Statehouse Thoughts & Headcannons

Personifications and Sides

THE WAY I PROCRASTINATED SO HAD ON THISF BECAUSE WORDS ARE HARD AND SCHOOLS STARTING AGAIN SOON- anyway, here it is, after me writing half of it and putting it off until Jelly made me want to post a different thing that very much relies on me explaining my thoughts on this.

Theories on personifications:

Okay so the state wouldn't appear the second colonizers arrive, explorations and stuff only map out the area and, well, explore. Until there are buildings and a population of at least a few, they wouldn't exist.

Depending the situation and what they're a personification of they can first appear at the physical age of anywhere from 5 to 14.
Rate of physical growth also depends on the situation. I know I'm saying it depends a lot but when I finally finish the editing I've got a few chapters that focus on each character and specify how that would've happened and why.

Nows the part where I should be explains how splits work but that gets really complicated real fast and while I could explain it pretty easily by talking this is gonna be a bit more difficult so please bare with me.

Splits can go two ways, the first being if the state is perfectly fine but the land group is too big so the government decides to split it into two or more other states. In this case the personification was pretty solid and when it's split that person would die and be replaced by new personifications, each being relatively similar personality wise at first until they develop strong differences.

Then there's the other way.
When a state is already divided, like the Carolinas, that personification would've been pretty split to begin with, the situation being more like two people in one body. Only one can be at the in control at a time but they can switch very easily and quickly.
When the government finally officiates a split like this they separate and get their own bodies, no one dying in the process. The personalities are still the same as they were before, meaning they're very different from each other and argue a Lot. They'd also still have their memories from before the split, unlike the other way where the completely new personifications appear.

Going more into detail with this and regarding the "sides" as sssleepyjellyyy put it:

Sides and splits are both different and similar. I think sides are less about the state being divided in half and more about a specific part of the state being unique enough to have its own identity. For example, major cities usually have characteristics found only there and not in the rest of the state, making it separate enough for it to be its own personality.

Then there are just areas that are pretty much just part of the state but have like, one unique trait. They, unlike cities, aren't actually personified and only manifest through little things, like The Villages causing Florida to make weird comments like the crabs thing.
Less of a side and more of an influence.

And last but not least there are full splits which are kinda just two very defined and sides. It's like the "a square is a rectangle but a rectangle is not a square" thing.
A split is two or more sides but sides are not always a split.

In the case of just a city or autonomous zone the side just kinda chills, and can be switched over to being at the front and take the wheel if the overall state allows it but the state can also take control again at any time. A good example of this is Austin.
Texas switched over to Austin so he could explain what he did to DC but as soon as Austin was done Texas essentially put him back at the kids table.

Cities are still able to hear & see what's happening when someone else (usually the states main personification) is in control but can't really react outwardly. They can still technically react though, it just won't be heard or known by anyone but the sides they share a body with. Whoever's in control can announce it though, like when Illinois was butchering a Spanish word and Florida said "Miami just cried a little"
(Yes I know it was probably figure of speech but for the sake of this making sense at all, no it wasn't)

Insert the visual of Florida sitting at a meeting, seemingly staring into space when really he's trying to tune out how Orlando and Jacksonville are absolutely sCREECHING at each other over who's better.

Splits are like conjoined twins. They can also see & hear everything that's happening when someone else is in control (given that they're paying attention) but they can react. Where as cities can only be in control when the main state lets them, split sides are kinda just fighting over the wheel so they can cut each other off mid sentence by appearing or react to something outwardly if they feel like it but the other can do the exact same to them.

If an officiated split isn't something they can see in the near future or their situation is a bit different then they'd probably talk and figure out which of them should be the 'acting side' for meetings and stuff. Making that side the one the other states are used to. (ie. why DC was so confused when suddenly California was flashing between 'normal' and 'blue shirt chill state he's never seen before')

I'm almost positive that one side in a split could be just internally teasing the other and the energy/effort makes them accidentally end up in control, making it seem to the other states like they had just appeared in place of the state's usual acting side while screeching baby shark at the  top of their lungs for no reason.

Sides have their own little differences appearance wise too, cities and areas being more subtle, like Austin not having a cowboy hat. Depending on how different a city/zone is the more excessively different it's appearance would be. For example: CHAZ, he still had Washington's shirt but had mask and hat. (I will note that he also still had glasses but that's less of an appearance thing and more a 'the shared body's eyes are shitty and while one of them can choose to take the glasses off, they'd be blind')
Split sides being able to have completely different outfits, that outfit being whatever they put on the last time they were in control. When sides switch control the overall personifications outfit changes in a similar way to how they appear when someone calls them.

Another thing that makes it most obvious when a side switches: voice & accent.
They're all different.

I hope that covers,, enough of that
Probably not though, I'm probably gonna think of something later that I forgot to include and have to make a part two.

Now, onto the California situation since he's slightly different (also very important to the fic I'm gonna post as soon as possible so pay attention)

After much looking into the topic on YouTube, scouring comment sections, and checking what areas had what covid restrictions in place at the time the video was posted I think I've figured it out but I'm not from California so please correct me if I'm wrong.

Blue shirt surfer Cali is SoCal, flannel hipster Cali is NorCal.

Well, kinda.

California probably started out relatively solid and the split developed over time.
It's all headcannons and speculation from here
The hipster Cali we know and love was the original personification and as SoCal started developing and becoming more and more different he took up the role of NorCal, traits from that area influencing him more.
So California is simultaneously the state (he, like all the other states, represents not only the people and land (which is what causes splits and is divided up between them), but the government and industry too) and just NorCal. SoCal however, is just SoCal.

Also I'd just like to say that while if they ever did successfully manage to split they'd each be the height of like, half of California, they're currently in an Evelyn Evelyn situation and share the land, even if the features of that land don't affect them both. So California is tall and lanky, thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

I have not spell checked Any Of This and I'm too busy to do that right now so,, hoping y'all just understand what I meant if there are any errors