#undersurface

[cinneam-writing-prompts]

Cinneam Writing Prompt #5

Writing Prompt: Dream is waking up in the middle of the nightshaking, breathing heavily, maybe even crying. Cinna wakes up as well, immediately knows what is happening and starts cuddling Dream.

Extra: peaceful AU

Dream shifted in his sleep, mumbling words before his eyesockets snapped open as he bolted up and began shaking, small tears in the corner of his eyesockets as he breathed heavily. Cinna opened his eyesockets, having been woken up by Dream's movements, lightly grumbling as she sat up, rubbing sleep out of their eyesockets.

"Sunshine? What's wro-" Cinna began before cutting himself off when she noticed Dream was shaking and having trouble breathing. They immediately pulled Dream into a hug and began rubbing his back.

"Shhh, Sunshine, it's ok, you're ok..." Cinna said softly, making Dream hug them tightly and burst out into cries. After a few minutes, Dream eventually calmed down. Cinna softly pulled back and wiped away Dream's tears "was it that nightmare again?" He softly asked, gently smiling when Dream nodded.

"I know I shouldn't blame myself...but I should've realised how the villagers were treating Nightmare...I just don't get why he didn't tell me how the villagers were treating him..." Dream said in between sniffles. Cinna frowned slightly "...What would you've done if he told you?" She softly asked Dream.

Dream hugged his knees "I would've tried to get the villagers to stop..." He lightly said, looking at Cinna "did he not trust me?" He softly asked. Cinna thought for a few seconds before speaking up "maybe Nightmare thought that if he told you and you tried to get them to stop, they would either hurt him more or begin to treat you the same way?" he said gently.

"...maybe?... but just wish he told me..." Dream lightly said, tears appearing in the corner of his eyesockets again, making Cinna sigh lightly and pull Dream into another hug. "I know...I know" Cinna softly said and gently laid Dream down before laying down himself and pull Dream into a hug. Cinna softly hummed as he rubbed Dream's back. Dream slowly shut his eyesockets as Cinna hummed softly. Eventually the two of them fell asleep cuddling each other, soft smiles on their faces.

_________________________________________

Cinna belongs to me

Dream belongs to Jokublog

[fictionalshippingbean]

Cinna looks at Dream: ...What about me?... *makes puppy eyes*

Nightmare: sometimes I wonder why I took those idiots under my roof

Dream: same thing.

Nightmare: don't get me wrong, horror makes amazing food and cross is nice, but killer and dust...

Dream: yeah, blue's awesome but ink...

Nightmare: agreed.

[most-splendidly]

Toothed Jelly Fungus, Pseudohydnum gelatinosum

Pseudohydnum gelatinosum, commonly known as the toothed jelly fungus, cat's tongue, or jelly tooth, is an Eurasian species of fungus in the order Auriculariales. Its common names refer to its gelatinous consistency and hydnoid (toothed) undersurface. [wikipedia]

[typewritingyip]

The Arcturus Missions

Part Twenty Four - Closer to Home

Part Twenty Three

———

There are projected to be at least seventeen planets or planetoids that have oceans or internal oceans, most of which are covered in ice. There are fifty four that are orbiting their star close enough that could facilitate liquid water instead of frozen.

Earth’s surface is around seventy-one percent water, where oceans hold around ninety-six and a half percent of all the planet's water. The water also exists in water vapor, through rivers and lakes, as well as in frozen form such as that of glaciers and icebergs. Further, water exists in the ground both in soil moisture and aquifers.

Lastly, humans are made up of roughly sixty percent water along with other materials. 

It is possible that years before, Cybertron had non-acidic water both on the surface of the planet and the undersurface, though now most if not all water that exists on the planet is acidic. 

All the rainfall and snowfall on Cybertron is acidic and harmful to cybertronian life. It has been lost to time whether the water on the planet has always been this acidic or not. 

—

Shuttle trips usually happened early in the morning, before night turns to day, so that everyone can get some rest on the trip before any potential fight. More than half the mecha aboard were asleep, but Sunstreaker and Bluestreak were still talking over a private comm.

Bluestreak was hiding his smile, eyes closed but still viewing the visual feed that Sunstreaker was sending him, head leaned back against the headrest of the seat, “I don’t mean offense, but life on your planet sounds so hectic.” Sunstreaker smiled, shrugged a bit while finishing off his food, “I think that’s just because our lives are so short comparatively.” He sighed a bit, brushed a hand through his curls.

Bluestreak onlined his optics briefly to look at Sunny’s, well, mech before offlining them again, “Don’t talk about that, please.” His voice almost wavered and Sunstreaker held his hands up, nodding a bit, “RIght, right. No talks about my impending doom.” He chuckled lightly but shook his head. 

“Blue, you know what organic life is like. You’ve seen more of it than I ever could, it’s not a topic we can simply avoid.” Sunny sat back on his cot, rubbing at his jaw a bit, and Bluestreak sighed deeply, “Please, just any other topic.” Nodding, Sunny looked down for a moment. 

