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prismaticpichu · 10 months

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Because I know you've at least had ideas about this:

Zack convinces Sephiroth to play Mario Galaxy. He did not think about the library that could potentially spark an early Nibelhiem incident.

SPACE MOM OH YEAHHHHH!!!!! (The prompt is phenomenal shhshshde thank you!)

The two get into a groove almost immediately after the disc is inserted, with Sephiroth absolutely enthralled by the game’s celestial coating and Zack absolutely overjoyed that his buddy seems to like it. Seph is a quick learner too, grasping the controls and objectives as easy as pie, meaning they’re able to slide right into a comfortable system wherein control is alternated after each galaxy–Zack’s turns being nothing short of pacifist runs while Sephiroth finds catharsis in obliterating bloodless enemies. Time becomes nebulous as they play for hours on end, steamrolling through the levels and reaping the planets dry of star bits. They get into such a smooth rhythm, in fact, having such a blast zipping through galaxies, that they shoo away the pesky little pop-up that appears every time they collect a Power Star.

This eventually culminates in the credits rolling, Sephiroth not wanting it to end, and Zack remembering that they’ve yet to explore the library.

It also means they read the story all in one sitting. Hooooooo boy.

Chapter 1

“How many chapters are there?” Sephiroth quirks an eyebrow, reading the chalky text fading onto the screen. “And what is this music? A toddler’s lullaby?”

“Oh hush, bud.” Zack presses the button to continue.

Our story begins a very, very long time ago with a young girl. One day, this girl spotted a rusted spaceship holding a small star child.

“She seems very nonchalant about it,” Sephiroth grunts, must having to point out the obvious. Now that is just ridiculous. He could accept the space bunnies, and the turtle’s quest for intergalactic domination, and even the whole bee persona (that one was still weird)—but to make him suspend his disbelief to the point where a little girl wouldn’t run away screaming in terror? What kind of little girl was this?

“Some people love the unknown, y’know?” Zack shrugs with a grin, flimsily answering his questions. “I’d totally check out a spaceship if it crashed in my backyard.” He doesn’t wait for party pooper Seph to counter that statement before flipping the page.

And there, pressing that single A button, may have just been one of the top ten worst mistakes he’s ever made.

"What's your name? Are you lost?" the girl asked the star child.

“I'm Luma, and I'm waiting for Mama. She's coming for me on a comet!" said the star child, who had been waiting day and night.

Uh oh.

Sephiroth’s chest twists at the words—the word—appears on the screen before him. It’s not a complete knot yet, not something tethered to the point of constriction. But it’s there. And he feels it.

“You okay, bud?” Zack blinks towards his friend, seeing the discomfort. “Do you wanna—“

“Keep going,” Sephiroth orders tautly. “It’s fine.”

Unconvinced, but not wanting to disobey his buddy, Zack flips the page.

“Don't worry. I'll wait with you," the little girl promised Luma.

At nightfall, the little girl borrowed her father's telescope and peered into the sky. She looked and looked, but she saw nothing. Hours turned into days and then years, but still the sky revealed nothing.

Finally, the little girl sighed and said to Luma, "If we stay here looking much longer, I'll be an old lady soon."

But then she had an idea.

"Why don't we go out there and find your mother ourselves?"

The girl and Luma fixed up the rusty spaceship, and then the two set sail into the starry sky.

And this is how the search for the celestial mother began.

The word is almost ghostly on Sephiroth’s lips, almost like he isn’t even registering that it left them. It just cracked from his voice. Splintering from his heart.

“…Mother?”

By now Zack really notices the glazed look in Sephiroth’s eyes. He sets down the controller and scoots closer. Ifrit darn it… he knows the topic of family is an unhealed, sore, and raw subject for Seph. Why on Gaia would he ever make Seph play this part of the game? What kind of friend is he? A trashy one, that’s for sure.

“Hey, hey.” Zack wraps an arm around his buddy’s shoulders. “We don’t have to play anymore.”

“No,” Sephiroth protests. “I’m… intrigued by this story.” And he is. There’s a rift in him that has opened, a curiosity unveiled deep inside. A seed being planted by unseen hands.

