He knows he isn't the hottest, but he will complain and brag at the same time about his 110° weather. Like seriously.
Ari isn't really that social. He has his pride hurt a lot due to people thinking he's apart of Mexico. But when you get to know him he's a loud, talkative state that catches on fire from time to time.
When he feels a rather strong emotion (anger, sadness, lust, happiness, etc.) Ari's got a tendency to burst into flames. The places that expel fire are is hands and chest, so he tries to keep himself covered with gloves and a shirt.
His history is pretty simple. Him and New Mexico split in half and became two separate beings around August 1861, when Arizona decided to join the Confederate States. Arizona would only be with the rebels for a short while because around March 1862 the Union seized full control over the area, pushing the rebels out. Then on February 24th, 1863 Congress signed into law the Arizona Organic Act, which officially split Arizona and New Mexico. It also abolished slavery in the new territory (can I get a YAY for Congress).
Through the rest of the 1800s and the first decade of the 1900s Ari was just sort of vibing. Building railroads, getting ghost towns from the Good Rush, stiff like that.
Ari is FINALLY granted statehood (he's been asking for ages) on February 14th, 1912, along with voting rights for women (go AZ). Two years layer WWI would start, and America would join three years after it started, with the Zimmermann Telegram intercepted and deciphered.
And the American people were pissed.
You think I can just be given away again? Arizona thought as he stared at the price of paper through his angry tears. Well you're wrong. I've finally been accepted. I won't be ripped away from my family again.
So on May 18th, 1917 the Selective Service Act was passed. It required all men (within the age range of 18-45) to register for drafting. Over 40,000 Arizonans rushed to register for the draft from a population of 260,000.
Fun fact: only 20 men that signed up to help in the war effort were rejected for flat feet, the fewest in the country. The reason for this is because Arizonans typically wore a high heel style footwear, known as the cowboy boot.
You rock those heels Ari.
Plus Arizona replaced Egypt as the leading source of cotton for the U.S.
After AZ and the rest of the U.S. kicked butt, the Great Depression sent everyone into a spiral. Arizona's cotton production went off the rails, with no one willing to buy. Ari was one of the states least effected by the Great Depression though, so that's an upside. Then choo choo, here comes WWII.
During WWII, after Pearl Harbor, American citizens were once again focused and ready to grind their enemies into dust. For a part of the war Ari helped train recruits, build weapons, hold war prisoners, and basically be a truck stop for supplies. Copper and other mineral mining thrived because of the demand, multiple airbases were built, and (sadly) Japanese internment camps were established across the state. But the Gila River Center was considered to be one of the most "relaxed" out of the ten camps across the nations.
The population grew, with many of the veterans stationed in Arizona returning to raise a family and find work.
Native Americans played a HUGE role in WW2. 44,000+ men and women from different tribes served in the military. The most well recognized are the Navajo Code Talkers, who used their unwritten language to transmit simple but clear messages via radio. Because of them its speculated the war ended faster. The code was never broken, and the language was even used during the Korean War and the beginning of the Vietnam War.
After America blew up Japan, everything settled down. And with the revolutionary air conditioning and refrigerator, population went BOOM.
Because of the invention of the nuclear boom weapon and the Cold War, Ari probably should've lived in constant fear. Why, you might ask?
Well Ari is rich in raw materials, had two major Air Force bases, Titan II, and other military supplies.
But the people... Sort of didn't care.
There were drills and stuff, but the Arizona Republic found that people were "milling through the streets unmindful" and "annoyed by the boasts from sirens".
(My school was actually built during the Cold War, so half of it is underground. Cool right?)
So the nuclear attack never came, and the alarm system was finally disabled in the 1990s.
So Ari continued growing and stuff. He's become a super rad state in the union. Even if people still don't really remember his name.
✨relationships✨
Of course the one Ari is closest too is New Mexico. Although they disagree politically, they were originally one being.
Its not sexual or romantic in any way. I can hear the comments.
Ari is also pretty chummy with Texas and Nevada and all them states besides California.
He's got a ring tail cat named Copper. She's really sweet and likes cuddles.
His favorite food is pretty much any Hispanic or Mexican food. He LOVES lemonade.
His birthday is February 14th.
That's pretty much all for Arizona. I'll add anything if I remember.
Peace ✌
