#no besithia is not the donor

[a-world-in-grey]

@raven-6-10

So the thing is. The only Fleurets with magic are the women. It's not a matter of them only training the girls, the boys just straight up don't have magic.

Mind you, the men are still as much 'blood of the Oracle' as their mothers and sisters, and it's not uncommon for their daughters or granddaughters to pop with magic, though it's not exactly common either. Tenebrae keeps as close an eye on their royal bloodline as the Lucis Caelums do, for similar reasons. I hc that only the Oracle/Oracle's Heir get Oracle training, but non-Oracle women of the family still have the magic.

On top of that, Besithia can't full on clone any of his Oracle samples - the chances of someone recognizing the dna 'donor' is too high. That's a political nightmare better avoided. So Besithia is splicing the Oracle dna with his own dna in this au, and cloning the resulting combinations.

There's two ways I can go about this, if I choose to make Prompto a Fleuret.

First, I can keep Prompto male. He won't have magic, but his daughters could potentially have magic, which is a very long way down the road panic attack if no one figures out that he's a Fleuret before that point and tells him. Prompto's still getting photobombed of course, and Pryna will still check up on him, but there's a chance Gentiana never says anything to the Nox Fleurets or to Prompto, because a secret branch of the Oracle Line offers extra security, especially after Niflheim attacking Fenestala Manor.

There's always the possibility of Sylva or Luna recognizing Fleuret traits in Prompto if they ever meet in Insomnia (because I still have no idea where my plot is going in the long run so it's a possibility), which has fun political fallout to deal with, depending on whose dna was used as Prompto's Oracle 'parent' - Sylva's parent, Sylva herself, or Ravus. (Ravus would be hysterical because Prompto would technically be Ravus' child, all of eight years younger than Ravus himself. Especially if Besithia used the X chromosome from Ravus in an effort to get the Oracle magic, therefore making Ravus technically Prompto's maternal genetic donor.)

Second option is I make Prompto a girl. In which case Prompto gets one hell of a surprise when she's in primary school. Her parents are probably partially if not chronically absent at this point, so the only person Prompto has to hide her magic from is her babysitter (which she definitely has because otherwise hello CPS) which likely isn't all that difficult.

Only, Prompto doesn't know she's adopted. Her parents were chosen because they were retired Lucian operatives that regularly operated in Niflheim, due to being able to pass themselves off as Niflheimr, so her mother is blonde while her father has light brown hair, both with pale complexions, light eyes, and somewhat aristocratic features that allowed them to blend into Niflheim's middle to upper middle classes.

Aristocratic features present amongst much of the nobility - Niflheimr and Lucian alike.

Prompto doesn't think she's an Oracle child. She thinks she's a Lucis Caelum.

After all, she's got magic. She's got bright blue eyes - where her parents have grey and green - and a bit of digging on the internet pops up a couple pictures of Queen Vita with a delicate scattering of freckles across her face and shoulders, just like Prompto, and not like Prompto's parents.

Which is really awkward, because the late Queen Aulea would've been barely pregnant with Prince Noctis when King Regis supposedly knocked up her mother, given the two months between Prompto and Noctis' birthdays.

Prompto doesn't say a word of any of this to her parents. She knows her parents used to work for the Crown, if not in what capacity, but she knows they don't anymore. But since they're raising Prompto and not the King, Prompto figures either the King didn't want her, or the King doesn't know. And Prompto has no idea what would happen if she came forward.

Sure, her parents are gone more often than not, but she still loves them! They're her parents. She doesn't want to get them in trouble or lose them.

Prompto resolves to make sure no one ever finds out about her magic, and to stay far away from the King.

A resolve that crumbles in the time it takes for Prompto to meet Noctis for the first time at school and decide to befriend her lonely half-brother.

What is Besithia doing in Spark!Ardyn au? Considering his pet projects got thoroughly torched by an annoyed Astral, along with his lab.

Besithia doesn’t strike me as the type to let an Astral throwing a hissy fit get in the way of his goals. Well, not for long, anyways.

Haven’t played through Episode Ardyn yet and it’s been awhile since I watched a walkthrough, but iirc Besithia books it either when the Royal Guard shows up to have a go at killing Ardyn, or when Ifrit wakes up pissed as fuck. Either way, Besithia is too busy running to avoid getting flambéd to see that Ardyn did not get immolated with the rest of the lab.

So with his lab turned to ash and charred and melted scrap - and assuming Ardyn’s ashes are in there as well - Besithia is back to not square one, but like, square two with his daemon experiments. Only now there’s the issue of Ifrit being awake, and that Astral isn’t known for being fond of humans.

And Besithia doubts he’s on the Astral’s Winter Solstice card list.