Nodding again, Sunny looked back to the camera, “Why on Earth, sorry, uh, just why does everyone seem to be in on some inside joke about us?” Blue sat silently for a moment, a long moment, one which started to concern Sunny if he was being perfectly honest, “Blue?” Bluestreak cleared his throat a bit, “Sunny, I think we're landing, uh, you might want to get hooked back up.” “Ah.” Nodding some, Sunstreaker goes over and turns off the camera, “Talk to you in a minute then.” Before disconnections from the comm.

Blue sat there in silence, optics still offline even as his face burned with embarrassment. 

It took a moment for Sunstreaker to get around his suit, frowning down at it, “This is what’s going to kill me Blue, and there is nothing you can do about it.” So he started to pull on his assistance suit, wincing as it pinched and pulled.

The suits themselves weren’t terribly light, light enough to walk around in, even outside the mech but heavier than normal clothes. It was more similar to wearing kevlar head to toe, plus a riot helmet. The bottom half was always the easiest part to go on, it didn’t have any connection. Everything after that was another story. 

With the chest section next, it was hard to maneuver into, a solid piece that was designed to protect the vital organs and spine. Sunstreaker winced as the magnets activated against his shoulders, pulling lightly as the suit found the connectors under his skin. Those were his least favorite, the ones he couldn’t see, couldn’t scratch, and would never be removed. 

Next was the arms, which only became a different component in later iterations of drift tech, like what he and his brother had. Hound and Breakdown’s top sections were chests with light sleeves, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe had armored sleeves. He got the left side on first, not wincing as the magnets found the connections in his shoulder and upper arm. Wincing when the physical connectors shocked him.

”Damnit.” It was rare when there would be a shock or a misconception like that.

Unclipping the arm, he adjusted the position and connected it again, not wincing this time before doing the same with the right arm. 

Last was the helmet, which had a connection to the upper part of his chest, reinforcing the spinal connection throughout. 

This was both the easiest and hardest part. Easiest for it was what truly connected you to your mech, made it to where you’d forget you were piloting a several ton machine around instead of being the machine. Hardest for it had the most connections, the external implants, the things that ooze and bleed when fighting overuse and the most painful connection point.

He slipped the helmet on and headed over towards his chair as the magnets found the connectors, sealing to the implants with a sickening squelching sound from the discharge. A shock ran through Sunny’s system as he got into the chair, grabbing several wires and cords to connect to his shoulders along with the base of his helmet.

Not every suit required the hard wire in, some people were able to have just their connections to the assistance suit and the piloting chair, but some people needed that little bit extra help. Usually the people that didn’t last long as pilots. Sighing, he brought up his visual feed and reactivated his audial processing.

Most mecha were still asleep, though it was clear that they were descending now. Bluestreak sat forward, holding his rifle and staring at the ground, probably waiting for Sunstreaker to be back in his seat. Smiling a bit, Sunny shifted and looked to Blue, “Do you know what planet this is?” Blue glanced over and smiled a bit, barely.

”Unfortunately, I think the only mech that knows that is Ironhide and Skyfire. It’s gotta be some place significant though.” Shaking his head slightly, Sunstreaker sits back, “Why?” Bluestreak smiled now and rolled his eyes, “Cause Skyfire is a pacifist. Less Starscream kicked him out of his own hab, again, he’s probably here to collect samples.” Sunny nodded and sighed.

Over the loudspeakers came a voice with a thicker accent than Sunny was used to among Cybertronian’s, “Alright mechs, this is your commander speaking. We are going to land on, whatever the pit this planet is called, in a few klicks. Enemy is already visible on the horizon so we’re probably going to come out of this guns blazing. We’ll set up camp later. Be ready.” When the audio cut people started to move. 

Sunstreaker stayed seated, only adjusting the position of the blades on his bracers with a slight sigh, glancing out the corner of his eye at Bluestreak as he was adjusting the scope on his rifle. Holding the absurdly large gun with such ease that it brought a slight smile to Sunny’s face.

The landing was touch, they hit the surface and bounced twice, the mechs around them swearing loudly, “You know just cause he’s a shuttle doesn’t mean he knows how to fly a freight shuttle!” Someone across from Blue and Sunny shouted at the front. It got only a few chuckles as the shuttle finally settled on the surface. 

Ironhide came out of the cockpit, waving his hand, “Oh shut up, everyone listen up. The surface of this planet is not great, it’s granular so I’d recommend adjusting your seams if you can. If you’ve ever been to New Kaon, it’s like that but well, you’ll see.” Many mecha groaned and started to adjust. Sunstreaker ran a diagnostic to check his seams before looking up at Ironhide, “Civi, you’re with me.” Sunstreaker stared at Ironhide and muted his mic, “Fuck.” before standing.

