Panem: the Capitol and its Districts
The Capitol - 'if color and waste were a society of people'
I HC that the Capitol (Salt Lake City) is where the most famous people from what was left of the US post WW2 settled to both explain their extra-lavish bullshit, their trans-atlantic accents, and to explain why it was already on such 'solid ground' during Panem's reformation as compared to some Districts.
District One - 'so close, yet so far'
This is where luxury goods are made, not had. This District on the surface is incredibly loyal to the Capitol but there's a deep underbelly of self-loathing, jealousy, and betrayal brewing underneath their apparently eagerness to be the perfect lap dogs. After all, a golden cage is still a cage.
District Two - 'if One is the lapdog, we're the guard dogs'
On the surface, Two is the place where any and all stone, gems, and metals are mined and processed. Beneath that facade, they supply the bulk of Panem's brute force in the form of both elite training schools for Peacekeepers to police the Districts and the impressive Champions (Careers) who win the Games often enough to fill their Victors' Village and then some. Incredibly loyal to the Capitol, they are the last District to be persuaded into open Rebellion.
District Three - 'the brains behind it all'
In every sense of the word, District Three is hard-wired for thinking. Adept with both physical and media computing, they pioneer and perfect every aspect of Panem's technologies, not that the Capitol will give them all the credit. On top of this, Three is the backbone behind the Second Rebellion, coordinating and executing the still revered plan to break the third Quarter Quell arena to save the Victors thrown back into their harrowing Games.
District Four - 'the sea offers a sense of freedom Panem can't'
Where most Districts are one large settlement with a few camps spread across its wilds to pursue their industry, Four lies in a special space of occupying most of the west coast of Panem. Because of this, many sub-cultures and traditions form. What they all have in common is a love for the water and a yearning to be as free as the waves let them feel. Some notable traditions are sea-shell wind-chimes (not as auditory as they seem but peaceful nonetheless), piercings to make events and accomplishments in a life well-lived, and a refusal to let the Capitol take their weakest children to slaughter, leading to their own formation of Career training camps.
District Five - 'power, at what cost?'
Largely underground because a cover of smog in the populated settlements and an expanse of solar panels everywhere else, Five has a rich artistic culture and love of life despite the Capitol's best efforts to subdue them. As of the First Rebellion, they took over as the source of Panem's nuclear power (though it was marketed by the Capitol as the first time experimenting w/ the power source, not the second, as it wanted to largely erase Thirteen from memory).
District Six - 'of course they poison us, we know too much'
The Capitol will never admit to it but there is a sense of unease when the notion of housing all mechanics for every sort of vehicle, including machines of war, in one District. To alleviate this, an outbreak of morphling addiction has gone untreated for almost thirty years, crippling the best minds in Six if the physical toll doesn't accomplush it first. Despite its best efforts, though, the Capitol could not Quell Six' innate creativity, or maybe it was the drugs making it far harder to ignore.
District Seven - 'small but mighty'
Though it takes over the most of Panem by land size, Seven is one of the smaller Districts by population. Because of this, they are carted around the wilds of the District, much like Four, to do their industry: lumber. With a rich mixed culture of Irish and native influences (credit to 'but the light never touched her' for that idea), Seven is an impressively small-knit community despite being so vastly separated for most of the year.
District Eight - 'the fabric of a revolution'
The first District to revolt openly against the tyrannical Capitol, Eight will forever be known as the backbone of the Revolution. In daily life, this is a people of family values above all else. Because of an excess of 'reject' fabrics and a dense population once heralding from long-forgotten middle-eastern countries like Turkey, Persia, Azerbaijan, and the like, Eight has perfected a means of making rugs from scraps. With its hyper-urban environment, their tributes tend to be at a disadvantage in the Games arena but, back home, there is a large population able to produce and distribute clay pottery from deposits long left forgotten beyond the legal borders of Eight. And, finally, as a safety precaution, most workers in their textile factories are avid braiders as it's one of the only ways to prevent scalping when using those large machinery.
District Nine - 'we're okay being forgotten, maybe it's safest'
Nine is known for one thing and one thing only: grain. What its population lacks in formal education, however, they make up for in culture, fun-loving, and an appreciation for life. Pre-Panem, this area was settled largely (but not entirely) by refugee Italian families from large cities like Chicago, New York, Philly, and wherever else the govt at the time deemed a target for nuclear strikes. Because of this, despite an overwhelming loss of Italian culture, there is one thing they can still appreciate: pasta. Though Nine often only receives refuse and Tesserae grain, they still make incredible dishes and have even perfected the reuse of grain stalks in weaving. Lastly, they are also the last District with a still-thriving Covey population so musical is similarly vital in their daily life despite most of the populous being unable to read sheet music, let alone most written word.
District Ten - 'the animals are treated better than us'
Sat in the southernmost regions of Panem (formerly Texas and what is left of Mexico), Ten holds onto the most of the cultures before Panem existed with a rich vaquero tradition despite the art form largely being lost to history. With it, too, is an ingrained sense of exploration and a yearning for freedom, the closest of which can only be attained on horseback. The sect of District Ten that tends exclusively to the cattle is largely nomadic for most of the year, in the saddle for the vast majority of their days moving the herd some twenty miles per day to ensure adequate land management.
District Eleven - 'the fruits of our labor aren't ours to keep'
Despite being one of arguable the most powerful Districts in Panem due simply to its industry being so immediately necessary, Eleven is treated with very little respect and care by the Capitol. Overworked, exploited, and left with maybe scraps, it's no wonder Eleven was the catalyst for outright rebellion the second time around. Despite this ill-contempt for the Capitol, Eleven is a largely peaceful and familial place for its residence, boasting strong communities that take care of one another, a colorful life of love, and a surprisingly good diet of flavorful foods despite what seems to be the Capitol's constant attempts to take even that away from them.
District Twelve - 'the canaries in the coal mine'
The poorest and smallest District in Panem, Twelve is known for its quiet resilience above all else. Its industry, coal, is almost insultingly reinforced not as a source of power (as indicated by Five's supplying of renewable energy like solar, wind, nuclear, and hydro-electric) but, as with many things, purely for the glee of the Capitol to send to One to be transformed into diamonds. A strong Appalachian culture still remains in the arena despite the Capitol's insistence that singing is largely punishable in gatherings and only allowed to be commodified by visiting Capitol industry leaders for parties.
District Thirteen - 'we found safety underground'
Formally recognized as the District responsible for graphite mining, Thirteen revealed itself to be a nuclear powerhouse and a well-oiled military force during the Second Rebellion. Prior to that, they were believed to have been long-destroyed by Capitol bombs when, in reality, they had simply made a deal in order to feign a catastrophe in exchange for freedom from the Capitol's rule. Life in Thirteen is rigorous, scheduled, and purpose is always found through functionality first and foremost. Despite that, there is a still a lively energy of camaraderie and support in all aspects of life unlike anywhere else in Panem.
