T-Minus 0 [Application]
OOC
Name: Reina.
Contact: reinagrant (AIM).
Age: I am 26 years old.
Current characters: N/A
IC
Name: Jones, Alfred F. (the United States of America)
Fandom: Axis Powers Hetalia
History link: http://hetalia.wikia.com/wiki/America
The above link merely provides various appearance descriptions and relationship charts, so I will provide a history.
[[Headcanon]]/history: and canon/history (plain text): There’s a noticeable gap between the Revolutionary war and WWII which I’m trying to compensate for and add some small bits in for the sake of keeping to the character of Alfred (America) in perspective. It’s a lot, good heavens.
Alfred F. Jones is the human representation of the nation the United States of America. Though he is officially recognized as such during WWII, his true origins began as a collection of colonies belonging to the major European powers from the late 15th to the late 18th century.
America was spotted by Finland as a young boy in the wild who seemed to fare better than the average human in the same circumstances. Reporting this to England and France, the three came to the conclusion he must be a young nation, much like themselves. Long-standing rivalry between the France and England naturally brought forth bickering as to who America would be related. Gradually they finally came across him wandering the wilds and thus began the comparisons. Of the three contenders (Finland being the least confrontational of them) France promised America the finest cuisines, England managed to terrify him, and Finland shared the same innocent face. America eventually chose England after noticing how dejected he appeared after his countrymen couldn’t bring up something enticing to snag him with. [[Because he’s got a big heart (bigger is better)]] he chose England as his charge [[(and as a side note, is likely he didn’t want to make England cry).]]
Brought up under England’s guidance, America was shown the way of being a nation and lovingly doted upon, even protected from various wars and skirmishes that cropped up (Namely the French-Indian war). England’s pre-existing responsibilities and activities in Europe would eventually become a strain on their relationship (and economies), enough to bring it to the snapping point.
In order to manage his expansive empire, England often left America alone in the New World. This had its own set of complexes attached to it as America often found his expansive nation to be scary when alone. However, this absence afforded America a certain freedom not present in other colonies where farmers could own their land and the local communities could appoint their own law magistrates and local government. In short, America was always a nation/colony that had a lot of freedoms associated with it and was tolerated by the English Empire. As a result, every time England came to visit he was always surprised with America’s uncanny growth. But even as a young child he had mentioned that he’d come to understand a lot about himself, though this is far earlier than one might expect.
As America grew up, a certain tsundere attitude from England in regards to such things as buying only his tea, only being close to him, and lastly accepting taxes without representation caused him to… as children often do from the rigorous rules of their parents, choose to fight and gain his independence from England. In addition, he outright changed his drinking habits from tea to coffee, just out of spite.
America fought hard for his independence though it seemed that England would have the upper hand. In the end, England couldn’t bring himself to finish off America [[(for reasons that America understands but doesn’t voice)]] and it seemed to be a less celebratory moment as it was bittersweet. Now he was an equal, as he’d always idealized and yet he felt unsettled by his victory against someone who he had always considered so great.
After gaining his independence, England became a distant figure in his past amidst a whole new slew of problems from becoming his own nation. America became embroiled in his own, new nation’s troubles and tribulations, (remaining unified as a nation instead of separate nations divided) struggling to stay together through the initial footholds that his experimental government was trying to grasp onto.
However, many people came to America for a new life, to start anew and in a place they could call their own, free to practice their religions and cultures while under the guise of becoming an American, thereby enriching his culture and becoming a beacon of freedom and hope for prosperity to those of other nations who would come. Though only 30 some years later America had to reestablish that he was as of yet independent and fought against England in the war of 1812. Ending this war in 1815, it was a draw, America seeming to narrowly dodge losing his independence yet a second time, and after bitter fighting he and England both agreed to resume things as they were before the war began.
[[From this, America’s infatuation with heroes began]] as his nation began to gain a sense of nationalism and rallied around the heroes of his nation’s founding. The industrial revolution came along [[For which he was very excited as he’s a fan of inventing new gadgets and tinkering with things]] with westward and northern expansion (which was not as glorious as it sounded, essentially expelling Native Americans from their homeland. [[But with that also came cowboys, and the Wild West]]). Meanwhile many reforms in personal liberties and justices (which America is very keen on keeping and fighting for Justice) were happening which strengthened the Unites States as a whole but began to lead to a serious divide that would head into the Civil War. Surely he wasn’t eager to fight his own people, but if it was in the name of justice then he would take up arms and fight.