First Besithia has to fess up to the Emperor about his colossal fuck up - lost an expensive lab, lost the experiments he’d invested so much money in, and there’s now a pissed off Astral on the loose - and hope Iedolas doesn’t decide to cut his losses where Besithia is concerned. Besithia is in luck. Iedolas isn’t pleased with Besithia, but the Emperor gives Besithia a chance to mitigate his mistake by coming up with a way to counter an Astral.

So begin Besithia’s experiments into countering divine magic. With the added difficulty of finding a source of divine magic to test his results on.

Niflheim can already clone food, surely humans can’t be that much more difficult? Ardyn’s genetic samples all burned up in his lab, so Besithia starts with his own dna to perfect the process.

Once he gets that - the successful subjects are placed under observation to monitor development even as they are placed in various homes - Besithia moves on to acquiring a suitable genetic sample from either the line of the Oracles or Lucis Caelums.

Depending how long it takes Besithia to reach this stage, his options are Sylva’s Fleuret parent, Sylva herself, baby Ravus, Mors, or Regis. At which point Besithia starts trying to clone subjects in the hope of them inheriting magic so he can test countering divine magic on them. Instead of having to test it on a fully aware Oracle or a trial by fire on an angry Astral.

Only, it turns out magic doesn’t really play well with cloning attempts so Besithia’s gonna be at this for awhile.

[secret-engima]

alyss-spazz-penedo

If. If she's Iggy's MOM, does that mean him and Prompto are raised as siblings/cousins? Megara brings Iggy along when she has to Braincell "Uncle Verstael" bc she's not leaving a baby alone at home and unfortunately Science(TM) waits for nothing, least of all common sense. On Prompto's side, Glaucus was NOT prepared when Besithia whipped up a baby for him and has only a passing idea how to parent, so those first few months especially were full of panicked back-and-forth

alyss-spazz-penedo

with the only baby-worthy member or his Retinue, and chibi!Ignis was a great help in babysitting lil Prompto. Later, when Prompto comes to visit Science Dad, he and Ignis also get to hang out and stuff.

alyss-spazz-penedo

....wait, if she's the mom, who's the DAD? Bc for Ignis to take his mother's name, presumably the father isn't in the picture or they never got married. Or is also... named... Scientia? (If the dad is LITERALLY ANY MEMBER OF GLAUCUS' RETINUE, I might die of laughter. Or secondhand embarrassment.)

Me: .... well considering I really like the idea of her being Iggy’s mom let’s roll with this hypothesis. XDD.

... Yes, yes they WOULD. Actually Megara does not have bby Iggy when she is unceremoniously recruited, since Iggy is only two years older than Noct and she’s recruited at some point before Regis’s canonical road trip. But she DOES have bby Iggy eventually and two year old Iggy is thrilled to watch over tiny bby Prompto with his Mama while Glaucus has a Crisis in the corner. Glaucus is so, SO grateful for Megara’s presence in his life after Prompto happens because on one hand YAY PROMPTO LIVES on the other I HAVE A BABY WHAT DO I DO WITH IT. Megara, who has lived with these clowns for years by this point, doesn’t even bat an eye at the fact that Besithia MADE A BABY and that Glaucus has insta adopted him and is just like “this is your feeding schedule this is your optimal sleep schedule this is how you change a diaper thi-” While Ardyn coos in the background because he adores kids with every fiber of his blackened soul.

Also this means Ignis is also a tiny Mad Science bby, because Obviously Ignis, as a little prodigy that he is, is going to take an interest in anything that interests his bby cousin Prompto and science is a challenge to him. He’s not as much of a science nerd as Prompto, especially not after he’s introduced to bby Noctis and his brain kicks fully over into Mom Mode but he definitely knows enough to get by and chime in when Prompto goes on a tangent.

I have yet to decide who the dad is. If the dad is not a one-night stand, then the dad either takes his wife’s name (because mafia boss wife trumps patriarchy) or-

And hear me out.

Besithia is the dad.

NOT IN THE WAY YOU THINK.

But like- think of the glorious chaos, of Glaucus’s MELTDOWN if, while he’s off somewhere doing his saving the world business and it’s just Megara and Besithia and suddenly Besithia’s lab time is interrupted with Scientia coming in and going, “I want a baby.”

And Besithia very, very slowly sets down his lab tools and ....

Stares at her.

In a quiet befuddled sort of way that indicates he thinks he misheard her but cannot for the life of him come up with an alternate version of what she might have really said.

And she crosses her arms and repeats, “I want. A baby. Of my own.”

Besithia squints, because they’ve known each other for years at this point and he KNOWS she knows Glaucus’s rules on the Cloning Of Human Beings and that she is also not interested in any of the group sexually because they’re basically all her pet idiots, “...I’m fairly certain there are websites for that,” Besithia says slowly.

