nanami buys you coffee
fluff + pre (established relationship) + slight age gap
berri: based on these headcanons, i'll probably write each one individually if i have time 😊🩷
being an intern is ... hard. the pay is barely anything, the work load makes death look appealing and the managers ,,,, well, they hate you. at least they act like they do.
after a long morning of shadow work and running after your manager to print individual copies of meeting documents, you are sick. all you want to do is go home and pass out for the rest of the day.
you didn't have time for breakfast and with all the running around, not enough for even a pick-me-up drink. it's exhausting and you hate it,,, but you need this stupid internship.
after a quick sob session in the restroom, you come back to throw yourself on a spinning chair that you are convinced is going to be the root cause of your premature back pain.
you are busy muttering curses under your breath when you hear someone clearing their throat.
you turn your chair to see fucking nanami kento, a senior manager in the company and your work crush.
he is so cool, you've seen him diffuse the most complex situations in seconds and he's always so humble about it. never too proud despite his insane skill level.
"... everything good?" he asks, voice deep enough to make your body react on its own. you take a good thirty seconds to realise that he's talking to you.
eyes wide and lips parted, you answer.
"y-yes sir! of course, do you need me to print any documents?" you ask, palms sweating.
and he laughs.
he fucking laughs and it is the best thing you've ever heard. it's low and gritty but god he sounds so good laughing.
"sir? nanami is more than enough." he then looks around awkwardly before handing you something. you finally notice the coffee cup in his hand.
"huh?" "it's for you."
"oh." you giggle. you take a sip and it's perfect.
the temperature is not too hot, the coffee is not too sweet and it's the right ratio of whipped cream to milk. you don't know what he ordered but you do know that you can't go back to drinking normal coffee.
"uhm- thank you!!" you swallow, "this is perfect! but is there like an employee event today?" you still don't know why he got you the coffee.
"oh,," he chuckles, "no, i just wanted to see you smile."
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When the Cardinal got the call about the attack on Mouse and the sibling, do you think he reacted sharply over the phone to whomever he spoke with, or cooly responded and waited until he hung up to go ballistic? I’m curious about his initial reaction to the news. 🫢
The Cardinal sat there, alone in an unfamiliar office, and thought about the changes so close at hand. It had been a long time coming, he supposed; the steadily ticking clock on the wall kept his toiling years in the forefront of his mind. All the bustle and the striving, the whole dogged pursuit of his own dark papacy, might actually be soon behind him. Copia relaxed back in his chair for a moment, admittedly irritated at the gentle ticking, but grateful nonetheless for this brief respite. The Ministry could be a tumultuous place, but for now, all was quiet, and he was ready.
His door was open, and an assistant poked her head in. “My apologies, Your Eminence.. you have a phone call,” she said, gesturing towards the phone upon his current desk. He noticed a light blinking there. “Sister Imperator.”
Giving the girl a nod before she left, shutting the door behind her, he reached out for the receiver. “Pronto, eh… Hello?”
Sister’s voice a bit tinny over the antiquated line. “Cardinal. I trust you’re well?”
“Yes, Your Dark Excellency.” Imperator wouldn’t have called without a reason. “What’s this about?”
“I’m calling about the girl you’ve been tutoring.” The leather of his glove tightened more firmly around the receiver with an audible sound.
“What about her?” Imperator didn’t answer right away, and Copia felt a surge of something like a panic forming deep in his chest. “Sister—”
“Oh, she’s quite all right, Cardinal. Don’t worry, honestly.” Don’t worry…
“What—”
“She…” Her voice sounded pained, and he heard her take a little breath. “There was a fair bit of trouble up in the old cemetery today. Some kind of a transient was… bothering her and another girl. They’re a bit rattled, naturally… fought him off and ran. Nothing beyond a mere scuffle happened, they assured me, but…”
“I’ll be there shortly.” He could feel the blood rushing in his head, and he fought to remain calm.
“Your Eminence, you do understand what you’re meant to accomplish over there?”
“I do, Sister.” He let the weight of his decision hang for a moment. “I should be able to manage arriving back at the abbey… tomorrow at the latest.”
“The girl is perfectly fine here; a few abrasions… I only thought you’d like to know as a courtesy. Considering the time you’ve spent together.”
A few… abrasions. “Please expect me tomorrow, Sister. Thank you.”
“Cardinal.”
“Yes?” The word came out heavy with concealed rage.
“She is perhaps not perfectly fine. If I’m being honest with you.”
He hung up the receiver without another word, and he watched his hand shake, threatening to splinter the plastic. Taking a steely breath, he extricated his fingers from the thing, and then he methodically began to pack up his desk. As he worked, measured and silent beneath it, the soft and steady ticking of the clock on the wall threatened to drive him insane; a horrible reminder of how far he was from her. This was hell, truly; right here in the passionlessly beating heart of the Satanic Ministry. Copia gulped, fighting the hot fury rising inside him, the urge to retch out the pit of ice settling in his stomach. He wouldn't waste any time; he would not give in to his inner torment here. How was she faring with her own?
When he was done, he reached out for the phone again, his hand now steady.
