Our First Side-Plot!!

[riza hawkeye]

Well, taking the questions from Remis and posting them here (in case anyone has extended answers). We'd also like your thoughts and ideas, so we can see how they can be incorporated.

This is about a war with Drachma, in case you were wondering...

"Why would you want to play a Drachman? What could convince you to look at things from their perspective? What kind of history would they need to have?"

[pie4me]

For the first question? I wouldn't really want to play a Drachman. Least not right now. XD I'd love to plot with one, as I would anyone, but I'm not interested in writing as one at the moment.

Second question... I guess I'd get why they would want to fight with Amestris since the country is known to have a lot of militaristic way of doing things and that would definitely get on my nerves if I were them. XD

Probably a history of warfare and maybe even known a little for their tendency to hold grudges? Apparently they also have high military power, so I guess that could be included in the history. I'm just seeing them as the wiki said - sort of like Russians. Lol.

[rebecca catalina]

Hm, well... The only reason I would really wanna play a Drachman is because I like to have at least one bad guy to balance my characters out. Y'know? Like, I've got Juliet, who's a complete brat, but she's not a bad guy. Know what I mean? So if I were to play, say, a Drachman spy, I'd probably end up feeling more complete, like I got to play a villain, and definitely more balanced out. :3

The second question, er... Well, I'm sure anyone could be upset with Amestris, looking at it from an outsider's view, it could seem very corrupt. Especially with how it was run with Führer Bradley around... that wasn't exactly a peaceful rule (hem hem, Ishvalan War). So I can see other countries being mad at that alone, not to mention whatever riffs Amestris and Drachma already have between each other.

Perhaps they have a history of being overlooked as 'vast and empty' (example, Russia), but they're really quite strong because of it. I mean think of Buccaneer! He was strong because of the harsh conditions (that, and he was a Briggs soldier, 'nuff said). Anyway, I think something like that for the history might work.

That's about all I can think up at the moment, loves~ I'll try and whip up more ideas throughout the day, though :3

[elicia hughes]

I would play a Drachman, but, I'm not very good at playing "the bad guy" So I guess I'll just make someone who gets caught up in it.

I sympathize with people really easily so I may not be the best for this. But I felt bad for them when they attacked Briggs and all got demolished, they were being used for "Father's" stupid plans! Nuuuuuu!

[yuri]

Drachman are people too, I don't think it's very difficult to see things from their point of view. They don't have to all be evil, but like Ishvalans they could be perceived that way through the eyes of Amestrians and the like. In war, don't both sides always believe they are the ones in the right anyway? Otherwise, there wouldn't be fighting in the first place.

I don't think Drachman's need any 'special' history for people to get involved and want to play them. I like what Rebecca is saying though, it'd definitely make sense if the other countries saw Amestris as this huge corrupt place, and even though Fuhrer Bradley is gone, there could still be cause for concern and that's why there's still fighting between countries. Who's to say Amestrians aren't still corrupt inside their military? Drachmans could think that the world would be better off if they were the ones running Amestris, maybe. They're strong people, like Rebecca said, they probably think they could do it better than any Amestrian could.

[curtisizumi]

Well unfortunately I won't be taking a spot on the Drachma side. I normally play bad guys and good guys in the same series however the only other baddie I would play (Kimblee) is dead. So I think I will just be sticking with Izumi, makes it a bit easier for me to keep track of now anyway. [Rubs chin in thought.]

As for plot I think it wouldn't be out of the question for Drachman Powers to take advantage of Amestris' lingering damage during Bradley's reign, new Leaders and such... A few small wars here and there, Espionage and all that - classic secondary plot. It could potentially include everyone as well, which is another sign of a good plot.

For myself, I know Izumi could be roped in by way of the Elrics and even on her own if she were to stumble upon anything fishy. Anyway, I think this should be expanded on and not forgotten/dropped. Too much potential.

[minna]

Hm... On another FMA site I'm on, they have a run-down of all of the countries, so I thought I'd quote it here. Obviously, not mine and all that jazz:

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).

So, yes, that's how I see Drachma, and that info comes from here.

Anyway, as for playing a Drachman... The idea isn't one that I'm all over, but if it turns out that we need more of them, I totally can make up and play one, and maybe I'll do that eventually... But it just isn't jumping out at me.

But seeing as everyone seems to be pointing at King for what the Drachmans would see as corruption... kidnapping of Minna and maybe Selim? Or something along those lines? :D

[alice "rio" grand]

A war with Drachma sounds pretty darned interesting! So, like a good Kitty, I will answer your questions.

I would want to play as a Drachman not only because I usually like to play at least one bad guy but also because I like to roleplay diversity. Playing all Amestrians would just be plain boring, and Drachmans are really something we look at too often. They're exotic.

Well, looking at things from their perspective? Well, that's just the kind of thing you have to do. XD They're people, aren't they? I think that, given the way thing've gone, I wouldn't be surprised if the thing between Drachma and Amestris was, in fact, started by Amestris. If I were Drachma, I wouldn't like Amestris very much. They've been ruled by an evil guy, for pete's sake. O.o

As for what kind of history, I think it really depends. They would probably need to either have a history of being picked on or a history of picking on. Just to say that Amestris didn't attack them for their own selfish reasons, they would probably either be led by a corrupt leader or be led by a group who, say, had once been wronged by Amestris or something of the sort. Or, of course, we could have some random Amestrian doing something dumb.

And that's all I've got.

But this sounds like fun! We should do it.