#and a few more sources and i think i'm ready to rock . ooh this is gonna be so fun to put together after i reread this cheetah book

[novemberthewriter]

since i can't even find the tcg volume that collects the final four books + i'm not in the mood to start digging through storage for it, i've finally narrowed my shit down for this project. it's gonna have to be 'showdown at the okie dokie' bc that's one of the stories i have on hand from galleria's pov

[genshins1mpact]

okay so i know i mentioned on here before that i have a bunch of dreams when i sleep and how i had that cute one with xiao & mingxiao before right?? 👀

forgot to share it sooner bc life but anyway i had a funny/cute dream with diluc the other day (i'll try to add a read more bc this got a lil long but it doesn't always work on mobile so i'll try & fix it asap if so!) but yeah this kinda turned into a whole fic of its own lol,,

☆ the dream itself is here, under the cut! ☆

basically, to not have to explain all the lore about my oc/self insert and all that again, the tldr of it is that i landed on teyvat similar to traveler but didn't really have anywhere to go so after gaining his trust and becoming close, diluc sort of just takes me in and lets me work at the tavern + lets me stay in a spare room at the winery. so yeah we often walk to/from work together if he's working at angel's share that day, and i guess everyone just assumes we're dating?? ...except for me, that is, who still thought he was in love with jean (bc of the whole stormterror thing).

one night, kaeya's been hanging out in the tavern all night, venti's already left or passed out or smth, and then once things close up, diluc and i get ready to head off, but apparently this is the first time kaeya's seen us head off together/in the same direction, and immediately decides to start teasing. he's all "ooh look at the two lovebirds, you've moved in together already? how'd you ask her out, i didn't know you two were a thing, congrats bro so glad she likes you back" kinda stuff and then i just start laughing and telling him to knock it off, wouldn't want jean to overhear and misunderstand. and they're both just like ......wait what? and i'm all "oh cause diluc likes jean right? i thought the were like an Unspoken Thing yknow??" and both stare at me as if i've grown like 3 heads and started doing a one-(wo)man barber shop quartet. lightbulb goes off in kaeya's head that i don't know jack shit & we're not a thing (yet) and diluc is just thinking like "i can't believe you're literally this oblivious, holy shit". hence kaeya's teasing The Sequel, where he just starts complimenting my uniform and says i look like a cute little maid or whatever and diluc is silently fuming behind me. he mutters something along the lines of "how oblivious can you possibly be?" and all but throws his coat/jacket over me to try and cover me "bc it's cold" (yeah yeah sure, jealous much? haha), then asks me how i never noticed how he felt about me. so i'm there having an earth teyvat-shattering moment of revelation that it WASN'T jean he liked, and that he didn't do all those nice things for me bc i'm friends with her, but because he liked...me????

kaeya smugly walks off with a little "you're welcome", after a his shenanigans, and i'm still trying to process things bc i'd never seen diluc that way, always assuming he'd liked someone else so i never really looked at him that way. we kind of quietly resume our walk back "home" and im clutching his jacket close to me, then we both try to speak at the same time, he tries to ask for my response/reaction and i was trying to ask for some time. he's kind of confused and almost looks hurt, but agrees to give me some time to think, since i explained the whole "not seeing him in that light" and didn't want to answer on a whim. that i didn't want to mistake gratitude for all he's done for me for affection and stuff so he was like hey good point i wouldn't want you to feel like i forced you into this, and no you're not gonna get kicked out/fired if you don't like me back, it's okay. diluc mentions having to be away for 2 weeks cause of a work trip and that i can respond then.