This was a very active period for the USA, exports galore to faraway lands and poking his nose in places that many established empires would rather he didn’t. For fear of undermining their operations there with a new face and cheaper prices. Regardless, it was during this time period that America made efforts to get to know other nations that weren’t completely embroiled with Europe and who better than the hermit, Japan. America essentially bullied he way to Japan’s doorstep and quickly made to help modernize the previously self-isolated nation. There’s even a time where America, eager to show off, brought a called table turning, a way, supposedly of asking spirits questions and receiving their answer. Japan and America later on have quite the love of video games, so America hoped this would be a good ice-breaker for the reticent Japan. Not to mention being an easy way to impress him with his amazingness. The objective was to ask something you wanted a prediction about, anything and everything. Eventually, after a few non-consequential questions, Japan confessed that the change that America had brought was great and while he was glad for it, he was also concerned that he might not get along with the other nations. He then asked America if the spirits would predict he would manage to make friends with these nations. America was moved by Japan’s unusual directness and sudden vulnerability, and considering the game was controlled by one of the player’s hands, America quickly asked and moved the table turning to answer Japan’s question as YES. (Because let’s face it, America just wants to be everyone’s friend while still maintaining he’s the best! And maybe he’s a sucker for rescuing people from their troubles.)
Then came the Civil War, which was America’s bloodiest war yet and it nearly rent his nation apart [[(a sensation he doesn’t much like to recall and has thoroughly blocked from his memory as completely as he blocks others’ opinions of him)]] as several states seceded into the Confederate states. Still, through determination and luck once more, America managed to hold his nation together and abolished slavery (at least legally, it was the heroic thing to do!). From here, he experienced the first assassination of a president by his own citizen’s hands (a landmark moment in history for his people and [[unforgettable to him as he’d been relatively free of such treacheries prior]]. Since then, President Lincoln has come to be well-loved by him and his people).
Post Civil war, America focused instead on the industrial revolution which was kick-started into high gear, supported by a high number of immigrants coming to the USA to settle. This is turn, led the USA to become a powerful industrial nation with global influence. [[(A bigger hero with bigger toys)]] Not to mention enriching America’s culture, having several different languages and practices all immigrating to his shores. (A veritable melting pot party) Not to mention that it was made all the more awesome when France gave America the lovely Lady Liberty. He treasures it to this day as a symbol of freedom and of a [[European nation finally accepting him for the nation he’d become. (Or perhaps a ploy to get into his pants, he really couldn’t sort out why France up and gave him such an awesome gift! Aside from that he was awesome.) (Much better than the little toy soldiers England gave him.)]]
Hereupon WWI encroaches onto the scene, America initially maintaining neutrality (and surprisingly, diplomacy) until one of his merchant ships was attacked by Germany. [[(Hereupon his sense of justice finally overrode his long-standing desire to stay out of Europe’s (read: France and England’s) business) To start, he was not doing so fantastic (because he was still headstrong and didn’t want to listen to anyone else)]] he managed to come through and helped the other nations succeed in victory. After the war it seemed that many American soldiers were quite popular with foreign ladies, but this was likely due to the fact that they weren’t forced to rationing for years and on the verge of starving unlike the local soldiers. Not to mention, they were rich.
This led to the USA being quite prosperous [[(for which he had come to expect since he was a good, wholesome, heroic guy)]] by comparison to the other nations after WWI. Here, his economy boomed as he got his hands into payments for reparations and made some deals to try and help the situation. He enjoyed nearly a decade of pleasant growth… (as well as the development of many popular cultural items such as Jazz [[and ridiculous ideas like prohibition-a bad idea that was simply really bad)]] but all good things must come to an end and America was struck with not only an economic collapse but natural disaster to his agricultural investments as well due to poor farming practices. Both of these dealt a critical blow and it wasn’t until support began for WWII that the slump began to ease off for a time. (Though he had to be dragged into this war, too, [[only this time he reveled in the idea he was the cavalry coming to the rescue)]]
Currently he is allied with China, England, France and Russia as is historically appropriate for the time period of WWII.