“I want a car waiting for me downstairs. Ten minutes.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On his way down the hall to her room he bumped into Terzo, exiting his papal chambers.
“How is Mouse?” Copia queried, without thinking.
“Who?”
“The girl!” he snapped, ready to lose it.
“Shhh…” Terzo was carefully shutting his door, “Sophie’s still sleeping…”
“The other girl! I hear she’s injured? Why aren’t you with her?”
“I only have one dick, Cardinal.”
Copia pondered on how exactly his life would change if he snapped Terzo’s neck right there in the hall.
Terzo chuckled for a second at his seething expression, before getting serious again. “She’s got a nasty scrape on her head, poor thing. I tucked her in earlier, no fucking involved, Cardinal… She’s resting, says she’s fine, but…” Terzo frowned further. “She’s quite shaken up, I believe, contrary to what she’ll tell you.”
Not bothering to converse any further, Copia continued on down the hall. When he finally reached the door to her dear little room he paused for a second, gathering his scattered thoughts.
It was darkening inside, and he let his eyes adjust for a moment, though it was hardly needed. He knew the room well; how many times had he let himself in here, just to look upon her? How many times had he done much more than look?
She lay on the bed, curled up in a fretful slumber, and the icy rage he had carried all the way here to lay at her feet began to melt at the piteous sight of her. His poor sweet Mouse!
Reaching out, he arranged her blanket a bit more snugly around her, and he noticed then what she was clutching in her fingers; a swathe of red that left his swelling heart bleeding. He lay down beside her.
He wanted to hold her close, desperately, but he would not yet allow himself that gift. She needed to sleep; she needed to be safe. She needed to be loved. And for all the ways he had failed her, he could at least do that, effortlessly and beyond severe. He would love her beyond his last breath, he thought, watching over her precious ones, her fragile chest rising and falling softly.
After some time, he noticed her begin to stir, and eventually she reached out for her light.
“Dolce,” he said, gently. She whirled around, and the look in her dewy eyes at the sight of him made him want to weep.
Finally, he held her.
link to ao3
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bet my heart, part 7
bees are gonna make wild honey
series masterlist
"You're distracted," Jake informs me as the band stops. I knew it. He knew it. We all knew I was distracted. This sound check was going to shit, and we all knew it.
"Thank you for that captain obvious," I roll my eyes at him.
"We can take a break," Damien offers. I shake my head, we couldn't. We needed to get the sound check done, and I needed to know that my show tonight wasn't going to be an absolute shit show. I didn't have high hopes for either one of those things to be successful.
"Let's just run it one more time," I say.
"Sage," Jake says. I glance over towards him, and he has an all-knowing look on his face.
"Okay, five minutes," I agree. I put my mic down and I'm off the stage in a matter of seconds. I hear footsteps behind me and I assume it's Jake. He's in front of me before I realize it, and he comes to a stop so I can't keep going.
"What's going on with you? Is it Quinn?" He asks. I raise an eyebrow, he knew it was Quinn, he just wanted me to give him the confirmation of his assumptions. "Fine, I know it's Quinn, what's going on?" He asks.
"I don't know," I answer honestly. He raises an eyebrow at me this time, waiting for me to elaborate. "I don't know what's going on between us, we have a lot to talk about and I have to wait for him to get here in a couple of days," I explain.
"Oh, so you two are finally going to admit you're in love with each other?" He asks. Apparently, I must have some weird look on my face because his next words are, "Don't look at me like that, we all know you're in love with him, and he's in love with you, the only two people who don't realize it are you and Quinn, it's sad really." My mouth opens, but I don't say anything just stare at him. "Just take five, breathe, do what you need to do, but just know that everyone knows that man is in love with you it's sad," That's all he says before leaving and I'm assuming going back to the stage. I spend the next five minutes with my back pressed against a wall, eyes closed, and trying to get my shit together so I can make it through this sound check and concert.
My mind is still racing when I walk back onto the stage and pick up my microphone.
"You good?" Damien asks. I nod my head, even if I wasn't, I could fake it.
"Can we switch it up for sound check guys?" I ask them.
"What song?" Jake asks.
"Let's do an old one, one that I gave to someone else, Friends Don't," I suggest. I had written the song a couple of years ago, and it didn't fit the vibe I had going on in my music so it got sold to another artist, however, the song was about my not-so-friend-like relationship with Quinton.
Miraculously I make it through our soundcheck song, shocking for everyone. What's even more shocking is when I leave the stage, Quinn is standing there, staring at me. He wasn't supposed to get in until late tonight, so I'm confused as to why I'm looking at him right now.
"I thought you're plane landed at like midnight? I ask him. That's what leaves my mouth instead of hi.
"It was supposed to, but I was going insane so I rearranged my schedule, and here I am," He lifts a shoulder, it's a half-shrug. He was here, we could talk, I needed this conversation to happen. I take a step closer to him and then Lucy appears out of nowhere.
"Hair, makeup, clothes," she says. I glance at Quinn, I'm sure the desperation for this conversation is showing in my eyes.
"Go, do your job, I'll be here whenever you're done," he says, a small smile on his face. I force a nod and follow Lucy down the hall, tossing one last glance back at Quinn.