in the meantime, a bunch happened like a trip to liyue with aether & paimon, a whole girls' talk over tea with jean & lisa over the situation, and got my own lil serenitea pot so i potentially had the option of moving out now if i wanted to. i decided to my day off from the tavern to go out on a little adventure, just journey around and test out the teapot home and all that jazz. ran into noelle and we hung out/trained for awhile together and invited her in for for a tea break and stuff, like it was just really cute and fun. but apparently diluc came back a few days early and was freaking out when i was nowhere to be found, no one had any idea where i was, and was just really concerned something might happen to me. then noelle arrives through the gates and overhears him asking lisa stuff and goes all "oh she's over by (idk where i was maybe that bit of land between mond & liyue?) and he thanks her for the info and runs off to find me. he finds the teapot (somehow) on some rock but doesn't see me and i come back out of my lil abode bc someone outside kept saying my name and then i felt the teapot shake (he'd picked it up). cue a dramatic reunion in the rain bc when isn't it pouring and trying to kill me in teyvat in true romcom fashion i guess.

diluc is all "do you have any idea how worried i was about you? all alone out here? any of the abyss mages could have hurt you or taken you away or-" just rambles on and meanwhile im having this sort of Oh You're Back and I Think I'm Feeling Things realization (absence makes the heart grow fonder lol). so there's just this kind of strong, desperate hug moment and everything's quiet, save for the pouring rain and faroff occasional lightning strike. and i whispered something along the lines of "i think i'm in love with you" and his eyes widen before responding smth like "i think i'm in love with you too" with a fond smile, the first genuine huge smile i've ever seen on him (pls picture him like in the manga and not his in game ._. face PLS-🤣). cue another romcom cliche reunion hug + kiss scene in the rain, in which we take shelter from the rain inside the serenitea pot bc of how bad the storm kept getting.

(aether has tubby but i have chummy, kinda looks like the teapot salesman, and i usually just call her chums.) so we're greeted by chums who kind of is like staring daggers at diluc bc i showed up with a guest unannounced, drenched, and we're holding hands. she's overprotective in a very Mom Friend kind of way but she just means well. we change into some baggy share clothes i have and then i scrambled up something to eat (since we can apparently cook & forge in our lil pot i love that so much-) anyway so we decide to get some rest bc it's late and have the Oh No There Was Only One Bed conundrum until we agree to just share and sleep on opposite sides bc nbd right? i turned in my sleep and essentially was hugging his back whilst asleep, and he just turned over at some point and hugged me too, and booooiiii was this fire boy WARM, he felt like a personal heater and after all that rain, i slept like a log. diluc woke up before me cause he's used to an earlier schedule and slips out quietly to speak to chummy, asking if she knew where the supplies were cause he wanted to surprise me with breakfast (and man can he cook! goodbye kfc, hello good hunter). chummy is still kind of not vibing with him, until he apologizes for "intruding" and explains everything that's happened, to which chums kind of softens up and realizes he's sweet and just wants to do something nice, not go around raiding the house. woke up alone and went to look for the source of the smell, and kinda just clung to him, making diluc blush. don't remember too much more after the cooking thing though besides going for a stroll around my teapot layout, meeting all the pets that chill there, and kinda just having a relaxing day off together. the winery staff was probably freaking out wondering where we were, but we were just kinda in our own world (literally?), enjoying the peace before returning to all the chaos that is teyvat. cutest damn dream ❤

[fullmarvelheart]

The Man From the Night

Pairing: Avengers x Enhanced!OFC

Word Count: 2,815

WARNING: swearing, angst themes of anxiety, such as panic attacks. Sexual assault is also, vaguely, mentioned as well. Please read at your own discretion.

A/N: Ooh your savior is here! Had to do that! But things are just getting interesting. Image is not my own, all rights to the owner. All mistakes are my own.

Series Masterlist

As I begin to wake, the first thing that greets me is a throbbing headache. Though, as I reach to help ease the pain, I find my arm being pulled slightly back from something attached to it. My eyes quickly shoot open and after blinking away the blurry fog that fills my vision, I see a metal cuff encasing my wrist, tying it to whatever hard surface I'm on. I go to pull it off with my other hand but find that restrained as well. I being to panic and take notice my surroundings.