Although he stood taller than Ironhide, the mech was still intimidating. They moved over to the large door and Ironhide looked to Sunstreaker, “Go ahead and open the door Civi, you get to be the bearer of bad news.”Nodding, Sunny moved to hit the big red button, “Yes sir.” It was going to be at the very least, a long day. 

—

Sideswipe, Breakdown, and Jazz were the last ones left in Iacon. Prowl was away doing only god knows what for the Prime, and they were all getting rest before they’d have to ship out.

To put it nicely, Sideswipe was pouting, his arm in a sling to ensure that his shoulder would heal properly and not further injure itself. With Sunstreaker gone now, he was left with the two people who wouldn’t help him weasel his way back out of the apartment. Breakdown, who was still on bed rest so was of no help, and Jazz who was worrying like a mother hen.

When Jazz had gone through overuse, he hadn’t had a way to try and alleviate it. So he was reinforcing the need to not be in the suit, mostly trying to keep Sideswipe occupied now. Sideswipe was staring at the ceiling while Jazz was telling him the story of one of the many battles he’d been in when first arriving here. 

It was unbearable, at least for Sideswipe. 

—

The big door slowly lowered to the sand, revealing an oddly familiar sight to Sunstreaker, who was staring open mouthed at it. Ironhide sighs, resting his hands on his hips, “Well, tell them the bad news Civi.” Nodding a bit, Sunstreaker looks back at the mecha who were still getting up, “Uh, right. So, it appears we're on a planet with a lot of water.” Every bot groaned loudly and several swore again.

“Oh my primus, that is a lot of water.” Bluestreak was staring out the now open door, frowning at the expansive horizon, glancing at Sunstreaker, “Have you ever been to a place like this before?” Nodding again, Sunstreaker smiles sadly, “Yeah, something like that.” He sighed slowly and started down the ramp. 

Ironhide was still standing at the top of it, “Civi, where do you think you’re going?” Glancing back, Sunstreaker gestured at the water, “To the ocean, sir. If you don’t mind?” But he didn’t stop moving even while Ironhide started to follow, “Actually, I do mind kid. Now stop fragging around.” Sunstreaker reached down and ran his hand through the water, collecting some for a sample. Ironhide swore and grabbed his shoulder, “Kid, stop that! I’m serious.” 

Looking over his shoulder, for a moment Sunny really wanted to hit Ironhide in the face with the water before the diagnostic report popped up and he sighed. Standing and shaking off his hand, “It’s salt water. Only thing it’s good for is surfing and swimming.” Ironhide stared at him, “What?” With a shrug, he flicks what little water was left on his hand at him.

The look Ironhide gave was enough to make Sunstreaker take a half step back and Bluestreak to come over, resting a hand on his shoulder, “Right, so, water planet. Not great, so why are we here?” Diverting the topic would only get them so far.

With a deep sigh, Ironhide looks out across the water, “We don’t know why the Quintessons are here, what they want, or why they are staying above the water. For now, we’re supposed to watch and protect the shore line if we can.” Sunstreaker stared at the horizon, at where a scout ship was just hovering above the water.

It looked straight out of the pictures, just like the graining news feed, the moment that his planet had been invaded. 

He couldn’t just stand there and let it happen to another planet, “When are we going out there to kill them?” His voice was gruff, hands flexing with anger, “We’re not, Civi. It’s too dangerous plus the water is corrosive.” Ironhide was staring out that way too, frowning, “But I don’t know why they aren’t attacking us yet.” Sunstreaker glances at him, shaking his head and moving to help the others with unloading the shuttle. 

Though it was obvious to him, it wouldn’t be to any of these people, none of them had grown up watching the broadcast in schools. None of them had grown up watching the pilot program grow and heroes arise from nothing. Not a single one of the mecha around him knew this is what it looked like when the Quintessons were planning an invasion of a planet.

Sunstreaker had studied it, every pilot did, trying to find the tells of these alien invaders. He’d studied it before his parents died, for a research project on modern history, he’d built a damned diagram of these things for a grade. 

Setting down the crate, he was breathing heavily, his blood boiling. They were standing around doing nothing for a planet that looked so much like his own. Standing on the coastline for a moment he could remember the feeling of sun and a breeze on his skin, surfboard in hand while Sideswipe flirted with some of the girls on the beach. Board shorts instead of assistance suits, open air instead of his cockpit confinement.

The entire shuttle was nearly unpacked when he started to come out of his angered stupor, having just been moving crates from the ship to the sand, on autopilot and stewing darkly. 

Earth or this planet, he wasn’t going to let it happen again, he adjusted the oxygen levels in his suit and adjusted the seams before starting towards the water. 

It was as soon as the water hit his feet that he adjusted his stance, his cadence to wade out into the ocean as he’d done hundreds of times before. He could hardly hear the murmuring of mecha behind him, eyes focused on the ship in the distance, this was not a mistake he’d let his species make again.

