Types of Mind Control

To help explain how these various things work, I am using a very helpful graph created on tumblr by @possessable.

And for another example that could have been included here but wasn't can be found here.

Puppet States

The most obvious kind of mind control is being a puppet state. When one is a puppet state, they become trapped in their body, unable to move unless commanded to do so. They can be given back control over their body by their puppeteer, but that is a rare circumstance. The personifications themselves still think normally but now cannot speak or move on their own and can be used as propaganda tools by their puppeteers. For many personifications, they give up fighting because they see it as a futile endeavor, especially the longer they remain a puppet. They are prisoners in their own bodies, forced to watch their bodies do things against their will at the whims of someone who controls them. 

Many puppet states will be used to help put down rebellions that want to overthrow the puppet government, as it gives it more legitimacy, even if everyone is aware of the fact that puppet states are trapped in their own minds. Another reason why puppet states are used to put down rebellions is that the more resistance to a puppet government, i.e., the less control they have over the land, the more the puppet states are able to fight back and may even temporarily gain control over their body. However, their minds aren't completely returned until the puppet government is gone, so even if they can gain control, they can just as quickly lose it as well.

When someone is in a puppet state, their eyes change to the same color as their puppeteer's, even if they have been granted control over their body, and their eyes are glassy and empty. Even if they have some control of themselves, no emotion will every show in their eyes. Aside from this, there are no other changes to the personification's appearance. However, because they have no control over their body, puppet states sometimes move very jerkily or just in a very strange way that makes it look like something is up.

Martial Law/Military Government

Martial law (which military governments also count under this category) is one of the more manipulative types of mind control, especially because it is nigh impossible to break free of. Unlike puppet states, marital law does not take over the body but rather the mind. Martial law imposes the will of the military government onto the personification and makes it impossible for the personification to think or do anything that goes against them. Not only that, but it does that in such a way that it becomes impossible for a personification under martial law to tell what is their own thoughts and what is the will of the military government. This makes it harder for them to return to their former selves after martial law ends. 

Unlike puppet states, which had their minds untouched, personifications under martial law had their minds messed with until they had unquestioning loyalty to the military government and subscribed to its ideals. Since there was no way to tell what their own thoughts were and what the military government was, it can be hard for personifications to figure out what they actually believed and what they were told to believe. This is especially true if they are in an environment post-martial law in which everything told to them during martial law was reinforced. 

While martial law is one of the examples of humans controlling personifications if a subdivision is under martial law, they can be controlled by the country they are a part of. For example, when Hawaiʻi was under martial law during World War Two, not only was she unable to disobey the military government, but she was also unable to disobey the United States, being a part of their country. To a subdivision personification under martial law, the country is treated the same as the military government.

When a personification is under martial law, nothing about their appearance changes, although sometimes their eyes can appear blank or empty. Aside from that, however, they remain completely the same physically. 

Satellite States

Satellite states are very similar to martial law in the way they are controlled. However, there are a few differences that make it deserving of its own distinction. One, martial law is usually very temporary and doesn't last for long, while some satellites can be controlled for decades at a time. Two, satellite states can actually break out of their controller's control, unlike personifications under martial law. Thirdly, satellite states are not about obeying a military government but rather loyalty to a certain ideology and country. 

There are two "states" a satellite can be under. One is the normal state, by which they are still compelled to follow and obey the rules and commands of their controlling state, but they have their free will and are able to make decisions of their own violation. This state is the easiest to break out of, and many satellites are able to do so and simply pretend they are still being controlled. The second state is when the controlling state forcibly takes control and takes away the satellite's free will and imposes their own. This state is harder for the satellite to free themselves from but is hard for the controlling state to keep up, and is either done in short bursts or, at the risk of draining the controlling state, can be held for up to a week and a half nonstop. However, a satellite can fight back against being put in this state, although the attempt is often futile, with the attempt being easier the more discontent the satellite's people are with the satellite government.

Many satellite states are also compelled to see their controlling state as either a parent or as a savior, something which the satellite themself often does not believe or even like.

Colonies

Colonies are not always being controlled. In fact, most of the time, they do everything of their own free will. This is just about the times that they aren't. 

A colonizer has the ability to rip control away from a colony (colony also referring to territories in this case) and temporarily inhabit the body to make it do whatever the colonizer pleases. When this happens, the colony is forced to almost "sleep" in the back of their mind and will not remember anything that happened when the colonizer took control. This process also exhausts both colony and colonizer and drains them both, although the colony much more so. For colonizers, the exhaustion is accompanied by a high. Doing this to a colony is an addicting sense of power, and the colonizer can find themselves addicted to it if they do it to often. From their point of view, it is like having two bodies and controlling them both at once.

Most eerily, when a colony is being controlled like this when they speak, their voice is not theirs, but rather the voice of their colonizer because the colonizer is in control. This is why this is not used to turn colonies into talking heads for the colonizer, as the voice would give them away. 

Dictatorships and Totalitarian Governments

Unlike all the others on this list, this is not the kind of mind control mentioned in the others. Instead, I see it as more of a strong influence on a personification's mind that alters their ideals but doesn't control them. However, it deserves a spot on this list because it is within the same vein as the previous types mentioned.

When a personification is under a dictatorship, the government can sometimes influence their decisions on things. This influence is very dependent on how much protest and dissent a dictatorship has stamped out, as well as how they have isolated the personification from their people's wishes. For example, North Korea, who was basically raised by his dictatorship government, is very heavily influenced by them, while Guatemala, under the Armas dictatorship, was not as heavily influenced, having lived most of her life without the control of a dictatorship, and could very easily shake off their influence.

In fact, most personifications were able to shake off the influence, but it is still enough to mess with their heads and make them question their loyalty. 

Overwhelming Nationalism

Less mind control, more like a high.

When a country's social climate is in some sort of nationalistic fervor, or nationalism runs high, it can alter a personification by making them more self-centered and egotistical-even if that is not consistent with their personality before. Additionally, for personifications, having that nationalism fueling them can be like a really good high. It's a pleasant feeling that some of them become addicted to and try to chase. It can make them become short-sighted as well as make them very easy to manipulate. They lose the ability to see long-term consequences, and, especially when combined with dictatorship control, can very easily remove doubts against the government and allow them to get their personification under their
control.

However, it is also very easy to snap out of, as it is not a form of control, just a form of influence that can remove inhibitions.