The walls are filled with old looking wallpaper that's peeling off the walls, blank of any object. The air smells musty and damp. If I had been found by them, I know this isn't the place I'd wake up to. Still, that doesn't ease my fear.

I begin to thrash around, trying to loosen whatever is holding me down. To no avail, however. The noise must have notified my captors because I soon hear a pair of hurried footsteps echoing up some stairs. I inhale sharply when I feel his presence. The man who is not of Earth.

Realizing I had recovered my strength in my sleep, and by sheer adrenaline and instinct alone, I expel a force only where the shackles rest that send them flying through the walls of the room I'm in. Clumsily, I climb off the table as dizziness began to set in from the new and surprisingly intense task I preformed.

The door suddenly flies open and I find myself backing against the farthest wall, prepared to blow it out in case I need a quick escape. The man wears a smirk of amusement, but his body language holds a defensive stance, while his hand grips onto the door knob. He looks ready to strike at any given time. I put my guard up, silently cursing at the fact that I had no weapon near me if I needed one. Though, I do take this time to finally observe the guy.

I was right when I said he was tall. He stands at a height of what appears to be a few inches above six feet. His long raven-colored hair is slightly curly and some of it hangs lazily on the side of his face. His bright emerald green eyes are staring directly into my own blue ones. That smirk is still plastered on his face, though, his breaths come out rapid and uneven, as if he had just ran from somewhere. The stairs, duh... I wasn't able to get a good look at the rest of him as a voice interrupted my... um... observing.

"Are you finished staring at me, human?" His voice, smooth and heavily accented, one that sounds vaguely familiar to me. Though, I do not miss the condescending tone in his voice, and I dare not correct his mistake.

"Pfft! I wasn't staring." I sneer back at him.

"Then what would you call that?" He inquires as his smirk seems to grow.

"Analyzing." I reply quickly, almost too quickly.

He scoffs and rolls his eyes while crossing his arms. My eyes dare not to explore the being standing in front of me any further.

"Who are you?" I growl lowly, feeling defensive again. "Why was I locked up?"

Again, he rolls his eyes and I really want to punch him and just take my leave. In a split second he stands before me and I immediately plaster my hands against the wall, summoning my powers to them, draining any energy source nearby, other than him, that I could. He looks down slightly and I catch the faint blue of my ability reflecting in his eyes.

"I wouldn't do such a foolish thing. There is another mortal behind that wall, and judging by the way you acted earlier today, I think you wouldn't want any harm to come to them."

I think of his words before feeling for a presence behind the wall. Sure enough, he's right. I can feel the energy surge through the person's nervous system, and even their heart. But that doesn't mean I'd let him scare me into submission. Beings much scarier have in the past, and he isn't one of them. Instead of blasting the wall back, I flip my palms over and used the force collected to push him back away from me. He flies over the table I was chained to and I try to make a run for it. I'm almost at the door, when I feel a blade at my throat and my body being jerked back.

Our heavy breaths are the only thing filling the silence of the room. When he drops his guard seemingly thinking I submitted myself to him, I use my hand that's closest to his own to apply just the right amount of pressure to his wrist, causing him to drop the blade before my other hand catches it. I step out of his reach and point the blade towards him, still taking small steps back to create distance.

"I'm going to ask this again," I say in a voice heavy with adrenaline and caution. "Who the hell are you?"

He grins, menacingly, as he stepped towards me.

"Someone you don't want to mess with." Suddenly the knife vanishes and I let out a startled gasp.

Barely a millisecond later, I feel my body push my legs towards the open door in order to escape. However as soon as I do, I'm tackled to the ground. My head hits with a sickening thud, stars dance across my vison. I try to move but find my hands bound above my head and pressure on the lower half of my body. I open my eyes to find him hovering over me while holding my wrists in one hand, the other near my shoulder to keep him off my torso, and his legs holding down my own.