“What are you doing Sunstreaker?” Ironhide was standing at the shoreline shouting as Sunstreaker was around waist deep in the water now, moving deeper and activating a certain setting. Sunny turned on his comm, glow of the visor shifting, “I was designed to fight in these specific conditions Commander, sir. I’m originally from a place called Florida back home, I was designed to be not only in the ocean but to fight in it.” He glanced back at the shoreline, where everyone was watching him like he was insane.

Good, he’d rather be considered crazy than not be considered at all. 

—

The waves were washing up over Sunny’s shoulders and his cockpit had cooled down significantly the further out he got, running scans to show all the nearby organic life. Ironhide was still shouting in his ear, but he was focused. 

It was too much like home, it was too much like the past he hadn’t been around to stop. If he could stop it from happening here, then it would give him some sense of peace in this crazy life. The ship wasn’t far now and that was made very clear when a laser light hit his shoulder, “Oh shit.” The ocean around him exploded as he dived under the water. 

Too much like Earth, so much like the news footage they watched in school, it was bringing back the strongest memories that were trying to drag Sunstreaker to the ocean floor. 

Most explosions were around him and he was just barely avoiding them, kicking at the water to get closer to the ship, to hopefully mess with its tracking. His comm was muffled from the water, the voices on the shore garbled and unclear. Though it was clear at least one voice was in fact screaming.

Sunstreaker’s helm broke the surface, cockpit still submerged but dry, though he still took deep gasping breaths as if he’d actually been underwater. It took Sunny a second to reorient himself, finding the ship significantly closer than before and it was easy to smile, “Not much further, come on Sunny.” His voice was quiet, comm still garbled as water was pooling.

A single scout fell from the opening hatch of the ship, it probably was one of maybe two on board, and it hit the water a few yards from Sunstreaker who stared for a single moment before starting to kick his way over, nearly growling.

One of the blades on his arm connected with the things beak, slashing through part of its face and spraying green gore across Sunny’s yellow plating, turning it a sickly brown but it didn’t matter. It dove at Sunstreaker and they both went under the waves.

—

Bluestreak had his scope trained on the horizon while Ironhide paced at the shore line, everyone else had been ordered back and kept at a distance, “He’s reckless.” Ironhide glanced at Bluestreak, who was watching through his scope, “As you’ve said, he’s a civilian. This is probably what he did back home.” Blue winced when he saw a large splash and a yellow ped appear over the waves.

Sighing deeply, Ironhide turned back to the fight in the distance, frown deepening, “What’s a Florida?” Bluestreak laughed, lowering his gun to look at Ironhide, “That’s been eating you alive, hasn’t it sir?” Ironhide harrumphed. 

—

Tentacles were wrapping around Sunstreaker as he fought the Quintesson, one arm pinned to his side but the other still slashing at the damned thing. It was bleeding everywhere like a person stabbed and turning the water green from its stunning clear blue.

Sunstreaker was struggling a bit, his cameras were starting to blur from the water and blood mixing together, his foot coming up to try and catch the side of the alien. Getting one tentacle caught in the crease of his knee, he pulled till the appendage came off. The Quintesson scout screamed.

It was trying to drag him deeper into the water, keeping one arm pinned even as Sunny was tearing it apart, blades cutting into its skin, leaking blood like it didn’t need it. It was almost funny when it wrapped a tentacle around the neck of his mech.

His blade and arm went into the alien with a screeching of metal, and all Sunny could do was grab whatever was there then pull.

It exploded, not literally but just about, its internals splattered across Sunstreaker and the ship above them as the thing screamed and thrashed. Grabbing hold of it the best that he could, Sunstreaker hauled himself up and out of the water, looking up at the ship before turning to look at shore. 

Though Sunny couldn’t see him, he knew Blue was watching out for him so he gestures to the ship above before shifting his stance the best he could to jump. A series of gunshots hit the hull of the ship which lowered towards the sea out of defence, just enough for Sunstreaker to jump and grab the edge of the opening, pulling himself in. Disappearing from sight.

“Who’d have thought the inside would be as ugly as the outside.” Sunny mumbled, moving through the space carefully, arms up and ready for an attack. The ship wouldn’t have moved if the Quint dead in the water was the only one. 

The cockpit didn’t really have a visual of the outside, but it did have a Quintesson to kill. So, Sunny dragged one of his blades along the wall, which sounded like nails on a chalkboard before he grinned as the thing turned, “Hello ugly, do you regret coming here yet?” And he dove on the thing.

It died quickly, cleaved in half, splatting the space in green and its tentacles curled tight. Sunstreaker was caked in gore, it stuck in his seams and stuck to his plating. Then the ship listed and Sunny slammed into the wall, grunting as he hit it and it jarred him in his chair. That moment brought him back to reality, back to clarity and he stared down at his gore covered hands.

Or well, his suit's gore covered hands. He wasn’t on Earth, they had been sent to observe and he had completely violated that order and handled the threat single handedly, mostly, “Shit.” He wasn’t even sure when he went from thinking clearly to thinking like, like…

It wasn’t even worth mentioning, “Shit.” And the ship hit the water.