And the queen of the underworld rolls her eyes, “I do not want to spend the next two or three years dating a male who may or may not work out as a husband, not with the complications of my ‘job’. Nor do I feel like risking a one-night stand or fling, especially not with the people who know of my work.”

Besithia continues to squint, but there is an idea sparking in his eyes, a glimmer of understanding for what she wants, “I can’t clone babies. It’s against the Rules.”

“No, but I am a perfectly functional woman and there are known, legal medical procedures for this. I’m just coming to you rather than a hospital because I don’t want news to get out to the underworld. I’d rather they run themselves in circles trying to figure out who the father is. It will keep them busy.”

Besithia fully turns around in his swivel chair and props his chin on his hands, “If Glaucus finds out about this, you’re taking the blame.”

“Agreed.”

“And I’m going to need time to get the equipment and an adequate male sample.”

“Understood.”

Besithia nods slowly, an manic look blooming that would have disturbed her years ago but now is just normal to her mind, “Any preferences on the donor’s appearance?”

“I like green eyes.”

“Noted.”

And so she wanders off and Besithia gets equipment and bribes someone at a proper hospital for the things he needs and by the time Glaucus checks in from wherever he’s been, Megara is in like- her second trimester and the underworld is losing its mind trying to figure out who the dad is (because if the dad is Glaucus then they are all screwed and they know it). And Glaucus stiffens, mentally checks his calendar, then slowly relaxes because ah yes, Ignis. Then a moment later he’s confused, because who’s the father?

And Megara looks perfectly calm and blasé as she answers, “I don’t know, ask Besithia, he’s the one who picked out the sample. Though it was my idea so don’t be too upset with him.”

And far away in another part of the city Besithia gets a chill up his spine and swears he can already hear Glaucus screeching his name.

That doesn’t stop him from accidentally creating bby Prompto 2 years later but hey.

[charlottedabookworm]

*snicker* Sudden mental image of Aris - your Aldercapt!OC - as an /extremely/ unimpressed, unintentional Chosen of Ifrit.

cue aris attempting to completely ignore this fact (as he does with most other things up-to-and-including his sperm donor, his illegal papers, the fact that he’s a guide, whatever the fuck was up with izunia, besithia in general...)

except ifrit turns out ot be the equivalent of that annoying person you talked to once because of a group project who keeps texting you even though you blocked them and changed your number

aris is unimpressed

[angelkitty54]

Things that Make and Break Us

Wow, I actually got something else written for this AU. And within a few days of the last one to boot! I’m a roll here!

Anywho... Here’s some of more of Accursed!Noctis feels, inspired by that one scene from Episode Ardyn.

(Previous Post)

.....

“You must loath those Lucians for what they did to you.”

“No.” The word slipped out before Noctis could really register it, but he barely had to stop and think about before realising it was the truth.

He didn’t hate Somnus for his treachery.

He didn’t hate Aera for turning her back on him.

And he certainly didn’t hate the people for his imprisonment.

He loved them -  his homeland, his people, his adorable, arrogant, bull-headed, little shit of a brother, and beautiful, stubborn, selfish Aera. He loved them all far too much for that.

Oh, he was definitely angry though, furious even. For all his love for them, he truly didn’t think he had it in him to forgive them.

Not for this.

He’ll never forgive them for this.

But hate? No, he couldn’t do that. He was far too tired to waste energy stoking the fires of hate. And what would come of it if he had anyway? They were all long dead after all.

Verstael faltered, spluttering and staring at him in a rare display of confusion. “No?” He echoed incredulously.

Noctis couldn’t help but feel a little bit proud of himself for having wiped that smug look from man’s face. He picked up his wine glass and hummed considerably. “Hmm, no.”

It’s good wine. He takes another generous sip and eyes Verstael over the rim of his glass. The man’s face twists and contorts through a serious of expressions before a sneer wins out, settling unkindly across his lips. It’s a familiar expression, and Noctis is not in any particular mood to, once again, be called naive and presented with a long speech on all the reasons why.

He considers reminding Verstael that he is Lucian. Or of their conversation mere moments ago, where the man had detailed all the ways the Starscourge - still boiling and hissing beneath his skin - had transformed him into something that can no longer be considered human.

But then, the argument would likely be lost on him. Verstael Besithia, he has come to learn, is a madman of the highest caliber.

So instead he swirls his wine, and cuts in before the man can finish summoning his words, “You don’t have any siblings, do you?”

Verstael, stops. Frowns. “...No, I do not.” He returns slowly. Suspicious yet laced with curiosity.

Noctis smiles. He did not think so. Ever since they met, Verstael has brought to mind the men that would strut upon the shores of Lucis, calling themselves Kings/Lords/Conquerors, and thought that gave them the right to take that which does not belong to them.

He quite imagines everything Verstael owns had once belonged to someone else. If he had a sibling, well, then he’d have had to have learned to share at some point. A lesson clearly lost on the man.

