I wasn't awake for three-odd days. Blood loss, mage healing, all of that.
— Beka Cooper, Beka Cooper: Bloodhound
Sleep did eventually overtake him, but Shinji knew he’d laid there for at least a couple of hours in the dark, staring at the sky out the windows, or at yet another unfamiliar ceiling.
—Shinji Ikari, A Crown of Stars
His eyes fluttering open to see an unfamiliar ceiling, Shinji feels the rough texture of the hospital sheets first before he notices the sticky coldness of the sensor pads across his body and the uncomfortable pressure of the IV line in the crook of his arm. He also notes the abrasive coarseness of the straps about his wrists, ankles, and across his thighs and chest.
The darkness slowly resolved itself into light and blurry shapes, and Shinji realized he had opened his eyes. He lay on his back, staring at a ceiling he didn't know, hearing the gentle, rhythmic sound of his own breathing. His mind was blank, and it seemed as though his body was made out of lead. He was warm, covered in a thick white blanket and lying on something soft and surrounded by walls on three sides like a kind of bunk.
— Shinji, Neon Genesis Evangelion: Genocide
The bed was comfortable, but I barely managed to get any sleep. I had spent most of the night staring at this new unfamiliar ceiling.
—Shinji, The One I Love Is...
"Strange — every time I fall asleep, I wake up in a different place."
—Thumbelina, Golden Films' Thumbelina (1992)
Now that the snowball of consciousness is starting to roll, is it going to find that it’s waking up inside a body lying in a gutter with something multiple, the noun doesn’t matter after an adjective like "multiple", nothing good ever follows "multiple", or is it going to be a case of crisp sheets, a soothing hand, and a businesslike figure in white pulling open the curtains on a bright new day? Is it all over, with nothing worse to look forward to now than weak tea, nourishing gruel, short, strengthening walks in the garden and possibly a brief platonic love affair with a ministering angel, or was this all just a moment’s blackout and some looming bastard is now about to get down to real business with the thick end of a pickaxe helve? Are there, the consciousness wants to know, going to be grapes?
When Carol Danvers awoke, she felt the presence of a large restraining collar about her neck. She felt the pressure of a mattress of sorts against her back, and, opening her eyes, saw her surroundings as that of a Shi’ar sickbay. Gladiator was holding her hand. Sitting about her bed were Cyclops, Jean Grey, Wolverine, Captain America, Iron Man, Corsair, Hepzibah, and the Scarlet Witch. There were others in the room, as well.
Supergirl awoke with a start. She took in her surroundings in a glance, realized she was in the room she used at Legion headquarters and that she was in bed with her uniform on, except, thankfully, for her boots, which had been taken off and placed thoughtfully by the nightstand.
He remembered the blonde man who had killed his grandfather and given him the lamed leg.
He remembered waking up in a strange place, with Captain Marvel in front of him.
He remembered waking up in a strange place, with Captain Marvel in front of him.
The Rant: How... many... how...
Alt Text: ... many times have we been here, Allison? How many times have you woken up, broken, in a foreign bed? The bed won't always be there, Allison. It's dark and cold, and the lake is silent. Your friends have gone home. Nobody is there anymore.
Alt Text: ... many times have we been here, Allison? How many times have you woken up, broken, in a foreign bed? The bed won't always be there, Allison. It's dark and cold, and the lake is silent. Your friends have gone home. Nobody is there anymore.