Zack blinks, just as hesitant as before. But then he lets a smirk eclipse his face. “Even with the stupid opening?”

Sephiroth’s gaze floats towards him, staring longly. Numbly. Though a few blinks and the glass melts away, his friend’s words sink in, and a ghost of a smirk plays on his own lips. “I can forgive it.”

“Well okay then.” Zack scoops up the controller, ready to resume the game, but not before handing his pal the metaphorical wheel. “Just stop it whenever you want.”

Maybe it’s because of the arm wrapped around his shoulder, or the soothing music, but the next chapter turns out to be a much smoother ride. Seph even gets his devoid sense of humor back!

Chapter 2

Before they left, she had packed all the essentials: telescope, butterfly net, stuffed bunny, bread, milk, jam, and apricot-flavored tea, but…

“I believe she needs some source of oxygen,” Sephiroth points out.

"I forgot to bring water!"

Or that.

At this, Luma burst into gales of laughter, and the girl began to pout.

"As long as I have Star Bits, I'll be fine," said Luma. "Want some?" The little girl couldn't stay mad after hearing this.

Luma continued to laugh, and the girl couldn't help but join in.

"All right, maybe just a nibble."

Leaning far out of the ship, the pair began to collect Star Bits with the girl's net. They almost fell out a few times, but they kept on collecting.

The Star Bits tasted like honey.

By the time the chapter is over, Sephiroth’s faint smirk has melted into a smile. He flips the page.

The smile doesn’t last for very long.

Chapter 3

A beam of light pierced through the ship's window. Thinking it was the morning sun, the girl peered through the window, only to find a turquoise blue comet shimmering at her.

The little girl shook the sleeping Luma awake and shouted excitedly, "We HAVE to get to that comet!"

The pair descended on the comet and found that it was made of ice. They looked high and low, but Luma's mother was nowhere to be found.

“Awww…” Zack frowns, saddened by the outcome. The outcome that takes Sephiroth’s chest and tangles it into a tight, serrated knot.

They have been searching for so, so long… Perhaps Luma’s mother isn’t there at all. Perhaps she never was. Perhaps she left for a reason—perhaps she doesn’t care. She clearly doesn’t, if she abandoned her son like that, if she left him to the mercy of the world alone.

The seed twitches.

Or, perhaps… she is there… somewhere… waiting.

He continues on.

Exhausted, the little girl sat down with a flop, utterly unable to take another step.

"Look!"

Peering down at the icy ground where Luma was pointing, the girl suddenly noticed clusters of Star Bits encased in the ice.

"Pretty good, huh? Finding Star Bits is my specialty!" said Luma, beaming.

"There's ice here, but it's so warm, I'll bet there's water here too."

The two decided to stay on the comet for a while.

Riding the turquoise comet, the pair continued their search for Luma's mother.

Sephiroth remains silent, numbly flipping the page. He hardly hears Zack’s check-in.

Chapter 4

One night, the girl dreamed about her own mother.

"Where are you going?" she asked her mother's retreating back.

Abruptly, Sephiroth pauses the game.

“I… dream about my Mother.”

Zack cants his head, not exactly sure how to respond to such a statement. Seph’s shoulders have also stiffened to an uncomfortable degree—almost wintery, like the blood suddenly went cold. He removes his arm.

“…What kind of dreams?” Zack asks delicately. Did someone turn the A/C on or what?

“…She calls to me…” Sephiroth says, that cold glaze returning to his eyes. “That I should find her. That she’s there. That she’s…” The man’s hands ball into fists, tightening, reptilian eyes narrowing as he spat out the last word. “Trapped.”

Zack shrinks back against the pillows, confused and chilled. “Seph, you’re scaring me. C’mon.”

“She’s there. Somewhere.” His lips curl into a snarl, voice honing, eyes daggerous. “My mother.” He glances up to the ceiling, as if he could burn right through it and be swallowed by the night sky. “You’re there, somewhere. I know you are. I know you are. You’re there—“

“Snap out of it, Seph.”