———

A/N

So, I’m sick. I wanted to post this chapter hours ago but I just finished it. It really isn’t beta read, I might come back through and fix it when I feel better, but I really wanted to post my Sunny chapter.

But yeah, I am sick. I thought I might be better but I simply am not. I found out the hard way people with pots can’t take Sudafed without feeling like dying and having a resting heart rate of like.. 100. It was miserable today.

Tags:

@lunarlei68 @whirlywhirlygig @loop-hole-319 @pixillandjester @alek-the-witch @not-a-moose-in-disguise @goddessofwind8water @neurologicalglitch @dersereblogger @pixel-transformers @mrcrayonofdoom @wireplaces @twilightfreefaller @original-blog-name-2 @devilangel657 @robbin-u @childofprimus @miniartistme @starwold @tea-enthusiasm @valeexpris606 @celticdoggo @bird599 @agentsquirrelsgotrobots @aquaioart @dimencreasatlas @thatwandercat @artdagz @seisha974 @starscreamloverfr @halenhusky309 @leethepiper @cat-cassette @blue-wrens @sirassban @astridkolch @cosmique-oddity @garbageenthusiast @osqindaxend @xervias @azulabutterfly @fryseem @spring-mc @echo-circuit @aghostsnail @wooblewooble @ask-glory-haddock-and-others @nonsscarpheap @magichats @iminahole247 @omgflyingderpywhale @pour1tin @thetrexartist @naaaafam @elegantmantaray @emichusai

And once again thank you to @keferon for this amazing AU!

[fictionalshippingbean]

*Swap hands Dust a glass of water as Cinna grabs Killer by the back of his shirt and drags him away*

Cinna to Killer as he drags Killer away: if you want to act like that, act like it in front of Cross, your own husband!

Dust: I'm so dehydrated

Killer: So you're-

Dust: Don't say it

Killer, biting their lip: Feeling a little thirsty?

Dust: I'm dying, please just give me some water

[piplup335]

Subspace and reader who got yeeted into Phighting!

This took too long…second fic, requested by @subspacekisser1! Enjoy, and thanks for taking a week’s worth of my time! :D

-

It was supposed to be a generic bug in your favourite game. One that you wanted to check out. A small portion of Crossroads bugged out, and you wanted to check it out.

Just for laughs, you joined a small group of players by Crossroads' edge and jumped into the water. Like the good times, of course, when life and death didn’t matter and everything was just a game.

As you watched the other players jump off the border of Crossroads and into the sea, phasing through the floor, you followed suit.

One jump and you were falling…falling towards the water, through the ground and into the endless void…

All of a sudden, your eyes started to ache.

Perhaps the beautiful sight of the void was getting too much for you to handle? The eternal blue was quite saturated, after all...

You watched as your main, Subspace, fell into the void, with no end point in sight, falling…wondering when it would end…

Your eyes grew tired, and they started aching. You closed your eyes to let them rest…and the relief from that washed over you like a gentle breeze.

Only now, that gentle breeze felt like an entire hurricane.

Opening your eyes again to see the source of the strong winds, you see the blue void again…but it’s much closer up than you remember.

Deciding to turn your head away from the screen and rest your eyes, you turn left.

The sight of the endless void greets you, almost as if sneering in your face.

The winds that rushed past you? That’s because you were falling into the void.

It’s almost as if the void was trying to convey a message…

“Welcome to the void, (Y/n),” the winds seemed to whisper to you, “this is where your journey starts, and also where it’ll end.”

How pathetic, having your new life in an unfamiliar universe end minutes after it started? All because of a video game…

A cyan frame of radiant light surrounded you. Abruptly, the winds stopped, the void was silenced and, for the first time in the entire incident…you felt alone. No one was there to whisper condescending words in your ear…nothing was there to give you the sense that you weren’t alone in this final journey.

“This is where it all ends, huh? This is where I’ll die…”

The light pulsed slowly like the faint heartbeat of a dying soul calling out for help.

It gradually sped up, and you felt light...as if you were ascending.

You glanced up.

Oh. You were ascending.

The base of Crossroads seemed to get closer and closer, and you realised that you were about to crash headfirst into the bottom of the concrete pavement in Crossroads.

"Wait, stop, stop! I'm gonna get hit!"

Momentary panic set in as you steadily approached the only plane of ground present seen in the void, protesting to whoever or whatever would respond to your helpless pleas. Just as you came into contact with the undersurface of the concrete, however, the frame pulsed one final time, illuminating the surface above you. A blinding flash of light- and you were gone, like the endless whispers in the void.

All you saw was a bright flash of light. One moment you saw the endless void looming ominously below you, promising an eternity of solitude and suffering...and the next, you feel a rush of wind against your face. It wasn't the eternal cold of the void- instead, it felt like a cooling breeze. A temporary rush of adrenaline coursed through your veins- you felt...energised.