Age: 19. (Though realistically he’s been around about 500 years and has been a nation for little over 200 years)
Canon point: 6 June 1944 (D-Day), since this is the day that I can recall as being a true allied unified effort that I can recall without referencing Wikipedia. *sheepish*
Personality: Boisterous, energetic and stubborn to a fault, Alfred is described as a man who cannot read the atmosphere, though to be more specific, it’s not that he can’t read the atmosphere but that he actively chooses to ignore it the majority of the time. Representing a multitude of different nationalities all under one, Alfred is a bright and optimistic sort-also to a fault, which makes him seem overbearing, pushy, much like a bully. Noted for having ridiculous brute strength and equally ridiculous ideas to solve issues, Alfred is generally a happy-go-lucky sort with a deep-seated passion for justice and to be not just a hero, but THE hero. A fan of fast food, archaeology and making adventure movies it’s no mystery where the ‘bigger is better’ mentality comes from. Despite this he’s a dynamic young man who holds life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness first and foremost in his mind. It’s in his nature to find ghosts terrifying and making a big deal out of things to do about him-namely his birthday (4th of July) and holidays such as Christmas, usually doing something outlandish to achieve being number one. He’s a complex character, however as he has a soft and even darker side about him that comes out in specific ways. His temper is not the most intimidating but you would probably do well not to cross this powerful nation.
Powers/Abilities: Alfred has had, from a young age, an uncanny physical strength. As a toddler he spun a buffalo effortlessly and he is later capable of carrying heavy items (such as Sports-Utility Vehicles) for long periods of time without breaking a sweat. Though he doesn’t use these skills to his advantage and often seems to be unaware that he’s doing anything particularly spectacular. He also has a tendency to be completely oblivious to the situation, at least socially… but more aptly it’s that he doesn’t really care. In this way he’s a very manipulative without actively meaning to sort of guy (though sometimes he will actively manipulate people as per his nature). It’s by his upbringing being raised and fed by England (whose cooking leaves much to be desired) that America can eat a variety of strange things. As a hobby he likes to make movies in which he stars as the hero, but is reluctant to show it to certain parties for their scathing remarks.
So far as death goes, being the physical representation of a nation in a living human is slightly different than your average life. So long as the idea persists of the nation in question then they still maintain their lives. However there are instances of nations are no longer officially sanctioned but still persist (re: ancient Roman Empire). As of yet, this phenomenon may be explained by the country was acknowledged as having existed at some point and has yet to be forgotten. Alfred hence has the ability (as with other nations) that makes dying or being killed very difficult. A fatal injury could be quickly recovered from (i.e.: gunshot to the heart/impalement, etc). Additionally, being a nation, he does not age the same as humans do, as he’s literally nearly 500 years old in concept, but appears around 19 years old. Though it’s never dealt with and directly stated in canon, the has come to be my understanding via Germania and the ancient Roman Empire being inclusive in some episodes and interacting with characters.
Last and not least, he is the physical representation of the United States of America and hence has the ability to sense if someone is a citizen of his respective nation as well as hearing the voice of his nation (it’s very loud). He also has deep ties to the land from sea to shining sea (let’s also not forget Alaska and Hawai’i), the great plains, the Rocky Mountains, Appalachian, Death Valley as examples. This is in addition to a special connection to his most famous cities such as New York, Miami, Orlando, Seattle, Houston, Chicago, Atlanta, Detroit, Los Angeles, San Diego, Boston, and yes, even Las Vegas to name a few. If damage or ill were to befall a part of his country he would know-additionally if they were to suddenly go silent, it would be quite alarming and reason to cause him discomfort. And as an additional tidbit he’s befriended aliens. Unlike England’s friends, others can see Tony (said alien’s name) but he’s still teased for his ‘weird friends’
Being removed from the USA for the sake of the RP (and dumped into one of his cities, though a facsimile) he would lack the ability to sense if someone is an American. In addition he’d have a great portion of his brute strength significantly diminished. (Only slightly stronger than he appears). He will also not hear the voice of his nation
Prose sample:
Nothing was nearly as invigorating in the morning that taking down a huge bad-ass bad guy first thing. And right now he was thanking his lucky stars that there was a second amendment to the constitution his old bosses had instigated. They’d been pretty adamant about it, too. Maybe they'd envisioned a different sort of apocalypse happening, however.
