I've always wondered how life in the Career Districts was affected by training their tributes and most of Panem's distain for them. Here is my attempted rendition of how they lived. All rights to Suzanne Collins and Lionsgate too.
(Note that I'm going to update whenever one comes to me, perhaps in the order of 1, 2 then 4 and repeat.)

Diamond, Stone, Storm
Chapter One: Luxury District

They say that we are foolish to name our children after the materials that we mine, cut and clothe ourselves with. Those outer districts are impossible to understand in their simple ways of life. They don't know what luxury is! The only way they know it is when they send their children to die in the highest luxury of the Capitol. We send our best to the Capitolites, and they love us for it. Our best children for the Games, our best jewels and silks even more so now than before the Games started. As a district, the Capitol and us have a usually positive relationship, unless if the very nominal riots start over one of our own dying in a granite to diamond converter or some nonsense. We We adapt to the Capitol's ever changing fashion and greedy needs. Which explains our best quality as a District.

We train our tributes to be confident enough that they are always a favorite in the chariot rides and interviews. We train them to be adaptive to the arena environment, and their competitors. The arena is always a changing face but the core is still the same, as is the crop of tributes each year. We volunteer the very best of our recruits for the Games. Our children have some flaws, like the rest of the District's tributes. Those stonewall warriors of Two are unable to change their depositions, those who are able to from Two are few and far in between and those are the Victors from Two, in one way or another. And District Four's children have that subtle quality of rage and vengeance behind their happy go lucky facade. Our children, besides the love behind their names and training, can be overconfident to a fault. Sometimes, our children are clever enough to change it, and adapt like we must do to meet the Capitol's needs and desires. Those are the children who become our Victors. And we celebrate them more so than others. These are the stories of the tributes of my lovely luxury district, and our magnificent Victors.

Diamond Lione James

Year of the 2nd Hunger Games

I volunteered for my sister. She cried when I declared it for the whole district to hear. My father, the patriarch of the James estate and my mother, who taught me everything I know, stood straight and refused to let the tears fall from their eyes.

They have a reputation to hold. They sided with the Capitol and were instrumental in bringing down the rebellion to its knees in the district.

I just declared my death sentence because Two has an edge. All the sons and daughters of leading rebels in the outer districts were sent to die. The same happened for districts One and Four, but for some low life daughter of a low ranking officer in the rebellion and the former mayor's son. Spearus Stone murdered eight children in that small grassy field surrounded by the Capitol crowds who could get a ticket. It was broadcast live and all of us were required to watch it. It was gruesome, but I studied it to see that if I was reaped that maybe I could have a chance.

And so comes to where I tell you how I had a better chance than the others. I took up sword fighting as my hobby before the rebellion and continued to practice. But my District doesn't know that, and neither does Panem. The district wasn't exactly happy that I volunteered either. They now knew...no everyone now knows that the Hunger Games are a very real threat and they won't be over because the Capitol never reaches the point of saying "I'm done".

Perhaps I should say that they will never not need us Districts until the whole system collapses. It might be twenty-five, fifty, maybe even seventy-five years from now that we'll be able to stop sending our children to die. But for now...well...

I'm walking with Celeste Beaks to be prepped for my launch up into the Arena. Celeste is a very tall woman wearing six inch neon blue heels and surprisingly doesn't fall. Her voice is calm as she instructs me to take off my clothes. I do what she instructs while she takes out the arena outfit. I put on the underwear first, followed by a pale blue short sleeved shirt and black jeans. The boots are sturdy, with some type of rubber sole and are flexible. I run a hand through my hair when the intercom announces that theres thirty seconds left. Celeste puts her hand on my shoulder and stares at me with a smile so blinding that I have to fight to keep my eyes open.

"You'll do alright, Diamond."

"I know that." I say.

"Well, then," Celeste scoffs like she's offended, "Go and win, and don't step off that pedestal until the gong sounds."

I step onto the pedestal, and smile as my stylist waves goodbye. I know that it won't be the last time that she does. Because I'll be back when the trumpets sound, and my district will celebrate.

Diamond Lione James, the second victor. The first for District One.

Diamond was correct in his assumption that he would return to be the first victor for his District. His arena was the first indoor arena. Much like the Roman Colosseum, the arena was contained by a large stadium which housed the spectators and sponsors. About 40,000 saw the 2nd Games live along with the President, Julius Decimus. each pedestal was equidistant from the center and contained a mine if a tribute stepped off the pedestal early. The floor was solid with sand and dirt, and huge columns of marble and other rocks were randomly placed to give the arena a ruin type feel. This arena was also the first time a cornucopia type structure was used. In this case, the cornucopia was a horn structure made out of marble stone. It contained many weapons, including a scythe, spears, axes, maces, rocks, knives and swords.

The tributes were a mix of rebel's children and unlucky ones who were reaped. The pair from five were both thirteen and the girl from twelve was the sister of John Undersee.

When the Games began Diamond ran to the Cornucopia and grabbed a sword. He hid behind a column and waited for the tributes to kill eachother and tire the more threatening ones. In the chaos, Districts 3, 5,6,8, and 10 were eliminated in the initial bloodbath. John Undersee's sister made the mistake of trying to hide behind the same column as Diamond, and in return he beheaded her in his first kill. In the course of a few hours, the remaining tributes were Diamond, Quinta and Gaius from Two, Harlem from Four, Micah from six and Banner from Eleven.

Diamond killed Micah from six and then Banner killed Gaius which left the final four to fight to the death. Harlem and Banner struggled with each other until Diamond impaled them both with a leftover spear. Quinta put up a good fight with her sword-fighting, but Diamond was superior and became the Victor after a twelve hour time in the arena.

As a Victor he became friends with Spearus despite their differences they shared a common experience that no one else had survived from. Unlike Spearus and his vow to get as many of his tributes out alive by training them, Diamond refused to train his tributes until a boy named Sapphire Luxe knocked on his door in Victor's village.

Fic Rec: The Victors Project by Oisin55