Taking a glance at the new, unfamiliar environment, the adrenaline quickly died down as you took in the now-familiar sight.

Individuals in monochromatic shirts strolled around aimlessly...monochromatic horns protruding from both sides of their heads.

Another glance to your right. You saw a familiar grey van with a familiar one-armed individual...wait, where was half the sunlight? Why's it filtered?

Looking up, a dizzying sight met you. The Crossroads tower...where a certain individual would regularly jump from the top, blaring out a particular tune from a boombox...

Your suspicions were confirmed. You were definitely in Crossroads...

Deciding to explore your surroundings further, you paced on...but didn't expect to crash into someone after just a few steps.

"Ouch!! Watch it!!" the individual screeched.

Rubbing your head, you hissed in pain. You were swiftly silenced, however, as you glanced up at the person you crashed into.

It was Blackrock's greatest scientist.

Subspace.

His pink irises glinted in what little light filtered through Crossroads’ tower.

“Hey, watch your step, will ya- what the hell?? Where’s your horns??”

Reaching up to feel the top of your head, you came into contact with nothing but thin air.

It was then you realised that you may have had some basic knowledge of this world but you came here, but you wouldn’t be provided with one thing.

The traits of the Inpherno’s residents.

"Uhhhhh..."

You trailed off. What were you gonna tell him, you got thrown into the void from some other dimension where the Inpherno was nothing but the starting point for a video game.

Subspace didn't even bother listening to whatever you had to say if you even had anything at all. he immediately began inspecting you, brushing apart strands of your hair to check for whatever stumps of horns may be there, but of course- there was nothing.

"The hell- even Hyperlaser has more signs of horns than you, and all he has left are little stumps beneath his helmet!!"

At that point, you were fairly annoyed, perplexed and stunned. One moment you were playing a video game, and five seconds later you ended up in the game's world itself, as well as the very character you always played as having a most one-sided conversation with you

Feeling annoyed by the lack of information, you groaned to get his attention.

"Dude- the reason I don't have any horns wasn't because they got pulled out or something- I just wasn't born with them."

Finally stopping his endless inspections, Subspace finally paused to stare you in the eye, his gaze boring a hole deep into your soul.

"WHAT?! How could you not have been born with horns?? Every resident in the Inpherno has them, I- what?? HOW?!"

Guess it was time to come clean already...

"Well, uhhhh...I'm not from this world. This dimension, specifically."

At your words, Subspace froze. Not from this world? Wasn't the Inpherno one of the only habitable places for demons? Then how did you get here? What even were you?

"Then...where are you from??" he asked, with a panicked expression. "Are you immortal, since you don't have horns that can be pulled out??"

"Hornless demon- or whatever you are..."

"...you aren't gonna hurt me, are you??"

You were quite shocked by what he said. This was Subspace- him not being his high-and-mighty was something new, contrary to his in-game dialogue.

"I...literally cannot," you say, exasperated, "because I don't have a gear, like you guys."

"WHAT?? You don't have horns to pull out, and yet- you're calling yourself weaker than us?!"

"Yeah, but it's not like-"

"I must get back to the lab to analyse you at once!!"

You stood there, shocked. Follow Subspace back to his lab? You weren't even sure if you would survive his experiments- they were either typical experiments and tests a generic scientist would carry out, or grotesque and unorthodox like a mad scientist. But then again...you were quite interested in the life of your video game main. This was something you had always been curious about- what was Subspace's life like? Weighing your options, you made a decision. You would probably be stuck in the Inpherno for a long time, and this was your only shot at shelter, openly presenting itself to you as if the universe, regardless of how much it wanted to screw you over, still wanted to make your life slightly more bearable in some way.

"Fine...I guess."

"Excellent!! This research will prove useful for my inventions!! Ah, I got too caught up, I forgot to ask!! What's your name??"

At this point, you had nothing to lose."

"...(Y/n)."

"...so yeah, that's how I ended up here..."

You were talking to Subspace on the way back to his lab in Blackrock. The eternal winter from that region was already lingering in the atmosphere- you hadn't even reached Blackrock but were already starting to feel cold.

"So...you're saying that your survival does not primarily depend on a set of horns, but depends on your health condition and age?? Interesting...I do hope that-“

He was cut off by a sneeze from you.

“Sorry, Subspace…too cold.”

Without saying a word, Subspace took off his coat and passed it to you.

“Here, take this…I’m not sure what I need to take into consideration when researching your species…but I hope I can assist with your needs!!”

You held the coat in your arms. The fabric felt soft...and smelt of lavender. Putting on the coat, it felt very comfortable and warm...

You had a feeling that your new life probably wouldn't be so bad after all.