This apocalypse stretched far and beyond just the major cities, now. Most of the USA was in a state of absolute crisis. There were more scientific explanations for it, but he was too busy searching for survivors to bother with where the blame lay. At least for the moment.
Somehow the smell of this place was never going to get out of his clothes. The sweet, sickly smell of rot and decay that had very little to do with the open, untreated sewers nearby. No, right now, he was busy trying to fling off some gore from the latest malformed monster to make its way in front of his sights. Stupid zombies, didn’t they know he was a crack shot? The face he made when he saw the state of his jacket was nothing short of absolute dismay.
Slowly peeling a piece of flesh from somewhere out of his hair he stepped onto the creature-at least what was currently the most massive piece of it-and let out a victory laugh. It was slightly manic, but who wouldn’t be when their nation was infested with zombies, huh? Had been hard initially to shoot his own citizens but he’d done it before, long ago. Thankfully this time he hadn’t needed to waste time patching up in order to keep him from turning into one of them…
Plenty of people he’d rescued as he came across them looked at him as though he were mad to dash willingly into the fray... but what sort of hero ran to safety when there were still people in danger? It was for that reason he kept moving, so he couldn’t stop now. Putting his rocket launcher away by slinging it over one shoulder he armed himself with his trusty handgun. Making sure it was loaded he trudged forward, expression set grimly while he kicked in doors with guns pointed first-occasionally he found something of value, too.
“Alfred, where are you?” came Kiku’s voice from his headset. He’d rescued Kiku a few days ago, and it was handy having a smart Japanese guy who could make anything electronic with haphazard supplies. Seriously, give the guy some rubber bands and spit and you’d have a calculator in a few hours.
“Toward the basement. Thought I heard some screaming, hope it’s not too late…”
“Remember to keep an eye out for Mr. X. I left some supplies for you; it would be wise not to miss them.”
“You’re the best, Kiku!” and his smile carried through on the headset, or so he hoped, because he was grinning from ear to ear. Kiku did make an awesome sidekick and was by far the most interesting rescue he’d made as of yet. Still, sometimes it was a challenge to get information out of him and even then it was kind of… well, not information. Regardless, he was invaluable as his support so he wasn’t going to complain about some of Kiku’s quirks.
There was a sudden piercing sound of metal bending as he vaulted over one of the fences which had his senses on automatic alert. He landed with a secure thud and turned to scan the area where the sound originated with his gun at the ready.
“Hold your position, Alfred, I’ll be there soon.”
“Yeah, you got it,” he said calmly but his heart was pounding with excitement. It was a moment later that something shifted in the dark before he felt its approach more than saw it, aiming right for his throat! He swore loudly and dove into a roll, but whatever it was had struck a glancing blow. Kiku was on his way over; he had to get rid of this thing before it had two targets to go after.
Righting himself quickly he took out his rocket launcher, ready to rain some hell down on this damn… thing! He even had a good bead on it as it barreled his way and then suddenly there was a large, gray box disrupting his vision. Additionally, everything went quiet-- or that is to say his personally tailored soundtrack cut out and was replaced with the sound of his XBox360 fan blowing. …Replaced with the ambient sounds of his apartment. His head jerked back slightly as he glanced around, wondering if it was a glitch, did it just Red Ring of Death? Son of a--
That’s when he heard another voice bidding Kiku good day and that Alfred was up far past his bedtime. Looking behind him, he was no longer in the factory basement being attacked by rabid creatures from the zombie apocalypse but he did have a very irritated looking gentleman scowling at him. If he used his imagination (often it ran wild) he looked like a zombie looming over him. Only zombies didn’t complain intelligently, this guy did.
“Would you kindly shut the hell up?” Arthur snapped at him.
“You do realize I’ll have to start all over again now that you did that,” Alfred drawled with a grin that could be darling if it wasn’t laced with a bit of venom.
Arthur glowered at him and mumbled something unintelligible as he turned away that sounded like bloody yank. Behind him his TV bleeped softly, informing him he’d received a message from Chrysanthemum. As expected it was an apology for such short notice but that he had some ‘unexpected’ errands to attend to and that Alfred-san really should get some sleep. With a sigh Alfred shut down his Xbox, stood and stretched with his hands over his head.
Zombies had won this game over tonight, but there was always tomorrow.
Links: I haven’t attempted this character yet but in private RP sessions.
