𝐞𝐝𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬

before i say anything, im australian so my USA knowledge may not be the best lol!!

District 4 is definitely in the California area for me

Fairly large and active military presence, which along with being a food producing district, gives them a level of hypothetical self-reliance greater than a lot of other districts, which is interesting to me and I may elaborate on this more in a later post

Bc of this, loyalty to Panem is more internally focused on pride in 4, keeping it functioning as a key part in the system, rather than loyalty specifically to the Capitol

High wealth disparity, leading to 4 having a wide diversity in different subcultures. historically, different social classes have different places in the military, such as Hillsharbour (a higher income area) having a culture of pride in having typically high ranking military positions, which feeds into early “Career” training as honour and rank is definitely important. In the much larger demographic of Dockside working class, military service is typically less of a glorified role and more an obligation to care for and serve your community, which shapes the Games volunteers with that background

District 4’s Careers are recruited into training opportunities from a broader socioeconomic background than 1’s and probably 2’s, which means their victors come from all over the district, and are more in touch with the broader culture of 4, which definitely feeds into 4's victors being uniquely tapped in to rebel sentiment

Really extreme weather events as a result of climate crisis, weather forecasting is really important and there’s a lot of folk stories around different weather events, like ghost stories about the cold fog that blows in from the ocean

Jumping off this, winters in 4 are a lot colder and drier than modern day California, and summers are hotter, varying wildly between “hot and wet” and “hot and dry” by the day

The richer parts of 4 definitely try to emulate the Capitol, or at least try to get on the same footing as the Capitol, so there’s sadly a stronger pressure towards cultural assimilation for those who want to climb the ladder or hold onto their position at the top

(Very exploitative) Capitol tourism in 4 was BIG pre-Dark Days, but dropped off at least for the first few decades after the war, leading to an increase in the pollution in all forms (oceans, air, etc.) as priorities shifted from “beautiful tourism opportunities” to “maximise exports and profits”. The ocean is described by a character of mine as not being “a shade lighter than oil-slicked bilge since Capitol tourists stopped coming around to Four.”

“Dockside” (referring to the majority of 4’s working class (in canneries, working on fishing boats, seaweed farms, diving for pearls and mussels and stuff, various other jobs)) varies greatly, with some living almost comfortably (a lot in small apartment units i think), and others in non-permanent “towns” constructed largely from driftwood and metal + fabric scraps that float in from the polluted water - these people are very vulnerable to coastal storms. I think this “lower class” of 4 have a really strong sense of community though, and couch surfing is definitely a big thing, looking out for your friends/neighbours who may have been displaced by extreme weather, or peacekeepers demanding these makeshift towns disperse. big sense of responsibility for community !!

Houses on the hills = rich 

Theres a section of inner rural 4 that do some light farming/river fishing, but they’re pretty disconnected from the coastal areas of 4, and have to be very self reliant as they’re not allocated many resources to survive 

I thought your thoughts on the fetishisation of Finnick Odair being linked to Asian fetishisation made a lot of sense sadly, so while I don’t have a full Finnick characterisation yet, he’s definitely Asian, perhaps white and Asian. My Annie design is also Asian, specifically southeast Asian is what I have in mind. your notes on the model minority myth add SO MUCH DEPTH TO THESE CHARACTERS. Chewing on it . Ough.

I definitely see 4 as having a big AAPI, Latino + Black population - my main d4 character has Melanesian heritage (Papua New Guinean) and majority of my d4 Victors are Polynesian, East Asian and Southeast Asian. There’s also some Irish/scottish influence in 4 to explain “Flanagan” and “Odair” as names but i am so annoyed by the “everyone in 4 is a white redhead with sea green eyes.” I DONT WANT THEM TO ALL HAVE SEA GREEN EYES GET OUT OF MY HOUSE. Thats SCARY!!!

Your notes on filial piety and duty to community are super interesting and I think add a LOT to an analysis of d4!! I don’t have much solid hammered down on this front myself but the Vibes are there. In my brain.

