.
iv. appetency
✦ ✧ ✦
a strong desire or passion for something
senna hirohito
forty-seven / / first lady of panem
—
Arisa gets so busy around Games Time.
Normally Senna doesn't have an issue with this — it's a part of the whole "being President" thing. But because of the Quell, there's been two instances of "the week before the Games" this year. How's a dainty woman like herself meant to get her kisses and cuddles in these trying times?
She paces around the Pantheon's marble greeting hall with her hands folded behind her back, the click-clack of her heels bouncing off the walls. At her side, Vangelis is chuckling, perhaps too maniacally.
"Senna," they call out. "You're making a fool out of yourself."
"I'm well aware."
She tries not to come here often, knows it's a bad thing to distract her beloved when she's doing "big and important business," but sometimes she simply can't help herself. Arisa is just so damn hot when she wears her little suits, sits behind her giant desk, and makes decisions that'll alter the lives of over a million people.
"Yet you're bothering Arisa at work anyway because..?" Hysterical of Vangelis to say when they insisted on accompanying Senna here.
"I miss her. Is that really a crime?"
That, and Senna also knows that in the next six months she's going to have even less time with her wife. Being ghosted by a woman for almost a decade really screws with one's mind. Even if Senna knows she can trust Arisa, she's spent eighteen years proving exactly that, there's this gnawing feeling in her chest that someday everything will change.
How ridiculous! Someone needs to drag her out of these trenches. She supposes that's what Vangelis' purpose is though.
"Unfortunately, you can't get arrested and sent to Twelve for being gay." They loudly yawn, stretching their hands over their head. "Otherwise we wouldn't have anybody to run this country."
"You think you're any better than me?" Suddenly, it clicks in Senna's head. "You decided to join me on this outing because you want to see your crush."
Vangelis' face turns red and they laugh nervously. "I never said I wasn't a hypocrite."
At least Senna's love interest is actually attracted to her. Seriously, she has no idea what her child sees in Zenith Stavarakis of all people. Maybe being attracted to only the most emotionally available people in the world is something that runs in the family.
As if on cue, the secretary walks into the hall with his hands perfectly rested at his sides. The expression on his face is so confident and stern, Senna momentarily forgets he's not even five feet tall. His height is probably why he's just so weird to be honest.
"Hello Zenny!" Vangelis coyly waves at him, a display that makes Senna want to gouge her own eyes out. "It's so crazy that you and I are both in the Pantheon today. What are the odds?"
"My name is Secretary Stavarakis to you," he deadpans. "I am here because this is where I work. I am currently working, and cannot socialize."
"When are you done working?" They coo. "We can socialize then!"
He flat out ignores them and turns to Senna. "How can I help you today."
"Socialize with Arisa and I's child." She snickers, flashing Zenith a sinister smile. "It would be a great example of being Secretary of Defense, a position I know lots about. After all, Vangelis dearest is also a secretary in this fine country."
"No he — I mean they — aren't."
"Sure am!" Vangelis beams.
"I don't believe you. What are you the secretary of?."
"I'm the Assistant Social Secretary and Head of Light Entertainment." Their eyes scan the room until they land on the Panemian flag hanging over one of the doors. They then puff out their chest and salute.
"I'd think you know better than to question the people in charge of you." Senna winks. "Now make yourself useful and tell Arisa she has visitors."
"You don't get to boss me around," Zenith stammers.
"Yes, I kind of do. Fetch me my wife."
He doesn't move a damn muscle. Senna isn't really hot on Arisa using her executive powers to execute whoever she so desires, but this guy is slowly making her change her mind.
"I only answer to the President," he finally says.
"Do you value your life?"
"Yes, despite the horrors."
"Well there will be a lot more horrors if you don't—" Arisa walks into the room, clearly confused. She looks stunning, even though she's wearing a plain tan suit."Hi darling~!"
"I thought I heard your voice." The corners of her lips lift up into a smile. "I was just thinking about how much I miss the two of you."
Zenith quickly straightens his posture and salutes Arisa. "Good day, Madame President."
"Hey RiRi," Vangelis whistles.
"However, this isn't necessarily the venue I was expecting to see you in."
"What?" Senna laughs. "I just missed you and wanted to see you."
Arisa rolls her eyes. "You see me all the time. Vangelis, why is she really here?"
"She wants tea about the Quell. Obviously."