Name: Reina.
Contact: reinagrant (AIM).
Age: I am 26 years old.
Current characters: N/A
IC
Name: Jones, Alfred F. (the United States of America)
Fandom: Axis Powers Hetalia
History link: http://hetalia.wikia.com/wiki/America
The above link merely provides various appearance descriptions and relationship charts, so I will provide a history.
[[Headcanon]]/history: and canon/history (plain text): There’s a noticeable gap between the Revolutionary war and WWII which I’m trying to compensate for and add some small bits in for the sake of keeping to the character of Alfred (America) in perspective. It’s a lot, good heavens.
Alfred F. Jones is the human representation of the nation the United States of America. Though he is officially recognized as such during WWII, his true origins began as a collection of colonies belonging to the major European powers from the late 15th to the late 18th century.
America was spotted by Finland as a young boy in the wild who seemed to fare better than the average human in the same circumstances. Reporting this to England and France, the three came to the conclusion he must be a young nation, much like themselves. Long-standing rivalry between the France and England naturally brought forth bickering as to who America would be related. Gradually they finally came across him wandering the wilds and thus began the comparisons. Of the three contenders (Finland being the least confrontational of them) France promised America the finest cuisines, England managed to terrify him, and Finland shared the same innocent face. America eventually chose England after noticing how dejected he appeared after his countrymen couldn’t bring up something enticing to snag him with. [[Because he’s got a big heart (bigger is better)]] he chose England as his charge [[(and as a side note, is likely he didn’t want to make England cry).]]
Brought up under England’s guidance, America was shown the way of being a nation and lovingly doted upon, even protected from various wars and skirmishes that cropped up (Namely the French-Indian war). England’s pre-existing responsibilities and activities in Europe would eventually become a strain on their relationship (and economies), enough to bring it to the snapping point.
In order to manage his expansive empire, England often left America alone in the New World. This had its own set of complexes attached to it as America often found his expansive nation to be scary when alone. However, this absence afforded America a certain freedom not present in other colonies where farmers could own their land and the local communities could appoint their own law magistrates and local government. In short, America was always a nation/colony that had a lot of freedoms associated with it and was tolerated by the English Empire. As a result, every time England came to visit he was always surprised with America’s uncanny growth. But even as a young child he had mentioned that he’d come to understand a lot about himself, though this is far earlier than one might expect.
As America grew up, a certain tsundere attitude from England in regards to such things as buying only his tea, only being close to him, and lastly accepting taxes without representation caused him to… as children often do from the rigorous rules of their parents, choose to fight and gain his independence from England. In addition, he outright changed his drinking habits from tea to coffee, just out of spite.
America fought hard for his independence though it seemed that England would have the upper hand. In the end, England couldn’t bring himself to finish off America [[(for reasons that America understands but doesn’t voice)]] and it seemed to be a less celebratory moment as it was bittersweet. Now he was an equal, as he’d always idealized and yet he felt unsettled by his victory against someone who he had always considered so great.
After gaining his independence, England became a distant figure in his past amidst a whole new slew of problems from becoming his own nation. America became embroiled in his own, new nation’s troubles and tribulations, (remaining unified as a nation instead of separate nations divided) struggling to stay together through the initial footholds that his experimental government was trying to grasp onto.
However, many people came to America for a new life, to start anew and in a place they could call their own, free to practice their religions and cultures while under the guise of becoming an American, thereby enriching his culture and becoming a beacon of freedom and hope for prosperity to those of other nations who would come. Though only 30 some years later America had to reestablish that he was as of yet independent and fought against England in the war of 1812. Ending this war in 1815, it was a draw, America seeming to narrowly dodge losing his independence yet a second time, and after bitter fighting he and England both agreed to resume things as they were before the war began.
[[From this, America’s infatuation with heroes began]] as his nation began to gain a sense of nationalism and rallied around the heroes of his nation’s founding. The industrial revolution came along [[For which he was very excited as he’s a fan of inventing new gadgets and tinkering with things]] with westward and northern expansion (which was not as glorious as it sounded, essentially expelling Native Americans from their homeland. [[But with that also came cowboys, and the Wild West]]). Meanwhile many reforms in personal liberties and justices (which America is very keen on keeping and fighting for Justice) were happening which strengthened the Unites States as a whole but began to lead to a serious divide that would head into the Civil War. Surely he wasn’t eager to fight his own people, but if it was in the name of justice then he would take up arms and fight.