My heart starts to beat faster and my breath grows sharper as I feel myself reliving a nightmare. Tears prickle my eyes before I clench them shut while focusing on trying to stop the panic attack that is beginning to develop. The pressure on my wrist lessens as my breaths grow harsher and I feel my body trembling.

I can't stop it.

Words are being spoken above me, but I can't hear over the ringing in my ears or the sound of my quickening heartbeat. I try to not summon my powers but in my panicked state, I can't focus on controlling them. A few things burst around me, causing me to shriek in fear.

Suddenly I'm being lifted up and encased in a strong embrace. One hand is rubbing soothing circles on my back while the other one brushes through my hair.

"I'm sorry. Shh, you're ok. I won't harm you like that." A voice says above me.

My cries slowly turn to whimpers and things stop breaking. Pretty soon, it is just my trembling form being gently rocked by the being who holds me close. They continue to whisper calming words to me as my breathing began to even out.

"Are you quite finished?" The voice, his voice, asks rather annoyed, sounding completely different than he did moments ago.

I growl lowly to myself as I forcefully, by that I mean shakily, push myself away from the raven-haired man.

After getting up and not sparing a glance towards him, I walk over to a small table that was placed in the hallway. Glass shards and other debris littered the floor but I don't care about the wreckage around me. Using the table to prop myself up, I begin to grow angry, which slowly replaces the fear still coursing through my tired body. My fingers began curling into fists and my breath grows heavy with rage.

I'm pissed.

At the raven-haired man, but mostly at myself. It had happened so long ago yet it still constantly gets the better of me. Constantly! Everything they did does, and everything he did still remains a heavy burden on my mind.

"DAMN IT!" I scream, hitting the wooden table hard enough for it to go crumbling to the floor.

The man behind me chuckles.

"That was quite... the... s-show..." His words fade as I begin slowly taking the energy coursing through his cells, making him grow a little more tired with each passing moment.

He stumbles to the floor.

"I'll ask you. once. more." I growl through gritted teeth, slowly turning towards him.

"WHO ARE YOU?!" I roar, causing the man to flinch back, though tired.

"L-Loki, of A-Asgard."He breathes out.

Satisfied with the answer, I stop draining him, and with a flick of my wrist emitting a soft blue glow, he seems to be able to breathe again.

"Why was I chained up?" I sneer, though sounding significantly less pissed off than before.

"I-I do believe that it was you who attacked me first. Call it insurance."  He arrogantly says, bringing himself up to stand, though as if he was a newborn creature.

"It was you who came at me with daggers, after you created a... shadow... or whatever it was." I counter. "I was only defending myself." I say the last part quieter, feeling the adrenaline leave my system.

I groan in frustration before bring my hands to my face and sliding down the wall to sit on top of the now broken table.

"You know, you remind me of someone... when you lose your temper, that is." He comments with a sly smile that I miss. Though, I do hear him still stumbling slightly from the drain.

"Shut up!" I growl into my hands.

He scoffs.

"Why'd you bring me here?" I ask after a few moments.

I'm met with silence.

"What? Got nothing to say?" I snap, looking towards where he stands, leaning against the wall.

"Would you rather me leave you in the street with the spectacle you created?" He shot back.

It was my turn to be silent as I press my lips into a thin line and move my eyes to the floor. My mind began to swirl with the "what ifs". Those two dangerous word kept popping up in various scenarios. None of them good. They never are.

"Got nothing to say?" He mocks.

I shoot him a small glare before bringing my gaze back to the floor.

"Thank you, but only for getting me out of there." I say, barely loud enough for him to hear.

He grunts in acknowledgement and a peaceful silence engulfs the room. That is until the biggest spider I have ever seen in my whole damn life lands directly on my flats I had worn to work.

I squeal loudly and jump up in terror then proceed to fling the spider off my shoe. When it lands, it begins to run, though doesn't get far as my foot comes crashing down on top of it. I huff with rapid breaths before looking over to the man, Loki as I recall, to see his eyebrows raised and amusement lacing his features.