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this song is soooo c!dream it is insane
like it is just him. i need you all to see my vision here i need everyone to hear my point. hear me out guys hear me out.
i am going to ramble so aggressively under the cut but hear me out here stay with me. this may not be coherent and that was because it was written in a haze. no idea what i wrote just hear me out
'The looking glass, so shiny and new
How quickly the glamour fades'
its like the SMP. a shiny and new existance, something new he crafted for his friends and yet the glamour fades, it all falls apart and it dissolves and it crumbles in his hands.
'You made a deal, and now it seems you have to offer up
But will it ever be enough? (Raise it up, raise it up)
It's not enough (Raise it up, raise it up)'
do i even need to explain. the revival book. the deal for it, the crushing realization that reality is not what he thought, that infinity is possible and eternity is a truth, and this is not enough for him. he needs eternity. he needs forever, it will never be enough. he offers up his sanity, his grasp on reality, in exchange for a promise of eternity. hear me out-
'Here I am, a rabbit-hearted girl
Frozen in the headlights
It seems I've made the final sacrifice'
the rabbit dream agenda. this is just the rabbit dream agenda but also he is frozen in the headlights of the role he has to take on. he has to be the villain, he has to make the final sacrifice and give himself up to the box he's being placed in; because there is no other option. a trapped rabbit cannot flee. a trapped rabbit can only fawn and freeze and fight (reminds you of the prison, doesn't it?).
'This is a gift, it comes with a price
Who is the lamb and who is the knife?
Midas is king and he holds me so tight
And turns me to gold in the sunlight'
oh GOD there is so much i can say. there is so much this post is going to be years long there is so much. the revival book is a gift. it is the gift, and it comes with a price. the lamb and the knife, discduo, vaultduo, however you want to see it; who is the lamb and who is the knife will change and rotate. tommy is the lamb in exile, dream the knife. dream is the lamb in the vault, sam the knife. dream is the lamb in the finale, tommy the knife. the roles will change, the gift always comes with a price. companionship is a gift that comes with a cost. hear me out stay with me here
'I must become a lion-hearted girl
Ready for a fight
Before I make the final sacrifice'
guys its the fucking disc finale its the. its just the disc finale that's the disc finale thats th. he has to shed his heart, he has to make the final sacrifice, he has to be ready for a fight because he needs to protect, he needs to defend and he needs to stand for his ally. he needs to mold himself from a rabbit to a lion, prey disguised as predator, a rabbit in lions clothing. the final sacrifice is just a price he has to pay. the gift of companionship will always come with a cost, and dream is more than ready to walk into it.
'And in the spring I shed my skin
And it blows away with the changing wind
The waters turn from blue to red
As towards the sky I offer it'
OOHHHH god so much.s o much i can say theres so much there is so much. he sheds his attatchments like a snake shedding its skin, letting them dissipate with the changing winds- and he sheds himself, too. he steps out of his skin and changes the winds, walks a new path not of choice but of necessity, because this is all he can do. what else can he do, when faced with the reality of his situation, of his existance, flawed and cursed with mortality that he can cure? what else can he do, when faced with the reality of his server, his friends, lost to conflict, lost to disagreements, and he can fix it. he can fix it, they just have to trust him, they just have to hate him. he has to be a viper, a snake in the grass, he has to be a lion because he cannot be a rabbit. he cannot be prey, not anymore. c!dream is prey acting as a predator. he is a rabbit cornered and biting in retalliaton read as violence. he is a snake hissing and biting, desperate to be left alone and to be heard. he masquerades as a lion, a dragon, a beast of unknown proportion; but he is an animal that burrows and clings, grapples with the past and craves companionship and distance at the same time. the waters run from blue to red as he offers revival, as he offers himself.
this is a gift. it comes with a price.
okay im done this was probably so incoherent but i am in a c!dream and neurodivergence fuelled haze right now and i need you guys to hear my insanity /hj
no i will not be elaborating or explaining any of this
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rewatched some utena episodes (because i am mentally ill) and i keep thinking. spoilers. obviously.
according to the narrative we see at the start of a lot of episodes, utena was saved from her sorrow by her prince. according to the same prince, gaining the power to revolutionize the world means to meet him behind the rose gate. but notably, this narrative was told to us by the shadowplay girls, the same girls who tell us the false story of the tale of the rose, the story as akio sees it. in 34, we see that akio's narrative is one of lies, and that it was anthy who showed utena something eternal, it was anthy who gave utena determination to keep living, so that one day they may meet again.
...similarly. in the final episodes we see the statue, the appearance of dios, crumbling into dust. the illusion is broken. to revolutionize the world as akio sees it is impossible, he's holding onto a false hope, he can't turn the clock back to the time when he was still a prince because that decision was never his to begin with. but we know whose it was.
so when utena opens the rose gate, it is only natural she wouldn't see dios. dios has been dead for a long time. but she still does meet her "prince". the promise from her childhood is fulfilled, the reason why she went through all the suffering is justified. because when she opens the door, wounded and feverish with pain and struggling to keep standing on her two feet, she sees anthy.
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