Characters / Weight of the World: America And Canada

Main Character Index | America and Canada | Teams RWBY and JNPR | The Nations of Earth | Antagonists | Others

All spoilers are unmarked. You Have Been Warned.

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The North American Twins.

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Both Twins

• Apologizes a Lot:
  • "Sorry" could be considered Canada's catchphrase up to The Depths of Deception. Then Character Development kicks in.
  • America gains the habit of apologizing for inconveniencing people after losing his memories. It grows more pronounced after he is captured by Poledina and tortured by the ex-soldier. Polendina's habit of blaming America and calling him unreasonable for not resurrecting Penny is also a factor in the increased frequency of apologies.
• Be Careful What You Wish For:
  • America has always wanted to be the hero and the Chosen One who is destined to save the day. Vale's Aura and all the burdens that come with it are forced upon him. The trauma he suffers because of his guardian status and the stress of having to save two worlds sends him into an emotional downward spiral. He does save the day in the end, but it takes him decades to fully recover from what he went through on his unwanted and traumatizing adventure.
  • Canada has always wanted to be noticed and stand on his own and out of America's shadow. When America has amnesia, Canada has no choice but to stand in the spotlight to protect his twin. He hates every minute of it.
• Big Brother Instinct:
  • Canada becomes very protective of America after the latter goes missing during the Fall of Beacon.
  • America towards Penny 2.0. He is protective of her (though not as protective as she is towards him) and tries to help her learn life lessons and overcome her issues.
• Character Development:
  • America grows past his initial Leeroy Jenkins attitude and become more level-headed, strategic, and logical, as shown during his battle against Ironwood and Penny 2.0. He's also developed (or more accurately, is more willing to show) a selfless and thoughtful side, as displayed when he protects Canada in the lab. After struggling alone, he takes steps to learn to accept help, open up to other people, and take better care of himself.
  • Canada begins the story as a quiet, shy guy who would rather let America do the talking. He also lets others walk all over him in order to avoid further conflict. Canada develops an assertive and fiercely protective side to the point where he will stand up to Russia. He has to when America has amnesia and needs Canada to help him navigate Earth's politics.
• Color Motif:
  • America: Blue. He wears a blue shirt, wields a blue bat, and has blue as his natural Aura color, which turns blue-green when Vale merges with him. After Vale dies, his Aura and flames are blue, showing he is completely himself again. Fitting the symbolism of the color blue, America is a sad and depressed guy for a while, though he finds serenity and peace with himself and the world by the end of the series.
  • Canada: Purple and red.
    • He wears red, has a red weapon, and his Aura is naturally red. His eyes turn red when he is under the influence of the Grimm essence. To go with the anger and passion-based symbolism of the color red, Canada becomes more willing to use violence to protect his loved ones as the series goes on.
    • His Aura permanently becomes reddish-purple after he receives Mantle's Aura, and his eyes are purple as well. His Semblances make him one of the most powerful characters in the series. He also grasps Mantle's powers quicker than America does Vale's, and his eyes glow purple when he uses them.
• Combat Pragmatist:
  • America learns to fight dirty if it will keep himself and his loved ones alive such as when he cuts the wires to an elevator in an attempt to bring Atlas down with it. He also uses a hidden Poison Ring on her when he has no other weapons left.
  • Like his brothers, Canada is willing to use underhanded tactics to win, such as when he uses ice to blind his opponents.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: After all the suffering and pain the twins went through, they beat Salem and the Grimm, survive the war, and go home. Not only that, but Penny comes with them, the nations of Earth are closer than ever, and "superheroes"^note  actually people with Aura are appearing all over Earth. As America says, it's a dream come true.
• The Empath: All nations have a limited empathetic connection with their people where they can get a sense of the moods of the general populace. This hits America hard when he is surrounded by the suffering people of Woodland.
• Fatal Flaw:
  • America's Guilt Complex and low self-worth have enough influence on him that he will allow his allies (such as Russia and Ruby) to verbally and physically abuse him, causing him further physical, emotional, and mental harm. He acknowledges this is a problem but struggles to resist his instincts because he genuinely believes their lives and happiness are more important than his, to the point where he considers suicide to keep them safe.
  • Canada's passiveness and desire to not bother his family by telling them he's dying nearly gets him killed. Cuba calls him out on it, and France refuses to let him downplay his injuries "so they won't worry" again after Canada is infected with the Grimm essence.
• Glowing Eyes:
  • Canada's eyes glow purple when he uses Mantle's Semblance. Or if he's angry. They glow red when he's being influenced by the Grimm essence.
  • America's eyes glow green whenever he uses Vale's Semblance. His sclera glow gold when he uses the Relic of Choice's power due to it being inside him.
• Healing Factor: As long as a wound isn't "fatal", the personifications of Earth can quickly regenerate and keep on going. If it is "fatal" they fall into a coma to allow their body to heal.
• Improbably Quick Coma Recovery: Personifications of Earth fall into a coma-like state whenever they receive what would be a fatal wound on a human. They rest in peace while their body heals and awaken right after.
• In-Series Nickname: Yang has nicknames for both twins: "Sky Eyes" for Alfred and "Emperor Curly" for Matthew.
• No-Sell: America and Canada are completely immune to Emerald's hallucination Semblance.
• One-Man Army:
  • Using his ice powers, Canada defeats an entire swarm of Nevermore and Griffons by himself while defending a refugee airship.
  • America is capable of taking out swarms of Grimm and enemy combatants by himself. After the airship crashes into a lake he destroys thousands of Grimm with a single blast, though it leaves him exhausted.
• Perspective Reversal: At the start of the series America recklessly plunges into battle while Canada remains cautious and prefers nonviolence. Towards the end America is much more cautious and peaceful while Canada is willing to use violence to keep his family and friends safe, as shown when he threatens to send Russia back to Earth for hurting America.
• Sibling Team: They often work and fight together. If there is an attack, they will seek each other out so they can watch each other's backs.
• Stranger in a Familiar Land: Both twins struggle to adjust back to life on Earth when they return. Canada always carries Maple Frost with him whenever he can and America is shocked by the other nations' lackadaisical and argumentative approach to handling a World Meeting.
