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    AFTER JUPITER LEFT Finnick's room the next morning, waving to Mags across the hall, she would not see him again until the televised interviews. As a child in the Academy, there had been entire courses devoted to interview prep and making a good first impression. Jupiter had absorbed the information like a sponge when she had been training, and ever since she had won, she felt she would never escape living as if she were in a constant interview.

    Still, the day off for interview prep felt nice. What usually would have been a very important day for mentors and their tributes turned into Brutus and Jupiter absentmindedly exchanging ideas over breakfast, before playfully sparring in the safety of their room. It wasn't very dissimilar to the day before her interview at sixteen, when Brutus had coached her and given her suggestions, before catching her off guard and checking her reflexes.

    "You won't be given warning in the arena," he had said. "A day off from training is a day wasted."

    He did the same routine to every tribute they had mentored together since, so that year Jupiter was ready and fought back, giving him a smug smirk. Aurelia only looked annoyed by the antics, as if she wasn't used to it after so many years as escort for the Games.

    "I'm not a kid anymore," Jupiter snorted, putting down the butter knife she had fought Brutus and his fork off with.

    "You don't say," Brutus mused. "I had you on the floor the first time."

    "Well, I thought we were doing interview prep and then you come at me over the breakfast table," Jupiter pointed out in exasperation. Brutus just laughed at the memory, but it felt like a knife twisting in Jupiter's abdomen. She couldn't stop thinking over her conversation with Finnick the night before.

    "I know you know what you're doing," Brutus said abruptly. "But I'd hold off on saying that Enobaria was supposed to volunteer. You have to make this seem planned– that fate chose you even if you were supposed to volunteer anyway."

    Jupiter expected the suggestion, so she only nodded.

    She spent the day off absentmindedly practising stances and movements, pretending to throw knives at the wall intermittently as she went. Lux came to visit at one point to get final measurements for the next day, as if she hadn't been Jupiter's stylist for years. Jupiter found that the visit made everything feel slightly more dire, as the day off faded into night, and before she knew it, she was waking up to her prep team practically knocking down her door.

    Her prep team seemed to know the responsibility they had with making Jupiter look presentable for the interviews that night. Sure, every Victor was known in the Capitol, but Jupiter was unusually active amongst the events and in interviews at said events. She was well-liked, and Lux's fashion had been recreated simply because she had worn it. That, in itself, was reassuring.

    Brutus had less of an audience– Jupiter suspected many people would vouch for and sponsor him winning simply because he had a violent reputation and looked intimidating.

    Once the prep team had finished with Jupiter, she saw the silver theme they were going for– small lines of it were drawn on her face, down her lip, jewels lined her eyes. It was quite regal, and restored her faith in her stylist.

    "There she is," Lux cooed as she arrived in Jupiter's room, carrying a prep bag.

    Jupiter grinned. "What have you got for me?"

    "A big send off," Lux said softly. Jupiter wished she would stop calling it that.

    Lux had chosen a dress in royal blue that haltered at her neck, tied and secured tightly by a large silver clip. The front hung loosely around Jupiter's chest, and cinched at the waist and around her legs. The 68th Victor was glad she wouldn't spend much time in it– it would be impossible to walk comfortably for long.

    Jupiter turned and looked in the mirror, the dress was backless all the way down to the base of her spine, showing off all the planets along her back. She blinked at the silver headpiece, not dissimilar to the golden one she had worn during her Victory Tour, that Lux was unpacking. She weaved it into Jupiter's hair, holding it back for the planets to stay visible. Swallowing thickly, Jupiter realised it was the perfect outfit for a big send off.

    "You really outdid yourself, Lux," Jupiter murmured.

    Lux was only watery-eyed, dabbing in a way to not smudge her own mascara as she looked at her work. Jupiter only sighed, breathing deeply as she looked at her reflection. District 2 would, as usual, be one of the first to be interviewed. Sometimes she was glad she was from 2, and not 1, for that reason alone.

    "You look dashing," Jupiter teased as she reconvened with Brutus in the main room. Her District Partner was in a rather simple suit, but patterns only visible in certain light shone in shades of blue.

    "So do you," he said.

    Lux was still fretting over Jupiter as they took the elevator, but departed when they headed to where the rest of the Victors were standing to the side of the stage. By default, Jupiter and Brutus placed themselves by Cashmere and Gloss, who were wearing complementary outfits in white and pale pink.

    They greeted the pair, and Jupiter tried to ignore that gnawing in her stomach where it felt like a knife had been sitting. Tomorrow, they would be sent into the arena. Tomorrow, she would be expected to kill everyone lining up before the stage. Tomorrow, she'd be expected to wish Finnick to death.

    Finnick.

