-wasteland-s @dumbthunder @manathen @the-void-writes @livums @vacantgodling (Let me know if you want to be added or removed from the taglist!) 

There the gaggle stood. Baffled—absolute understatement.

"Were those always—" Digits started.

Hollis interjected, "Fully autonomous? No."

Donnie pushed himself against the door. Sweat beading on his forehead, threatening to run into their eyes. His mechanical enhancements had made him more resistant to cold. At least in comparison to the average citizen in this smog covered city. But had made handling the heat so much harder. They panted harshly, trying to soothe their heated skin with the cool steel of the door. Both artificial and natural bits of him were displeased by the

They all had found themselves locked within the recesses of the newly built factory. Run by two men the three of them were sure nobody fucking liked. It didn't matter how much the two businessmen tried to appeal to the public. Even the wealthy fucks hated their guts.

Donnie looked between them, "Possible to operate from afar?" They mouthed eyes darting between the two.

They had expected Hollis to answer, mildly shocked when she looked to Digits instead. Scrunching their brows in distate as sweat stung their eyes.

"They got the money to pay someone to do it. Doubt they would though." Digits responded with a shrug, "Plus it's usually pretty easy to copy paste code and machines once the first few are functioning."