#oc: ludius dovecote

[meekmedea]

for the holidays, and because of majority vote - a Hector and Max 'happy' AU.

Shoutout to Lily @persephoneprice, as I hadn't tried to give them a happy AU until you brought it up

~~~~~

Really sorry to does who love Cleopatra, but in this AU she's dead. So it's just Hector and Endymion (who's like 3-4). Hector does cut down on his trips to 11, because of the risks. He's still funding things in the background. As much as he'd like to treat people there, he doesn't want to run the risk of his son catching anything. And while there's nannies that he could hire, he isn't keen on this idea.

For the first few years, nobody suggests the topic of remarriage to him. Ludius is a scary guy, even if he's 60+. Plus it's obvious Hector is grieving. It's only after his father dies that it starts getting brought up. Hector's still fairly young, and - oh, it'd be terrible for Endymion to lose out on having a second parent around.

Hector is pretty annoyed at this. Like his father had been in a similar situation, he did fine! So why can't I?

There's still some Dovecotes hanging around (cadet branches), and like in our usual universes, they get a bit bold with only Endymion and Hector being left from the main line.

Some possible attempts on Endymion's life might be made.

But one things leads to another, and Hector considers a political marriage. Only to keep his son safe. He vows to not have any more kids though, so to not risk the other child usurping Endymion's position as heir.

`

Except Hector's plan isn't really to get married, it's just to keep people at bay. In a way, it mimics Penelope's challenge to her suitors in the Odyssey.

The challenge: He'll consider marrying whoever can outshoot his father's record, using his father's firearm.

This was definitely said on the impulse.

Slight thing - Ludius' gun was custom, and the bullets are as well. And Hector never said anything about providing the bullets.

Also, they've only got 1 shot at this. No retries.

Hector 'Trust me, it'll work' Dovecote and Maximinius 'This is an awful idea' Ravinstill

Max is 100% paying off people who can shoot fairly well to NOT participate. Or like sabotaging them in the background. Also most people tend to be a little unnerved when the President stares daggers into you. (What can he say, he's just a supportive bestie, making sure nobody is cheating.)

I like to think someone complains that this is a farce and it's impossible. Max jumps to Hector's defence: Don't be ridiculous, you're just peeved that you're unable to accomplish this. See?

He then proceeds to take the shot, it lands. (Don't ask why he had a custom bullet ready for this. Just don't.)

`

They both proceed to have a mini crisis in private.

Hector: You weren't supposed to take the shot!!!

Max: Well they were accusing you of being a liar!!!

Neither man is very composed. And against all odds, it ends with Hector agreeing to marry him. If you thought Max was all suave and sly proposing marriage, you are absolutely wrong. This man was panicking. (ie. errr... tax benefits? please help get my mother off my back about marrying someone?) Hector being "Ok. If I had to be in a marriage of convenience, at least it's with my best friend."

A conversation that probably happened afterwards:

Volumnia: I've never seen someone fail so badly, yet somehow succeed.

Max: The important thing here is that he said 'yes'.

~~~~

The Ravinstill's reactions:

Max's mother, Asteria, has surprisingly less complaints about this than Max initially imagined. Then again this could be due to her odd friendship with Ludius (Hector's father).

Max's brother, Caesar to Hector - "Wow, you're like the brother I never had." / Max: ...

Max's nieces/nephews: they now have to differentiate between Hector and Max. Drusilla says it's 'Uncle President' and 'Uncle Hector'. As the eldest of Max's nieces/nephews, her word becomes law.

Now whenever they see Max, it's: Uncle President!!

this is getting long, probably a part 2 to follow...

[meekmedea]

What was Hector's opinion on District 8?

Hmm... not enough greenery. He has very little drawings of District 8 in comparison to say, District 11.

To him, it's the place where:

Ludius allegedly killed a man.

Where Max did his military training.

For the most part he's fairly neutral, I think. He's passed by and stayed there as well, but no strong feelings about the place.

[meekmedea]

re: write fair folk!!

Sure!!

Warning: Angst ahead 😈 ~~~~~

“You fool! That’s just a story. Not reality. You think shedding some blood will bring him back?”

Cheek stinging, Ludius stared back, defiant. Yes. So then I’ll have at least one parent that loves me. He watched as the blood dripped from his mother’s ring to the carpet. 

`

“Bring him to his room.”

One way or another, he’d find a way to sneak out. 

“And lock his door. I won’t have my son sneaking out to a graveyard.”

What? Before he could shout, the servants were already dragging him away. 

`

“No! Let me go!”

But no matter how Ludius shouts, kicks or cries, a seven year old is no match against any adult and he’s dragged and locked away into his bedroom. 

“Mother, please!” He pounds on the door, jiggles the handle, but the heavy oak doesn’t give. 

`

It was nearly midnight. 

“I’ll do anything, just let me see him!"

`

Ten minutes left. 

“Mama! Please!”

`

But no amount of threats or pleas will soften his mother’s stone heart. 

And when the clock strikes 12, Ludius lets out a wail. Eight days have passed, and no amount of blood spilled at his father’s grave will ever bring him back.  