-

and that’s it! sorry if it’s out of character, I’m still new to this ;-;

reqs are open, just go to the pinned msg!

thanks for reading! :D

[mutant-distraction]

Hydnellum peckii is a fungus in the genus Hydnellum of the family Bankeraceae. It is a hydnoid species, producing spores on the surface of vertical spines or tooth-like projections that hang from the undersurface of the fruit bodies. It is found in North America, Europe, and was recently discovered in Iran (2008) and Korea (2010). Hydnellum peckii is a mycorrhizal species, and forms mutually beneficial relationships with a variety of coniferous trees, growing on the ground singly, scattered, or in fused masses.

Bleeding tooth fungus

The fruit bodies typically have a funnel-shaped cap with a white edge, although the shape can be highly variable. Young, moist fruit bodies can "bleed" bright red guttation droplets that contain a pigment known to have anticoagulant properties similar to heparin. The unusual appearance of the young fruit bodies has earned the species several descriptive common names, including strawberries and cream, the bleeding Hydnellum, the bleeding tooth fungus, the red-juice tooth, and the Devil's tooth. Although Hydnellum peckii fruit bodies are readily identifiable when young, they become brown and nondescript when they age.

[sitting-on-me-bum]

The starfish shrimp is a species of shrimp in the family Palaemonidae. It is always found in association with a starfish – usually on the undersurface – and often changes its colour to match that of its host. It grows to a maximum length of 15mm. This shot shows it on the undersurface of a blue Echinaster sea star. Western Australia.

Photograph: Mary Gudgeon

The Australian Geographic Nature Photographer Of The Year 2023

[fictionalshippingbean]

….Yes…

Undersurface is my own au :)

*Cinna, Dream and Nightmare, shopping in an au*

*Cinna grabs a item off a shelf*

Shop intercom: a new hand touches the beacon

*Cinna, Dream and Nightmare stops what they were doing. Dream and Nightmare look at Cinna*

Cinna, staring at the item in his hand: …what did I even do??

[w-o-a]

Spectre’s Arena

The ground cracked undersurface,

Or was it the mind splitting again?

Every step forward smelled of ash,

The taste of blood splurging on the tongue.

Something howling, not a wolf, not a wind,

But a memory unchained

I don't remember who started it, swear down

All i know was the fight

The way the fist met the shadows

And the shadows hit back…Harder,

Their laughter is as sharp as a broken glass

In this place, the walls bled certainty,

They knew something I’m not aware of,

A truth too snaggy to swallow whole

And the eyes, always the eyes chico,

Not blinking, not flinching, 

A thousand jarring irises,

Cut into the night,

Watching me swing

At enemies I might have named once,

Before forgetting felt like survival.

Was it me watching myself stumble 

Or the thoughts watching me instead?

Was this a battlefield or a stage?

The war drums felt too loud for silence 

But too hollow to be real.

I hit harder, faster,

Each blow making more noise

But less sense,

Their shapes twisted,

Spectres made from doubts

I never questioned until they screamed.

And then I stopped,

Because the world stopped first.

The ashes cleared and I stood alone, 

Nothing left to fight but the sounds of my own breath,

That’s when i felt it behind me,

Cold and ancient,

A shadow wearing my name.

“Why do you fight?” It whispered.

I turned, fists till clenched,

And it grinned back,

Its smile full of teeth I’ve seen before,

And for once,

I looked it in the eye.

“What do you want?” I asked.

Its answered was silence, 

But its gaze spoke of mirrors,

A broken shards slicing the air between us

I could feel it studying me,

Not like an enemy,

But like someone 

Trying to understand a puzzle they build themselves.

Was it my thoughts staring,

Or something deeper, older?

It don’t matt’ah anymore,

I stepped forward,

And for once… It didn't follow.

[karan-koron]

One thing I'm curious about is Kidoshu and their Kido. Did it start as something from just the Kitaro franchise? or was there something it was based on (aside from Onmyoji) and thus other anime series also use this (One example I remember right now is Bleach)

Hi! Oh gosh we are getting into deepest lore territory here. I'll just preface this by saying I'm not an historian or anything, so I will take huge shortcuts to keep this concise and relevant to our main topic, that is to say, Genazo nerdery (and well, Gegege nerdery at large). I encourage you to look up the notions I mention in this post to take a deeper, more informed look into the subject!

So! In Gegege no Kitaro, we have Kidoshu, or practicioners of 鬼道, kido. 鬼 is read ki, the same ki as in Kitaro actually ; and in Japanese it refers to oni, the famous ogre-like yokai that you've probably seen portrayed in various anime and manga before. But in kido specifically, it refers to the Chinese meaning of 鬼, the spirit of the dead, or just "ghost", like in the ghost Chinese constellation for example. It doesn't necessarily have the evil connotation of the Japanese oni. 道 do is "way", "path". the same "do" as in judo, for example. So together it makes something like, "the way of departed spirits", or "the way of ghosts."

It's important to have the Chinese meaning in mind because kido existed before oni and before Japan was named Japan, as such, the first historical sources mentioning it are in Chinese.

