A guide to FMA universe countries

[Rebecca Catalina]

Everyone knows that FMA takes place in some alternate earth somewhere, but what, exactly, are the countries in FMA based off of?

This post will establish a universe canon that will be used in this RP. Most of it is purely speculative, based off of the films and the minor and mentioned characters.

In fact, the only country that is canonically tied with another country in the manga is Xing (tied to Imperial China)

So read on to discover something about your character's country

[Rebecca Catalina]

A Guide to Amestris

Now, let's face it: no matter what version of FMA you're familiar with, you are familiar with Amestris.

On this RP, we're going to parallel Amestris with Germany; namely pre-1945 Germany.

Germany has always had a pretty badass military since its unification (the exception is the period between WWI and Hitler's rise to power, under the Weimar Republic). One is always expected to support the leader of the country (again, not under the Weimar) and to speak against them is treason.

Another indicator of this is the fact that the leader of Amestris is given the title of "führer" which is German for "leader" (and most well known, now, for being Hitler's title). And let's not forget Roy Mustang, though this is more prominent in the first anime. He launched a coup d'état as an act of patriotism; to give their enemies reason to believe that not all Amestrians were horrible, and to get the country on the right track - what's more, he was pretty much a war hero. This is very similar to Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (and, it's interesting to note that in Conqueror of Shamballa, Roy is missing the very eye that Stauffenberg lost in Tunisa).
Of course, Stauffenberg wasn't in love with his adjutant (who was also a lieutenant), but, on several occasions, he managed to get close enough to Hitler, who thought that he was a remarkable patriot.

So now that we've established what country we're paralleling Amestris with, let's talk names and language.

As you can see, even in the original Japanese, the words that you can make out in Fullmetal Alchemist are all English (with the exception of Ling's note in Chinese to Lan Fan, but we'll get to that). So they don't speak German, and, as such, they don't have very German names.

However, one thing to keep in mind is that almost all of the military personnel are named after some vehicle of war, be it fighter planes, or tanks, or even rockets. What's more, most of these vehicles were only in use in World War II, and were either American, British, or German (I do believe some Dutch, French, and Italian names were used).

Other than that: the military commands the country; they are a stratocracy that is now trying to slowly convert to a democracy.

As such, there is bound to be lots of political turmoil, though, for the most part, most of Bradley's supporters are either dead or in prison.

(If more information is needed; more will be added).

[Rebecca Catalina]

A Guide to Xing

It's kind of painfully obvious that Xing is based off of Imperial China: one emperor rules over many clans. The clans struggle for power, and it's clan versus clan.

Emperor Ling Yao is currently attempting to change the dog-eat-dog nature of Xing, but it's unknown whether or not he wants to keep clans separate.

The language they speak is obviously traditional (i.e. not simplified) Chinese. So if a Xingese character so wishes, while talking to someone who is not Xingese, they can throw in some Chinese.

Names.
Okay, here's where it gets slightly confusing.
There are fifty clans. The known (and original) clans here, are:
Yao
Chang (one of the poorer clans)
Kuang
Jiang (one of the wealthier clans)
Qin (one of the poorer clans; not as poor as the Chang clan)
Han
Yi (one of the poorer and larger clans)

Clearly, that is just about 1/10th of the clans in Xing.

Other clan names can, of course, be created, provided that they are traditional Chinese clan names. (And that the number of clan names does not exceed fifty)

Within a clan, not everyone is closely related.
Lan Fan, whose clan name is Yao, is not closely related to Ling. This is obvious by the hierarchy that is referenced throughout the series: Lan Fan's family have been guards for the chief of the clan and the prince or princess of the clan for generations.

Therefore, members in the same clan can get married and have normal, non-deformed babies.

However, to create peace between clans, occasionally, a member of the clan chief's family will wed a member of another clan's chief. This is not always the case, but it helps to strengthen the bonds between clans.

The Emperor may take concubines (usually the daughter of each clan's chief) to provide heirs for each clan, and therefore many princes and princesses who are able to take the throne when the Emperor dies.
It is unknown if Ling will do this; he hasn't yet.

The prince and chief of clans may also take concubines; this is more common with the wealthier clans, but it is not unheard of in the poorer clans.

this article on Ancient Chinese concubines can be helpful if you plan to make a concubine or wife character.

NAMES!
Names can either be in the traditional Chinese style (i.e. Jiang Ya-Ping - Jiang is her clan name, Ya is her given name, and Ping is her third name) or the Western style (i.e. Mei Chang, Ling Yao - in which the clan name comes last).

[Rebecca Catalina]

A Guide to Drachma

Based on its freezing tundra and the style of dress of the Drachman military, it is generally accepted that Drachma is based off of Russia (and Siberia, by extension), probably Imperial Russia.

Russia was ruled by a leader called a Tsar (Russian short form of Caesar, which is generally accepted to mean Emperor). His wife was known as the Tsarina, and their son the Tsarevich; daughters were known as Grand Duchesses, despite being princesses.