Right. Yes. Let's go with that. Of course the butterflies in her stomach this morning weren't because she was yearning for her beloved or something like that. She should've known she just wanted drama. That's all she wants, right? Obviously Arisa loves her and isn't going anywhere so she doesn't have anything to worry about. Does she? Ugh, feelings are confusing, okay?
"It'd hardly be appropriate for me to discuss that here, my love," Arisa says. "Tonight though, I suppose I can spare you a detail or two."
"Really?" Senna bats her eyelashes. "You would do that for me?"
Zenith stomps. "You would spread highly sensitive and confidential information for her?"
"Well it wouldn't just be for her. I assume she'll also tell Vangelis."
—
Aside from Arisa's arms, behind her computer is where Senna feels safest. Her study is relatively small compared to other rooms in the manor, no patterned ceilings or anything else of that sort, but she chooses to say it's "cozy."
She might not be allowed to write for the White Rose Tribune anymore since being First Lady makes her a "biased reporter," but she still gets her fix of putting words on paper in other ways.
"President Hinahira licks her lips. 'Step into my office, Sera.'" She smiles as she looks at the words for her upcoming novel, The President & I. Her previous book in this series, Me & The President, was a bestseller, almost breaking the internet. Fans loved how similar "President Hinahira" was to Arisa, and said they really felt like they were falling in love with her.
Of course, they had no idea that the person writing the book fell in love with her first.
It's funny really, when official and important people ask Senna what she thinks about the book "turning her into a caricature", but they have no idea they're talking to the author herself. Also, she very much was not a caricature in her book, thank you very much. Sera is a deeply nuanced character!
Literature aside, the computer also is where Senna gets to watch people speculate. Everybody thinks they know what's happening with the higher-ups in the Pantheon, but none of them have a damn clue. Take this grape on Grapevine for example:
clitty (14 days till the reaping!) • {a}clittytores
istg if i see one more grape on my tl shipping karystos and ulesi, i'll kms. not everything has to be yaoi ffs. it's giving abusive n e waze.
How does Clitty not see tension between the two of them in every damn interview they do together? Ulesi hardly has to say anything and all of the sudden, Karystos is blushing like a fool. Even if Senna didn't know the two of them were living together and raising a dog ( thanks Arisa!), she'd know something is up with them.
Of course, there's also the grapes about her and Arisa. If anyone ever has anything mean to say, Senna is quick to report them. Social media isn't a privilege everyone should have, after all. Like, if the people in the Districts had Grapevine, they'd be making absolute buffoons out of themselves.
"They also shouldn't be able to see this," Senna hums to herself as she gets out her phone and points it toward her from above her head. She pushes her cleavage together with her other hand and takes a selfie. "Oh. This is perfect."
She opens the Grapevine app, uploads her image, and works on a caption.
Senna Trevelyan Hirohito • {a}sennahirohito [verified]
Just another day as {a}arisahirohito's wife :heart:
And then she smiles and presses grape.
Not even two minutes pass before the door swings open and she sees Arisa enter with a flustered expression.
"What's wrong?" Senna coos. "Don't tell me you're not feeling well."
"I saw your grape," she rushes out.
"Nice to know. I worked very hard to ensure it's fine wine. Do you have any comments or constructive feedback?"
Arisa's face turns red. "I love you."
"I know, silly. That's why you married me."
The President crouches down, grabs her face and pulls herself in for a searing kiss — exactly what Senna wanted. She closes her eyes and melts into her. It's like they're idiot teenagers again. This happens every time.
Arisa pulls away and pats Senna on the head. "Now you go finish writing whatever it is you're writing, and I'll see you when you're done."
"Yes ma'am."
Oh right — Arisa doesn't know that Senna is the genius behind The President & I. Honestly, she meant to tell her when she first started writing, but it slipped her mind and now she's far too embarrassed to come clean. It's her little secret now. Not even Vangelis knows.
One day, if Arisa does find out, Senna can only hope that she sees it as a romantic gesture. That's all she's ever wanted in life, to appease the woman who was once a cantankerous Peacekeeper cadet with a stick up her ass and a chip on her shoulder.
(But does that even matter if she'd pick her country over Senna every damn time?)
karystos vane
thirty / / head gamemaker
—
Of course Ulesi doesn't like the panda.
Karystos thought it was a genius idea — Panemo the Panemian Panda walking around the Pre-Games Metropolis and engaging with the Tributes. Not only is Panemo just about the cutest mascot anybody ever did see, it gives a job to the asshole that's been bothering them for the past few months.