• Swiss-Army Weapon:
  • America: (Cobalt Striker) pump-action shotgun bayonet-baseball bat
  • Canada: (Maple Frost) high-caliber sniper rifle hockey stick with a scythe-like blade. ^note the hitting end of the hockey stick.
• Synchronization: When their nation is attacked or is hit by a natural disaster, they feel pain and suffer injuries at the site. A bad economy can make them ill as well. Both twins experience the worst of it when their Remnant sides are dying and taking them with them.

America (Alfred F. Jones)

"I know I've been drafted as the key to a Relic, but I accept that. I choose to take part in this fight so I can help the people I care about and save this world. Ozpin can spout 'for the greater good' and focus on Salem. I'm going to make sure my friends aren't sacrifices in this war. And if that means getting the Relic of Choice and kicking ass, I'm game."

The protagonist of the series. He is the personification of the United States of America, and brother of Canada and England. After being kidnapped by Atlas alongside Canada, part of Vale's Aura is forced into his body, throwing him right into the middle of the war between Salem and Ozpin.

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• Acquired Drug Immunity: Downplayed since he isn't immune, just resistant. He's been paralyzed with drugs so many times that he burns through it much quicker than he did before.
• Afraid of Needles: Justified. He was fine with injections before his capture by Atlas but after being experimented on and drugged via injections during his captivity, he panics when he sees syringes.
• Ain't Too Proud to Beg: When Salem stomps on Penny's head with the intent of crushing her skull, America begs her to stop hurting her.
• Amnesiac Hero: He loses his memories due to his soul merging with Vale. He regains them at the end of The Depths of Deception.
• And I Must Scream: When Ironwood drugs America, he is paralyzed and aware but completely helpless to stop Ironwood as he injects him with more doses of the paralytic. This nearly makes America overdose.
• All-Loving Hero: Even after all the terrible things he has gone through, he is willing to see the best in people with a few noteworthy exceptions.
• Badass in Distress: The time he was captured by Polendina. He ends up saving himself.
• Barrier Maiden: A rare male example. If America were to die or die, his and Vale's people would be negatively affected and would likely die with him. Once Salem has all the Relics except Choice, he becomes this for Remnant and Earth as a whole.
• Bash Brothers: With Pyrrha during the Grimm attack on the World Meeting and later with Penny 2.0.
• Batter Up!: America's Swiss-Army Weapon (named Cobalt Striker) is a large blue bat in its default form.
• Bayonet Ya: Cobalt Striker has a retractable bayonet in its tip.
• Bearer of Bad News: Due to his connection to the city, America has to tell Team RWBY that Frontier (the town where Qrow, Whitley, Sun, and Klein were) was destroyed.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Hurt his friends or family and he will drop you.
• Big Brother Mentor: The beginning of The Charlatan of Choice shows him guiding Penny 2.0 through the process of learning morality. He helps her find value in activities other than fighting.
• Birds of a Feather: He and Ruby instantly click thanks to their shared love of weapons.
• Blessed with Suck: America gets Vale's Aura and what is essentially near god-like control over the weather? Cool! But the Aura-bonding process is incredibly painful, Salem, Atlas, and their followers are actively hunting him, Ozpin sees him as a pawn to be manipulated or killed, he receives excruciatingly painful injuries whenever the Kingdom of Vale is attacked ^{injury list} which includes endless fatigue, bloody noses, broken limbs, internal injuries and bleeding, and blindness in one eye , and he will die with Vale if it falls.
• Blow You Away: Controlling wind is part of his power-set thanks to Vale's Aura. He has a tendency to use it against opponents he would rather not hurt, or to give himself time to get away.
• Blue Is Heroic: He wears a blue t-shirt under his black jacket and wields a blue shotgun-bayonet-bat as his weapon.
• Boisterous Bruiser: He gleefully fights the Beowolves in the forest near Woodland and pouts when Canada says they cannot hunt the rest of the Grimm in the area. He slowly loses this boisterousness in battle. While he still enjoys a good challenge, he rarely laughs or smiles while fighting anymore. Seeing how he has to fight the likes of Ironwood, Atlas, and Salem, (people who have harmed him and his loved ones many times) it's no surprise he's less than pleased. At this point, he just wants the fighting to end.
• Bound and Gagged: He is gagged, blindfolded, and chained to a table while captured by Polendina.
• Break the Badass: During The Atrocities of Atlas and The Charlatan of Choice. Being tortured (along with all the other things he went through) slowly wears him down until he crosses the Despair Event Horizon and falls into a depression it takes years for him to recover from. He keeps fighting mostly because his friends will die if he doesn't.
• Break the Cutie: Repeatedly. The series could be called "How to Break Alfred F. Jones." He doesn't give up.
• Breaking the Bonds: When the Atlas soldiers separate America from Canada, America snaps the thick handcuffs they put him in. After that, the scientists take extra precautions to make his handcuffs out of material he cannot break.
• Broken Hero: He remains cheerful, kind, and optimistic despite the hell he's been through.
• Broken Pedestal: As an amnesiac, he idolizes England. Then England tries to trick him into severing his bond with Vale's people, which would doom her citizens to a nation-wide Loss of Identity. The pedestal is rebuilt after England takes steps to atone for what he tried to do and America regains his memories.
• Broken Tears: After England tells him that no one wants him to sacrifice himself to save Remnant and Earth. It is not as heartwarming as it sounds. America cries not only because of Blake's death and Canada's capture, but because he realizes he isn't convinced by England's claims that he should live.
• Brought Down to Badass: Temporarily when Ironwood fits him with a collar that will inject him with drugs if he uses his Aura or either of his Semblances. America still manages to fight off both Ironwood and Hazel and escape.
• The Call Knows Where You Live: Even going back to Earth does not protect him from Atlas soldiers, who drag him back to Remnant.
• Cassandra Truth: Team RWBY refuses to believe their good friend Emerald tried to pickpocket America. America and Canada decide not to tell them about Emerald's shady illusion Semblance as a result, predicting RWBY would not believe them no matter what evidence they had. In contrast, Penny believes America about Emerald's Semblance and untrustworthy nature.