Without thinking Zack swipes a glass of water off the coffee table and sloshes it in Sephiroth’s face. The icy liquid claps his trap mid-sentence, and he sits there, paralyzed, water dripping from his damp bangs, the emerald eyes going wide and a myriad of emotions flickering through them. First shock, then anger, then confusion, and then…

Sadness.

A noticeable light dims in the Mako-made irises as Sephiroth charges to the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

Zack sits there for Ifrit knows how long, enveloped in the silence, staring blankly at the closed washroom door.

Seph looked so… crushed in those last few seconds, when whatever smog was there had cleared from his eyes. He looked so lost. So aching. And what is he doing here, holding an empty cup and watching. That’s his best friend in there!

Setting down the glass, Zack gingerly makes his way across the den to the bathroom, pressing his ear against it.

Breathing. Sharp, rattled breathing. That’s what he hears.

“Seph…” Zack knocks against the door, two tender raps. “You okay?”

Upon hearing no answer, Zack waits a couple more beats. And when that also carries silence, he carefully creaks the door open, stepping inside.

To be greeted by the sight of Seph tucked against the wall. His shoulders are quivering, sharp-nailed fingers digging into the ridges on his coat, the uneven breaths he heard through the door all the more audible now. It shattered Zack’s heart.

“Hey…” He slides down the wall beside him, wrapping his arm back around his shoulders, soft and thawed. “It’s okay, bud. It’s okay…”

“My mother….” Sephiroth repeats… except this time, the words are nothing short of hollow. Broken. “I lost mine so long ago. I never even met her. I never will.” He sucks in his breath, a turbulent inhale. “She’ll never be there. No matter where I look.”

Zack rubs smooth, soothing circles along his friend’s back, through the gushing silver strands. There’s nothing he can say to make Seph’s pain go away. No magic words, no magic to assuage him. All he can do is listen, letting Seph know that he’s here, and that he cares. Cares more than anything.

“I know, Seph…” Zack says quietly… pained, “I know it hurts.”

Sephiroth trembles. There’s no dam for his thoughts anymore, no hesitations. Not with his current presence. “Sometimes… I think that she abandoned me, like she did to Luma. Perhaps she didn’t want me, or perhaps I wasn’t strong enough, or…” He buries his head deeper, squeezing his eyes shut.

Zack squeezes him even tighter in reassurance. “You are the strongest person I’ve ever met, Seph. She wanted you, Seph. I know she did. And if she saw you now… oh man…” A soft, wan smile blooms on his lips. “You have no idea how proud she would be.”

Sephiroth lifts his chin, silent, blinking hazily towards his best friend, the catlike eyes wide and vulnerable as they drift in the emerald ponds. They let the silence blanket them for another swathe of time, the hum of the gaming system just barely there through the door.

“…You wanna finish the story?” Zack tenderly asks, like asking a rattled child if they can turn off the lights.

Sephiroth collects his breath, sighing deeply, unfolding himself from the wall. He brushes the spillage of locks out from his face. “…I’m an adult,” he tries to huff.

The comment’s enough to make Zack smirk. “Yeah, but you’re still my bestest buddy. I gotta look after you.”

They end up back on the couch minutes later, Zack practically smushed against his pal this time as he takes control of the remote again. Slowly, sparing a check-in glance to Seph, Zack resumes the story.

“Where are you going?" she asked her mother's retreating back.

Without turning, her mother replied, "Don't fret, dearest. I'm not going anywhere. I'm always watching over you, like the sun in the day and the moon in the night."

A wave of sadness washed over the girl.

"What about when it rains, and I can't see the sun or the moon?"

Her mother thought for a moment before responding.

"I will turn into a star in the clouds and wait for your tears to dry."

When she awoke, the girl's face was damp with tears.

"You have Star Bits in your eyes!" said Luma to the girl.

Wiping her face, the girl replied, "These are tears, not Star Bits. I'm crying because I'll never see my mother ever again!"

At this, Luma began to cry too. "Mama, oh, Mama... Waaaah!"

The faint, stifled sound of water plunking on plush catches Zack’s attention. Blue eyes lift, and that’s when he sees a single, glistening pearl rivering down his friend’s cheek. Zack’s heart bleeds with sympathy.