Gingerly, Karystos removes the head piece from the costume to reveal Vangelis underneath. "Well, how was it?" he asks.
"You know, I almost died in there," comes their snarky response. "My lungs nearly deflated because I was so out of breath."
"You hear that, Karystos," Ulesi calls from behind the two of them. "They almost died."
"I heard them!"
"Like seriously," Vangelis continues, trying to use their fluffy hands to fix their frizzy hair. "Little to no air in my lungs. Blood in my brain. Crying, seizing, convulsing. On the floor vomiting."
Ulesi shouts, "You were not on the floor."
"Metaphorically, yes I was." They cross their arms. "You know, if you really want me to get involved, I'm sure you can find a spare chair in your office for me."
"Nice try." Ulesi starts unzipping the suit. "Karystos, we're throwing this thing out."
"No we're not!" Karystos runs over to him and swats his hand away. "We just need to improve it. That's all."
"We do not need a giant panda in our Quell."
"Yes we do!"
Almost fully unzipped, Vangelis steps out of the costume. "What's the point of it even?"
"I have told you this an innumerable amount of times!" Karystos puts their head in his hands. "The panda is not just for the Quell. Panemo is forever. This country has existed for a century and there's never been a mascot. How is our country supposed to be united without a mascot?"
Ulesi chuckles. "Lots of people said that the mockingjay was our mascot…"
"The mockingjay is not a mascot! The mockingjay represents war, violence, terror, horror, all of the above. The panda represents peace, laughter, camaraderie, smiles." Karystos mimes each of those out.
"The panda represents a four-legged mammal that's now on two legs for some fucking reason."
"How do you not know anything about panda symbolism and what it means to me?" They scoff, then loudly sigh. "Ulesi Mahamatra, you are a panda symbolism denier!"
"Is this how you always talk?" Meanwhile, there's a menacing smile Vangelis can't seem to wipe off their face. "It's kind of hot."
"Please be quiet," Ulesi says. His face is almost entirely red and Karystos swears he sees his veins popping out of his skull. That's actually ridiculous — fuck do they hate that guy.
"You guys were the loud ones," Vangelis points out. "Just think about how distracting this must be for the construction workers."
Right. Them. Despite how tirelessly Ulesi and Karystos have been working these past few months, there's still so much left to do. To be fair though, Karystos did push heavily on the idea of building a little city for the tributes to be enclosed in for six months. Just being in the training center would've been so boring, and they can't actually go out mingling in the Capitol.
So now they'll spend their time in the City of Simulacra which has everything they need. A hotel, shops, concert halls and sports courts, night clubs, everything under the sun. Not only that, it's within walking distance from the main road in the Capitol, so sponsors will be able to visit the Tributes if they so desire. The whole city has cameras and microphones in every corner, so nobody will be able to miss even one second of what will be the greatest show this country has ever seen!
(Growing up, Karystos never thought he'd be able to create a place like this. Even though his mother always encouraged him to stretch out his wings and fly to the tallest towers they could ever imagine, they never would have dreamed of soaring to the Head Gamemaker's chair.
For years, Karystos has dreamed of eccentric buildings and colorful animatronics like these. He used to tell everybody that he wanted to design his own city, a place where he's in control and misfortune cannot touch him. For once, they're getting what they want.)
"Vangelis, why don't you go talk to Lyn?" Karystos says, referring to Lynore Guini, the Games' Master of Ceremonies. "Maybe they'll have a role for you, since it seems Ulesi and I don't."
"I thought I was going in the panda costume?" Their brows furrow.
"You said the costume was dangerous. I'm just talking your word." He then points to Ulesi. "And you said you don't want a panda!"
The other Head Gamemaker stops to think for a second, then tip-toes toward Karystos. He pulls back some of their hair and whispers in their ear, his lips so close to their skin that it makes them tremble. "I'm fine with having a panda as long as Vangelis isn't involved."
"Finally! A reasonable opinion!" Karystos pumps his fist in the air. They then notice that Vangelis is staring at him quite awkwardly. "Please, Vangie. Go talk to Lyn."
"You hate me." They roll their eyes. "You'll regret not letting me be a part of your team." Melodramatically, they stroll away from the two Head Gamemakers and put out their middle finger.
"Yes," Ulesi mutters. "I'm sure we'll regret it."
As soon as Vangelis is out of earshot, Karystos turns to Ulesi and shrieks. "How are we going to do the panda? Wait… don't tell me you want to be in the costume?"