Kido is associated with Queen Himiko, about whom historians argue many aspects of her historicity, so I won't dare giving you an history lesson myself haha... In the late Yayoi period (~second/third century), Queen Himiko of the Yamatai (a country within Wa, what covers Japan nowadays, and whose location is still debated) took control of Wa using shamanistic magic called guidao according to the Book of Wei (Chinese source regarding Himiko), and rendered as kido in Japanese sources.

The nature of kido itself is mysterious and still debated, it being interpreted as an early form of daoism or shinto. Because Himiko is believed to have gained legitimacy and power in politics through shamanism, kido is also interpreted as a political system which deviates from Confucianism (and thus, vilified into sorcery)

The figure of Queen Himiko herself appears quite a lot in fiction - the Dawn chapter of Tezuka's Phoenix (which is a favourite of mine! I recommend it!) comes to mind first. But she also shows up in the video game Okami, and while not portraying the historical figure herself, the Danganronpa franchise also has a witch-themed character named Himiko! (... etc, etc.) So yeah, in fiction, the figure of Himiko is often used to portray witches, and even evil queens using bewitching sex-appeal and sorcery to gain power. As such, in popular imagination, kido is associated with the primitive sorcery of a female ruler. (because of course, if a woman gets in a position of power it's because she's a witch and she subjuguated her subjects, clearly...)

Which brings us back to Gegege no Kitaro : while the Kidoshu are all defeated with the exception of Rei Isurugi in the 2018 series, previous incarnations featured the Kidoshu led by a female leader, most probably as a nod to Himiko. Be it the manga or its anime adaptation in the 80s, they perform their magic while wearing a Hannya mask, similar to Osada in Gegege no Nazo.

So in line with its mysterious history, Kido in Gegege is an ancient magic, named this way for its extra ancient and occult connotations, making it feel more special and unique than the onmyodo typically depicted in popular culture. And if kidoshu aren't special and cool enough, Genazo introduces the extra occult, extra profane, extra forbidden ura-kido.... (undersurface / hidden side / back side of kido)

[fictionalshippingbean]

who is Cinna

do you have her backstory or something like that?

Cinna is my au sans from my au Undersurface and he doesn't really have that much of a backstory as all his au is, is just 'what if there was no human/monster war and human and monsters live peacefully together on the surface?'. :)

[fictionalshippingbean]

Cinna, also runs past, being chased by geese: *jumps slightly to dodge a goose nip at his feet* I HATE THIIIIISSSS!

*Cinna runs past the owls and picks Dream up off the ground. They both scream loudly, both now being chased by geese and owls*

Nightmare: I don't like this.

Nightmare: wherever I go, whatever I do, they're always there.

Horror: the gang?

Nightmare: no, the god damned crows.

Reaper, with a hoard of ravens: understandable..

Dust, with a hoard of ducks: yes, very understandable.

Dream, runs past, being chased by owls: SOMEBODY SAVE ME-!

[rueroyale]

Science and Art, a collection

Vladimir Nabokov, Drawings of the undersurfaces of Blues from the argyrognomon Bergstraesser 1779 and insularis Leech 1893 complexes (Berg Collection, NYPL)

J. S. Bach, Musical Offering, Ricercar à 6, performed by Alan Feinberg

Vladimir Nabokov, Excerpt from Speak, Memory, 1966

J. S. Bach, Manuscript of Ricercar à 6, 1747 (“6-stimmige Fuge, von J. S. Bach u. origineller Handschrift”)

Photograph of Vladimir Nabokov in 1947

Adolph Menzel, Detail of the Flute Concert of Frederick the Great at Sanssouci, 1852 (far left, C. H. Graun, ancestor of V. Nabokov; at the keyboard, C.P.E. Bach)

[todaysbug]

November 27th, 2023

False Potato Bug (Leptinotarsa juncta)

Distribution: Mostly found in the Eastern USA, from the southeast to the mid-atlantic; distribution extends up past Maine.

Habitat: Found wherever host plants grow; old fields, orchards, hay fields and pastures.

Diet: Feeds on the leaves of plants in the nightshade family, such as horsenettle, ground cherries, bittersweet nightshade and plants of the genus Physalis. While it occasionally feeds on potato plants, this does not incur growth or reproduction.

Description: The false potato bug bears a similar appearance to its destructive cousin, the Colorado potato bug, but is much less of a pest to crops, only rarely feeding on potato.

This species has a fairly quick lifecycle, with one to three generations of adults emerging per year, depending on latitude—but even as far north as Canads, they usually have two generations per year. Adults overwinter in the soil, emerging when their host plants begin to sprout. After feeding on these fresh plants for 5-10 days, females deposit eggs on the undersurface of the host plant's leaves. Larvae feed continuously on these leaves when they hatch, usually for 21 days, before dropping to the ground at maturity and burrowing into the soil to pupate.

(Images by WonGun Kim and Anita Gould)