meekmedea

[meekmedea]

one day I'll write that unhinged blurb featuring Nero and Endymion

[meekmedea]

sharing the should-have-been one oc that spawned into something else haha

Dione Dovecote

If her name looks familiar, it's because we've briefly seen Dione in causa latet, vis est notissima. Her hospitalization kicks off the events in the fic

previous facts:

Heir to House Dovecote, she is the younger sister to Maria-Anna

Born sickly, her family was told that it was unlikely that she'd live to adulthood

Adopts Carina (Hector wonders in the fic whether Dovecotes having a fragile heart come from her or not)

new facts!

A quiet spoken woman who lived to her 50s

Prior to her elder half-sister's death, was going to name her sister heir

Seduced her best friend - ie. on the day of Calliope's wedding day, it was very scandalous when the bride didn't show up to the altar. Rumours alleged that she sent Calliope's would-have-been groom a note that said 'finders keepers' and that was how they found out that Calliope was missing.

Her wife wrote a good number of poems about her - mostly about their love. And upon Dione's death, her wife wrote a great number of poems about the grief of losing her. These poems were later published by a descendant of theirs.

Carina Dovecote

previous known fact: adopted by Dione

new facts!

Adopted at a young age and made the heir of House Dovecote. (Considered a controversial move because while adoption did exist among the elite, very rarely were they made heir.)

Engaged three times. Married once. 

Her first fiancé broke it off, citing they couldn't give her the love she deserved and went to join the peacekeepers. Her second one had a mistress somewhere and it ended when he was victim of a car crash. The third one had a nervous breakdown and was committed to a ward. (Psst...don't look at the timeline too closely. Especially the first two times where she was engaged while her best friend happened to be single.)

Marriage to Caligula, a man whose family then held a monopoly on lace production in Eight

A very passionate marriage by all accounts.

Had 4 children. Her first child and her youngest were adopted. Although people tend to cast doubt on whether her first child was adopted or her biological child.

Lived well into their 70s. Outlived her husband by a day.

Caligula - her spouse and his misadventures in marriage prior to marrying Carina:

Divorced his first wife after 32 days. (He was 20 at this time)

His would have been second spouse 'fell down the stairs'

Second spouse - divorced after half a year of marriage, on grounds of adultery. Later found dead in a lake.

Accounts of how Carina and Caligula got together vary, but people will agree that they ran off to the districts. 10 months later, they returned with a baby. 

Rumours say that she seduced him into abandoning the woman his family was pushing him to propose to. Their close friends will tell you that he has always been a little too obsessed with Carina. (In the years of their marriage, he was remarked to have said "I desire to cut you open to see what it is about you that has me so enthralled.")

At the time, the appearance of the baby caused lots of scandal as they were unmarried. If the child was theirs biologically, then the baby would have been conceived after his divorce with his second spouse but before her engagement to her third fiancé had been broken.

They later had a small wedding in the Capitol.

[meekmedea]

Sure max crashes out over clemmie having hector's eyes - THOSE ARE HECTOR'S EYES!

But it's even funnier to imagine Cleo's brother crashing out because -

I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING, BOY! YOU'RE SEDUCING HER -- Alexander Herz to Reaper

Going to tie the 'dovecote' dumpling to this au. So Alexander has seen Hector learn the recipe and make them for Cleopatra. Sure, he approved back then. But look at how that turned out! His little sister fell head over heels over the then aspiring doctor, eventually going to 11 and staying to start a family!!

Seeing Clemmie dressed in Cleo's old clothes is not helping. No, it does not matter (to him) that they're making lemon curd. Or that Reaper is the Capitol citizen and Clemmie is from 11.

[meekmedea]

volumnia c. gaul & the hellespont twins, throughout the years.

credits to: @fairyhagmother, for the creation of the juvenes and to @thatthingilovewith, for the design of the juvenes' badge. (seen on the 9th picture from left to right)

[meekmedea]

Me: Even if I won't write a fic about them (yet), what's the harm? It's just one oc.

Also me: SO.....change of plans.

[meekmedea]

what if I started making this oc a menace..

[meekmedea]

⭐️

director's cut

fic: that's what love will do to you

Previously, I joked that had Hector been a woman, Max would have married him and had bunch of children together. So in this one, I really wanted to explore the relationship between Hector and Max if that were the case, where Hector (Arete in this fic) was a woman. And if it could have changed Hector's fate (he typically dies in his mid 30s)

The answer (spoilers haha)

is no. well, he gets a few more years in this AU. But it doesn't change anything. The rebellion will still follow, the games too.