"For ninety years, Gamemakers like you and I have been working tirelessly to create artificial lifeforms, whether that be silly birds or vampires," he starts to speak, his foot tapping on the ground. "Don't you think it is well within our expertise to create a bipedal, speaking panda?"
"Wait. You're so right." And now Karystos wants to bang his head against one of the walls. In fact, the only reason he isn't doing that is because he designed these walls and he'd hate to get blood on them. Of course Panem's mascot can just be a mutt. That way it'll actually look realistic and nobody's going to have to suffer in a costume for days on end. They and Ulesi have made so many talking mutts, this won't even be slightly difficult.
"I do have a tendency to be correct most of the time," Ulesi says. "That's kind of my role in our operation."
"Fuck off," Karystos grunts. "You argued with my idea incessantly. Not just today, but every day since I came up with Panemo."
"Today it was just because Vangelis was involved and you know I can't stand them."
"Okay, well I can't stand them either."
"Then how come you're always hanging out with them?" Is that a twinge of jealousy that Karystos hears in Ulesi's voice? Hilarious. "Just three days ago I wanted to indulge in a game of cards with you but lo and behold, you were going to a bar with them."
"Holy shit." They laugh to themself, leaning against a concrete pillar in case they fall. "That's what this is. You're envious of Vangelis, aren't you?"
"What do I have to envy?" Ulesi squints. "There's nothing about that kid that I want for myself."
"Except for the fact that they hang out with me."
"Excuse me?"
"You're jealous because you just want to see me all of the time, don't you? Admit it — you miss me, don't you?"
"I don't miss you at all. My home has been much quieter ever since you left."
A part of Karystos' heart stings. Living with Ulesi and being dependent on him wasn't the most ideal thing in the world, but it was nice having somebody around besides Chester. They hate that they wish Ulesi felt the same.
As Karystos' confident grin starts to fade, Ulesi rushes close to him. "Wait — do you think I didn't like having you around?"
"You did just imply that, yes."
"Of course I didn't mind your company," he exclaims. "If you were genuinely bothering me, I would've kicked you out."
"But you didn't."
"I didn't."
For once, the two of them are quiet. All that can be heard is jackhammering on one of the buildings in the distance and the rise and fall of their chests pressed side by side. Something inside Karystos' stomach squirms. "Did it at all remind you of back at school?"
Back before their egos got the better of them and they were actually capable of conversations without yelling. Back when their disagreements were less important. Back when Karystos knew beyond a fraction of a doubt that if there was anybody in the world who cared about him, it was Ulesi.
"It did, yes," he admits. "I really didn't mind your presence. I enjoyed it, even."
"You really have a way with words, don't you?" Karystos chuckles.
"You were always the better orator of the two of us. That's why you presented our group projects and I sat by the computer flicking through the slides."
"You were very good at that."
"I tried my best."
Sometimes, Karystos catches himself missing those simple days. Even if he's living out his wildest dreams, there was something nice about the repetition of school life. They didn't have to worry the way they do now, and fucks sake do they worry.
He plans every Games like it's his last, hoping and praying that they can outdo themself year after year. Even if they only got this position because Erevan messed up, Karystos will do everything in his power to show he was meant to be here.
(They'll never tell Ulesi this, but when they were appointed Head Gamemaker, they asked Arisa if they could share the job with him. They needed somebody who would keep them sane.)
"What are you doing later?" Karystos asks.
Ulesi sighs. "What do you think I'm doing?"
"Going home, watching a movie, reading a book, and going to sleep."
"Basically, yeah."
"Do you want to do something else?"
"Not really, but I'd love some company while I go about my routine. If you happen to know somebody with free time, that is."
Karystos smiles. "I have somebody in mind."
Ig this chapter was for the yearners out there? Not me though. I'd never yearn.
Anyway – this was the penultimate prologue which means when you hear from me next, there will be a cast list beside me. There will also be a foray into Arisa Hirohito's twisted mind. Great times.
Again, subs close September 15th and like…. give me your kids. I know a lot of you have said you were interested so the sooner the better, please and thank you. I have a bit written for Prologue 5 but the blog is still very much a WIP because I'm looking into swapping around districts or kids so umm the sooner I am given kids, the closer to September 15 the reveal will be.
Thank you Erik for beta-ing as always and I hope you have a good labor day if you're American and a good normal Monday if you're not. RIP Brat Summer and hello Melancholy Fall.
Linds. Laugh. Love.