• Chaste Hero: America knows what sex and romance are but is not sexually attracted to other people and shows no interest in sex or romantic relationships in general. He only cares about other things like his family and friends, food, video games, and being a hero. Confirmed by the author and later confirmed in-universe in chapter seven of The Charlatan of Choice.
• Child of Two Worlds: After Vale's Aura is forced into America's body, he becomes a personification for nations on both Earth and Remnant. He is torn between his duties to his people as others expect him to put one people above the other. While America is determined to protect both Earth and Remnant, other nations disagree and think he should focus on America and leave Vale and Remnant in the dust. Some nations (primarily England) are disgusted whenever America shows concern for Vale and Remnant. This leaves America feeling isolated because Vale is a part of him now, so they are rejecting part of who he is.
• Cold-Blooded Torture:
  • The ex-Atlas soldier tortures America by carving the word "Sacrifice" into his back over and over. The soldier succeeds in making his "message" stick.
  • Once America is at her mercy, Atlas repeatedly stabs him clean through his stomach and out his back. She knows he'll survive whatever she does to him so causes him as much pain as possible as she demands he submit to her.
  • Roman and Emerald torture him while he is under the sleeping curse. This is to get a reaction out of Canada and force him to reveal how to wake America up.
  • After America absorbs the Relic of Choice, Roman tortures him to try to make him lose the will to live, which will make the Relic kill him instead of keeping him alive.
• Cover-Blowing Superpower: Vale's Semblance, primarily the fire and lightning abilities. Using them confirms his identity to the Karkadann (and by extension, Salem).
• Defiant Captive: In the lab. He fights the guards whenever the opportunity arises or if Canada is in danger. His defiance causes Ironwood to threaten Canada in order to keep America in line.
• Defiant to the End:
  • He is stoic and unafraid when Raven threatens to slash his throat since he refuses to join her. He remains so when she does it.
  • He refuses his attacker's command that he beg when Atlas tortures him by repeatedly stabbing him through the stomach.
• Determinator: He has been abducted, tortured, dissected, experimented on, manipulated, and betrayed countless times yet still carries onward and fights for his family and friends.
• Determined Defeatist: He is convinced he will not survive the war but fights to save everyone anyway.
• Did You Just Flip Off Cthulhu?: He interrupts Salem and calls her out on her lies when she tries to convince him she's Not Evil, Just Misunderstood.
  America: You can preach your so-called "kindness" all you want. I've heard that bullshit enough times already to know when it's fake.
• Do Not Taunt Cthulhu: Soon afterward, Salem pins him down and tries to infect him with Grimm essence by cutting him open. He barely escapes.
• Don't Look At Me: America keeps himself covered whenever he can to hide the scars he received from the Ax-Crazy soldier.
• Driven to Suicide: Defied. America considers killing himself so Salem cannot win but is convinced not to by Vale, England, and Australia.
• Duality Motif: After merging with Vale, America's right eye is blue and his left is green. His eyecolor returns to blue in both eyes after Vale's Heroic Sacrifice.
• Elemental Punch: He's capable of delivering wind, fire, or electrified melee attacks.
• Endearingly Dorky: Alfred loves comic books and movies and his first conversation with Ruby has them both squeeing over each other's weapons, which endears him to the older members of Teams RWBY and JNPR. He enthusiastically compares Semblances and the like to things from comic books. Japan and Pyrrha both think it's adorable.
• Exhausted Eye Bags: He gets them after weeks of no sleep after finding out he may die along with the Kingdom of Vale if it falls.
• Eye Colour Change: His eyes turn green when he accesses Vale's powers.
• Eye Scream: His left eye bleeds profusely and is blinded due to the attack on Frontier. He regains his sight when Vale dies.
• Eyepatch of Power: At England and Canada's insistence, America wears an eyepatch to conceal his green eye while on Earth.
• Fan Disservice: He is an attractive guy, but every time he is shirtless he is being cruelly tortured and is covered in his own blood.
• Flight: Like Vale, he can fly and hover using her Semblance. It takes up a lot of Aura and concentration so he rarely uses it. Eventually he is too weakened to fly without the risk of falling.
• Freak Out: Suffers a minor one when he feels Vale's Aura inside him. He makes as if to scratch at his skin in order to "get it out" but calms down before he can try.
• Friend to All Children: He has a soft spot for kids. He saves a little girl from being run over by a truck and listens animatedly as another lost little girl talks to him about her kitten backpack. Deconstructed in that Pyrrha and Canada fear the little girl may be part of a trap since their enemies know he has this trait.
• Friend to All Living Things: His pets are a cat, a whale, and a unicorn. He befriended an alien named Tony. Even the most timid of wild animals walk right up to him. He feels extremely guilty about the animals' trust when he is alone in the woods of Anima and needs food. He has no choice but to kill them unless he wants to starve.
• Forced Sleep: England puts a sleeping spell on America that can be triggered in order to keep Salem from being able to use him to unlock Beacon's Vault and Relic of Choice. America can only be woken from the spell by a specific phrase. As he is about to be taken to Salem, America uses the spell, falling into a Deep Sleep.
• Forgets to Eat: After being held captive by Polendina and nearly starved he has the habit of becoming engrossed in things (like his thoughts) and forgetting that he needs food.
• Futile Hand Reach: Reaches towards Penny as her head is being crushed by Salem. His leg is broken and he is being Mind Raped by both Salem and Roman so he is too weak to help her.
• Gallows Humor: America often uses this humor to cope with dark situations. One time he jokes that he should distract Salem so the other heroes can escape the temple. The others don't find it funny.
• The Glomp: He often throws himself at Canada, England, or Japan to hug them tightly. One particular instance has him accidentally catch Canada around the neck, causing him to choke.
• The Gloves Come Off: During his fight with Atlas, America does not hold back in the slightest. He forsakes conserving his Aura in favor of doing everything he can to defeat his enemy, who is directly threatening the lives of Ruby and Weiss.