[meekmedea]

Considering the direction the games has gone in the AU, now I'm debating whether to do something similar as the art of falling (for you) where the tributes get sent to spend a week or two in the Capitol vs sending the mentors to the Districts.

Both have their pros...

Except chaos in the Capitol with the troublesome trio + Reaper would be pretty funny. Dill probably gets roped in, through association with Felix. Maybe the same with Sol.

IF it takes place in the Capitol....

Maybe a mentor complains about the unfairness of Clemensia and Sejanus already knowing the partner they're assigned to

Clemensia was ready to channel her inner Hector and throw hands. But she just about managed to control herself.

If you ask her classmates about this though, she had a murderous expression on her face. But this is only getting admitted on the threat of torture. Because they aren't a snitch or anything.

Reaper and Marcus don't really get along, to the chagrin of Clemensia and Sejanus. Like come on guys... please? 🥺

Don't worry Reaper and Marcus bond once they meet Coriolanus and realize that the blond is friends with both Clemensia and Sejanus.

Reaper 🤝 Marcus questioning their friend's sanity (because why did they befriend that blond?)

Also an exchange that came to mind while typing this

Felix: It's not fair you get assigned to Reaper, you already know him! And that defeats the purpose of the whole assignment. Iphigenia, sick of watching a totally not jealous Felix: Careful, you almost sound like you're jealous. ` Reaper, who thinks this whole thing is super funny: You're just jealous that she's madly in love with me and not you. Right, Clemmie? Clemensia, without missing a beat: Yep. In fact, now that you've caught us, I guess we'll come clean. After this summer, I'm planning to run away to 11 to be with him. ` Felix: Felix, after watching his friends leave him standing there: Wait, that was a joke, right? Right??? Clemmie?? Nia??? Reaper?? Come back, guys! `

Max, who was unfortunately within earshot during all this: *choking on his coffee* and having intense flashbacks to the rumours back in his day.

Back then, Clemmie's great-grandparents did essentially just that. Ludius Dovecote fell in love and followed Anise to 11, where they eventually married and had Hector.

~~~~

More AU thoughts/rambles can be found here :)

[tumblingghosts]

ah, the dovecote traits: murder and charm ✨

House Dovecote - Capitol Crypt Edition pt.2

second part to the lore from this post about Hector's parents. Haha thanks @maidstew for the push

(Guys, I'm in disbelief too... I thought I could be free from creating more lore, yet here we are...)

Ludius Dovecote

Somehow, he's the only character I've been able to give a middle name to? (New HC spawned - he thought it made him sound so pretentious, he didn't give Hector one, and Hector just sort of continued this tradition with Endymion, then Endymion with Clemensia...)

Anyway his full name is: Ludius Marcellus Dovecote

His middle name means 'young warrior' and is likely associated with Mars, the Roman god of war. Hector's temper definitely comes from him. May or may not have duelled someone for his wife's honour once. Or twice. Or more?

A bit of a recluse to high society. Will take spending hours in his art studio over dealing with the 'prats' of high society. (makes Hector take over any high-society appearances the moment he could)

Has probably dipped his paintbrush in coffee and drank paint water at one point. His then-fiancée teased him for days after that.

Leaning into the Dovecote crime origins/rumours - yeah, not really a rumour, if it's the truth. You want high-quality forgeries? Doesn't matter if it's of documents, artworks, the lot - he's the guy you go to for things like this.

There's probably some art piece in a museum that displays Ludius' work, rather than the original artist.

Anise Dovecote

maiden name - unknown. Supposed Capitol origins, or at least, this depends on who you ask. Born in District 11.

Studied in the Capitol for her med degree before returning to the Districts to treat the people there. Travelled from district to district with her husband, and later son.

Was the muse to a good number of Ludius' paintings - in his paintings of a Venus, a Madonna etc. If you look close enough, she's the model.

Mother to Hector and passed when he was 7/8.

Given Dovecotes and their tendency to attract someone murderous or become the murderous one (ie. Cleopatra, Endymion...) I'd say she was the murderous one in the duo.

Yes, she is a doctor and there's the Hippocratic oath. But in Anise's eyes, this oath only applies to humans, and not scum on earth.

Scary thing is nobody suspects it, her 'charm' (that all Dovecotes descended from her inherit in addition to the already existing Dovecote charm) is pretty effective at casting away any suspicion. Besides, anyone who does dare accuse her of any crime is probably going to have to face off Ludius - he's a very good shot.

Oops, made them both a little murderous...

~~~~

Collection of all Dovecote family thoughts

[meekmedea]

General Capitol Lore - likely with sporadic updates

Just trying to make things a bit more neat navigation-wise for myself and anyone interested. (P.S. some links are repeated from the Dovecote collection.)