“Bud…” He reaches forward, dabbing the raindrop off with his hand. As Seph glances at him, the fragile piano music hitting its highest notes, a wobbly but true kind of smile forms on Zack’s face. “You’re crying star bits, Seph.”

There’s something about the way he says it, or the derpiness of his smile… but it’s contagious; Sephiroth’s would-be stoic features get infected with a stupid smile of his own. A silent nod tells Zack to continue.

The pair traveled through the starry skies, and though they encountered many other comets, not one of them held Luma's mother.

Luma was despondent.

"Now, now, Luma. The rain clouds won't go away if you keep crying," the girl said, giving Luma a squeeze. "I'll give you a present if you stop."

The girl closed her eyes and said gently, "I'll take care of you."

With these words, she felt a small spark in her heart.

And so does Sephiroth, as he and Zack share another soft smile, realizing the rift is being sewn together by the second. Realizing the cement filling the craters. The warmth filling the ice.

For the first time in a long while, if ever, it’s neither of them that initiates the hug. Zack pulls his best buddy close and Sephiroth holds him tight, resting his head against the boy’s shoulder as he lets himself be cocooned in the solace, the warmth, the love… love that is right here, right on the ground, alive and real and wanting to be beside him.

“Thank you…” Sephiroth mumbles. For everything…

Zack swells with warmth as he burrows into Seph’s collar in turn, his heart practically throbbing, the rhythm aligned like stars in the cosmos against his friend’s. “Gotta take care of my buddy.”

The rest of the story is smooth sailing.

Suddenly, more Lumas began to pop out from the apricot planet. They were different colors, but they all shouted the same thing.

"My mama!" "My mama!"

The sight of all the shouting Lumas only made the girl laugh harder. "What am I going to do with all these children?!"

The two laughed in harmony, Sephiroth finally amused by the absurdity of it all.

Peeking into the telescope, a tiny blue dot floated into sight. It was smaller than a Star Bit.

"How strange... It's so far away, but it feels so close."

She twisted the knob of the telescope, and the blue dot grew until she could make out a grassy hill dotted with flowers. It seemed very familiar to her.

Zooming even closer, a terrace on the hill came into view.

"I used to go stargazing there when I lived on my home planet."

Even through the more tumultuous parts, Zack just clutched his friend’s arm tightly, letting them brace the tale together.

"I want to go home! I want to go home right now!"

The girl burst into tears, and the Lumas didn't know what to do.

"I want to go home! I want to go back to my house by the hill! I want to see my mother!"

The girl was shouting now, her face wet with tears.

"But I know she's not there! I knew all along that she wasn't out there in the sky! Because...because..."

"She's sleeping under the tree on the hill!"

Sephiroth’s chest tightens; Zack unties the knots.

Though usually quite cheery, one day the girl became sad again. Luma drew close and tried to comfort her.

"Mama, you still have me!"

"And don't be sad about your mama, because she's a part of you! That means she's always close by!"

"It's like me. I love Star Bits because they remind me of my mama."

Zack gives his friend one last squeeze, seeing Sephiroth’s face fall. “She’ll always be with you, Seph. Always. And hey.. I’m not so bad to be with, right?” Zack sticks out his tongue, blinking in the most innocent, derpy manner that always reaps a chuckle from Seph.

Including now. “No,” Seph smiles, and spontaneously ruffles his friend’s hair. “You’re not.”

Moral of the story: ZACK IS SPACE MOM.

#sephiroth #ffvii #crisis core #zack fair #asks #ty!!#mario galaxy #WHY IS THIS SO LONG OMG FORGIVE ME #fangirl #randomness #weenie hut jrs #the perfect game for Seph!#until it's not #whoopsie doodle #this ain't a proper fic or anything the chapters correspond with rosalina's story lmao #THE MUSIC #jenova #mumsy

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lilac-gold · 7 months

Text

Day 8- Omori AU Whumptober 2023

AI-less Whumptober Day 8- Electrocuted @ailesswhumptober

Fandom: OMORI Rating: Teen Word Count: 1643 Summary: Sweetheart is the goddess of love, and has been searching for a suitor for decades. When Sweetheart remains wholly unimpressed with a certain group of sisters' attempts to make her one, they decide to punish her for her rudeness. AO3 LINK

Sweetheart was the goddess of love. She embodied everything about it; its passion, its unpredictability, its strength. With just the snap of her fingers, she could make people fall in love forever. However, as time passed and she became surrounded by happy couples, Sweetheart began to wonder why she wasn’t pursued by besotted admirers too. She was beautiful, elegant and graceful while holding an air of dominance and flirtatiousness. And yet, not a single suitor attempted to court her, and it wasn’t long before Sweetheart became obsessed with finding a partner.