• Guilt Complex: After multiple betrayals and being treated like an object to be captured or manipulated by multiple parties and his self-worth is crushed into dust, he develops one. If something goes wrong, he blames himself. If a friend is hurt, he blames himself. If a friend attacks or insults him, he blames himself. It's gotten to the point where if an ally or friend is (seemingly) about to attack him, he will not fight back and thinks he did something to deserve it.
• Handicapped Badass: The attack on Frontier blinds him in one eye. Thanks to wearing an eyepatch on Earth, he is used to using one eye and still kicks ass. He regains his sight when Vale dies.
• Hates Being Alone: America is terrified of everyone leaving him after Roman, Neo, and Mercury's betrayal. This only grows more pronounced after he is left in isolation for weeks by Polendina.
• Heroic Ambidexterity: He has no problem swinging his bat in his left or right hand.
• Heroic BSoD: Falls into a depression after getting hit with everything he has gone through and that he may die soon. It takes years for him to fully recover but once he does, he finds happiness and peace.
• Heroic Resolve: No matter how many times he is knocked down during a fight, he gets back up again. On display most during his fights against Atlas and the Warden Grimm.
• Heroic Safe Mode: Enters this in Kuroyuri, after he remembers England pointing a gun at him during the Revolution, and begins calmly burning everything around him to the ground.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation: Thanks to being treated like an object to be manipulated, captured, or won by numerous parties, his sense of self-worth has decreased vastly. He struggles with self-doubt and questions whether Roman is right about him simply being a "prize" to be fought over by the bigger players. As the series goes on, he slowly loses all sense of self-worth. He sees himself as good-for-nothing that only makes things worse for people and cannot save anyone. He laments that France, Australia, and Romano were only captured because of him and he only managed to help one person in the Transformation Institute before being taken out by Atlas. In response, Canada takes him to the family of the Faunus he saved: the Katts. Seeing the family and being thanked by them helps restore America's self-worth enough that he regains a tiny bit of the will to live.
  For a little while, America was not Vale, or a sacrifice, or a victim, or a living, breathing mistake. He was Alfred, and to this family, he was a hero.
  For now, that was enough for him.
• Hidden Depths: America acts like a cheerfully oblivious goofball but is actually quite intelligent and perceptive. He also has enough trauma and insecurities to fill an airshipyard, though he tries to hide them from his friends and family so they do not worry about him.
• Horrible Judge of Character: While he has amnesia, he's so innocent and unaware of the evils of the world that he fails to understand Neo murdered the waitress who recognized him and sees Roman and Mercury's loathing remarks as friendly ribbing. After they betray him he becomes a lot more cautious.
• Humble Hero: He does not see himself as a savior. He wants to save Remnant and Earth because it is the right thing to do. When others try to tell him about the good he did, he's more embarrassed than anything. Though a bit of that humbleness may come from his self-worth issues.
• Hybrid Power: A variant. America is a personification of two nations (America and Vale), yet suffers from none of the vulnerabilities that the Remnant nation-tans do. Justified because Vale's Aura is transferred to his body, which comes with a Healing Factor and more thorough Immortality. That changes when the Kingdom of Vale begins to deteriorate like Mantle.
• I Am What I Am: It takes years but he comes to accept his flaws and trauma, and in doing so, heals and recovers.
• I Just Want to Be Normal: By the time The Depths of Deception rolls around, he would have really preferred that Vale's Aura was never forced into him.
• I'm Crying, but I Don't Know Why: He wakes up crying one day and is bewildered as to why. It's implied to be because he sensed Uni and his home were attacked.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Atlas stabs him through the stomach with a spear. Repeatedly. He survives.
• The Insomniac: During The Charlatan of Choice, other than his bout of Sleepy Depressiveness, he does not sleep for weeks. It is another symptom of his PTSD and depression. He only manages to sleep when Romano uses his Semblance on him.
• In Touch with His Feminine Side: America does not hesitate to show his emotions, though he does try to cry in private or when he's only with his brothers. When England puts a spell on him to protect his soul from Aura-draining devices he's disappointed that his "Fairy Godbrother" didn't give him a cool dress too. When England sarcastically asks for confirmation that he wanted a dress, America enthusiastically confirms it before deciding a poofy princess dress would make it more difficult to fight.
• It Sucks to Be the Chosen One: Because he has Vale's Aura, America is constantly hunted by the factions that seek to use him to retrieve the Relic of Choice in Beacon. He must be extremely careful who he trusts because there is a chance they will turn on him and sell him out to whatever faction they choose.
• Layman's Terms: He often translates Penny 2.0's Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness.
• Le Parkour: He vaults up an elevator shaft and through decrepit mines during his fight with Atlas.
• Lightning Bruiser: He is fast and hits hard. He also has more Aura than the norm since he has both his own and Vale's at his disposal. On display most during his fight with Atlas, where he is able to move quickly enough to defend Ruby and Weiss from his opponent and takes a lot of hits before his Aura runs out.
• Locked into Strangeness: His left eye turns green after he receives all of Vale's Aura.
• MacGuffin Super-Person: He is sought after by Ozpinati, Atlas, and Salem because he has Vale's Aura, and thus is the only one who can reach and unlock the Relic of Choice.
• Major Injury Underreaction:
  • His only reaction to his leg breaking in three places is exasperation and minor annoyance. Since he had been getting injured repeatedly for a while now since Salem is attacking Vale's towns he's used to it.
  • When Salem stabs him with the sacrificial dagger he only gives a soft "Oh." in response. No one realizes he's been hurt until after the fight is over.
• Meaningful Name: America's full human name is Alfred Franklin Jones.
• Mirthless Laughter: America has a habit of chuckling humorlessly during or after bad situations, such as when Ozpin tries to murder him.
• Mind Rape:
  • Desperate to survive, Vale viciously assaults his mind as she tries to snuff out his soul. He feels as if he is being burned, stabbed, and torn apart. This lasts two weeks before America is able to reason with her.
  • Salem and Roman simultaneously use their emotion-manipulating Semblances on America to incapacitate him. His mind is yanked back and forth between negative emotions and cynicism. It is so painful that his skull feels like it is being split open and he collapses to the ground, screaming.
  • Canada uses his Semblance on America during their fight, making America feel physical pain along with becoming more and more terrified and confused as he forgets where he is, who he is fighting, and what is going on.
