#Arumidden's Headcanons

[arumidden]

Hi, I've been wondering about your headcanons about how the nations work. What is their role in the government, how does family work for them, do they have any powers? And stuff like that 😊

I'm guessing you're asking about my Public Nations AU and how Nations work within that universe? Get ready, this is gonna be a long post. I'll break it into parts for each section of your question :)

Note: I edited this recently so it reads more smoothly.

Role in the Government

As long as Nations have existed for, they've always been important advisers to their leaders. I think they mostly functioned as advisers, ambassadors, translators, etc. I imagine they have to remain apolitical when it comes to modern systems like political parties; they don't want to seem too supportive of any one political party, no matter what their personal opinions are. If they are gonna make a statement about something, they're expected to do it not as a Nation, but as an individual. That's partly why America's youtube channel uses his human name; it signifies that the channel is just a place for him to goof off, so nothing he says there is to be taken as a representation of the country. I think people still get those roles confused though. There’s gotta be tons of people who see Alfred stating his personal opinion and assume that that’s the government’s official statement as well. Plus I think lots of people just aren’t well versed in how the government works, so they probably misunderstand Alfred’s role as well.

I also think they've been put in the military ever since ancient times. After all, kings used to lead their militaries into battle, so I imagine their Nations would be right alongside them, both for the symbolism and because of how useful it would have been to have an immortal with lots of battle experience on their side. I can’t say that Nations always wanted to be on those battlefields, but they would often times get put there anyway.

Family

What counts as family is incredibly fluid and ever-changing for Nations. Nations aren't created through reproduction, so I don't think very clear-cut blood relations are truly possible. As a result, how Nations are related can vary and change. Why do America and Canada resemble each other so closely? I don’t think even the Nations themselves know. Sometimes Nations take this resemblance to imply familiar relations, sometimes they don’t. (I think this is more just my frustration with canon. Who is related to who makes no sense and has changed over time as Himaruya wills it. Why are England and America brothers instead of father and son? Why are America and Canada clearly twins when they didn't even belong to the same empires when they were born? I give up)

I also don't think they have the same standards for what is taboo and what isn't. Things can get waved away as "human ideas” which doesn't apply to them. Plus, Nations can't reproduce the way humans do after all, so I don't think they consider “incestuous” relationships to be nearly as scandalous. America and England might have a father-son relationship or a romantic one and I don't think they would have a problem going back and forth between the two. Not to mention the fact that after however many centuries, I assume practically all of them have slept with each other.

Of course, humans get uncomfortable with that fact, so that aspect of their relationships is usually kept private. Basically, Nations can have any kind of relationships with each other, but stick to only letting humans know about the ones that are socially acceptable.

Powers and Abilities

Nations draw life from their human populations, and as a result have a connection to those humans. Nations can tell if a human is theirs or not and identify them by name.

They can suffer from two different kinds of injuries: Direct and Indirect. Direct injuries are when their bodies are injured; they can heal from practically any direct injury, but the rate they heal depends on how well their country is doing. An injury incurred during a war may take multiple weeks to heal, while a random injury incurred during everyday life will heal much quicker.

Indirect injuries are what happens when their population is harmed or killed. Major tragic events can result in injuries suddenly appearing on their bodies. Some rare events can leave them with permanent scars (9/11, London Blitz, French Revolution, Atomic Bombs, etc). If their people are sick with a disease, they will show symptoms as well despite not actually being able to get sick themselves.

For either type of injury, if a limb in severed, it can be reattached, but will otherwise turn into dirt if left separate for too long. If the injury is direct, the limb will grow back. An indirect injury resulting in a missing limb will likely be permanent.

Whether or not they have super strength depends on their status as a world power. America only gained his strength in the 1880s when he became a major economic power, and even then, he wasn't as strong as he eventually became post-WWII. America currently has this superhuman strength, but during the height of the Cold War, Russia had it as well.

Nations can sense other Nations around them, and also when a foreign Nation enters their territory.

They cannot leave the Earth. Once they've been outside Earth's atmosphere for 72 hours, they start to become violently ill and will begin to decompose into dirt unless they return to the planet.

Okaaaaay, I think I've covered everything! Let me know if I answered all your questions, and if you have any others! I always love to talk Nation lore XDDDD

[arumidden]

Summary:

For months, Netflix had been promoting Nations Reality as a dramatic yet realistic portrayal of the Nation Personifications’ behind-the-scenes lives throughout history. Supposedly, it would be the first drama to be made that featured the NPs as a whole, instead of just a single NP and their life.

When it was finally released, it was a total bomb. It was historically inaccurate, badly written, and an all-around mess.

But when America decided to livestream his reaction to it on YouTube, it became a meme.