Family Trees:

House Ravinstill, House Cardew, House Swann, House Dovecote + Beauchamp

House Snow

House Herz (an OC family) family tree

Vickers - Lysistrata's family tree

Reaper's family tree

Generation Capitol Crypt (ie. those belonging in the same generation as the mentors' great-grandparents):

Romulus + Levana Herz

Anise & Ludius Dovecote, Asteria Ravinstill

Thoughts on the weird besties: Ludius + Asteria

Generation Geriatric Ward in their prime (ie. those belonging to the same generation as the mentors' grandparents)

Gloriam Snow

Maximinius Ravinstill

The Cannibal Doctor & The Part-Time Arsonist

The other Murders sisters

Those in the TBOSAS generation

Arete Snow (if she had survived the Dark Days)

Possible Fashion Ideas :)

Geriatric Ward party outfits for the ladies

post TBOSAS (the mentors' university years): glass handbags, themed party outfits,

General Thoughts on hairstyles, outfits, accessories [ 1 ], [ 2 ],

Different wedding dress styles over the decades

[meekmedea]

Time Travelling Clemmie idea

Premise: Following book!Clemmie's turn of events, except she dies sometime in the hospital from the snake venom. When she wakes up again, she's gone back in time. To a time where she did not exist.

~~~~

The face that stares back in the mirror is not hers. 

It is her eyes, her nose, but that is not her mouth. 

Nor does it change the fact that the face staring back at her is one that belongs to a young man. 

`

One that looked highly identical to her father’s.

Yet it was not him. 

What have they done to her? 

`

The door opens. 

Out of the corner of her eye, she catches a glimpse of a white lab coat. 

Clemensia screams.

~~~~~~

In all their years of friendship, Maximinius doesn’t think he’s ever seen Hector look so frightened before. But when Hector crashes into him, knocking them both down to the floor of the hospital hallway, the fear in his eyes is undeniable. 

What had happened? Who’d hurt him?

`

“Hector?” 

But it’s no different to talking to a wall because there’s no recognition in his eyes as he scrambles to his feet, before darting off. 

“Hector!” 

`

Without a second thought, Maximinius scrambled to his feet, intent on following. 

Who had dared to hurt his Hector?

~~~~~

It’s all wrong. 

Nothing looks right. From the clothes people wore to the signs in the hospital. 

Where in Panem’s name was the exit? Because fates forbid she was dragged back into a lab or whatever operating table where they planned to put her on. 

`

Clemensia wanted to cry in fear when she noticed someone following after her. 

It was that man she’d barrelled into earlier. She’d apologized, hadn’t she? Why was he following her? 

`

Somehow Lady Fortune must be smiling down at her because she manages to slip into an elevator before the doors close, leaving the man unable to follow. 

“The lobby please,” she managed to stammer out to the stunned couple inside. 

`

She will find her parents. 

They will believe her, even if her face is no longer the one she was born with. 

They have to. 

`

Dad, where are you? 

I’m scared. 

~~~~~~

Clemensia doesn’t care that people give her odd glances. Or the fact that she’s barefoot as she darted out the elevator, intent on leaving this building behind. 

But nothing is as it seems. 

`

The cars are different. 

And…and…

Where was she?

`

A voice from behind sounds oddly familiar for some reason, prompting her to turn around. Despite that, she couldn’t recognize the older man that stood there, even if he and her current face shared some similarities. 

Clemensia couldn’t speak. And even if she did, she didn’t know where to start. 

Who was he? 

`

The voice in her head whispers ‘Father’, and although she couldn’t recognize this man, she had little left to lose when she saw a doctor rush out.

So she ran towards the man. 

For some strange reason, she thought she could trust him. 

~~~~~~

The last time Ludius had seen Hector so distraught, it’d been after Anise’s death. While he and his wife had both succumbed to the same illness, only he had survived. 

“Father,” weeps Hector into his hold. “Father, please. They’ll kill me.” 

“Who?” His anger bubbled, threatening to spill out. Already his fingers ached for the firearm to protect his son. Who dares threaten you?

“Don’t let them take me away from you. Please,” he begs, his grip tightening on his jacket. “I’ll be good. I  promise.”

`

Hector had said the same words over a decade ago. When Ludius had been on his sick bed, the fever had just broken and he’d woken up to his then young son’s pleas to wake up. That he’d be good and never complain about anything ever again if he’d just open his eyes. 

“I know.” His hand came up to rest on his trembling son’s back. “I won’t let them hurt you. I promise.”

[meekmedea]

Ludius?

Sure!

Ludius Dovecote HCs:

With Asteria and his friendship, she's usually the bossy one while he's more of a go with the flow kind of guy. He honestly didn't care if she chased off his admirers with sharp words (he wasn't interested in them anyways).

A rocky relationship with his mother. After Anise's death, Ludius returned to the Capitol partly because some of Anise's family pointed out that it was a good opportunity for Hector, in terms of education + his future.

His relationship with his mother was even further strained when told that he should consider re-marriage, this time, to a proper Capitol lady, so Hector would have a 'good' role model.

Personlity-wise: While Hector definitely has Ludius' short temper, in comparison to Ludius, Hector is a ball of sunshine and a lot more extroverted.

Ludius wasn't one for giving out nicknames, but he made an exception with Anise. During their university years, began to affectionately refer to her as his 'star'. (Asteria might have nearly lost it, because she never got a nickname and they'd been friends for years by that point).