    With a sharp inhale, she turned and looked over her shoulder to see Finnick and Mags standing together, but at her glance, he looked up. She left Brutus' side quietly, passed the District 3 tributes, and reached Finnick. She had half a mind to throw her arms around his neck, but worried for both their makeup and outfits, so instead tilted her chin up and formally kissed his cheek, Finnick leaning down for her to reach.

    "You look beautiful," Finnick told her.

    "Lux wanted to give me a big sendoff," Jupiter said, not masking her bitterness nearly as well as she should have. "You look lovely, too," she added, scanning his outfit.

    It seemed his stylist went with as much of Finnick's skin as they could show, the better. His pale shirt was unbuttoned many times again, a thick chain hanging between the collar, but in the lighting, she could almost see through the shirt anyway. He'd may as well be shirtless on that stage.

    Finnick gave her a small smile, the kind that wasn't false for the Capitol, and Mags looked between the pair fondly. The small room they were waiting in to the side went quiet, and Jupiter looked to see that District 12 had arrived, looking as if they were about to have the wedding they were denied.

    Jupiter's lips parted– Katniss looked stunning in the wedding dress. Peeta's suit and gloves looped with her arm only added to the ensemble.

    "I can't believe Cinna put you in that thing," Finnick spoke up amidst the quiet.

    "He didn't have any other choice," Katniss said defensively. "President Snow made him."

    Cashmere looked annoyed, throwing a piece of blonde hair over her shoulder. "Well, you look ridiculous!" she said.

    She grabbed her brother's hand and pulled him to the front of the line now that they were all present. Sighing, Jupiter gave Finnick one more longing look, before moving towards where Brutus was standing. The theme song began to play, and Caesar Flickerman's voice boomed throughout the room, and then they were walking onstage.

    The applause was deafening as they entered. The tributes sat to the side onstage, in order of their Districts, and so Jupiter had to walk further than the rest. Gloss and Cashmere lead the procession, arms looped together now as they blew kisses to the audience. Brutus seemed to have adopted a different style, staying stoic, jaw tight. Jupiter followed his lead, simply because she didn't know if she had the stomach to smile and wave for this thing a second time.

    As the applause died down, and the Victors had all taken their seats, Caesar began his show, and invited Cashmere up first, but at her insistence, she walked up with Gloss for a double interview. Jupiter wondered, bitterly, if that meant they got double the interview time, as they launched straight into it.

     Jupiter paid attention as best she could, but the lights burning down on them and the presence of such a large crowd was making it hard to focus. Gloss and Cashmere bounced off each other well, playing siblings excited to compete again, but sad to say goodbye to their "family'–the Capitol.

    With no intention of doing a double feature with Brutus, after three minutes the buzzer for the District 1 siblings went off, and Jupiter was beckoned to the stage. She straightened out the fabric of her dress, before strolling forward, as casually as she could manage, waving as she went, managing a close lipped smile. She wondered what she looked like in the cameras, light catching every bit of silver reflecting off of her.

    There was no seat for these interviews, and so Jupiter met Caesar in the middle, greeting him with a polite kiss on the cheek. "Welcome back, Jupiter! What a fun turnout this Quell has proven to be," Caesar said, both to her, and to the crowd. "Just last year you were here as a mentor, and now you will be a tribute once again. I'm sure there are some very excited sponsors in the audience tonight."

    Another round of cheers, which Jupiter laughed at. "Well, let me tell you a secret, Caesar," Jupiter cooed, holding out a hand, as if including everyone. The audience went very quiet, and Caesar held the microphone out to her. "When the Quell was announced, we in District 2 held a meeting to decide who volunteered. Tradition, you know?"

    "Oh, yes, yes, of course," Caesar said quickly, briefly moving the microphone back to him. "It's always wonderful to see people who want to be here."

    God, Jupiter fought to keep her face straight. "We chose people who would volunteer. And, well, I guess something wanted me to be here." She shrugged dramatically.

    "No!" Caesar said in shock. "You were supposed to volunteer from the start?"

    Jupiter pressed her lips together and nodded, looking out across the crowd for the desired response. Smarter people would bring up the footage of her Reaping, and how she had looked stunned and confused, but the Capitol was eating her up. They cheered, clapped and whistled.

    "Well, we here in the Capitol are so excited to see you again," Caesar told her, grinning. "Let me look at this dress– oh, yes, your stylist certainly knows you!" He gushed as Jupiter stepped back and swayed slightly.

    "She really does, very glad to have her," Jupiter said appreciatively, holding a ringed hand to her exposed chest. And then she twirled, back to the crowd for a moment. "I asked for this one especially to show my back tattoo," she told Caesar and the microphone.

    "Oh, yes, that is stunning," Caesar admired. "Is there any meaning to it?" he asked, as she turned back to face him and the crowd, holding her hands behind her back.