She passed from partner to partner easily, bewitching the humans below her. Sweetheart had no preference gender-wise, but she did have standards, and it was tricky to find someone even close to her magnificence. She spent years down on Earth in disguise, fruitlessly endeavouring to find her perfect match. Using her magic, she could make anyone fall in love with her and whisk them away to a world of immortality in the heavens– only, not a single human proved worthy.

Sweetheart mourned her torturous lack of love day and night. After four years or so, she had acquired a great many followers, each completely, hopelessly smitten with her, but Sweetheart held no interest in them. While amusing, they were hardly true contenders for her affection, and she enjoyed toying around with their devotion. A large part of love was about power, and Sweetheart held a great deal of it. Perhaps this was misuse of her gifts. Perhaps Sweetheart didn’t care.

Then, she reached a revelation. Why should she have to date mortals when there were plenty other gods living just fine above her?

Eventually, she settled on the god of art, Rococo. He wore extravagant clothes befitting of a partner she chose, objectively attractive, always a pretty picture despite his lack of self-care. His eyes were a piercing shade of gold that reminded her of ambrosia, his hair long and soft, a lovely mint green that complimented Sweetheart’s rose-coloured own nicely. He should have been perfect, quickly growing infatuated to her to almost the point of obsession, which was exactly what Sweetheart wanted. To Sweetheart, love was everything, all-encompassing devotion and admiration. Rococo shouldn’t want anything else. And yet, he remained fixated on his godly duties, his passion for art dangerously rivalling his affection for her. Sweetheart grew dissatisfied with him, betrayed and angry. She had a half mind to leave him in Tartarus, but she refrained. Instead, she left him.

Sweetheart didn’t bother removing the adoration spell she’d placed on him. He deserved to suffer for taking her for granted. Love was give and take, push and pull. He couldn’t constantly neglect her then whine when she saw other suitors. They’d pushed each other a little too hard, and Sweetheart let Rococo take the fall. Hmph. She’d never loved him anyway, she told herself with a huff.

She spent a while more searching until she found him. Spaceboy, god of astronomy. He wore a colourful cape and an eye patch befitting of the grand warrior he was, roguishly handsome even as he kept a distinct air of innocence and politeness about him. His eyes sparkled like the stars whenever they caught hers, his hair like cotton candy, sweet and soft. She’d let him fall in love with her on his own, which hadn’t taken long; Spaceboy trailed after her like a lost puppy, desperate for even the smallest scraps of affection. It was adorable, and she delightedly exchanged pet names with him as they walked through her perfect rose gardens, the two of them content and fulfilled. Their love was sugary, practically cloying in its saccharine nature. Unfortunately, just as strongly as they loved, they felt everything else. They were both stubborn, and angry, and everything built up gradually until the tension between them snapped. He left her before she could leave him, and Sweetheart was furious about it.

Spaceboy should have been everything she wanted, but he just had to ruin it all. She needed someone more… Compliant to love her. Someone less fierce, less fiery; more gentle, more malleable. Someone she could meld into the perfect suitor, someone who would live up to her every expectation just right.

Such a goal seemed impossible. Then, she met Hero, god of healing. He spent his days in long yet practical robes, working on healing and repairing what was broken. His eyes were dark, wide and expressive, his hair purple and fluffy. For all his name suggested, Hero was no fighter. He was soft-spoken and cautious, worried about making a mixtape or upsetting her upon first encountering her radiance. He wouldn’t argue with her, he’d be considerate, treating her with the respect she’d rightfully earned by that point. Hero would be the perfect partner, able to heal the cracks that had been spreading across her heart.

