Disclaimer: Hunger Games does not in any way belong to me, it's the property of Suzanne Collins, etc.

PRELUDE

what has changed, and what has remained the same

THE STATIC –

The industry of each District remains the same. (However, several other factors about the Districts have changed.)

The Capitol is still the boss. The majority of its population remains oblivious and pampered. The government is the same sort of oppressive regime as it was under Snow's direction 249 years ago.

And the Hunger Games remain a Capitol citizen's favourite form of bloodthirsty entertainment.

District One is still a 'Career' District, and its population remains highly photogenic. Its Victors are always favourites amongst the Capitol citizens. (That immoral but highly lucrative practice of sexual slavery of the more attractive Victors? Still popular.) District One continues to produce the luxury items necessary for the Capitol's indulgence.

The same can be said of District Two – it maintains the largest pool of Victors, with at least 20 more than District One, which has the second largest. Its Career program remains one of the most effective, and District Two is still the most loyal of Panem's Districts. It continues to produce most of the raw materials through its mining, and the Peacekeeper-training facility is located within its boundaries.

As for District Three: it remains a District with few Victors, the majority of who won on a combination of luck and brilliance. Its factories produce most of the electronics and other truly essential things for the Capitol.

District Six continues to have the highest rate of morphling-addicted Victors. Their pool of Hunger Games champions is comparable in size to that of District Three. It generates the power to fuel the Capitol; its coal-burning plants and electricity-generating facilities run 24/7.

District Eight's situation remains largely unchanged as well; the damage from the prolonged campaign between the Capitol and the rebels has since been repaired, and District Eight still has few Victors to its name. Textile factories continue to dominate the landscape of this District.

What can be said about District Ten? There is no major difference between what it was before the Second Rebellion, what it is now. Its Victors are not numerous, and it continues to be the District in charge of livestock.

District Eleven is in a similar position to the afore-mentioned Districts; the main difference being that its pool of Victors is second-last in Panem. The only District with a lower number is, of course, District Twelve. It is the District with the largest population, the majority of which tends to the numerous fields and orchards that make up its industry.

Last, and definitely least, District Twelve is as downtrodden as ever, despite being rebuilt from the ground up after the rebellion. It has the smallest pool of Victors – 7, total, over the past 323 years – and things don't seem liable to change anytime soon. District Twelve's death rate from starvation and other complications pertaining to malnutrition is the highest in Panem. Accidents in the coal mine are fewer now, as the population in Twelve is the lowest in the country.

THE VARIABLE –

The president of Panem is a woman with a kind smile and blood-red eyes. (Was the Capitol's continued interest in self-improvement mentioned?) Her name is Flame, and she was recently elected on a platform of change. (The Hunger Games will remain, of course.)

The rules of the Hunger Games have been changed as well; recent reforms have modified the rules concerning things like volunteering and victory conditions.

Namely: volunteers may be of either sex. Two tributes are still being reaped each year, one male and one female, but the volunteers could be two males, or two females.

After the success of Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark's victory 249 years ago, two tributes have the possibility of sharing their victory, if certain conditions are met. At the beginning of every Hunger Games, the 24 tributes are randomly paired off, regardless of age, sex, District or ability. If both of those tributes survive to be the final two, they win.

Now, you may have noticed that not all of the Districts have remained static. After the Second Rebellion, the Capitol had to make some scapegoats.

District Four was severely punished for their high-profile Victor, Finnick Odair's involvement in fomenting rebellion. When trained tributes ('Careers') tried to volunteer, they were executed as traitors for breaking the law banning training for the Hunger Games. Even if the volunteers weren't trained, they were still persecuted as such. The practice in District Four has since tapered off, and it is no longer considered a 'Career' District. The high concentration of Victors from the first 75 years of the Hunger Games has evened out over the next 249 years, so that District Four's pool of Victors is merely average now. Fishing remains the District's industry.

District Five seems to have taken over its predecessor's role as the third Career District. It rose to prominence following the Second Rebellion as even further scientific advancements were demanded; it is now the second- or third-wealthiest District in Panem. While District One's tributes are always beautiful and District Two's are without fail strong, District Five's tributes are, without exception, brilliant. Scientific research (medical advancements, improvements in plastic surgery and artificial colouring techniques, among others) remain the duty of this District.

Despite their prominent Victor's involvement in the Second Rebellion, District Seven was not punished anywhere near as harshly as District Four was for Johanna Mason's rebellion. After the Capitol quashed the rebellion, District Seven returned to the fold with a speed and devotion the other, only-grudgingly-loyal Districts found sickening. As a reward for Seven's loyalty, the Capitol made it one of the wealthiest Districts and continues to turn a blind eye when Careers consistently volunteer. The vast forests of this District provide ample opportunities for its industry.

However, it can be agreed that District Nine definitely got the short end of the stick. A low-profile District, Nine was neither staunchly loyal to nor was it staunchly against the Capitol's rule. After the disaster of making District Thirteen their scapegoat in the first rebellion, the Capitol decided to do things right. They razed District Nine to the ground, and set up the food-processing factories in the individual Districts that required them, rather than having the products go to Nine instead.

What can be said about District Thirteen? Its labyrinth of underground passages has been converted into little more than a glorified prison. The nuclear weapons had long since been removed, and Thirteen's population consists of criminals and their children. Something can be said for raising kids in that sort of environment though: apart from the Career Districts, Thirteen has the highest pool of Victors. In fact, eligible children often kill for the opportunity to volunteer; victory means escaping the hellhole, and even if they die, they don't have to return. In a way, District Thirteen could be considered a fifth Career District.

TL;DR –

Tributes are paired together randomly at the very beginning of each Hunger Games; that pair can win the Games together; otherwise, it's a one-person deal. There's still a girl and a boy reaped from each District, but the volunteers can be of either sex.

One (luxury items), Two (mining & Peacekeepers), Five (scientific research) and Seven (forestry) are the Career Districts.

Four's (fishing) pretty much Twelve-level, now.

Nine (food processing) got destroyed; Thirteen (prison) is the twelfth District (and consistently puts out strong tributes).

Three (factories), Six (power generation), Eight (textiles), Ten (livestock), Eleven (agriculture) and Twelve (coal mining) are pretty much the same.

So, have I piqued your interest? ;) If you're interested please read on ~

And don't worry, I won't be continuing my abuse of the bold and italics function for the story proper. ;)