This was a very active period for the USA, exports galore to faraway lands and poking his nose in places that many established empires would rather he didn’t. For fear of undermining their operations there with a new face and cheaper prices. Regardless, it was during this time period that America made efforts to get to know other nations that weren’t completely embroiled with Europe and who better than the hermit, Japan. America essentially bullied he way to Japan’s doorstep and quickly made to help modernize the previously self-isolated nation. There’s even a time where America, eager to show off, brought a called table turning, a way, supposedly of asking spirits questions and receiving their answer. Japan and America later on have quite the love of video games, so America hoped this would be a good ice-breaker for the reticent Japan. Not to mention being an easy way to impress him with his amazingness. The objective was to ask something you wanted a prediction about, anything and everything. Eventually, after a few non-consequential questions, Japan confessed that the change that America had brought was great and while he was glad for it, he was also concerned that he might not get along with the other nations. He then asked America if the spirits would predict he would manage to make friends with these nations. America was moved by Japan’s unusual directness and sudden vulnerability, and considering the game was controlled by one of the player’s hands, America quickly asked and moved the table turning to answer Japan’s question as YES. (Because let’s face it, America just wants to be everyone’s friend while still maintaining he’s the best! And maybe he’s a sucker for rescuing people from their troubles.)
Then came the Civil War, which was America’s bloodiest war yet and it nearly rent his nation apart [[(a sensation he doesn’t much like to recall and has thoroughly blocked from his memory as completely as he blocks others’ opinions of him)]] as several states seceded into the Confederate states. Still, through determination and luck once more, America managed to hold his nation together and abolished slavery (at least legally, it was the heroic thing to do!). From here, he experienced the first assassination of a president by his own citizen’s hands (a landmark moment in history for his people and [[unforgettable to him as he’d been relatively free of such treacheries prior]]. Since then, President Lincoln has come to be well-loved by him and his people).
Post Civil war, America focused instead on the industrial revolution which was kick-started into high gear, supported by a high number of immigrants coming to the USA to settle. This is turn, led the USA to become a powerful industrial nation with global influence. [[(A bigger hero with bigger toys)]] Not to mention enriching America’s culture, having several different languages and practices all immigrating to his shores. (A veritable melting pot party) Not to mention that it was made all the more awesome when France gave America the lovely Lady Liberty. He treasures it to this day as a symbol of freedom and of a [[European nation finally accepting him for the nation he’d become. (Or perhaps a ploy to get into his pants, he really couldn’t sort out why France up and gave him such an awesome gift! Aside from that he was awesome.) (Much better than the little toy soldiers England gave him.)]]
Hereupon WWI encroaches onto the scene, America initially maintaining neutrality (and surprisingly, diplomacy) until one of his merchant ships was attacked by Germany. [[(Hereupon his sense of justice finally overrode his long-standing desire to stay out of Europe’s (read: France and England’s) business) To start, he was not doing so fantastic (because he was still headstrong and didn’t want to listen to anyone else)]] he managed to come through and helped the other nations succeed in victory. After the war it seemed that many American soldiers were quite popular with foreign ladies, but this was likely due to the fact that they weren’t forced to rationing for years and on the verge of starving unlike the local soldiers. Not to mention, they were rich.
This led to the USA being quite prosperous [[(for which he had come to expect since he was a good, wholesome, heroic guy)]] by comparison to the other nations after WWI. Here, his economy boomed as he got his hands into payments for reparations and made some deals to try and help the situation. He enjoyed nearly a decade of pleasant growth… (as well as the development of many popular cultural items such as Jazz [[and ridiculous ideas like prohibition-a bad idea that was simply really bad)]] but all good things must come to an end and America was struck with not only an economic collapse but natural disaster to his agricultural investments as well due to poor farming practices. Both of these dealt a critical blow and it wasn’t until support began for WWII that the slump began to ease off for a time. (Though he had to be dragged into this war, too, [[only this time he reveled in the idea he was the cavalry coming to the rescue)]]
Currently he is allied with China, England, France and Russia as is historically appropriate for the time period of WWII.