I think amongst the general population of 4, tattoos are definitely a significant thing! I really like the idea, and my main character has multiple tattoos that represent people close to her, most done by her brother. 

piercings too ... yesss yeeeesssss

As the training program for tribute volunteers develops, I think it gets more and more toxic and competitive … I mean, Finnick winning at such a young age, what was 4 trying to prove??? Interesting to me! one of my victors particularly has a backstory that relies on this sort of toxic view of ambition to prove yourself, where they compete so fiercely with their rival for the top volunteer spot that both end up fighting dirty against each other, intentionally trying to injure the other badly enough to make them unable to be an effective volunteer (victor’s leg gets impaled below the knee but they recover before their rival does, and are able to win their games). this victor is from a wealthier background so the “proving yourself, earning an honourable position” thing is more their inspiration, whereas I think Finnick would be from a “lower class” background and honestly? Maybe chosen in order to be expendable in case 4’s shot at this record breaking novel Victory doesn’t work out. Yikes!

Mags is a huge driver of this volunteer culture (I don’t like her being a wholly benevolent character) but she sees it as trying to prepare volunteers the best way she can (even knowing how they are often exploited post victory unfortunately)

Uhhhh what else

cliff climbing is a pretty common hobby, kids will often climb up a cliff and jump into the ocean - the higher you jump from, the cooler you are

Food:  stews are huge . Big pot that everyone grabs their food from.  Rice with stews… mm rice 🤤  seaweed is probably another staple . I dont have much on food yet lol

I have a guy from 4 with  spiky scene boy hair but I don’tttt know why yet  4 is just cool like that I suppose. 

More stuff: district 4’s rebels are very much informed by the military culture, some rebel cells even forming small militias and getting arms through military connections (although obviously these are HEAVILY cracked down on when they’re busted). “Stirrers” are smaller scale rebels, generally working through passing information, sometimes through painted graffiti, and generally small-scale acts that bring rebellious sentiment into broader consciousness, but are easy to slip away from and blend into the crowd afterwards

I don’t have heaps more yet but I may add stuff in a reblog if I think of anything. 

some really basic stuff:

d4's district animal is the american osprey, their colour is ocean blue, their metal is copper (bc copper patina is kinda ocean-y)

d4 rebels use a lot of orca imagery, because they're highly social and coordinated, intelligent, strong and are known to catch and eat birds. one of my fav ocs is a d4 rebel with a tattoo of an orca catching an eagle (the symbol of the capitol) midair

Thanks so much for asking !! Open to ideas + notes, most of this is off the top of my head so apologies if anything doesn’t make sense :D

Fairly large and active military presence, which along with being a food producing district, gives them a level of hypothetical self-reliance greater than a lot of other districts, which is interesting to me and I may elaborate on this more in a later post

Bc of this, loyalty to Panem is more internally focused on pride in 4, keeping it functioning as a key part in the system, rather than loyalty specifically to the Capitol

Theres a section of inner rural 4 that do some light farming/river fishing, but they’re pretty disconnected from the coastal areas of 4, and have to be very self reliant as they’re not allocated many resources to survive 

i genuinely haven't thought much of military presence in district 4 😔 but this helps elaborate on why they're so tight-knit, and solidifies their virtue of "filial piety"! i also agree with the idea of a "farmer's" section of the district, increasing self-reliance w/in the community. california produces a lot of agricultural goods; it’s a thriving industry that many immigrants went into.

in my d4, that part is called the inner lands, and some of them often travel to the coast to find work or apprenticeship for a better life & opportunities!

District 4’s Careers are recruited into training opportunities from a broader socioeconomic background than 1’s and probably 2’s, which means their victors come from all over the district, and are more in touch with the broader culture of 4, which definitely feeds into 4's victors being uniquely tapped in to rebel sentiment

High wealth disparity, leading to 4 having a wide diversity in different subcultures. historically, different social classes have different places in the military, such as Hillsharbour (a higher income area) having a culture of pride in having typically high ranking military positions, which feeds into early “Career” training as honour and rank is definitely important. In the much larger demographic of Dockside working class, military service is typically less of a glorified role and more an obligation to care for and serve your community, which shapes the Games volunteers with that background

As the training program for tribute volunteers develops, I think it gets more and more toxic and competitive … I mean, Finnick winning at such a young age, what was 4 trying to prove??? Interesting to me! one of my victors particularly has a backstory that relies on this sort of toxic view of ambition to prove yourself, where they compete so fiercely with their rival for the top volunteer spot that both end up fighting dirty against each other, intentionally trying to injure the other badly enough to make them unable to be an effective volunteer (victor’s leg gets impaled below the knee but they recover before their rival does, and are able to win their games). this victor is from a wealthier background so the “proving yourself, earning an honourable position” thing is more their inspiration, whereas I think Finnick would be from a “lower class” background and honestly? Maybe chosen in order to be expendable in case 4’s shot at this record breaking novel Victory doesn’t work out. Yikes!