• Morality Pet: Is this to Penny 2.0. He helps curb her sociopathic tendencies and helps teach her that not all things other than him should be categorized as "threat", "possible threat", or "irrelevant".
• Nerves of Steel:
  • He remains calm and collected when facing Salem herself. He knows Salem can manipulate his fear if he lets it fester.
  • He is also stoic and unmoved when Roman threatens to cut him up with a switchblade. He internally admits he is afraid of many things his enemies can do to him, but Roman's threats will never make that list.
• Noodle Incident: One time he took Air Force One on a joyride because he was bored.
• No Man Should Have This Power: He unyieldingly demands that Ruby destroy the Relic of Choice (which is inside his body) because he does not trust anyone with its power, not even himself since he could accidentally take away people's free will with it.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: America is a lot smarter than he lets on. He often keeps up an oblivious exterior to hide how much his friends' and England's dismissive treatment hurts him.
• Oh, Crap!: Has a minor one when he realizes :Ozpin separated him from the group to attempt to sacrifice him.
• Parental Neglect: England left him alone for extended periods of time during his childhood, as in for decades at a time. This left America with a few abandonment issues and severe anxiety about being left alone.
• Platonic Life-Partners: He becomes this with Pyrrha during The Depths of Deception. They open up to each other emotionally and remain close friends.
• Playing with Fire: Is capable of throwing large plumes of flame and heating his body to ward off the cold.
• Power Incontinence:
  • He often accidentally sparks or flares when he is startled or upset. He nearly burns Russia when he grabs him unexpectedly.
  • America is overwhelmed by the negative emotions of the suffering people of Woodland. Their feelings enhance his own and he suffers from bad migraines. He becomes more and more despondent the longer they stay in town to the point where he starts considering suicide like some of the citizens. He snaps out of it.
• The Power of Acting: During his and Winter's infiltration of the Transformation Institute. America shows off some stellar acting skills as he pretends to be an innocent and terrified teenager who has no idea why he is being arrested. Even Winter is made uncomfortable by how real his pleading sounds.
• Pull Yourself Down the Spear: Atlas impales an Auraless America through the stomach, pinning him to the floor. He yanks himself up the spear to reach her and slashes her with his Poison Ring.
• Punished for Sympathy: Downplayed. America is rebuked and snapped at by France for not wanting to kill two unconscious guards at the Institute. This makes him feeling guilty for showing mercy to the people who hurt France, and he is noticeably quiet and passive afterward.
• Questionable Consent: A non-romantic version. No matter how much Ozpinati insists he has a choice, America has no choice when it comes to accepting the remainder of Vale's Aura. No matter what happens, the rest will come to him eventually. Adding to the "questionable" part is the way Ozpinati asks him. America is outnumbered and alone with them in an unknown place when they "ask" him to accept the rest of Vale's Aura. America is completely aware Ozpinati could just shove him into the Aura machine or grab him out of his bed if he refuses to do what they want. He tries to defend their decision during a therapy session but comes to acknowledge he never had a choice and was pressured into it.
• Razor Wind: He can use slashes of wind to slice through objects and Grimm.
• Rousing Speech: Subverted. One talk and some encouragement does not make America's trauma and depression go away.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Delivers one to Ozpin after he tries to sacrifice America (and murder Penny and Pyrrha) in order to gain more power and he sees how Ozpin tortured Vale to force her to lock the Relic of Choice, then took her ability to speak ill of her master away. He takes none of Ozpin's excuses and claims that he changed, calling him a hypocrite and a liar who utterly failed to see his actions as wrong and refuses to see anyone as anything but pawns.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: At first he is the reckless and boisterous Red to Canada's cautious and calm Blue. He slowly becomes more levelheaded and less boisterous as the series goes on. The twins eventually switch places, with America being the cautious one while Canada becomes more aggressive when it comes to protecting his family, such as when Russia attacks America and Canada threatens to send him back to Earth. America's switch from Red to Blue becomes even more evident after Canada is infected with Grimm essence and becomes more violent.
• Required Secondary Powers: He is immune to fire and heat. Flames and lightning cannot harm him, including his own.
• The Reveal:
  • He has some (and soon all) of Vale/Amber's Aura.
  • His Semblance is Technopathy.
• Save This Person, Save the World: Ozpinati seeks to protect him because he is the only person who can reach and activate the Relic of Choice in Beacon's Vault. By The Charlatan of Choice, Salem has obtained the Relics of Knowledge, Destruction, and Creation so if she captures him, she wins. That also means there are some who believe that killing America (thus keeping him out of Salem's hands) will save the world.
• Scars Are Forever: He receives scars across his shoulders that says "SACRIFICE", courtesy of the Ax-Crazy Soldier. It still has not healed, despite America's Healing Factor, and it is implied this is due to the psychological scars he's gained from his experiences. Proving this, the scars heal once he recovers mentally.
• Selective Obliviousness: He chooses to ignore his depression and trauma in an attempt to stop it from overwhelming him and so his friends do not worry about him. He later tells Australia that he always knew he was fooling himself but did not want to admit he was depressed and was considering "sacrificing" himself so he would not have to suffer anymore.
• Shock and Awe: He can control lightning due to Vale's Aura in his body. According to Amber herself, he can cover himself with a layer of lightning, though he has not learned how yet.
• Slashed Throat: Raven slashes his throat when he refuses to join her tribe. He recovers.
• Sleepy Depressive: During the worst periods of his PTSD and depression, America spends a lot of time in bed and either lays awake or sleeps all day. He is constantly exhausted and barely has the energy to get out of bed for half an hour. He also goes straight back to bed without eating.
• Sorry I Fell on Your Fist: He gains the habit of apologizing when he is physically or verbally attacked. Most prevalent after Polendina berates him for being unable to resurrect Penny, Russia attacks him multiple times, and Ruby blames him for Qrow and Blake's deaths.
• Squee: He squeals in excitement when Ruby shows him Crescent Rose.
• Stepford Smiler: America often uses smiles and laughter to hide his hurt feelings. While alone in the woods of Anima, he forces himself to think positively so he won't attract Grimm.