    "I'm so glad you asked," Jupiter said, leaning into the microphone comically. "It is common practice, Caesar, in the Capitol and its closest Districts, to name their children from Roman figures."

    Caesar nodded, making a face at the audience as if just realising his own name. There was some laughter.

    "My father– you remember him," Jupiter continued, pausing for Caesar to nod. "Saturnus– he was a god. And he had a child, named Jupiter. And Jupiter had a child called Mars." Caesar nodded again. "Are you noticing the pattern?" She asked the Capitol interviewer, as if she were smarter than him. "Planets, a cycle– Saturn creates Jupiter, and Jupiter creates Mars."

    "If I'm not mistaken, you had a brother named Mars?" Caesar asked curiously.

    "Oh, yes," Jupiter said, nodding. "He's older, but in the scheme of things, still was created after Jupiter. This tattoo reminds me of that. The cycle." Caesar nodded, some of the crowd making noises of understanding. "My father was a very strong man, and I just want to make him proud," Jupiter added, voice softer.

    "And, tell me, how does your brother feel about all this?" It was the question she had been waiting for.

    "Oh, no, my brother is just a peacekeeper– he's not home much," Jupiter said dismissively, shaking her head. "I assume he's proud of me. I see so much of dad in him."

    Caesar frowned sympathetically at her. "Well, I can only hope you make them both proud," he told her.

    Jupiter nodded, in a way that made her look like she might cry, lips pressed together. "I hope so, too," she got out.

    The buzzer for her three minutes went off, and Caesar thanked her for joining him and presented her to the crowd one final time. Jupiter grinned up to the cameras, earning an ever bigger applause when she turned to walk back to her seat, the planets running along her back sparkling in the overhead lighting.

    She hoped, somewhere, her brother was watching. He had lost– in their stupid game he had been playing with her since they were kids, the legacy of Marrow thrust upon them. She had expressed admiration for her father, despite the dishonour he'd seemingly brought their family, and sunk Mars into the ground with everything he hated to be acknowledged as. And, in doing so, she had played the part of a young girl seeking to make people proud– those sponsors were hers.

    "You did good, kid," Brutus said as they passed.

    Jupiter only nodded, suddenly feeling as if words now failed her, jaw clenched, as she retook her seat on stage, next to Gloss and Cashmere, who were still holding hands. Jupiter fought to keep her expression neutral despite the front she had just put on, and she didn't dare look anywhere other than forward.

    Brutus' interview was very standard, he was treating it as a normal Games, excited for the glory it would bring. People cheered him on for his gall, and Caesar did a good job at making every tribute seem desirable.

    But after the two Career Districts, Jupiter knew the energy had shifted. Beetee from District 3 outright questioned the legality of the games in his own twitchy way that made Johanna nickname him so harshly. Wiress said much along the same lines, and followed by the frail Mags, who struggled to form words through old age and a past stroke, it made the Victors look very vulnerable.

    Finnick's, however, was the star of the night so far. Jupiter didn't try to catch his gaze as he passed her on the line, but she watched the back of him as he went on stage, waving enthusiastically to the crowd, who cheered for him like no one else that night. He and Caesar went back and forth jovially, before the Capitolite went more serious.

    "Now, Finnick, I believe you have a message tonight?" Caesar asked. Finnick only nodded. "Yes. For someone special?" Caesar confirmed, holding out the microphone.

    Finnick nodded again. "Very special."

    Some of the crowd whistled, but for the most part, they were enthralled by Finnick and wanted to hear every word.

    "I hope you can forgive me for being here," he began. "I had a long life for us still planned ahead, but it seems it was not meant to be." The crowd was almost losing it trying to keep themselves together. "And if I die in that arena, I need to know you know," he sighed deeply. "To me, you will always be the brightest star."

    The crowd was practically screaming, Capitol admirers claiming it was them, practically everyone falling over themselves at the thought of having the message dedicated to them.

    But to the side of the stage, sitting amongst the line of people set to go into that arena tomorrow, Jupiter knew Finnick could only be talking to one person, and it twisted the knife in her abdomen more.

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i hated writing the interviews which is why i kept them short-ish but it has some important aspects of jupiter's character in it and like yeah this was very on the nose about the namesakes and the planets, but it is a direct way of jupiter making peace with her father's suicide and "winning" against her brother, because she has everything he wants in that moment, and has directly called him a coward who only exists because of her, and there is nothing he can do anymore because she is beyond his control. it's jupiter's own moment of reclaiming that, and making peace right before she goes into the arena

oh and also finnick love confession, fuck yeah that'll come up next chapter (the way i am dragging out pre-quell as much as possible)

see you in the next one! vote comment whatever pleases you! mwah <33