I wanna clarify a bit about my public au, though I'm sure most of my followers already know what I'm talking about. I'm not sure if I've even made a post about this, but I just like thinking about it!
I'm not sure to even tag this au as "Nations Revealed" because my idea of them being revealed isn't like what I usually see in fics. I do think they were kept a secret, but the reveal happened earlier in history. I also imagine some civilizations were more secretive than others.
Back in the day, it was easier to keep a nation as something only a leader and their surrounding circle knew about. There would be the occasional tale about an eternally youthful advisor to the king, or a soldier who rose from the dead in battle, but that would be brushed off as nothing more than a myth.
Then, the printing press was invented, and word about these mysterious beings spread further. Some were curious, others were skeptical, and there was even a few who denounced them as abominations against nature.
There were leaders who clung to their secrecy, but most knew that the discovery of nation people was inevitable. The connection between human and nation grew stronger, as was intended for their purpose to help and represent the people.
Some leaders tried to fight against this, not wanting to accept that a nation was never supposed to represent only them. They limited their nation's interaction with common folk, and they reserved them more for diplomatic purposes as a mouthpiece for the state.
In the 19th century, during the rise of nationalism, nations became a source of pride and admiration. People were becoming unified under a shared national identity, and they looked up to them with an idealized lens. And with the rise of newspapers, telegrams, and railroads, almost everyone knew about nations without even having to meet them.
The 20th and 21st century were when nations started to become more "humanized". As people learned more about them and their lives, they saw them as more relatable and almost less desirable. Though they still had some star power, the shiny nationalistic veneer was beginning to wear off.
Now, with social media, nations are no longer elusive figures but simply average celebrities. They've become normalized as a part of society. They're more involved with the lives of humans than ever before, and their privacy is almost nonexistent.
Some think this is for the better, but what happens when a nation person people view as essentially human shows traits that are not? Their very existence defies the laws of nature. Perhaps the humans are beginning to learn a little too much about them? Will they be able to comprehend what they discover?