He took another sip and waved him off, “You would not understand, even if I explained it to you.” And he wouldn’t, Noctis knew. He couldn’t understand even if he tried.

He couldn’t understand what it was like to have little spitfire of a brother; a mouthy little brat, so, so desperate for acknowledgement. He had no idea what it meant to be the big brother who stood still and watched that arrogant, pitiful little brother grow and twist into the ambitious cold-hearted man he became.

Nor could he understand the feelings of that cowardly disappointment of a brother, who’s fear kept him rooted to the spot, daring to be more than what he was and failing all the more for it. Truly, if he’d just stepped aside and let Somnus take the lead... Even if it meant that Aera... that she- that she might not... love him anymore...

He should have just left. Like Stella had. She had warned him too, told him to leave behind this game of Gods and Kings before it swallowed him whole. But his cowardly heart wouldn’t let him leave. For all that Aera and raged and cursed her sister, crying and calling her a coward, Noctis understand the courage it took to leave like she had.

Stella was the bravest of them all.

And Noctis could cry, and curse, and rage, but the past could not be undone. He had stayed and now he was here, more monster than man, everyone he knows and loves long gone, left in the company of a raving lunatic and his machinations.

As expected, Verstael’s frown deepen, displeasure rolling off him in waves. Noctis is not in any particular mood to, once again, fend off a tantrum. So he picks a new subject. “What is this food?”

Verstael snorts, still thoroughly displeased, but accepting the subject change all the same as he snatched up his own glass, “Meat, cloned in this facility.”

“Cloned.” Noctis tastes the word slowly on his tongue.

“We cultivated somatic cells, used them as donors to fuse the nucleus transplant cells to the recipient oocytes, and then we...” Verstael never looks more pleased than when he’s in the middle of one of his mad ravings.

Noctis sits in silence, watching his companion gesticulate wildly and wisely does not point out how most of those words sound made up, or that their meaning is lost on him. He sits, letting the other’s words fly over his head, and holds his near empty wine glass in one hand, the other tightly clutching the ridiculously ornate armrest of his chair.

He sits in a chair that feels like it’s the only real thing left in the world. He tries not to be reduced to a trembling mess, or to break down and cry, or let himself get sucked down into the abyss of his thoughts. He tries not to wish this was all just a terrible nightmare that he’ll wake up from eventually.

He tries not to think of much he just wants to go home.

He definitely doesn’t think of how he no longer has a home to go back to...

[seladorie]

decerterus replied to your post: @decerterus you mean like who the sperm donor is?

would cor let him know it pod-rigins? DOES COR KNOW? :T hmm

nah i think lucis and cor are the types who would be like “we can’t let him know for his own goooooooood” so prompto grows up fairly normally until he starts to realize that hey, not everyone has government required check in with specialist doctors who do blood tests every time (thank you @she5los for that suggestion)

prompto’s a smart bean, he’d figure it out. and it also depends on when he’s rescued. i personally tend to age him up for his rescue because i think it’s more interesting if he can REMEMBER some of the horror of where he comes from

BUT if he’s rescued as a baby, the doctor’s visits and--maybe Cor checks in on him regularly? as like his parents’ “friend” who comes over for dinner sometimes--become way more ominous on their own and besithia claiming him as a son would be way more of a shock for all involved

[secret-engima]

Besithia using himself as the donor, he wanted to make sure she had the best. HE'S obviously the best because Glaucus was all set to kill him when he was a nobody. So. Then he realizes that he LIKES having a kid, How Dare. But he doesn't want to impose, it would be rude to ask a stranger instead, There Was Drinking. He woke up the next day with a raging hangover, and a beautiful zygote in an artificial womb with recordings of his entire group crooning to it. Who'd he get maternal DNA from? Ummmm

Oh definitely. Besithia may be reformed now, but he still has an Ego™. Of COURSE he’s the best option for a donor, behind Glaucus anyway, but Megara probably doesn’t want to deal with LC magic from her child so that option was out.

THISTHISTHISTHISTHIS *screeches softly*. This is so ADORABLE.

Besithia never knew he had any kind of maternal instinct but now he DOES and he WANTS ONE and he’s so HAPPY LOOK-LOOK-LOOK TINY TEST TUBE BBY HAS GROWN LIMBS HE’S SO CUTE.

Glaucus is just- quietly banging his head against a wall in exasperation.

Megara is so very Suspicious. Because if she’s the mom and nobody told her, she is going to be Most Upset. But it turns out she isn’t. And Besithia can’t remember where he got the sample he used for maternal DNA.

But from the incredibly smug look on Ifrit’s face and the way Shiva keeps popping in to coo at the bby Prompto he has the oddest feeling that Queen Sylva has one more bio-kid then she thinks she does.

He tries very hard to ignore that feeling.

He Doesn’t Want To Know™.