Nobility were the only ones with any sort of privilege; they typically lived in manor houses and had quite a bit of family money. If they had land in the country, they had serfs to tend to it. Serfs were, essentially, slaves, as their pay was so low that they were constantly in debt to the families who they worked for.

Their literature is well known; it has some of the most fantastic characters, and is usually a bit dark and disturbing, but always interesting.

Imperial Russia was very religious; they were Orthodox Christians. Atheists were generally punished for their lack of religion.

Of course, that's not to say that all of them were devout and demure; quite the opposite.

Drachma, like Russia, has a rich culture, and the people are very proud to be from the country.

Their military is rather exquisite, and their harsh winters protect them from invasion by outsiders; no country has managed to invade them.

NOW FOR NAMES!

Characters have a Russian first name. Easy enough. For my example, I will use Ekaterina, daughter of Ivan Vasilyev.

Her first name would be Ekaterina. Diminutives of such (which she would be called by family and close friends) include Katya, Kata, Katjusha, Karina, and Katenka.

Her middle name is patronymic, meaning that it will be a variant of her father's name. The feminine patronymic for Ivan is Ivanovna. For a man, the patronymic for Ivan is Ivanovich

Surname. Here's where it gets a bit confusing. Surnames can have masculine and feminine forms. The feminine form of Vasilyev is Vasilyeva. That goes with all Russian surnames with an -ev ending. For -sky endings, it becomes -skaya

So her name would be Ekaterina Ivanovna Vasilyeva.
Um. Russian names are confusing, so if you have any questions, ask me! I'm pretty proficient with Russian history and etymology (at least for names).

(If more information is needed; more will be added).

[Rebecca Catalina]

A Guide to Ishval

I WILL HAVE TO LOOK THIS UP IN A BIT.

Basically, Ishval can be compared to a strongly Muslim country in the Middle East.

(If more information is needed; more will be added).

[Rebecca Catalina]

A Guide to Aerugo

Aerugo is typically compared to Italy.

I WILL WRITE MORE ONCE I LOOK IT UP. ALL I HAVE RIGHT NOW IS THAT THEIR MILITARY SUCKS BUT THEIR PEOPLE ARE GENERALLY PRETTY.

(If more information is needed; more will be added).

[Rebecca Catalina]

A Guide to Creta

On this RP, we will liken Creta to France. (Specifically, pre-revolutionary France)

I know that Creta is frequently compared to Greece, but, upon seeing the new FMA movie, I am more convinced than ever that it is (an actually militarily proficient) France.

They are currently a monarchy; think golden age of France: Versailles, Louis Quatorze (XIV), and Madame de Pompadour. The rich are rich and enjoying life, while the gap between the noble and bourgeoisie only seems to grow (bourgeoisie = middle class). The working class are horribly poor and work themselves ragged for little to no pay; the homeless flood the streets while the nobles stroll the beautiful gardens of the palace.

It's not that the royals don't care about their people; things have been the way they are for so long, and most are content. The Queen cares deeply for the people and does try to help them, though they really don't do much to change society.

Creta is very much based on a caste system: at the top is the church and the king, queen, and prince; then there are the lesser nobles. These top two levels represent less than two percent of the population. The third level, the biggest and with the least power, is the bourgeoisie. The peasants have absolutely no power whatsoever.

This really isn't likely to change, but who knows, once Mathieu is forced to marry a commoner....

NAMES!

First names are generally old French names; named after saints and whatnot. Sometimes a name is hyphenated, like Jean-Marie (masculine) and Marie-Clarisse (feminine). You can't call them "Jean" or "Marie"; it's just not done.

Middle names. Honestly, a lot of the French people I've met simply don't have middle names, and, unlike with Drachma, they're not required to be listed here. If you feel the need, then just stick with, again, an older French name, though not hyphenated.

Surnames are, again, French surnames. The Royal family can forgo these, and say your father is the Count of Roussillon (I dunno if this existed, or if it was Shakespeare hating on the French), you would use "of Roussillon" or "Roussillon" as a surname. For example, Prince Mathieu is "Prince Mathieu of Creta" (though in French, it would be "le Prince Mathieu du Creta").

If you want to make a Duke or a Count or a Lord the daughter or son of one of them, feel free to either use a French province or city as the title name. It's an alternate world France. No one's going to go "THAT ISN'T A REAL TITLE", as long as it's actually French.

Also, if a Lady marries a non-noble, she gets to keep her title, but her children would have the father's surname (Well, Victorian England, but it seems to be the case for most monarchies).

(If more information is needed; more will be added).

[Rebecca Catalina]

A Guide to Milos

Not much is known about Milos, and, frankly, they're based off of some ancient society (I want to say Mayan) but they all look more European.

Their land was split by Amestris and Creta, and the Milosians were forced to basically live in a canyon for years upon years.

Edward and Alphonse Elric visited Milos during the film "The Sacred Star of Milos" and pretty much chased Amestris out of there.

It is assumed that the Milosians were able to regain their land.

Their names, with a few exceptions, seem to be Spanish, especially those who have lived their whole lives in the canyon.

(If more information is needed; more will be added).