• Strong and Skilled: Come The Charlatan of Choice, he has become powerful, precise, and strategical when it comes to his and Vale's Semblances.
• Stunned Silence: When he realizes England tried to trick him into severing his connection with Vale's people. He goes mute as tears silently fall down his face.
• Swiss-Army Weapon: On Remnant, America uses a pump-action shotgun bayonet-baseball bat named Cobalt Striker.
• Symbolic Mutilation: He is a Wide-Eyed Idealist who is blinded in the green eye that represents his connection with Vale. Cementing this, he regains his sight after Vale dies.
• Tearful Smile: Often when he is crying in front of someone. Tears run down his face but he still smiles in an attempt to hide his sadness from his family and friends.
• Tears of Blood: During the attack on Frontier. He is left blind in his left eye afterward.
• Tears of Joy: He cries in relief when he wakes up in Frontier and sees his brothers in his hospital room.
• Technicolor Fire: America's flames and lightning turn blue after Vale's death.
• Technopath: America's Semblance allows him to manipulate any technology he touches, from making a phone work without a battery, to hacking computers, to sending text messages to others with his thoughts (while holding something capable of sending messages.).
• Took a Level in Cynic: Temporarily, from the end of The Shattered Soul until when he regains his memories at the end of The Depths of Deception. Roman, Mercury, and Neo's betrayals left him jaded and mistrusting for a while, to the point where he is suspicious of everyone except Canada and Pyrrha for a bit. Though this is mostly because of Vale's part of their merged soul, thus why America regains his optimism after their minds separate.
• Tranquil Fury: After Neo, Roman, and Mercury's betrayal and the recollection of England's questionable actions during the Revolution, America briefly snaps. He calmly and silently begins burning all of Kuroyuri to the ground with a serene expression on his face.
• Trauma Button: Grabbing him from behind or breathing on the back of his neck will cause him to freeze in place or retaliate.
• Trauma Conga Line: The series is no picnic for America.
  • In Weight of the World he was captured, experimented on, and vivisected by Atlas. Vale's Aura is forced into him piece by piece in a painful and torturous fashion and he is greatly burdened by his unwanted responsibility to save the world. Yang beats him up and shoots him with not a single person stepping in to help him. He is Mind Raped by Vale for weeks and wakes up with amnesia.
  • In The Shattered Soul he travels with criminals who pretend to be his friend but then betray and almost murder him. Raven slits his throat. Then he is taken hostage by Tyrian and Emerald and remembers his big brother pointing a gun at him.
  • In The Depths of Deception he suffers from flashbacks of his time in the lab. His friends see he is not acting like "the old America" and many let him know it. England almost tricks him into performing a ritual that would doom Vale's people and he flees... only to be captured once more and whisked back to Remnant.
  • In The Atrocities of Atlas he is kept in captivity, tortured, and scarred by Polendina's men, betrayed by Penny 2.0, ^note  before she realized Ironwood was an enemy nearly drugged into a coma, and tortured more by Atlas. He then finds out he's dying with the Kingdom of Vale. All of this has America teetering on the edge of a Despair Event Horizon, with him suffering multiple breakdowns throughout the series as he slowly crumbles under the pressure.
  • In The Charlatan of Choice he crosses the despair line when everything hits him at once and he falls into a realistic depression, spending days curled up in bed while feeling guilty for "letting" his trauma get to him. He recovers a bit in time to nearly be captured by Ironwood and Hazel. He barely escapes them. Russia has no patience for his depression and attacks him in attempts to force him to "get better". A while later, Salem manipulates his friends and enhances their negative emotions, which causes Canada to strike America across the face. America retreats and runs into Salem, who tries to force Grimm essence into his body. He's haunted by her attempt. Then Ozpin betrays and tries to murder him to get more power. He fights him off but his trust in his mentor-like figure is irreparably broken. Then the Warden Grimm is sent after him. It snaps his leg (breaking the bone through the skin), captures Canada, and kills Blake (who dies protecting Yang). Ruby blames America for Blake and Qrow's deaths, leaving him blank-eyed and mute. Someone give this poor boy a break. Please.
• Trauma-Induced Amnesia: Having Vale's Aura/soul merged with him in a violent and torturous fashion leaves him without his memories. He has flashbacks and slowly makes progress towards recovery until he recovers his memories at the end of The Depths of Deception.
• Trojan Prisoner: Winter "arrests" him in order to smuggle him into the Institute. After Ironwood recognizes him (to near-disastrous results) Winter puts a bag over his head along with cuffing him.
• Turn the Other Cheek: America has a great capacity for forgiving others, though he has his limits when it comes to certain villains. Although he does not forgive those villains, he can be too forgiving to a fault.
  • He forgives England for his rejection of him and England's attempts to manipulate him into severing his connection with Vale's people.
  • He forgives Yang for shooting him at the Vytal Festival and tells her it was not her fault.
  • He forgives Russia for attacking and beating him multiple times over a period of a few weeks in an attempt to "fix" him. Though this only happens after Russia realizes what he did was wrong and apologizes for it.
  • He also forgives Ruby for blaming him for Blake and Qrow's deaths. Unlike the previous examples, this one does not come from a healthy place on America's part.
  • Subverted with Ironwood. Although he has a Heel–Face Turn, America cannot forget or forgive what he has done.
• Unable to Cry: He doesn't cry when he tells Canada and England he's dying because he hasn't yet comprehended what's happening.
• Unskilled, but Strong: Up until The Atrocities of Atlas, he has no formal training in utilizing Vale's Semblance and has to teach himself. Then Vale steps in to give him pointers, making him Strong and Skilled.
• Weather Manipulation: Alfred has Vale/Amber's Fall Maiden-inspired Semblance.
• Wistful Amnesia: While he has amnesia, he is always aware that he acts differently than the "old America" and feels as if he is missing whatever made him the optimistic, cheerful, and friendly nation everyone fondly remembers (and won't let him forget he is not). It is not that America is missing something, but that Vale's cynicism is overwhelming his naturally friendly personality, as revealed once their minds have split.
• Worth Living For: America lost any hope that he would survive the final battle with Salem and considered killing himself to keep himself out of her hands. Vale’s sacrifice not only saves his life, but gives him the will to keep on living, for himself, those he lost, and the people he still has.