"Don't say anything." I quickly command to avoid feeling more embarrassment.

He raises his hands in mock surrender while slightly chuckling to himself, only for me to flip him 'the bird'. But now that the air between us is calmer, I take the chance to look around and get my bearings.

The air still smells musty, but it's now clouded with dust particles, and the walls still look worn and old. The wooden floors, cracked and falling apart. Old wallpaper hangs, peeling off the walls and a thick layer of dust rests on the undisturbed objects in the hall. If it were just those things, the place would look untouched and abandoned. However, because of my destruction, that's far from accurate.

Besides the broken table, all the various lights once hanging off the walls and ceiling have been blow up. Broken glass resides in the old walls, their jagged and sharp edges sticking out like clear knives. Other pieces lie littered over the floor. Bits of dry wall, where electrical lines ran along them, lay across the floor, the edges chard and smoking. Objects from the walls lie scattered over the floor as well, some broken while others are not.

I take a deep breath as I take in what I did, but I push the internal regret aside as I turn back to man that's looking at me apprehensively. This place has this familiarity to it, one that brings back not so good memories. So, I try to push it all back in the locked box I keep those things in.

"You live here?" I question with disgust, masking my inner turmoil.

"Well it looked a lot better before you happened. And it's the only place available for the amount of riches I had. Why must you Midgardians make things so ridiculously expensive?"

I let out a breathy chuckle as his grumbling is realistically funny.

"I wish I knew..." I murmur before a few moments of silence. "Tell me, what did you have in mind for after I woke up? Unless you were planning on keeping me chained up the whole time?" I sass while crossing my arms and shifting my weight to one leg.

"I hadn't gotten to that part of the plan yet before you woke up." He says with annoyance.

"Perfect..." I grumble. "Well... There's no way I'm staying here. I have my own home that needs to be attended to. But you aren't staying here either." I say sharply while starring the man down.

He sways slightly, eyes widened.

"Beg you pardon?" The disbelief in his tone has me smirk.

"Do you have anything here that's important?"

"Wha-wh-I..." I grin, seeming to catch him off guard.

"Well if you do, it won't go anywhere." I say marching up to him.

Before he has the chance to dodge my hand, I manage to collect enough energy, grab him, and teleport us to my living room. The smell of mint quickly surrounds me before it is replaced by the fresh sent of my home.

"Oh, this is so much better." I groan tiredly while flopping on the couch.

Finally, something comfortable...

"You weren't complaining about the remains of the table when you sat on that."

My eyes widen in shock. I just heard Loki's voice inside my head.

No! That's impossible!

"Not impossible, darling." He chuckles from somewhere in the room.

My mouth falls agape before I turn to look for him. When I find him, he's mumbling something before a dizziness sets in. I hold onto the couch for stability but still fall over, fading into the blackness.

~Loki's p.o.v~

Finally! Although the girl's abilities are extremely powerful, she is extremely naïve.

I smirk at this small mortal, but it quickly fades when I remember how she forced me to give her information, information I lacked in return. Or how she overwhelmed me with the feeling of exhaustion, one that's still very present. Or how she blocked me from her thoughts as she was calming down and right before she brought us here. The even more worrisome thing for me is that she didn't even know she did so, or rather, appeared not to know such things. Usually, blocking my abilities takes practice, training. All of which she clearly lacks. Her powers feed off of her emotions, I noticed. Such a pity. But her raw power is terrifying.

I begin to slowly walk around the place in which she brought us, perhaps her home. I look around for something to eat, as she left me quite tired and hungry. While I'm beyond shocked at how she brought me here, I am grateful. She wasn't wrong to be disgusted by my old lodgings, but I also felt her understanding of the situation. Which confused me even more than I already am. Her thoughts often betray her outward mannerism, creating this paradox to her.