Age: 19. (Though realistically he’s been around about 500 years and has been a nation for little over 200 years)
Canon point: 6 June 1944 (D-Day), since this is the day that I can recall as being a true allied unified effort that I can recall without referencing Wikipedia. *sheepish*
Personality: Boisterous, energetic and stubborn to a fault, Alfred is described as a man who cannot read the atmosphere, though to be more specific, it’s not that he can’t read the atmosphere but that he actively chooses to ignore it the majority of the time. Representing a multitude of different nationalities all under one, Alfred is a bright and optimistic sort-also to a fault, which makes him seem overbearing, pushy, much like a bully. Noted for having ridiculous brute strength and equally ridiculous ideas to solve issues, Alfred is generally a happy-go-lucky sort with a deep-seated passion for justice and to be not just a hero, but THE hero. A fan of fast food, archaeology and making adventure movies it’s no mystery where the ‘bigger is better’ mentality comes from. Despite this he’s a dynamic young man who holds life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness first and foremost in his mind. It’s in his nature to find ghosts terrifying and making a big deal out of things to do about him-namely his birthday (4th of July) and holidays such as Christmas, usually doing something outlandish to achieve being number one. He’s a complex character, however as he has a soft and even darker side about him that comes out in specific ways. His temper is not the most intimidating but you would probably do well not to cross this powerful nation.
Powers/Abilities: Alfred has had, from a young age, an uncanny physical strength. As a toddler he spun a buffalo effortlessly and he is later capable of carrying heavy items (such as Sports-Utility Vehicles) for long periods of time without breaking a sweat. Though he doesn’t use these skills to his advantage and often seems to be unaware that he’s doing anything particularly spectacular. He also has a tendency to be completely oblivious to the situation, at least socially… but more aptly it’s that he doesn’t really care. In this way he’s a very manipulative without actively meaning to sort of guy (though sometimes he will actively manipulate people as per his nature). It’s by his upbringing being raised and fed by England (whose cooking leaves much to be desired) that America can eat a variety of strange things. As a hobby he likes to make movies in which he stars as the hero, but is reluctant to show it to certain parties for their scathing remarks.
So far as death goes, being the physical representation of a nation in a living human is slightly different than your average life. So long as the idea persists of the nation in question then they still maintain their lives. However there are instances of nations are no longer officially sanctioned but still persist (re: ancient Roman Empire). As of yet, this phenomenon may be explained by the country was acknowledged as having existed at some point and has yet to be forgotten. Alfred hence has the ability (as with other nations) that makes dying or being killed very difficult. A fatal injury could be quickly recovered from (i.e.: gunshot to the heart/impalement, etc). Additionally, being a nation, he does not age the same as humans do, as he’s literally nearly 500 years old in concept, but appears around 19 years old. Though it’s never dealt with and directly stated in canon, the has come to be my understanding via Germania and the ancient Roman Empire being inclusive in some episodes and interacting with characters.
Last and not least, he is the physical representation of the United States of America and hence has the ability to sense if someone is a citizen of his respective nation as well as hearing the voice of his nation (it’s very loud). He also has deep ties to the land from sea to shining sea (let’s also not forget Alaska and Hawai’i), the great plains, the Rocky Mountains, Appalachian, Death Valley as examples. This is in addition to a special connection to his most famous cities such as New York, Miami, Orlando, Seattle, Houston, Chicago, Atlanta, Detroit, Los Angeles, San Diego, Boston, and yes, even Las Vegas to name a few. If damage or ill were to befall a part of his country he would know-additionally if they were to suddenly go silent, it would be quite alarming and reason to cause him discomfort. And as an additional tidbit he’s befriended aliens. Unlike England’s friends, others can see Tony (said alien’s name) but he’s still teased for his ‘weird friends’
Being removed from the USA for the sake of the RP (and dumped into one of his cities, though a facsimile) he would lack the ability to sense if someone is an American. In addition he’d have a great portion of his brute strength significantly diminished. (Only slightly stronger than he appears). He will also not hear the voice of his nation
Prose sample:
Nothing was nearly as invigorating in the morning that taking down a huge bad-ass bad guy first thing. And right now he was thanking his lucky stars that there was a second amendment to the constitution his old bosses had instigated. They’d been pretty adamant about it, too. Maybe they'd envisioned a different sort of apocalypse happening, however.