• Wound That Will Not Heal: The scars across his back. They remain red and bleeding for weeks after his encounter with the ex-Atlas Soldier.
• Yellow Lightning, Blue Lightning: The lightning America conjures from Vale's Semblance is described as a brilliant yellow. After Vale dies and her Semblance fully becomes his, the lightning turns (and remains) the same blue shade as his Aura.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: When Canada frets about his Semblance and the terrible things he can do with it, America reassures him that he is one of the kindest and gentlest people he knows and would never abuse that power. Not to mention all the awesome superheroes who have similar abilities.
• Your Days Are Numbered: At the end of The Atrocities of Atlas Vale tells America the Kingdom of Vale is dying. That is why he has been weakening. When Vale falls, he will die with it. He nearly dies when Salem orders her Grimm to destroy the City of Vale to kill America, but Vale sacrifices her life so the connection between America and her is severed, saving America's life.

Canada (Matthew Williams)

"You think keeping secrets will keep people safer but it only hurts them. I wasn't there for my brother when he needed me because of secrets. I've lost him multiple times because of secrets. He ran away because Arthur kept a huge secret from him. Yet everyone keeps cultivating secrets. You didn't tell Ruby and the others about us. You don't give information until it's already too late. You're driving your own people away and you can't even see it. When will you learn?"

The Deuteragonist of the series. He was abducted alongside America and had Mantle's Aura forced into him to test the Aura transfer machine. Now he seeks to keep his brother safe from those that wish to use him for their own ends.

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• Accidental Misnaming: Canada has trouble remembering people's names, especially Pyrrha's.
• Adaptational Badass: He is much stronger and less of a Butt-Monkey than his canon incarnation. He also takes to his new abilities much more quickly than the other nations. Not to mention he Grew a Spine to the point where he will stand up to Russia.
• Ain't Too Proud to Beg: He begs the soldiers and scientists to stop hurting him during the transfer that gives him Mantle's Aura (which equates to what is essentially Soul Rape.)
• Ambiguous Situation: It is unclear whether his increased willingness to use violence is because of his experiences or because Mantle became a part of him.
• Bad Powers, Good People: Canada is distraught when he remembers his Semblance, which allows him to target and erase the memories of anyone he touches. He is convinced it can only be used for evil and terrible things. America sets him straight.
• Beware the Nice Ones:
  • He may dislike fighting but get on his bad side and he'll show how skilled and ruthless he can be. When Cinder tries to attack him from behind, she does not live long enough to learn her mistake.
  • When Atlas describes what Ironwood did to America, Canada blasts her across the room and drives a shard of ice through her eye.
• Big Damn Heroes: He wakes up just in time to save America from an Alpha.
• Blow You Away: Mantle's Semblance allows Canada to manipulate freezing winds.
• Body Horror: The Grimm essence writhes visibly under his skin as it spreads through his body. Minutes after he is infected, it wraps around his heart and clings to the organ like thorny tendrils. It also slowly alters his skin tone, making him take on a coloring comparable to Salem.
• Cannot Spit It Out: In a non-romantic example, he cannot bring himself to tell anyone that Mantle is dying and taking him with it.
• Cold-Blooded Torture:
  • Atlas tortures Canada with an electrified baton after she and Emerald bring him down.
  • Emerald uses the Relic of Destruction to torture Canada when he is in Salem's clutches. The mere touch of the blade causes him excruciating pain. Salem also manipulates the Grimm essence inside Canada's body to a similar effect.
• The Corruption: He is infected with Grimm essence. It makes black veins creep across his skin and slowly corrupts his mind, making more violent and aggressive. Canada is completely aware but unable to fight its influence. After the final battle, Tony successfully removes it.
• Cry Laughing: He laughs and sobs in hysterical relief upon realizing Atlas is finally dead.
• Deadpan Snarker: He has his moments, particularly when America has some wild ideas.
• Death Glare: He glowers at England when he calls the amnesiac America a "fiendish impostor". Complete with violet Glowing Eyes of Doom.
• Deuteragonist: He is the second most important character after America. The whole plot takes place in part because Atlas abducted him and America.
• Disapproving Look: He will often give ones to England and/or America when they are being particularly stubborn with each other, such as when they are arguing about returning to Earth.
• Electric Torture: Atlas tortures him with an electric baton while he is on the ground during their battle.
• Evil Sounds Raspy: His voice becomes low and gravely when he is affected by the Grimm essence. It is even more guttural after he heals from a slit throat with the Grimm essence's help.
• Eye Colour Change: His eyes glow a deep purple when he accesses Mantle's powers.
• Forced to Watch:
  • The scientists make him watch America's vivisection. They track Canada's vitals to see how he responds.
  • He is bound and unable to interfere as Roman and Emerald torture America. America is under the sleeping spell, so they hurt him to try to force Canada to reveal how to awaken him. He breaks and gives up the counter-curse when Roman makes to remove America's eye.
• Full-Name Ultimatum:
  • Canada calls America by his full human name (Alfred Franklin Jones) after America took Air Force One on a joyride.
  • In a much more serious instance, he is on the receiving end of this from France after he tries to downplay his pain from the Grimm essence.
• Grew a Spine: Canada was never a wimp, but he let others (primarily Russia) push him around in order to avoid escalating the conflict. He begins standing up to Russia to the point where Canada threatens to force him to return to Earth if he hurts America again.
• Heavy Sleeper: According to America, the apocalypse would not wake Canada.
• Heroic BSoD: Canada falls into a depression after figuring out Mantle is dying and taking him with it. He spends days in his room before Cuba comes and drags him out. He gets better.
• Heroic Second Wind: During the fight against Atlas and Emerald. After he is brought down and electrocuted by Atlas, he forces himself back up and fights her alone after Blake, Sun, Ren, and Nora arrive.
• Hybrid Power: A variant. Canada is a personification of two nations (Canada and Mantle), yet suffers from none of the vulnerabilities that the Remnant nation-tans do. The only exception is when Mantle starts dying permanently, dragging Canada down with it.