As I wander, I notice the place is void of anything personal, besides her articles of clothing. There are no pictures that you'd expect to see in a Midgardian home. Not even an image of her. Ever her mug is a blank white. There is no personal touch in the place, it's rather... unnerving. If she didn't act so comfortable here, I would assume this was a random building.

I walk back to where she lay in order to wake her up. But as I get closer, I notice how comfortable she is, how peaceful. I noticed the dark circles under her eyes when I brought her back to my place. I had expected her to sleep longer, but she was out for barely thirty minutes.

Deciding she needs this, I exit the room and find a way to occupy myself and hopefully find something to eat.

Chapter 3

[leagueofidiots]

So can we see the chapter that cloud anon was talking about? I'm curious now 👀

Lol sure

Cloud Nine, chapter 46

Spoilers for Vigilantes, character "death", descriptions of gore, human experimentation implied, Uj*ko implied

It's a beautiful day out. The sky's just the right shade of blue, the sun's shining through the clouds in just the right way, rimming the clouds with a soft yellow light. Today's going to be good. The sky's wishing me happiness.

Shouta and I walk down the sidewalk, or rather, he walks. I trained a little too hard yesterday and managed to pull a muscle, so I sit in one of my clouds. "I just don't see how you can---," he begins, but a small voice cuts him off.

"Hey, it's Loud Cloud!"

We turn the corner, and I see a teacher with seven kids, maybe about six years old. I grin. "Ooh, if it ain't the nursery brigade, out on a march!"

They giggle, and begin clambering up to join me. I pull them up as best as I can, but one slips off. "Careful! Don't fall now," says Shouta, pushing them back up before I can even react.

"Wait," he says then, stopping us from drifting into the street. "Look both ways before crossing."

I laugh at his sudden cautiousness. It's endearing, and a trait I wish I had more of. "You're a natural at this, Shouta."

"Nah, you're just careless," he says.

A kid clambers onto my back. "You'd be pretty good at working with kids. Like, at a daycare, or as a school teacher."

He rolls his eyes. "Me? No. You, maybe." That's a joke, it has to be. I'm basically a kid myself. "What could children possibly like about me?"

Once we're across the street, the teacher beckons, and all the children clamber off of my cloud. "Bye, Loud Cloud!" she calls, waving.

I wave back. "See ya!"

"Bye bye!" another small kid.

"Goodbye, Eraser Head!" says the one he saved.

I turn to him smugly. "See?" After recovering from his surprise, he gives a little wave. "It's cuz you're so observant that you overthink stuff. Like, you psych yourself out and convince yourself you can't. But you could do just about anything if you put your mind to it."

He turns to me, still looking a little surprised. "Anything…? Like run a daycare? Or be a teacher?"

I smile. "Yep. Exactly."

He laughs, and keeps walking. "Try thinking before you speak."

"Nah, I'm serious," I insist. There's a rumble, and we both stop in our tracks.

Shouta hears a noise from his pocket, and pulls out his phone. "Huh, it's from Kayama." He picks up, and his eyes widen the second her muffled voice begins speaking.

I turn towards the source, and feel my stomach drop. Something large. Massive even. People running. A burst of energy coming from the villain. Analysis: not good.

Shouta pulls me by the hand, and I hop off of my cloud, running back the way we came. "The villain's coming this way!" he yells when we see the kids again.

I shoot out my quirk, focusing on making it strong enough to hold. "Get on the cloud, kids!"

"O---okay!" They quickly begin climbing on, helped by their teacher.

"We're in for some weather…" says Shouta, looking at the distant grey clouds in concern.

But the day is bright, so I will be too. "C'mon! Evacuations are fun for everyone!" I call, leading the cloud after me, all seven kids atop it, teacher closely following.

There's an ominous cracking sound above us, and I look up, ready to produce as many clouds as I need to to stop any further damage. Just the villain though, not anything new. "It got here so fast!" cries Shouta.