Max is a bit selfish in the way he loves. In their relationship, Arete is often the one who compromises. One example is with her job. She takes on a position that she wouldn't have because this one 'reflects' better on him as his First Lady.

This is probably why I find it difficult to write Max and Hector (Arete) as a couple. Because unlike with Cleopatra, Max tries to ignore the District side of Hector's heritage. So regardless if it is Hector or Arete, I don't think a relationship between them would last.

[meekmedea]

omg look at that !!!! another thing ill never finish !!!!

stillll love the concept so *maybe*...

[meekmedea]

160-180: Movement and Control

The period 160-180 saw the expansion of Panem’s existing transit system and the development of tourism and leisure outside of the Capitol. This new-found freedom of movement appealed to a broad range of citizens, but particularly to the newly prosperous middle-class.

Resorts were constructed under government supervision in various Districts, leading to the internal displacement of District populations, increasingly demanding productivity quotas, and additional stress on local infrastructure.

In this period, political and economic stability in the Capitol can be contrasted with more overt forms of control in the Districts. Violence appears to have been “displaced” from the metropole, occurring “elsewhere”, in the satellite territories under Capitol control.

1. Travel Authorization Documents issued to Veturia Aedesia Gaul and Dr. Horace Gaul (recovered from the personal archive of Dr. Volumnia Gaul) [identification photos lost]

2. Train Ticket

3. Postcard

4. Business Card for Hotel Calypso, District Four.

5. Menu of Hotel Calypso, District Four.

Please see below for enlarged versions of some of the items on display

[meekmedea]