• An Ice Person: The main power of Mantle's Semblance. Canada creates snow and ice in the shape of whatever he desires, and can freeze a swarm of Grimm with a single icy blast.
• Innocently Insensitive: He does not understand what America is trying to say about himself and Vale and accidentally implies his brother should sacrifice himself to save Remnant.
• Knight Templar Big Brother: Not nearly as bad as England but he gains shades of this as the series goes on. It is to the point where Canada threatens to forcibly send Russia home after he hurts America.
• Laser-Guided Amnesia: Canada's Semblance is a weaponized version of this. He used it to erase his and America's memories of the lab.
• Leave Him to Me!: A heroic version. He refuses Blake's help in fighting Atlas because he wants to be the one to defeat her after everything she has done to him, his brother, and his world. He defeats her on his own.
• Lightning Bruiser: He is fast and hits hard. He also has more Aura than most characters since he has both his own and Mantle's at his disposal. During his fight with Cinder, he is able to evade most of her attacks and keeps his Aura long after hers shatters.
• Mind Rape: Salem uses manipulation and the Grimm essence inside him to slowly alter his thoughts and personality, making him become more aggressive and violent. Canada is completely aware of what is happening but is helpless to prevent it.
• Mistaken Identity: During The Shattered Soul the villains believe he is Vale, not America.
• Multi-Directional Barrage: His ice-shrapnel attack sends deadly shards of ice in all directions around him.
• My God, What Have I Done?: He is horrified and regretful after he punches America while under the influence of Salem's power.
• Not a Morning Person: The normally sweet, gentle, and kind Canada hisses at people when they wake him before noon. America has to get his brother up every day or Canada risks being late to everything.
• Out-of-Character Alert: He hisses that they should destroy Ozpin for trying to kill America. Canada startles even himself with that comment and realizes the Grimm essence is affecting him.
• Post-Victory Collapse: He falls to his knees due to the brunt of his injuries after Atlas dies.
• Power Incontinence:
  • He accidentally erases some of the memories of Russia (twice), a hotel owner, France, and possibly himself.
  • His shoulders tend to get covered with a layer of frost when he is upset.
• Purple Is Powerful:He has purple eyes. He also has Mantle's Aura, making him a personification of two worlds until Mantle collapses. He also has a powerful Winter Weather manipulating Semblance, along with his own memory-altering Semblance.
• Purple Is Powerful: His eyes glow purple whenever he uses Mantle's Semblance. One of his many feats while using his Semblance is freezing a horde of Grimm by himself.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: His eyes glow red when his Grimm parasite is acting up.
• Red Is Heroic: He always wears a red sweatshirt and wields a red hockey-stick sniper rifle.
• Red Is Violent: Only when he is under the influence of the Grimm essence.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: At first he is the cautious and calm Blue to America's reckless and boisterous Red. The twins eventually switch places, with America being the cautious one while Canada becomes more aggressive when it comes to protecting his family, such as when Russia attacks America and Canada threatens to send him back to Earth. Canada's switch from Blue to Red becomes even more evident after Canada is infected with Grimm essence and becomes more violent.
• Required Secondary Powers: He is immune to cold and cannot get frostbite, which is a good thing since his powers often cover him in a layer of frost. For example, he wears only a t-shirt and jeans while in a blizzard on Solitas.
• The Resenter: Subverted. Canada claims he hates America and resents him for being better than him while under the influence of the Grimm essence. It isn't true. Salem manipulated him into believing he hates America but America knows his brother better than that and snaps him out of it.
• The Reveal:
  • He has all of Mantle's Aura.
  • His Semblance is Memory Erasing and he accidentally used it on himself and America to erase their memories of the Atlas lab.
• Sanity Slippage: After being infected with Grimm essence and tortured by Salem and Emerald, he begins losing his mind and becomes increasingly aggressive. He knows what is happening but can do nothing to stop it.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: He is willing to forge documents for Pyrrha if America's boss did not assist him in getting her documentation.
• Secretly Dying: He slowly becomes more ill throughout The Depths of Deception and eventually figures out Mantle's deterioration is killing him. He keeps quiet about it in order to not worry his family or upset America. No one is happy to find out the truth after Canada collapses during a meeting and he gets an earful once England manages to save his life.
• Shrinking Violet: Downplayed in that he is only shy around strangers and prefers to have America do the talking. He grows out of it.
• Single-Stroke Battle: Canada defeats Emerald in a single strike by using his Semblance to erase her memories of her current situation and cutting off her head while she's confused.
• Slashed Throat: Emerald slashes Canada's throat with the Relic of Destruction and leaves him to die. He survives because of the Grimm parasite in his body.
• Strong and Skilled: He is much quicker to get control of Mantle's Semblance than America does Vale's, and uses it in unexpected ways such as throwing ice spears around an enemy, only to have them shatter into deadly shrapnel. It's implied this quick grasp is due to Canada absorbing Mantle's soul after England's severance ritual.
• Swiss-Army Weapon: Canada wields a high-caliber sniper rifle hockey stick with a bladed blade named Maple Frost.
• Tainted Veins: After being infected with Grimm essence, Canada has black veins on his chest. They are spreading.
• Tender Tears: He silently cries when America tells him he's dying.
• Thousand-Yard Stare: Canada spent days staring blankly at the wall of the twins' cell after getting Mantle's Aura forced into his body.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Pancakes, maple syrup, and coffee. When Nora eyes his pancakes he glares at her. When a sleep-deprived Yang tries to steal his coffee he fights her, much to America and Ruby's exasperation.
• Tranquil Fury: Atlas mocks him with tales of America's torture. Canada calmly and collectedly impales her in the eye with ice.
• Troubled Fetal Position: He lays curled up in bed while he is dying from Mantle's deterioration.
• Underestimating Badassery: Many of his opponents (like Emerald and Cinder) see he is quiet and unassuming and thus believe he is weak. They pay dearly for it.
• Weather Manipulation: Canada has Mantle's Winter Weather Manipulating Semblance.
• Your Days Are Numbered: During The Depths of Deception Mantle's deteriorating state affects his health and slowly weakens him. Luckily England severs his connection with Mantle and saves him.

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