Then, he rejected her. Him! Rejecting her! It was preposterous, but Sweetheart knew how arduous and messy forced devotion could be from Rococo, so withheld from bewitching him. She shouldn’t have. Despite her ensuing efforts to win him over, Hero was insistent, and always managed to just evade her.

Sweetheart was still alone, miserably aligning the fates so the boring mortals could meet their soulmates. Rococo was a failure. Spaceboy had left her. Hero didn’t want her. Was it really so much to ask for someone to love her?

She breathed in, and breathed out. This was fine. She could break the cycle. She just had to find the perfect suitor. Better than Hero!

Who was better than Hero? Sweetheart pondered it for a moment, mind whirring away before it clicked. Of course! How could she have been so blind?!

The only one possibly good enough for her… Was Sweetheart herself.

Proud of her realisation, she set off to meet with three powerful goddesses; sisters, some of the most ancient around. After Humphrey, the oldest; Abbi, the wisest; and the Big Yellow Cat, the favourite, they were the first to come into existence. Molly, then Marina, then Medusa. Collectively, they controlled Earth and its components, able to change almost anything about it with as little as a nod. Molly caused their advancements in knowledge and technology, while also cursing them with idleness and indolence. Marina caused birth and death, bringing each new creature into the world while also tearing them brutally away from it. Medusa was the order and control in the world, what kept its systems ticking while also allowing destructive chaos to exist to maintain balance.

They could create, each not only a goddess, but a scientist, hungry for knowledge and success. They would certainly be capable of making replicas of her, and Sweetheart headed to their abode with excitement rushing through her veins. Soon, that wasn’t the only thing coursing through her.

Perhaps she oughtn’t have been so demanding that they obey her. Perhaps she shouldn’t have turned up her nose so impolitely at every offered result. Perhaps she should have thought of a way to repay them for their efforts first. Perhaps it wasn’t a good idea to anger three goddesses significantly more powerful than herself. Perhaps Sweetheart. Didn’t. Care.

She’d had enough. She deserved someone to love, someone who would love her back. She needed it like she needed the ambrosia that kept her alive, feeding off of devotion like a starved leech. She revelled in others’ praise and adoration, graciously bestowing her own in return. Love was Sweetheart’s everything. She had nothing left to lose.

Still, she could hardly claim that being electrocuted was a pleasant feeling. Because they’d found a way to harness the power of a storm, and she’d been restrained just as her pitiful clones had, and Sweetheart was soon trapped in a blazing storm. Love was supposed to be electrifying, but not quite like this.

She felt another hoarse scream tear from her throat as the volts shot through her, every nerve set alight. She felt the electricity vibrate within her, her skin far too hot as tears ran uncontrollably down her face. Sweetheart was supposed to be beautiful, perfect, but as she caught a glimpse of her face in the reflective glass walls around her, Sweetheart had never felt uglier.

It was everywhere, the unnatural rain drenching her skin and clothes doing nothing to stop its spread. Every one of her limbs was locked in white-hot agony, she was alone, and had managed to annoy the sisters so much that they’d chosen to use her as an experiment. Her muscles wailed, every one tense and shaking, a thousand tiny needles pricking at her skin. It was awful, agonising. Sweetheart was unloved, alone.

It wasn’t fair, she thought, a mixture of enraged and devastated. Things shouldn’t have had to come to this. Maybe she should have just stayed with Rococo, for as unhappy as they both were, at least their hearts weren’t as shattered as they were now. She’d stolen Spaceboy’s in a useless attempt to replace her broken own, only to find it equally as mutilated once they parted ways. She’d wanted Hero to fix her, expecting him to oblige with that charming smile of his, only for his stupid little siblings to get in the way as he rejected her. Deep, measured breaths, she reminded herself. It was hard to do when the air was choked out of her with every new bolt, but she kept up the rhythm to ground herself.

Nobody would be surprised, Sweetheart knew. She was famous amongst gods for her temper and stubbornness, unafraid to act impolitely and state her opinion. She was always going to end up in a situation like this someday. But she was strong, she could handle this, she’d find someone else to offer the broken shards of her heart to once she left.

After all, the sisters couldn’t keep this up forever.

…Could they?

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