Blurb with Hector and Volumnia

Max is there too, I guess.

~~~~

All eyes are on them when Hector pulls up at the curb of the nightclub. Perhaps it is the bike, or perhaps, it is the passenger that sits behind him. 

Volumnia is quite sure it is the latter. Although she wouldn’t deny that the acceleration on that bike was impressive - even if she was no expert on them.

`

“It was alright?” he asks, taking the spare helmet back from her. It is impressive how he could ignore the blatant staring sent his way by many, especially from Maximinius. 

Smugness grew as she saw the irritation on the Ravinstill heir’s face. “It was adequate.”  Was he jealous that Hector had driven her here? Knowing the man, it was more than likely that that was the case. 

Hector threw his head back and laughed, knowing it is the closest to a glowing compliment in her books. “A relief that I won’t have to arrange for a taxi to take you home as compensation.”

Had she been another, Volumnia might have gawked at the straightforward way that he says it. That he’s even considered an alternative way for her to get home had she despised his driving. 

`

Assumptions are what made humans what they were. But they were also short-cuts. Laziness. 

Loathe as she was to admit it, she would admit that she wasn’t free from such. But whereas Maximinius’ assumptions often irked her, Hector’s often kept her on her toes. One day, she vows, she will figure out the puzzle that the Dovecote heir was. 

[meekmedea]

WIP Wednesday

tagged by @ongreenergrasses

been working on the next chapter of and then I met you lately, so here's a blurb that may or may not end up in the upcoming chapter!

context: a conversation between Reaper and his grandmother, Oenone.

"Love?" cried Grandmother. "What do you know of love? You are 18. Nothing good comes out of it. It will not keep you alive. Nor keep a roof above your head." "But what of Minos. Do you not love him?" A bitter laugh escaped her. "Love? What a silly word. Do you know how many times he has asked me to marry him since I returned to the city? 48 times. And each time I have turned him down." "So why do you stay then" Why stay with the man for decades? "Why do you think?" She shakes her head when he cannot guess the answer. "You are still young, Reaper. Forget that girl, she is more trouble than its worth"

Tagging @ylvisruinedmylife, @thatthingilovewith and @tumblingghosts anyone who wants to participate :)

[meekmedea]

Just wanted to say Ive been following you for a while and I love your characterization of clemensia! Your fics are so cool and creative, I really liked her in the book but reading your fics made me have a new appreciation of her!

As im writing her in my fic now I keep thinking im glad other people think shes a neat character too!

Hi! Awww that’s really sweet of you! Glad you like my characterization

Thank you 🥰💜

Haha we could always do with more Clemmie appreciators on here!

[meekmedea]

It could!

Alternatively I could pick option C and give none of them a happy ending 😊 (this is a joke. I think. We’ll see what happens when start writing it)

Originally Androcles was supposed to die in the livia murder au, with Livia being Clemmie's love interest. But the more I think about it, the more I picture Livia and Androcles fates being swapped now

HELP 😭

Does Androcles (in this AU specifically) deserve a happy ending?

Androcles always deserves a happy ending it just isn't with Clemensia most of the time so I think he dies because he can't accept what his happy ending is.

Livia deserves a happy ending to, also probably not with clemensia

Polyarmoury would solve this.....

[meekmedea]

⭐ on any fic?

Director's Cut

Fics: everything I know about love (is because of you)

As much as I like to joke that Hector attracts a type (tall, dark, musical and maybe a little bit murderous), when writing this fic, I also really wanted to touch briefly on why Cleopatra was the better choice for Hector.

“Oh,” he breathes out, touched by the gesture. There in her box was a ring woven out of grass. This was a tradition from 11… Had she made it just for this? For him?   “Is it alright? I know that–” He sweeps her into a kiss before she can continue to fret whether or not it was perfect. “It’s beyond perfect,” he assures her once they pull apart. “Marry me?”

Here Hector has been nervous, waiting for the perfect moment to pop the question. At the same time, Cleopatra is equally nervous and it turns out they've both brought a ring to propose to one another. And instead of picking out some fancy ring for him, she chooses something meaningful and important to him.

Hector's beyond ecstatic. The significance isn't lost to him, nor the fact that she'd taken the time to learn and do this for him. A tradition from Eleven. It's sort of an acceptance/acknowledgment from Cleo about the importance of his district heritage to him.

[meekmedea]

I don't know if you've answered this before, but im curious: what made you like Clemensia in the first place? What drew you to her and what made you stay :0?

Oh I actually haven't had this one before, so thanks gaulnon!

Hmm that's a fun one to think about. Think I first learned about tbosas after seeing the movie trailer. Then proceeded to read the book a week before seeing the movie. And honestly not really sure how to explain it how I attached to the book version of her.

I think it might have been the way Coriolanus gives us little tidbits about her and his thoughts about her. And might be paraphrasing, but will forever wonder what he meant by she was counted among the best (THE best what, Coryo???) and how she stops being mentioned in his peacekeeping era. The combination of all that probably got to me.

There's a lot of potential with imagining what might happen between Clemensia and Coriolanus had things gone differently, or how they might interact pre vs post canon. While I started with that, the more I wrote the more I grew interested in exploring her character. And now here we are haha

[meekmedea]

⭐️ on Etude no.8

Director’s cut

Fic: étude no. 8

Ooh I think I’ve got to talk about the music in this one.

One of them is Clemensia's alias in the fic - Aria Paloma. So her alias is a reference to her name and the lore that I've crafted up for her and her family. Aria comes from a musical term, and a little nod to the headcanon of her playing piano. Paloma is a fun reference to her mother's side of the family of jewellers as I took inspiration from Paloma Picasso, a jewelry designer. I've also seen that the word means either dove or pigeon in Spanish, so I guess that's nod to her surname 'dovecote'.

Another is the piano where Clemensia offers to teach Bobbin, mentioning that there are concertos and nocturnes written for one hand. This is true! There are classical pieces written specifically for the left hand. Notable composers who've written pieces for one hand include Ravel and Prokofiev. I believe there are pieces that while written originally for both hands, have been adapted/arranged to be played by one hand.

[meekmedea]

⭐️?

director's cut

fic: dis aliter visum

one of my favourite parts from the last chapter is regarding the red rose that Snow gives Clemensia during their last meeting.

Snow says it reminds him of her. And when she leaves the greenhouse to meet with Reaper, she doesn't notice the thorns have pricked her until Reaper points it out and insists on staunching the bleeding.

Her relationship with the two are sort of referenced with that mini exchange. Where Coriolanus has brought her hurt, while Reaper has been the one looking out for her.

`

There's also this bit of dialogue that comes a little later with the rose.

They’re almost to the meeting room when Clemensia realizes that she was missing something. “I forgot the rose.” She turned, but couldn’t recall where she might have left it. “Maybe we left it by the fountain,” suggests Reaper. “Do you want to go back to look for it? We have time.” It’s on the tip of her tongue to agree, but in the end she shakes her head. “No, it’s alright. We’ve come too far. Let’s just go in.”

Because yes, it can be just read as written. At the same time, I imagined it as a reference to Snow himself. By this time point, her friendship with Snow has deteriorated - they've come too far from where they once were.