This apocalypse stretched far and beyond just the major cities, now. Most of the USA was in a state of absolute crisis. There were more scientific explanations for it, but he was too busy searching for survivors to bother with where the blame lay. At least for the moment.
Somehow the smell of this place was never going to get out of his clothes. The sweet, sickly smell of rot and decay that had very little to do with the open, untreated sewers nearby. No, right now, he was busy trying to fling off some gore from the latest malformed monster to make its way in front of his sights. Stupid zombies, didn’t they know he was a crack shot? The face he made when he saw the state of his jacket was nothing short of absolute dismay.
Slowly peeling a piece of flesh from somewhere out of his hair he stepped onto the creature-at least what was currently the most massive piece of it-and let out a victory laugh. It was slightly manic, but who wouldn’t be when their nation was infested with zombies, huh? Had been hard initially to shoot his own citizens but he’d done it before, long ago. Thankfully this time he hadn’t needed to waste time patching up in order to keep him from turning into one of them…
Plenty of people he’d rescued as he came across them looked at him as though he were mad to dash willingly into the fray... but what sort of hero ran to safety when there were still people in danger? It was for that reason he kept moving, so he couldn’t stop now. Putting his rocket launcher away by slinging it over one shoulder he armed himself with his trusty handgun. Making sure it was loaded he trudged forward, expression set grimly while he kicked in doors with guns pointed first-occasionally he found something of value, too.
“Alfred, where are you?” came Kiku’s voice from his headset. He’d rescued Kiku a few days ago, and it was handy having a smart Japanese guy who could make anything electronic with haphazard supplies. Seriously, give the guy some rubber bands and spit and you’d have a calculator in a few hours.
“Toward the basement. Thought I heard some screaming, hope it’s not too late…”
“Remember to keep an eye out for Mr. X. I left some supplies for you; it would be wise not to miss them.”
“You’re the best, Kiku!” and his smile carried through on the headset, or so he hoped, because he was grinning from ear to ear. Kiku did make an awesome sidekick and was by far the most interesting rescue he’d made as of yet. Still, sometimes it was a challenge to get information out of him and even then it was kind of… well, not information. Regardless, he was invaluable as his support so he wasn’t going to complain about some of Kiku’s quirks.
There was a sudden piercing sound of metal bending as he vaulted over one of the fences which had his senses on automatic alert. He landed with a secure thud and turned to scan the area where the sound originated with his gun at the ready.
“Hold your position, Alfred, I’ll be there soon.”
“Yeah, you got it,” he said calmly but his heart was pounding with excitement. It was a moment later that something shifted in the dark before he felt its approach more than saw it, aiming right for his throat! He swore loudly and dove into a roll, but whatever it was had struck a glancing blow. Kiku was on his way over; he had to get rid of this thing before it had two targets to go after.
Righting himself quickly he took out his rocket launcher, ready to rain some hell down on this damn… thing! He even had a good bead on it as it barreled his way and then suddenly there was a large, gray box disrupting his vision. Additionally, everything went quiet-- or that is to say his personally tailored soundtrack cut out and was replaced with the sound of his XBox360 fan blowing. …Replaced with the ambient sounds of his apartment. His head jerked back slightly as he glanced around, wondering if it was a glitch, did it just Red Ring of Death? Son of a--
That’s when he heard another voice bidding Kiku good day and that Alfred was up far past his bedtime. Looking behind him, he was no longer in the factory basement being attacked by rabid creatures from the zombie apocalypse but he did have a very irritated looking gentleman scowling at him. If he used his imagination (often it ran wild) he looked like a zombie looming over him. Only zombies didn’t complain intelligently, this guy did.
“Would you kindly shut the hell up?” Arthur snapped at him.
“You do realize I’ll have to start all over again now that you did that,” Alfred drawled with a grin that could be darling if it wasn’t laced with a bit of venom.
Arthur glowered at him and mumbled something unintelligible as he turned away that sounded like bloody yank. Behind him his TV bleeped softly, informing him he’d received a message from Chrysanthemum. As expected it was an apology for such short notice but that he had some ‘unexpected’ errands to attend to and that Alfred-san really should get some sleep. With a sigh Alfred shut down his Xbox, stood and stretched with his hands over his head.
Zombies had won this game over tonight, but there was always tomorrow.
Links: I haven’t attempted this character yet but in private RP sessions.