Mags is a huge driver of this volunteer culture (I don’t like her being a wholly benevolent character) but she sees it as trying to prepare volunteers the best way she can (even knowing how they are often exploited post victory unfortunately)

call the d4 victors "zuko" the way they value honor. the diverse SES backgrounds of the victors help to give themselves insight in the capitol & how they're viewed beyond the district! and your version of mags is so interesting. she's a victim of the system and is trying to protect them in the only way she knows :(

i love your oc already 😭 they seem to have a lot of unlearning to do, and i wonder how their victory affected their views. competition is deeply rooted in a lot of asian cultures so even if they themselves aren't asian, the desire to prove yourself is tangible. i also like your idea of why finnick volunteered or was chosen! he's also a lower class citizen in my hcs, and the thought of him being "expendable" in his district and "use-able" in the capitol... ohh, this adds so much tragedy to him :(

i actually have a very similar version of the wealth gap in the district, but it was all shaken up (pun intended) by a large earthquake that hit the district called "the big one" (which is quite common in the state of california)! a lot of the wealthier merchants got a taste of what the lower class had felt in years prior, while the lower class experienced worse. rations and aid were given by the capitol, but it was never enough to sustain people & they were still forced to work to keep up with the quota! they realized the capitol ain't shiz, stirring the rebellious spirit within a lot of the upper class.

most careers-in-training refused to volunteer to help their families rebuild. district 4 had something of a losing streak until finnick was reaped. my oc, a merchant, volunteered on behalf of her friend, who lost her father days prior to the reaping due to a peacekeeper, and her victory was misconstrued to claim she was more loyal to the capitol than her own district. her partner, a simple fisherman, was martyred and the "preferred" victor. rough stuff.

Houses on the hills = rich

Food:  stews are huge . Big pot that everyone grabs their food from.  Rice with stews… mm rice 🤤  seaweed is probably another staple . I dont have much on food yet lol

I definitely see 4 as having a big AAPI, Latino + Black population - my main d4 character has Melanesian heritage (Papua New Guinean) and majority of my d4 Victors are Polynesian, East Asian and Southeast Asian. There’s also some Irish/scottish influence in 4 to explain “Flanagan” and “Odair” as names but i am so annoyed by the “everyone in 4 is a white redhead with sea green eyes.” I DONT WANT THEM TO ALL HAVE SEA GREEN EYES GET OUT OF MY HOUSE. Thats SCARY!!!

houses on the hills ARE rich. i used to pass by a nursing home that looks like a big ol' mansion on the way to school. the thinking is that in the event of a tsunami or high tides, they're saved. however, they forgot to account for landslides during earthquakes. they're generally isolated to not mix with the likes of the broke people, while the lower class clusters up!

these are all what i've been saying! they definitely have rice and stews (often had together). i'm also thinking teas and cured meats/fish. wraps! whether it's something akin to a vietnamese spring roll or a burrito, they love wrapping their food. i'm thinking creamy foods too, and perhaps a lot of food with coconut milk mixed into it. they eat with their hands since it's fastest and appears to be a common denominator in a lot of the cultures!

you're so right 😔 it is scary 😔 and also because i've never seen THAT many irish people where i've lived. love them down, but it's realistic for district 4 to be super duper mixed! my original thoughts on an asian!d4 have expanded to latino, black, pacific islander, and even the slightest bit of west asian/north african. they're a reflection of my neighbors and the people i've befriended :')

I have a guy from 4 with  spiky scene boy hair but I don’tttt know why yet  4 is just cool like that I suppose.

maybe it's called "urchin hair"! like you said, d4 has a lot of subcultures.

going into style, they definitely wear a lot of protective hairstyles for working in the sun, the fields, the ocean, etc.. breezy fabrics, woven textiles, but also heavier garments/rubber boots for when they REALLY get down to business

think that's it!