"This guy's...jumbo sized!" I say helpfully.

His Purple Highness jumps in front of us. "Leave this to his majesty!"

"Boss?!?"

He leaps at the villain. "You two, get the little ones out of danger!"

We do as we're told, continuing on with a little more pep in our step. Suddenly, there's a loud and familiar "EEEEEEEEEEEEE" filling the air. Yet somehow...not.

"That was...Yamada's voice quirk?!?" Shots of energy come raining down next. "And now...Sensoji's blast! So he stores up other quirks in the lumps on his back?!?" Normally, I admire Shou's ability to think in a crisis. At the moment though, I wish he'd consider the kids' stress levels.

Another burst of energy comes from the villain, crashing into a nearby building. It crashes down, right in exactly the worst spot.

And now, I have a choice. I can only produce so many clouds at once, and making one solid enough to hold up against this rubble is going to take all the humidity I have access to. It can't be too big either, and I can't run with my leg like this.

It's me or the kids and their teacher.

I have my whole life ahead of me, sure. I have my parents and Morimi, who I'd promised I'd stay alive for. But in my mind, there is no option. "Cloud!" I bellow, aiming all my energy at the area above their heads.

I know what's coming, but I'm still not ready when it happens. The left side of my head is hit almost instantly with a large chunk of cement, and I feel myself be thrown to the ground. It hurts, and the pain just keeps coming, pinning my right arm, my stomach, my legs, the weight building up until I can't even breathe.

I hear Shouta screaming, but I can't bring myself to make any noise. Is this how it ends? There was so much I wanted to do…

With my left arm, saved only by the rocks balancing around it, I roll it out, and choke through my speaker, "You got this, Aizawa!" And then I can't. I meant to say more, wanted to desperately, but it all just builds in my throat like a clogged hose.

Maybe if I can just get more air...I need to tell him...He'll never be able to save everyone if he just lets his thoughts rest...I need to help…

By some miracle, I wiggle under the rocks, and catch a few gasping breaths. "You can do it, Shouta!" I cry, voice raspy and shaky and weak. "You're the only one who can protect everyone! It's alright---" another gasp, a wince of pain, "You can do this! You've got what it takes! After all, I know for a fact…" How much longer do I have? "You're strong! You won't lose!"

My voice is fading, my vision is blurring. "You can do it, Shouta!" I just want to say my proper goodbyes. "Don't lose, Shouta!"

The sky was so nice…The sky promised… "Come on, Shouta! You can do it, Shouta!" He has to...he has to…

"Shirakumo!" I hear his voice say faintly in the receiver in my ear. "I did it!"

I sigh. "Good…You did good." And with my job done, my world fades into a dizzying black.

🖤💠🖤💠🖤💠🖤💠🖤💠🖤💠🖤💠🖤💠🖤

Until it fades into a blinding white. My head...My arm...My legs...Everything hurts more than I would have thought possible, but I made it. I am alive, aren't I? Or is this heaven?

Heaven wouldn't give me such a killer headache. I reach up to touch my face, but...nothing. My arm won't move. I open my eyes, look down at myself, and---

Where am I? And why…? Why…?

I'm in a tank full of an almost-liquid, the pinkish goop somehow not hurting my eyes. But that's not what disturbs me.

"My arm...My legs…" I hear my shaky voice say, faint and pained. "Where…?" My stomach is in terrible knots, twisting upon itself like a Twizzler. I raise my left arm, still intact but heavily damaged, to my face.

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no…

The pain doesn't even phase me. Not now. It's unimportant, temporary. But the things my fingers feel…

Sharp, shattered bone. Everywhere. My head, my face, all of it. I'm missing the entire left side of my head. I'm gonna be sick. My brain, I can feel it, this is not okay. How am I alive? Is this hell?

This has to be a dream. Some terrible kind of hospital drug-induced nightmare. The sky promised it would be okay, and it will be. See? Here comes the doctor now.